Shinkai Makoto's 5cm Per Second

I recently read Makoto Shinkai's "5cm Per Second", after being a fan of the anime movie since it first came out in early 2007. Since part of what I loved about the anime really depended on those clear, crisp seasonal landscapes and panorama cityscapes, I am surprised that I came out more fond of the story told in these pages instead.

If you are also only familiar with the film, you're probably wondering how it possibly translates to black and white pages, heavy in dialogue, since the movie had this quiet, subtle beauty. Characters who are either given zero to minimal screen-time in the film, often with no lines, suddenly have a fleshed out presence, have voices, and often even a backstory. I can only reassure you that it works.

Like the film, they have the three main parts, with a few extra sub-stories which mainly fall under these stories, and the final takes place after the conclusion of the film.

"Cherry Blossom" is almost identical to the film. I can't be certain, since I haven't recently watched the film, but we are given a lot more detail about the contents of many of the letters sent between Takaki and Akari. In their final letters, the one that blew away for Takaki, and the one Akari holds in her hand after he has left, they both say, "I love you".

"Cosmonaut" is also very similar to its animated counterpart. Kanae's story is ever as heartbreaking, and if you are like me, you'll find that she had the most lasting impression of all the characters. There is something about that final scene of her cuddled up in the bed with Cabu, crying, that really made her seem real.

While not part of the "Cosmonaut" part, we learn more about her, specifically as she grows older (and I won't spoil all that here, least of all the ending). We learn that when she went to see Takaki off at the airport (shown in the final flashing moments of the movie), she confessed her feelings for him. While Takaki can't reciprocate things, he later begins to wonder if his everlasting love for Akari has made him lose out on the potential for something great with other women.

"5cm Per Second" was not my favourite part of the film, but it is definitely my favourite part of the graphic novel, as we suddenly receive so much discourse in a part that was almost completely voiceless. The film shows us a character with glasses, obviously once partner to Takaki, and gives glimpses of how their relationship comes to fall apart. Suddenly she is given a full presence, and even a name: Risa.

Risa really makes this whole book for me, and I really regret that she wasn't given the appropriate amount of attention in the film. I felt like I related to her the most (whereas I had related to Kanae as an adolescent), and I really wanted things to work out better for her. I couldn't believe some of the things Takaki did, but each time, Risa reacted so humbly and with such understanding that it all only made me love her so much more.

If you are a fan of the film, or just a fan of anime and graphic novels in general, this is really worth borrowing, or even buying. I read this almost instantly, and could barely put it down, even though the whole story is so familiar on the whole. (I also have to admit... I kept hoping there would be a different ending... That somehow Akari would be waiting for him, on the otherside of that track... didn't you want that too?)