Netflix adds “breathtakingly beautiful” anime movie from legendary director

Netflix has just dropped a lesser-seen classic from Makoto Shinkai, the masterful filmmaker behind Suzume and Your Name.

Over the last decade, Makoto Shinkai has become one of the biggest anime movie directors alive. His run of Your Name, Weathering With You, and Suzume garnered him praise worldwide for stunning animation, heartfelt storytelling, and a sense of wonder that follows in the footsteps of Studio Ghibli.

Now, Netflix has added an earlier production of his, 5 Centimeters per Second, for people who’ve never gone too deep on his filmography before. The picture is available for US subscribers on the platform now.

Another lightly whimsical movie, 5 Centimeters per Second follows the life of Takaki Tōno and his friendship, and potential romance, with a woman named Akari, over three chapters. The first is in 1991, when they’re children meeting at school for the first time, while the second part is in 1999 and the third is set in 2008.

We see the ups and downs of them attempting to stay in touch, and watch as their lives go in different directions. It’s a poetic look at the beautiful longing that’s inherent in aging, and the mighty weight of what might have been – themes Makoto revisits time and again across his work.

This was his second directorial feature, after The Place Promised in Our Early Days, and you can see the fixations that would echo through to Your Name starting to form.

Young love, the enormous transformations we undergo through time, nostalgia for what might have been – they’re all here, packaged into just over an hour of excellent filmmaking. The film has had a tapered rollout over the years, so the only reviews on Rotten Tomatoes are from regular users, but they’re very positive.

“One of the best animated movies that I have ever seen. Poetic and breathtakingly beautiful over-all makes this film a must-watch,” the most recent states. “An emotional and profound story that leads us to a bittersweet ending,” adds another.

You can find out what they mean on Netflix now. After that, have a look at our guides to Dragon Ball Daima and Dandadan to cheer yourself up.