In the anime, the scene of the train passing lasted for dozens of seconds.
Rei could still remember how irritated he felt when he watched that scene in his previous life, he wanted nothing more than to blow up the train out of frustration.
But a manga couldn't afford that much time.
At most, a few intercut flashbacks of earlier scenes could slightly extend the train's passing.
Chinatsu flipped to the next page.
Cherry blossoms filled the air, swirling upward in the warm current created by the speeding train.
The petals danced. The train thundered across the tracks.
And on the opposite side of Takaki, there was nothing.
Only a row of cherry trees in full bloom.
Tears burst from Chinatsu's eyes.
She remembered something Akari had said, long ago, in the first episode she watched:
"How wonderful it would be if we could watch the cherry blossoms together again next year."
A promise they never fulfilled.
After that, they separated.
In high school, they lost contact, In university, they forgot each other.Even now, when fate brought them back to the same slope, this was all that remained.
"Why? Why did it have to be like this?"
Chinatsu stared at the page.
Takaki believed she would turn around just as he did. But the woman he hoped for, had already gone.
He was the only one still stuck in that moment from years ago.
Chinatsu turned the page, desperately searching for a miracle.
The next panel showed Takaki smiling faintly, a soft, peaceful smile.
He looked up.
The confusion vanished from his expression. His heart seemed completely released.
No lingering attachments. No hesitation.
He turned away, smiling, and walked off without looking back at the cherry blossoms fluttering behind him.
Five Centimeters per Second -- The End
Those characters hit Chinatsu like a blade.
"So… this was the final chapter."
Her heart felt hollowed out.
'Is this really the ending for Takaki and Akari?'
More than ten years of longing.
Countless dream fragments.
She couldn't even remember Akari's face clearly. But Takaki still kept the most important space in his heart for her.
He rejected Kanae. He broke up with a girlfriend of three years.
He couldn't love anyone else.
She meant that much to him.
Then why could he turn away so peacefully?
And why couldn't Akari wait for just half a minute?
Their childhood promise, to watch cherry blossoms together again.
If she had stayed a moment longer, just thirty seconds, after the train passed, they would have seen each other.
Standing beneath spring's blowing petals.
'Why did she leave so easily…?'
Pain spread through her chest.
She understood logically: Akari was getting married.
There was no future between them. Perhaps it was kinder not to reunite.
But the first four chapters depicted their love so beautifully, so sincerely, so achingly.
Anyone who read them would believe in that bond.
And yet their final "meeting" in this life, was just passing each other as strangers, without even turning back.
'Shirogane-sensei, is this your view of love?'
'If things end like this, how am I supposed to believe in love again?'
Chinatsu turned through the last pages of the magazine.
At the bottom of the final serialization page, she found one more line:
Five Centimeters per Second- Volume Release Nationwide, July 23rd!
"Nationwide release" was basically a slogan.
Even though Hoshimori Group had the resources to distribute uniformly to major bookstores, only blockbuster titles received that kind of treatment.
Most likely, the real promotion would be strong only in the prefectures where Sakura-iro Weekly circulated.
Chinatsu wiped her eyes but couldn't stop herself from grumbling:
"Shirogane-sensei, you ended it like this? No one, and I mean no one, is going to buy this volume!"
Chinatsu's eyes were already red, tears streaming nonstop from the impact of the manga's ending.
But soon, she noticed a line printed at the bottom of the page.
Five Centimeters per Second, Bonus in the Tankōbon Edition: Full Exchange of Akari and Takaki's Letters
Chinatsu's mind buzzed.
The greatest regret of the entire manga was the pair of letters Akari and Takaki wrote to each other.
Takaki's letter was never delivered, blown away by a sudden gust of wind on that snowy night.
Akari's letter might also have never been sent, precisely because Takaki's never arrived.
If Takaki had given her a handwritten letter, someone like Akari would absolutely have written one back.
What if Takaki's letter had not been blown away? Would everything have changed?
The thought was unbearable.
Sadness flooded her chest again.
She memorized the release date of the Five Centimeters per Second tankōbon, July 23rd, then quietly closed the magazine.
She needed time to breathe. There was no way she could read any other manga today.
As more readers bought the new issue that morning, the official Sakura-iro Weekly Forum exploded.
Posts about Five Centimeters per Second and Shirogane shot upward like a rocket.
"Why is this the ending!? It ended in just five chapters!?"
"I'm crying into my blanket and I can't stop. I refuse to accept this ending."
"I'm fine with Akari getting married, but not giving Takaki even one chance to meet her again? That's too cruel."
"She was the one who said, 'Let's watch the cherry blossoms together next year,' and now she doesn't even look back? How can someone change so much?"
"Shirogane-sensei, seriously, does anyone know her address? I'm going to confront her."
"I heard the author is a high school student?"
"High schooler? No way. No teenager can draw something this delicate."
"Isn't the author of Lament also a high school student? Are those two secretly connected? Are they the same person?"
"Their art styles aren't even similar. Don't joke."
"I'm in a long-distance relationship too. I'm terrified we'll end up like this."
"Shirogane… you've gone too far. Show yourself and explain this ending."
"I swear, I'm going to hate this author for life. I'm never reading her works again."
And then;
A different kind of comment started appearing.
"Haven't you all understood yet?"
"This manga is absolutely brilliant."
"Yes, I cried too, but this is a masterpiece."
"Takaki didn't lose. He reconciled with himself."
"This story is telling us to stop clinging to the past, and move forward bravely."
"Why do you all only see the sorrow? Don't you understand the depth of what Shirogane-sensei wanted to convey?"
"Life cannot be reset. The old Takaki refused to accept that, which is why he hurt Kanae and his college girlfriend."
"Only when Akari didn't wait for him did he finally let go. This is the perfect ending. Stop blaming the author."
"Masterpiece. No explanation needed. I'm absolutely buying the tankōbon on the 23rd."
"Same here."
"Also… does anyone know who Shirogane-sensei is? I want to thank her in person."
"After reading this, I finally let go of my own breakup. I cried for thirty minutes, but I feel lighter now."
...
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