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5 Centimeters Per Second

Original Title

秒速5センチメートル
5 Centimeters Per Second

"To my surprise, I found myself crying.
I felt truly grateful that I had made 5 Centimeters Per Second.”
― Makoto Shinkai (Creator of the original work)

INTRODUCTION

Makoto Shinkai's theatrical animation “5 Centimeters Per Second” is being adapted into a live-action film. Hailed as “the origin of the Shinkai World,” “5 Centimeters Per Second” is a timeless masterpiece beloved in Japan and worldwide, even 18 years after its release. This marks the first live-action adaptation of a Makoto Shinkai work.

Yoshiyuki Okuyama directs this live-action film with extraordinary passion. At just 34 years of age, this acclaimed director and photographer has garnered attention both domestically and internationally. His credits include commercials for Pocari Sweat and music videos for Kenshi Yonezu's “Kanden” and “KICK BACK,” as well as Gen Hoshino's “Creation.” His directorial skills were also recognized in his 2024 independent film “At the Bench.” This is his first time directing a major commercial feature film.

Hokuto Matsumura, an actor who Makoto Shinkai trusts above all others, plays the lead role. Matsumura portrays “the door closer” Sota Munakata in Shinkai's film “Suzume.” This year, his acting in the film “First Kiss,” written by Yuji Sakamoto also drew the attention of many renowned creators. This film marks Matsumura's first solo lead role in a feature film.

Co-starring with Matsumura is Mitsuki Takahata, a talented actress whose appearances in notable films such as Hirokazu Koreeda's “Monster” and Sang-il Lee's “KOKUHO” continue to draw attention.
The cast features a stellar lineup including Nana Mori, Yuzu Aoki, Mai Kiryu, Aoi Miyazaki, and Hidetaka Yoshioka.

The theme song is Kenshi Yonezu's “1991” -- the year the story's protagonist Takaki Tohno and transfer student Akari Shinohara meet. It also happens to be Kenshi Yonezu's birth year.
The insert song is Masayoshi Yamazaki's “One more time, One more chance,” which is also featured in the original work. It has been remastered specifically for this film.

The film was shot entirely on-location in Tokyo, Tanegashima, and other locales and spans the four seasons from 2024 to 2025. Director Yoshiyuki Okuyama claimed, “I intend to pour all the ‘sentimentality’ remaining within me into this work.” His inspired version of “5 Centimeters Per Second” shines a new light on Japanese cinema.

STORY

Spring 1991.
Takaki and Akari meet at an elementary school in Tokyo. As if gently reaching out to touch each other’s loneliness, they form a gradual emotional bond.
Upon graduation, Akari moves away, but even while apart, they continue to exchange letters.
Each time they read each other's words, they feel a deep connection.
Winter, first year of middle school.
When reunited on a stormy winter night in Iwafune, Tochigi, they make their final promise to each other beneath a solitary cherry tree.
“Let's meet here again on March 26, 2009.”

It is now 2008.
Takaki lives and works in Tokyo, leading a solitary life, detached from others.
Approaching thirty, he begins to realize that he has left a part of himself behind.
What suddenly surfaces in his mind is an indelible landscape and a premonition of that promised day.
Akari, too, lives a quiet, uneventful life, carrying the same memories from that distant time.
The two have lived eighteen years at different speeds, but are headed toward a single place in their memory.
Beyond their separate paths, those words from the past continue to drift quietly through distance and time, as if hoping someday, somewhere, they will reach the other person.