5 Centimeters Per Second

Spoilers for all of 5 Centimeters Per Second

5 Centimeters Per Second, for most, would seem to be a tragedy. And as a standalone movie, it is. However, the manga that came out after the movie's release expanded upon the story and gives us a more holistic understanding of everything that really went on. We not only get to see more depth in the original story told by the movie through the manga, but also, the manga includes a story arc not seen or referenced in the movie at all. Set 10 years after they had graduated high school, Kanae and Takaki would cross paths one more time, giving them both one more chance. But would fate be kind to them this time?

After reviewing the manga once more, I have been able to definitively understand and determine exactly what happens in the story of 5 Centimeters Per Second. Of Akari and Takaki, we know who stopped responding to letters first. We know the exact contents of the letter Akari wrote to Takaki but didn't give to him the last day they were together. We know Takaki's true thoughts and feelings regarding Kanae. And we know whether Takaki found love in the end.

In chapter 5 of the manga, Akari is seen to be approached by a boy in her school. He said to Akari that he would like to go out with her. To which Akari replied to him that she needed some time to decide, and asked him if he would wait for her reply. Akari is then shown to have fallen asleep that night writing a letter to Takaki. One letter that she never finished. The letters themselves no longer held meaning after a certain point when they were sharing the mundanity of life rather than anything consequential or meaningful. The next day, she accepted the steady flow of time and wondered if Takaki had another person he liked. Akari would later marry that same boy who approached her.

In chapter 10 of the manga, Akari found the letter she wrote to Takaki that she intended to give to him on their final day together, but didn't. 

"How have you been? I never thought that there would be such heavy snow today when I picked the time to meet up with you. It seems like the trains are delayed, too. That's why I'm writing this while I'm waiting for you, Takaki-kun. I'm going to have to do things properly by myself now. I don't have a choice. The same applies to you too, don't you think? I love you, Takaki-kun. Ever since I met you, I've always thought that you were a very strong and kind boy. You always protected me. No matter how far away you go, I will definitely always love you. Please remember that."

Akari always loved Takaki, even as she happily married her husband. She never stopped loving Takaki. To love is to appreciate and accept something or someone as they are, without needing to change them. Of course, we know that Akari loves her husband, it's just that Akari also found that her feelings of love and appreciation never changed for Takaki, and she wanted the best for him, even after she moved on in her own life. Takaki himself, however, was not able to move on with his own life until he crossed paths with Akari in the movie's final chapter. But once he finally saw that Akari had chosen to move on, he was able to face and accept reality as it was. 

From then on, Takaki learned to love himself. He was already committed to quitting his job to become a freelance worker and had already done so prior to crossing paths with Akari, but from then on, it's implied that he was able to start taking better care of himself. This, however, had no bearing on the eventuality that would come next: Kanae would find herself missing Takaki, unable to move forward in her own life without first facing the one she loved all those years ago. The one that got away. With guidance from her older sister, she flew to Tokyo where she planned to confront Takaki, giving him the opportunity to either affirm her feelings for him, or hurt her one last time with a blank and unrecognizing stare.

In chapter 11, Kanae is asked by a fellow surfer named Riyou to go out with him sometime. This time, however, life has a funny way of getting in the way of things. Before she's able to answer Riyou, Kane receives a call from her older sister, Miho. While soon to give birth, Miho's husband joins her after badly injuring his left leg slipping and falling down a set of stairs. I am personally terrified of stairs and I feel rather justified by even stories like this. Stairs are evil. I boycott them wherever I can. Miho gives birth and is released from the hospital before her husband. After some time, Kanae has another chat with Riyou and confesses to him that she has conflicting feelings, being as indecisive about life and love as she always has been, even 10 years after high school. Like Akari, Kanae needs time to decide. Riyou understands.

So Kanae flies off to Tokyo after her chat with Miho. It is seen in chapter 9 that, when thinking back to his past loves, Takaki thought of the launch of Elish's rocket only after he saw Kanae's smiling face and waving arm clearly in his mind. 

"Exactly how many beautiful things and sparkling feelings have flown out into reality, thereby making me unable to experience them?"

While yes, Takaki has always been distant, he has also always loved deeply. He never let go of Kanae in his mind. He held her memory close and with such importance that we know when Kanae tugged on his shirt at the very end of chapter 11, he would have turned around and met Kanae, not with a blank expression, but with warm fondness and relief to see her again.