5 Centimeters Per Second

I don't think that the reason that they didn't end up together was that he didn't leave enough of an impression, rather its that both of them stalled while they were apart. Akari went on with her life because she believed that was what he wanted her to do, while he tried but could never get over her. The both of them never stopped loving each other, while they were still with other people, particularly shown by her letter and his life itself. Neither of them believed that they could withstand the distance, always afraid of being forgotten and in doing so being afraid to try, lest they find that the person they were wasn't the same person as they knew when they meet again. Ironically, that fear is what ended up making them unable to be together despite knowing they both loved each other. In the end, if either one of them had just said the words "I love you" the both of them would have definitely (in my opinion) been together for the rest of their lives, and happy. That stalling and hesitation is in a way so *human* though, that its easy to relate to them. Everyone at some point in their lives hesitates and in doing so forms regrets and I feel like that's what this series is about in the end. Life moves along, sometimes at 5 centimeters per second, and sometime at 10000 kilometers a minute and in the end you have to grasp it while you can since there's no such thing as second chances, only open windows that pass you by as you speed along being carried by the whims of fate out of your control.

I absolutely like your interpretation and I don't disagree with the overall idea. More like I consider that saying the same thing as not leaving enough influence. They stalled. They hesitated. They didn't put enough effort to do it because they were (or had to) move on with their life and had to deal with things that were at hand. Do you eventually not care about someone who was friend with you ten years ago but had to go separate ways? No, you still care for them and most likely when you meet them again you still consider the person a friend. But do you have the exact same feeling now compared to what you felt back then, if you haven't done enough? Probably not. IMO, I would say even if they did say they loved each other at one point, it was not going to stay the same. Of course it might have lasted longer, but no. You don't say "I love you" once and stay forever. You have to keep saying it. You have to make yourself and your partner remember once in a while that both of you still share the same feeling.

now everybody 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UbuJ-3hnF20 

when the music started to roll, while watching the movie was likeFUUUUUUUCCCKKK, really, are they really not going to end together? T_T
there's a lot of good comments here, I think almost everybody understand the message of the story, but even so would have liked to see them ending together, but as many people said, that's life  

also 

@Eave

It's not translated into English, but the novel Shinkai released soon after the third segment of the film came out details the third segment in more detail. He does have some decent relationships, and isn't really still "in love" with her, but more like he's still searching for the same feelings that she gave him in the past. In any case, he manages to pick himself up and pursue the girl he's currently serious about [after they broke up/almost broke up].

I know it's a lot later, but the novel didn't said any of that at the end about touno, the end is the same with the movie, he starts to move forward after the train scene.

finally, as @The_Follower said, they never told each other "I love you" and that shows how strong and how feeble they relationship was, they both felt like that but as kids never got the courage to said to them and in the end that chained them both (akari too was like that, as the manga shows a little of her school life rejecting a guy), but it really messed with Touno and mostly he was expecting the same sensation he felt that time and maybe as he finally starts to move on at the end of the movie and ch.10, as Kanae also finally can move forward they maybe/probably/hopefully enconunter one another at the end of ch.11 

What a sad story.

the story was good except for the ending if you ask me.....
I mean come on.... The girl got married and what did the boy got?
A messed up life, no decent relationships, and he still likes her.....
I mean can there be any more worse endings ever?

The story tried to portray a realistic view of real life long distance relationship. They did exceptionally well. Believe it or not, not everything always go right in life. When you already experience something like this first-hand maybe it will be easier for you to understand it.

Goddamn, writing that hurt me already, haha. ffs.

I almost feel like the happenings in this manga are something that only someone who has grown up and been out in the world can understand. Someone who has seen some hardship or just felt trapped in their life. I didn't understand things like this until after I turned 25. I don't know about others. Once is realized that my life had stagnated and I was only thinking about how much I had messed up in the past did I decide to go back to college and change my major to something I loved but was always told was impractical. Realizing that you have to keep moving forward even though you may make mistakes or have regrets about something you do is something that you can do only once you finally hit adulthood. Sometimes you might even need help getting there. These are just the feeling I has upon finishing this. 

You are absolutely right, But I am sure ZeNith is trying to point out that it really gave a bad taste after reading this story.

 

The story was made, in my opinion, so that the readers will root for Takaki and Akari and for them to be together in the end. The story does appropriately show the transition between childhood and adulthood if said in a good way, but it's also showing the cruelty of life where things just have to move on against person's will if said in a bad way. In reality life is exactly that, and you can't do anything about it more than lament over it or try to move on, but it's an experience that no one wants to face and no one needs to face.

 

I lived in the US from elementary to middle school, lived in Japan the other times. So far, I have faced three times a big event in life that I had trouble moving on, first when I went to US, and second when I came back to Japan, and third I failed to enter a medical college. The last one might not count because I can just say my effort wasn't enough but as for the first two, there was simply nothing I can do to stop it. It's a terrible experience to leave your friends at an early childhood because it's easier for them to forget you when you leave them at younger age than the latter stage of childhood. I tried to keep in touch, but life really just have to move on and people forget me. It's not like I moved inside US. I basically went to the other side of the earth where it is very unlikely that I will ever meet them, and yes I have never seen them since.

And it happened twice. Also, forget about my childhood during highschool. I spent the days studying for college exam, since I was far behind other Japs who had their entire life to prepare for it, while I only had 4 years. I also left no influence other than being accepted one of the prestigeous colleges in Japan which was rare in my school.

 

You see, part of identity have to do with how others feel about you. Memory is also made up not only by your memories alone, but memories that your friends have about you. When they forget about you, you lose partial identity and memory about yourself. It gives you this strange "hopelessness" that you have left no influence during childhood, and somewhat makes you feel worthless. I failed to leave any influence throughout my life, and I have this hopeless feeling that my life is perhaps worthless for not being able to. That's why I live my life strong today so that I can definitely leave an impression on everyone that I have met.

 

So I can really relate that to this story because Takaki, who loved Akari the whole time who was the biggest part of his memory, was unable to leave enough influence on her for them to end up together. In reality, I am sure it was meant to be that way whether he tried to stay in touch or didn't, but it's a situation that it is really difficult to accept.

 

 

A little hope was left in his case though because he had Kanae. A little releif I guess.

I don't think that the reason that they didn't end up together was that he didn't leave enough of an impression, rather its that both of them stalled while they were apart. Akari went on with her life because she believed that was what he wanted her to do, while he tried but could never get over her. The both of them never stopped loving each other, while they were still with other people, particularly shown by her letter and his life itself. Neither of them believed that they could withstand the distance, always afraid of being forgotten and in doing so being afraid to try, lest they find that the person they were wasn't the same person as they knew when they meet again. Ironically, that fear is what ended up making them unable to be together despite knowing they both loved each other. In the end, if either one of them had just said the words "I love you" the both of them would have definitely (in my opinion) been together for the rest of their lives, and happy. That stalling and hesitation is in a way so *human* though, that its easy to relate to them. Everyone at some point in their lives hesitates and in doing so forms regrets and I feel like that's what this series is about in the end. Life moves along, sometimes at 5 centimeters per second, and sometime at 10000 kilometers a minute and in the end you have to grasp it while you can since there's no such thing as second chances, only open windows that pass you by as you speed along being carried by the whims of fate out of your control.

Personalmente, preferisco aspettare la tua versione, Lily-chan!

Grazie mille, davvero lo apprezzo tanto, ma oggi stesso rimuoverò tutti i capitolil il progetto è divenuto edito in Italia, verrà pubblicato dalla star comics a partire da luglio 2015. Grazie per avermi seguito

Personalmente, preferisco aspettare la tua versione, Lily-chan!

I know this comment was from over two years ago, but this is directed to others that feel like this:

 

Maybe you've not hit that point in life yet, but this ending is amazing. You missed the whole point of the ending between the childhood friends.

 

Yes, he was still thinking about her, while she moved on with life and is about to get married. However, when he felt her presence at the railroad tracks, he's come to terms with himself to finally move on. I honestly think he wanted to walk through that location to reminisce about the past one last time, and to really test fate one last time to see if he really is meant to be with her. He got his answer one last time when he turns around and sees she's not around. That scene in the manga chapter even makes the point more obvious. The point of this scene is not only is it a sign for him to move on, but to tell him no matter what, his friend will always be supporting him in his heart.

 

What surprises me with this manga is the last chapter. I honestly thought it was just to show that the girl Kanae would realize and face the same fate as our Takaki. However, there is a huge turnaround on the last page, where right when she was about to give up (equivalent to the train crossing scene), a guy appears, which is probably Takaki.

You are absolutely right, But I am sure ZeNith is trying to point out that it really gave a bad taste after reading this story.

The story was made, in my opinion, so that the readers will root for Takaki and Akari and for them to be together in the end. The story does appropriately show the transition between childhood and adulthood if said in a good way, but it's also showing the cruelty of life where things just have to move on against person's will if said in a bad way. In reality life is exactly that, and you can't do anything about it more than lament over it or try to move on, but it's an experience that no one wants to face and no one needs to face.

I lived in the US from elementary to middle school, lived in Japan the other times. So far, I have faced three times a big event in life that I had trouble moving on, first when I went to US, and second when I came back to Japan, and third I failed to enter a medical college. The last one might not count because I can just say my effort wasn't enough but as for the first two, there was simply nothing I can do to stop it. It's a terrible experience to leave your friends at an early childhood because it's easier for them to forget you when you leave them at younger age than the latter stage of childhood. I tried to keep in touch, but life really just have to move on and people forget me. It's not like I moved inside US. I basically went to the other side of the earth where it is very unlikely that I will ever meet them, and yes I have never seen them since.

And it happened twice. Also, forget about my childhood during highschool. I spent the days studying for college exam, since I was far behind other Japs who had their entire life to prepare for it, while I only had 4 years. I also left no influence other than being accepted one of the prestigeous colleges in Japan which was rare in my school.

You see, part of identity have to do with how others feel about you. Memory is also made up not only by your memories alone, but memories that your friends have about you. When they forget about you, you lose partial identity and memory about yourself. It gives you this strange "hopelessness" that you have left no influence during childhood, and somewhat makes you feel worthless. I failed to leave any influence throughout my life, and I have this hopeless feeling that my life is perhaps worthless for not being able to. That's why I live my life strong today so that I can definitely leave an impression on everyone that I have met.

So I can really relate that to this story because Takaki, who loved Akari the whole time who was the biggest part of his memory, was unable to leave enough influence on her for them to end up together. In reality, I am sure it was meant to be that way whether he tried to stay in touch or didn't, but it's a situation that it is really difficult to accept.

A little hope was left in his case though because he had Kanae. A little releif I guess.

the story was good except for the ending if you ask me.....
I mean come on.... The girl got married and what did the boy got?
A messed up life, no decent relationships, and he still likes her.....
I mean can there be any more worse endings ever?

I know this comment was from over two years ago, but this is directed to others that feel like this:

Maybe you've not hit that point in life yet, but this ending is amazing. You missed the whole point of the ending between the childhood friends.

Yes, he was still thinking about her, while she moved on with life and is about to get married. However, when he felt her presence at the railroad tracks, he's come to terms with himself to finally move on. I honestly think he wanted to walk through that location to reminisce about the past one last time, and to really test fate one last time to see if he really is meant to be with her. He got his answer one last time when he turns around and sees she's not around. That scene in the manga chapter even makes the point more obvious. The point of this scene is not only is it a sign for him to move on, but to tell him no matter what, his friend will always be supporting him in his heart.

What surprises me with this manga is the last chapter. I honestly thought it was just to show that the girl Kanae would realize and face the same fate as our Takaki. However, there is a huge turnaround on the last page, where right when she was about to give up (equivalent to the train crossing scene), a guy appears, which is probably Takaki.

Hm, saw the movie before reading this.

Both tore my haato apaaato.

:'(

so sad yet so beautiful T^T

its remind me about ichigo 100%

when reality just not like the things we want

That was a great story, i'm glad i found it with the random button. And honestly, this ending is far more realistic than the "very happy ending" we were waiting for, which is definitely a good thing.

Just stumbled this gem hitting the random button. So yeah, I kinda liked realistic life and tear jerking stories(don't ask me why).

This is shorter and sadder than Ichigo 100% that I've read recently.

this manga is one of the realistic ones... and by far the best manga ive ever read...

Depressing as hell.

Well, this is one of the best mangas( well i know it came from an anime) i´ve ever read, though i´ve read several mangas with a similar atomssphere.

Just what surprised me that it´s not just 2 main characters, there are 4 and well, like in the movie, it are like 3 different stories still connected to each other.

I´ve come to the point where I´m not angry or complain about the overall sadness and the "not so happy" ending.

I feel a bit like tono, empty and a bit depressed.

About realsitic... well i think many mangas awake more emotions than you would have in real life and create a sadness that isn´t really realistic.

First time, I feel graceful by "Spanish updated".
thx for remind me a great series ^^

wow..so all those 3 heavy tearjerkers are all from the same author? just wow..