As Haruki focused on 5 Centimeters per Second and Voices of a Distant Star, the race between Takumi Fujiwara and Nakazato in Initial D finally reached its conclusion.
The recent success of Natsume in episodic form shut down any lingering skepticism. Critics who once dismissed Haruki were now forced to acknowledge his influence. After all, magazine ranking charts could be debated—but sales numbers didn't lie.
Around this time, media outlets began revisiting Haruki's public spat with Kiyoshi from over half a year ago. Back then, Haruki had boldly claimed he'd surpass Kiyoshi within a year or two. Most had scoffed. But with the momentum of Initial D and Natsume, Haruki looked far more credible now. Whether he'd truly surpass Kiyoshi was up in the air—but reaching that level no longer seemed impossible.
In the next arc of Initial D, the second key NightKids character appeared—reckless driving nearly caused a major accident involving Iketani. Fans reacted swiftly, flooding forums with complaints and criticism of the new antagonist.
Meanwhile, Kazuya finally released the first trailer for 5 Centimeters per Second.
In the wider anime industry, this sort of release wouldn't normally stir much attention. But among Mizushiro's fans, it was like striking a match in dry grass.
From his debut to now, Mizushiro had built a reputation for delivering quality, whether in manga or anime. Even his lesser-known early manga The Garden of Words—originally released quietly in a small publishing had gained admiration in hindsight. Many fans felt it deserved a bigger stage.
Because of that, Mizushiro's core supporters had a blind faith in his work. For them, anything he created was worth watching.
This time was no different. Fans had already been eagerly awaiting his next anime collaboration with Kazuya. The buzz only intensified when they heard Ryuko had been cast to replace the original voice actors in both projects.it felt like the original team was coming back together.
So the moment the trailer dropped, animation forums lit up.
Miyu, a longtime fan of both Mizushiro's manga and anime, noticed immediately. Her fan group chat was exploding with messages far more than usual.
She clicked into the group and immediately saw the buzz.
"I don't even know what the plot is, but the trailer's visual style is stunning. And the music... gorgeous!"
"How is this only a 50-million budget? It looks better than those 200-million ones we've seen lately!"
"Technically, this is one of two works made for 50 million."
"Kazuya brought in a lot of veteran animators who worked with him during his Kazanami days. Many of them agreed to work for lower pay out of loyalty. Plus, Mizushiro did the soundtrack himself and provided the script for free. They poured everything into the animation itself."
"Exactly! It's not just about money. The visuals are imaginative and emotionally rich. Mizushiro personally drew or supervised all the major scenes. You can tell. Otherwise, it wouldn't look ."
"Honestly, I'd watch this for the visuals and BGM alone. Even if the story is weak not saying it is—it's already worth it."
Miyu didn't catch all the specifics, but one thing was clear: 5 Centimeters per Second had finally dropped a trailer.
She immediately opened her streaming app and headed to the animation section.
Unfortunately, the first thing that popped up was a giant banner for Frozen Witch. The platform's subtle ad placement for big studio productions annoyed her.
It would've been so much better if Mizushiro's project got that kind of exposure. Just tap the banner and watch—it'd be so easy. Instead, she had to manually search for it.
Eventually, she found the official page for 5 Centimeters per Second, and there it was a new trailer.
She hesitated for a second, then pressed play.
"The day we made our promise…"
"It started snowing that afternoon."
Two voices one male, one female narrated softly. The emotion and tone had clearly been adjusted for the characters, but Miyu immediately recognized Ryuko's voice from the girl's lines.
The screen flashed: two teens passing each other on the street.
This must be the lead pair.
Then, the scene shifted.
A ramp, sunlit and still.
Cherry blossom petals scattered across the ground. In the air, petals rained down gently.
The boy and girl passed each other again, stirring the blossoms into a fluttering whirl behind them.
What kind of dreamlike scene was this?
She'd grown used to stagnant backgrounds and cost-cutting in other anime. Seeing this fluid, painterly beauty from a "low-budget" project stunned her.
The background music an instrumental version of "one more time,one more chance" swelled in the background, pulling her into the trailer emotionally.
The rest of the preview played out differently. With each scene, narration hinted at distance and separation. The boy and girl seemed to drift apart, possibly due to a move, and the boy… was he trying to find her?
Shout out to Funi Nguyen for joining my p-atreon! your support means everything to me.
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