A contemporary classic, 5 Centimeters per Second won animator Makoto Shinkai international renown as a rare talent. Indeed, he just might be one of the most powerful bards of romantic longing and thwarted love working today in any medium. This official novelization narrates from the other side—for instance, from the point-of-view of the girl rather than the boy in the legendary first segment, “Cherry Blossoms”—to tell a story that is both deeply engaging for first-timers and astonishingly fresh for fans of the film.
The author of fantasy novels based on the Shining videogame series, Arata Kanoh is best known for his imaginative prose adaptations of the masterpieces of Japan’s hottest animator. Most recently, his take on Your Name was the #1 Kindle bestseller at Amazon Japan.
Makoto Shinkai is a Japanese film director, animator, and writer. A native of the Nagano prefecture, he studied Japanese literature at Chuo University. He traces his passion for creation to the manga, anime, and novels he was exposed to while in middle school. Considered one of the best animators in the world today, he is often called the “next-Miyazaki“. Shinkai developed his abilities as a video game designer for FalCom, where he worked on the cult-classic role-playing game Y“S. Shinkai is unique as an animator as he cut his teeth by producing almost all elements many of his early works - from animation to music composition to voice acting. He has won numerous awards: 12th DoGA CG Animation Award; 1st New Tokyo International Animation Festival Grand Prize; 7th Kobe Animation Prize; 6th Japanese Media Art Award for Digital Media; 34th Nebula Award (World Con); 59th Mainichi Films Animation Prize; 2007 Asia Pacific Film Award; and the Lancia Platinum Grand Prize (Italy).
His film credits include: Voices of a Distant Star, The Place Promised in Our Early Days, 5 Centimeters Per Second, and Children who Chase Lost Voices from Deep Below
