Early Wednesday morning, the latest issue of Sakura Weekly hit bookstore shelves.
Though most people were at work or school at this hour, there were always those with nothing better to do, spending their days either at internet cafes or bookstores.
Rina was one of them.
It was already June, and universities in Tokyo were gradually beginning their summer breaks. Fourth-year students were preparing to leave campus and enter the workforce.
But Rina still hadn't found a job.
Coming from a wealthy family, she wasn't worried about such things. She spent most of her days immersed in the world of manga, buying various popular weekly magazines at bookstores to read.
This week's Sakura Weekly cover had reverted to its classic style: a collage of character portraits from the serialized manga, forming a vibrant ensemble.
The cover exuded youthfulness and warmth, immediately conveying the magazine's genre.
However, Rina wasn't interested in the high-ranking manga featured on the cover today.
After quickly paying, she settled into a casual cafe outside the bookstore.
First, she flipped to the pages featuring the ongoing serialization of 5 Centimeters Per Second.
Just as love at first sight can happen between people, she and the manga 5 Centimeters Per Second seemed to share a similar connection.
Although the first chapter of the manga unfolded at a slow pace, lacking the sweet, heart-fluttering developments typical of most shōjo manga,
But... I just love it!
Perhaps it was because, during her middle school years, she had a male friend like Takaki in the manga, with whom she shared a close bond.
Though she could no longer recall his face, the mere memory of such a person having once been part of her life always filled her heart with a sense of joy and excitement.
A faint smile curved Rina's lips as she turned to the second chapter of 5 Centimeters Per Second.
The manga picked up where the previous week's story had left off. Takaki had been waiting at the snow-covered train station for hours in the freezing winter. It wasn't until 8 PM that the connecting train finally arrived.
By then, he was already an hour late for his 7 PM meeting with Akari.
Takaki's face was etched with confusion, anxiety, and pain.
This was their first reunion in a year, after being separated by hundreds of kilometers. He knew all too well that after his family moved, the distance between them would stretch to a terrifying several thousand kilometers.
If they couldn't meet this time, the graduation ceremony might be the last time Takaki and Akari ever saw each other in their lives.
Just from Takaki's expression in the black-and-white manga panel, Rina felt a faint sense of despair well up in her heart.
What could two middle school students do to resist their parents' decisions about transferring schools and moving?
I'm late. Akari must be terribly worried by now.
The manga narration revealed Takaki's inner thoughts.
But that night last year, when Akari called to tell me she was transferring schools, I didn't say a single kind word to comfort her, even though she was far more anxious than I was. I feel so ashamed.
The manga repeatedly showed close-ups of the wristwatch on his hand.
The time ticked from 8:00 to 9:00. Though he had boarded the connecting train, it was now stopped in a snow-covered wilderness, blocked by the heavy snowfall.
Takaki's mind drifted back to the letters Akari had written him over the past year.
In her letters, Akari always seemed so alone, for some reason.
The train remained stranded in the wilderness for two hours.
Takaki sat hunched in his seat, his heart twisting with anguish, tears welling in his eyes.
A silent thought surfaced:
Akari, if only you had gone home.
It hurts.
Rina, deeply immersed in the story, took a sharp breath.
She desperately wanted to see Akari, yet she feared Akari might be waiting for him in this bitter cold.
Even more terrifying was the thought that Akari might lose hope halfway through and leave.
Perhaps it would have been better if Akari had never waited at all, if she had simply seen him as unreliable and unpunctual.
Heavy snow fell at the agreed-upon station as Takaki stepped off the train, his expression heavy with sorrow.
It was already past midnight.
The manga panel showed the thick layer of snow blanketing the station.
"Ah, Akari must have left by now," Rina said, clenching her fist.
If she were the one waiting in sub-zero temperatures at a freezing station, how could she possibly wait from seven in the evening until midnight?
By eight or nine o'clock, it would be clear she'd been stood up.
In the manga, Takaki had already given up hope.
But a tiny ember of hope still flickered in Rina's heart.
What if...?
Was Akari really still waiting for him?
Rina turned the page of the manga.
Takaki walked forward expressionlessly and pushed open the waiting room door.
His eyes suddenly widened.
His expression instantly turned even more sorrowful.
In the black-and-white panel, a lone girl sat on a chair in the deserted waiting room.
Her head was bowed, her figure radiating loneliness and heartbreak, yet she remained rooted to the spot, enduring the bitter cold of the snowy night without moving an inch.
Rina's eyes instantly welled up with tears. This simple panel seemed to convey Akari's thoughts perfectly.
Perhaps Akari also believed Takaki had stood her up.
But she refused to leave, knowing that if she did, they would never see each other again.
If they missed tonight, Takaki would be moving to a town thousands of kilometers away.
They would never have another chance to meet.
Is this what love is?
Rina's mind raced with thoughts, but her gaze remained fixed on the manga panel.
She saw Takaki gently approach Akari. She saw the girl, startled back to awareness, notice the boy. Her calm facade instantly crumbled into grief and anguish as she tightly gripped his sleeve. She didn't say a word, but tears streamed down her face, dripping onto her hand.
Before she knew it, Rina's eyes had already reddened.
The emotional immersion was overwhelming.
In the waiting room, the two quietly chatted about their recent lives.
Then they left the station together, walking side by side down the deserted nighttime streets.
They arrived at the cherry tree Akari had mentioned in her letter.
But with heavy snow falling, there were no cherry blossoms to be seen.
"Hey, doesn't it feel like it's snowing?"
Akari reached out, snowflakes drifting through the gaps between her fingers.
This was a line Akari had spoken a year ago in the first chapter of the manga.
Akari had also said, "I hope we can watch the cherry blossoms together again next year!"
Though they saw no flowers blooming, they heard the sound of petals falling.
The beginning and end echoed each other.
In the winter cold,
Takaki and Rina locked eyes.
It was as if they had returned to a year ago.
The surrounding snowflakes seemed to transform into cherry blossoms in their eyes, and the bare cherry tree appeared to bloom with flowers.
Then, they leaned in toward each other, sharing a gentle kiss beneath the cherry tree.
Rina watched the scene with complicated emotions.
It should have been a heartwarming and sweet moment.
Yet her heart ached even more.
She understood the underlying tone of the manga.
Everything tonight was confined to this one night.
The kisses, the conversations, the embraces, the walk in the snow—all were limited to this night.
Tomorrow, Takaki would return home and then move with his family to a new home thousands of miles away.
The deeper their feelings for each other grew now, the greater their regret would be at parting.
It was all like a dream, and with the dawn, the dream would end.
When we kissed, I felt like we understood everything we had. — Takaki
But in the next instant, an unbearable sadness washed over me. I knew we couldn't stay together forever. The vastness of life and the endless passage of time stood inescapably between us.
In the winter night, they embraced tightly.
Dawn would bring their separation.
Akari stood at the train station, watching Takaki leave. She wished him well, and he promised they would continue exchanging letters to stay in touch.
As the train pulled away, Akari took out an unopened letter addressed to Takaki from her pocket, her expression filled with sorrow.
No way...
Rina grew anxious. This kind of scene usually foreshadowed tragedy.
Why hadn't Akari sent the letter to Takaki?
Suddenly, Rina remembered the letter Takaki had lost to the wind in the first episode.
Because Takaki never conveyed his deepest feelings to Akari, did Akari decide not to send her letter either?
Rina flipped the page and froze when she saw the words "End of Episode 2."
One person's letter was lost, and the other's was never sent.
What kind of plot is this?!
Author, what were you thinking?!
Why did you have to make Takaki lose his letter?!
Are they going to end up in tragedy just because they couldn't properly convey their deepest feelings to each other in the end?!
As these thoughts raced through her mind, Rina suddenly realized something.
Isn't this the most realistic reason for friends falling out and lovers parting ways in real life?
We know exactly what needs to be said to clarify things, but we just can't bring ourselves to say it.
And this manga is only on its second chapter! What's going to happen next?
Rina took several deep breaths to calm her racing thoughts.
She flipped back to the beginning of the second chapter of 5 Centimeters Per Second and reread it.
One thought consumed her:
How should I depict the third chapter?
Where will Akari and Takaki's relationship go?
Will they ever meet again?
How long can their long-distance relationship last?
One question after another flooded Rina's mind.
Meanwhile, in Japan, a massive wave of fans had already finished reading the latest installment of 5 Centimeters Per Second.
The first chapter, serialized last week, and the second chapter, released this week, together formed the first arc of the series: the Cherry Blossom Chapter.
This arc told the story of the male and female protagonists during their middle school years.
After reading the first chapter last week, readers hadn't felt much. But after completing the second chapter this week, the story felt complete.
A growing number of manga readers have sensed something amiss.
On the Sakura Weekly official forum, discussions about 5 Centimeters Per Second today far surpassed last week's activity.
"This chapter of 5 Centimeters Per Second brought me to tears. When I saw Akari waiting alone in the train station late at night for Takaki, I couldn't help but cry."
"This is what love is!"
"It's so suffocating to read. The male lead, Takaki, is too weak."
"Weak? A middle schooler who secretly traveled hundreds of kilometers to another city alone—that's weak? What else could he have done? Rebel against his parents?"
"Long-distance relationships are the root of all suffering."
"It's all because they didn't have cell phones back then."
"Ugh, this is so painful to read! Sisters, I'm about to cry."
"I used to have a close friend like this too, but their parents moved to another city for work, and we lost touch. I wonder if he still remembers me? Has he made new friends?"
"Why does this manga feel like it's heading toward a tragedy?"
"The more I read, the more uneasy I feel. Why didn't Akari deliver that letter?"
"No! I don't like tragic manga! Shirogane Sensei, are you on the forum? If you are, please listen to our pleas and make the future chapters of 5 Centimeters a bit sweeter!"
"You guys are so weird! Why are you getting so worked up over a manga that's only two chapters in? If you like it, keep reading; if you don't, drop it. Why are you all so emotionally invested?"
"Exactly! If you don't like tragic manga, just don't read it!"
"If we're posting on the forum, it means we do like the manga! We just hope the future direction will be a bit sweeter."
"Who is Shirogane Sensei's real identity anyway?"
"I heard they're a high school manga artist!"
"Laughable! Absolutely impossible! How could a high schooler who's never even been in love create a romance manga as emotionally nuanced as 5 Centimeters?"
"It's the most memorable romance manga I've read this year. Enough said. I trust Shirogane Sensei's future handling of the story. Time to vote for 5 Centimeters!"
"Exactly! Sakura Weekly has always been about romance and happy endings. I bet there'll be a twist later in 5 Centimeters!"
"Could it be that the two will communicate through letters for the next few years, then set a shared goal during high school, and finally promise to get into the same university? After growing out of adolescence, they'll meet again in college and fall in love, leading to a perfect ending!"
"Eh? That would be a really interesting development! It would suddenly turn into an inspirational romance manga."
The discussion volume for 5 Centimeters Per Second on the forum continued to surge. Meanwhile, fans across Sakura Weekly's distribution area spontaneously began voting for 5 Centimeters.
Within Hoshimori Publishing Group, the Sakura Weekly Editorial Department teams were also closely monitoring these internal data.
They all noticed the significant increase in popularity and buzz surrounding 5 Centimeters Per Second this week.
"I feel like... the results are a bit unexpected!" Misaki murmured, her expression thoughtful.
She was even starting to feel a sense of anticipation.
She couldn't predict how high 5 Centimeters Per Second would ultimately climb in the popularity rankings.
But the fact that it had already sparked such extensive plot discussions on the forum after only two weeks of serialization clearly demonstrated the manga's potential.
Moreover, new manga typically experience artificially inflated popularity rankings in their first week due to promotional efforts.
By the second week, their rankings usually decline.
But judging by the current momentum, 5 Centimeters' second chapter's ranking should actually increase.
Regardless of its final ranking, 5 Centimeters Per Second seemed poised to surpass Love Blooms Like Fireworks, another new manga serialized concurrently!
Misaki glanced at Takeda Jun, her colleague, whose brow was furrowed. He, too, had recognized 5 Centimeters Per Second's potential.
Contrary to his expectations, the manga's oppressive, melancholic style hadn't been met with scorn and aversion by readers. Instead, they flooded the comments with complaints and criticisms while simultaneously voting for 5 Centimeters.
How could people be so contradictory?
Sensing trouble, Takeda Jun looked up and met Misaki's amused gaze. His heart skipped a beat.
Could Yuto Amamiya's Love Blooms Like Fireworks really lose so easily to a newcomer's manga? And by a high school artist, no less?
Saki had already been absurd enough. Though High Score Romance's later chapters had faltered, causing its popularity to wane and allowing Tale of Sorrow to overtake it, Saki had still managed to secure the top spot in Sakura Weekly's voting rankings as a high school manga artist.
Shirogane... another Saki?
Why do all the genius manga artists flock to Misaki? Can't I get one under my wing for once?!
Takeda Jun mentally ranted furiously.
The Next Morning
After a restless night, Takeda Jun arrived at work to find the latest fan voting data for Sakura Weekly's current issue, compiled by the statistics department.
The data sheet only worsened his already foul mood.
Time continued to pass.
Rei, busy with his daily classes at school, remained unaware of the impact the second chapter of 5 Centimeters Per Second had on romance manga readers in Tokyo.
He also didn't know that many manga critics across Japan had begun to take notice of his work.
By noon, as usual, Rei received the information he wanted from the well-connected Miyu.
The voting rank for 5 Centimeters Per Second's second chapter had risen from ninth place last week to sixth place this week.
Meanwhile, Love Blooms Like Fireworks, which had held sixth place last week, had fallen to eighth place in the current rankings.