5 Centimeters per Second and The Garden of Words are essential viewing experiences for all Makoto Shinkai fans. What these films have in common is Shinkai’s subtle approach to emotions such as loss, longing and uncertainty.

Makoto Shinkai has become one of the most original voices in anime over the years. Through films like Children Who Chase Lost Voices (2011), Your Name (2016), Weathering with You (2019), and Suzume (2022), he has built a body of work that bears his own signature, setting Shinkai apart from more action-packed anime films, but also from the more imaginative Ghibli-inspired films. Shinkai’s films have a calmness of their own, focusing on young protagonists finding their way in the world, often against the uncertainties of modern life.

Now, Kaboom Anime is offering a unique opportunity to see two of Shinkai’s mid-length films on the big screen. 5 Centimeters per Second (2007) tells the story of the friendship between Takaki and Akari, which is tested when one of them moves away. In The Garden of Words (2013), a teenager who skips school and a woman who doesn’t want to go to work meet on rainy days in a public park.