Takaki Toono and Akari Shinohara are close childhood friends that harbor feelings for one another. However, due to certain circumstances, the distance between them begins to widen. Having promised to keep in touch with one another, they are challenged by distance and time, but their unfaltering love remains. Even so, the strong emotions they feel may not last forever. Byousoku 5 Centimeter is a drama that revolves around the difficulties of being in a long-distance relationship. Despite the time they spent together being nothing but a distant memory, Toono and Shinohara refuse to give up on seeing each other again, thus unknowingly hurting those around them. [Written by MAL Rewrite]

Novel adaptation of Makoto Shinkai's Byousoku 5 Centimeter anime. A tale of two people, Toono Takaki and Shinohara Akari, who were close friends but gradually grow farther and farther apart as time moves on. They become separated because of their families yet continue to exchange contact in the form of letters. Yet as time continues to trudge on, their contact with one another begins to cease. Years pass and the rift between them grows ever larger. However, Takaki remembers the times they have shared together, but as life continues to unfold for him, he wonders if he would be given the chance to meet Akari again as the tale embarks on Takaki's realization of the world and people around him.