A collection of theme songs, insert songs, and background music from 5 Centimeters per Second
5 Centimeters per Second is an animated film directed by Makoto Shinkai, released in 2007.
It tells the story of Takaki Tōno from his elementary school years to adulthood, centered around his first love from childhood.
Warm, bittersweet, and heartrending, it’s a favorite among many fans who consider 5 Centimeters per Second to be Shinkai’s best work.
And of course, it also features one of Shinkai’s trademarks: excellent music.
Beginning with Masayoshi Yamazaki’s One more time, One more chance, the beautiful tracks are as deeply moving as the story itself.
In this article, we’ll introduce the music related to 5 Centimeters per Second, focusing on the songs that appear in the film.
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- The song from Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea. Theme song and insert song.
- The theme song of a romantic film that gives you a heart-fluttering, moving feeling.
- Song(s) from The Tale of the Princess Kaguya. Theme song and insert song(s).
- Theme and insert songs of 'Your Name'
- Anime BGM compilation: background music and insert songs that color the story
- Songs from 'When Marnie Was There': theme song and insert songs
- Songs from From Up on Poppy Hill. Theme song and insert songs.
Compilation of Theme Songs, Insert Songs, and BGM from 5 Centimeters per Second (1–10)
ClassicJUDY AND MARY
A four-piece rock band that blazed through the 1990s, JUDY AND MARY’s 10th single.
When it was released in October 1996, it was used as the opening theme for the TBS program “Pop-file,” and later became the song for Nissin Foods’ “Vegetable Soup Noodles” commercial.
In the live-action film “5 Centimeters per Second,” set for release in 2025 and depicting the year 1997, it’s featured as a song within the story, appearing in a scene where high schooler Kanae sings it at karaoke.
The lyrics capture a sparkling instant of youth, paired with a fast, exhilarating pop-rock sound.
And YUKI’s high, clear vocals convey the thrill of love and the brilliance of youth straight to the heart.
Give it a listen when you want to rekindle memories of a bittersweet first love.
FeltEsaki Fumitake
It’s a playing technique where felt is placed between the piano hammers and strings to draw out a gentle touch, and the piece softly envelops memories of missed connections and loss.
By narrowing the range to the mid–low register and keeping the reverb short, the sound design tactfully evokes tactile images of raindrops, the night air, and still, snapshot-like scenes of trains.
You can’t help but be drawn into a cinematic world.
It’s a track I want to listen to on days when I’m carrying a quiet ache in my heart.
Please take your time and really sink into it.
Thinking About YouRadiohead
Released as an early recording in 1992 and included on the 1993 debut album Pablo Honey, this song is a poignant piece swirling with unrequited love and alienation.
Its lyrics, interweaving a rift between the successful other and oneself with jealousy and self-deprecation, evoke the feelings of Takaki Tōno.
The simple acoustic guitar arpeggios and the delicate vocal tone accentuate its introspective emotions.
It resonates in those moments when you stand frozen with an unattainable longing, when there’s someone you just can’t forget.
Collection of theme songs, insert songs, and BGM from 5 Centimeters per Second (11–20)
Fragment of LettersEsaki Fumitake
This 24-second instrumental delicately crystallizes fragments of unfulfilled feelings.
It appears as the fifth track on the original soundtrack for the live-action film 5 Centimeters per Second, composed by Fumitake Ezaki.
As the title “Letter” suggests, its fragile charm evokes snippets of correspondence and memory.
Built around piano with chamber-like strings and sound design layered in, it employs a minimal touch that leaves breathing room like the trace of a sigh.
A brief piece that sinks into the heart when one reflects on missed connections and distance.
OursEsaki Fumitake
This is a piece featured on the soundtrack of the live-action film “5 Centimeters per Second.” Centered around the piano, it’s characterized by crystal-clear harmonic progressions and a delicate sound that makes use of ultra-soft attacks, carrying a fragility that resonates with themes of distance and the passage of time.
It gives you the sensation of slipping into the film before you realize it.
I’d recommend this work to anyone who cherishes bittersweet memories of love.
First Light of Quiet MoonEsaki Fumitake
This piece is a film score that captures a serene moment where dawn and moonlight intersect, condensed into a 40-second short work.
It is one of the 31 tracks included on the album “5 Centimeters Per Second (2025) Original Sound Track,” released on CD and via digital distribution in October 2025.
As the title suggests, it paints the scene of the “first light of a quiet moon” with delicate piano tones and synth textures, serving to support scene transitions and lingering afterimages in the film.
HakuboEsaki Fumitake
This is an original piano piece written for the live-action adaptation.
Mastered by an engineer in Berlin, its resonance and overtones are meticulously crafted.
With a lyrical melody, it captures the subtleties of the transition from dusk to night, while modal harmonies and minimalist ostinati evoke nostalgia and introspection.
It is a work that gives sound to twilight itself, tenderly accompanying the film’s sense of longing shaped by distance and time.