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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Compilation of Theme Songs, Insert Songs, and BGM from 5 Centimeters per Second (1–10)
Milky Way RailroadBUMP OF CHICKEN
Like the film’s story, this song paints a bittersweet and beautiful portrait of a journey.
It was released in July 2005 as the B-side to the single “Planetarium.” Through concrete motifs such as a train window, tickets, and luggage, it carefully depicts passengers, each carrying their own story.
What stands out in the lyrics is the resolve to move on to the next station while desperately holding on to the precious things one has protected.
Used as an insert song in the live-action film “5 Centimeters per Second,” released in October 2025, it drew renewed attention as a track that enriches the film’s worldview.
It’s an encouraging song that stands by those who are at a turning point in life.
OrbitFumitake Ezaki
A quiet ache keeps ringing like an echo.
This short instrumental opens the collection of original scores Fumitake Ezaki composed for the live-action adaptation of the film 5 Centimeters per Second.
Within just over a minute, it avoids excessive swells while fixing motifs of creases in memory and shifts in time.
Its gentle spaces and understated contours are designed not to disturb the harmony with Masayoshi Yamazaki’s One more time, One more chance, which was so striking in the original animated version.
5cm/sFumitake Ezaki
A piano piece brimming with translucence from the live-action film Five Centimeters per Second’s score.
Placed near the beginning of the album, it serves to symbolize the work’s delicate overall worldview.
Its minimal structure, which gently accompanies the poignancy of the images, and its faint, lingering resonance feel like a sonic reimagining of themes such as distance and time.
The unique harmonic color palette of Mr.
Ezaki—rooted in the vocabularies of jazz and soul—carefully supports the breathing of the visuals.
1991Kenshi Yonezu
The theme song for the live-action adaptation of 5 Centimeters per Second.
Kenshi Yonezu created it as a work that overlaps with his own origins; he was born in 1991, the same year the film’s protagonists first meet.
Director Yoshiyuki Okuyama was born in the same year as well.
This coincidence—almost a kind of inevitability—imbues the song with deep symbolism.
Themes like memory and loss, regret for the past, and the will to live are woven into the lyrics.
It’s a track that supports the film’s worldview, one only Yonezu—who was profoundly moved by the original work in his teens—could have created.
One more time, One more chanceMasayoshi Yamazaki
A masterpiece by Masayoshi Yamazaki, whose beautifully flowing guitar and heartrending lyrics resonate deep within the heart.
Released in 1997, it gained popularity as the theme song for Yamazaki’s first starring film, “The Moon and a Cabbage.” A renewed version was released in 2007 for “5 Centimeters per Second,” prompting a fresh wave of appreciation.
There’s a sense of perfect fit, as if the delicate animation synchronizes with the plainspoken, rustic lyricism.
I fully agree with director Shinkai’s choice, calling it a “song everyone knows with a universal quality.” Immerse yourself in its richly emotive everyday scenery and the earnest, unadorned air with which it speaks of love.
A world for youMizusawa Yuuki
“A World for You” is distinguished by its delicate vocals and beautiful melodic lines.
The song’s performer, Yuuki Mizusawa, also sang the theme for Makoto Shinkai’s 2002 short anime “Voices of a Distant Star,” and her clear, graceful voice perfectly matches the atmosphere of his works.
In the film “5 Centimeters per Second,” the song plays during the convenience store scene where Kanae is shopping alone.
It’s a track that gives you a refreshing feeling, like a sudden, gentle breeze passing through an ordinary moment in everyday life.
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.