5 Centimeters per Second(Official), in Japanese, is a theatrical animated film by director Makoto Shinkai, released in 2007.
In this article, we’ll take a look back at the characters and voice actors of 5 Centimeters per Second, exploring their individual charms and their roles in the story. Who were the characters that populated the world of 5 Centimeters per Second?
Please be aware that the following text contains unexpected spoilers.
*This article is an English translation of the original Japanese article, 【秒速5センチメートル】登場人物＆声優一覧とキャラクター考察そして人物相関図.
Let an AI walk you through the highlights of this post in a simple, conversational style.
5 Centimeters per Second (2007) Character Map
Although Takaki Tono and Akari Shinohara had been keeping in touch through letters, they reconnect when Takaki learns he will be transferring to Kagoshima. However, after that, their correspondence ceases, and the two drift apart.
In the character map above, Takaki’s feelings for Akari in the third episode, “5 Centimeters per Second,” are described as a “symbol of the days when he was earnest about something,” but this is entirely my personal interpretation. Watching the main story, it might seem like he’s still hung up on her. However, considering the narrative, it feels more natural to think of her as a “symbol of beautiful days” for Takaki, who works while feeling a sense of “unease” as an adult, which is why I’ve presented it this way.
5 Centimeters per Second (2007) A List of Characters & Voice Actors, and Character Analysis
h3 class=”wp-block-heading”>Takaki Tono | Voice Actor: Kenji Mizuhashi
About Takaki Tono
The protagonist of the story. The narrative follows him from his third year of elementary school through his time as a company employee and his eventual independence as a freelancer.
The main focus of the first and second episodes revolves around Takaki’s romantic life.
- Episode 1, “Cherry Blossom,” depicts his meeting and parting with his childhood friend, Akari Shinohara.
- Episode 2, “Cosmonaut,” portrays the end of his classmate Kanae Sumida’s unrequited love for him.
Both are what you would call “tragic love stories” and do not end happily. Furthermore, in the third episode, “5 Centimeters per Second,” Takaki is broken up with via text message by a girlfriend with whom he had a lukewarm relationship.
Thus, Takaki’s romantic life is a mess, casting a rather gloomy atmosphere over the story.
However… if you set aside these romantic entanglements, 5 Centimeters per Second reaches a wonderful ending where Takaki takes a new step forward and becomes a freelancer.
“5 centimeters per second” is presented at the beginning of the story as “the speed at which a cherry blossom petal falls,” but in reality, it is also the speed of “the invisible steps of people who still lived their lives to the fullest.”
The first and second episodes also depict young people earnestly taking small steps forward.
The journey until those steps bear fruit is a very difficult one, which is why 5 Centimeters per Second maintains a consistently melancholic tone. But we must not forget the beautiful cherry blossoms depicted at the start and end of the story. Only those “who never stop walking” can witness those blossoms.
About the Voice Actor, Kenji Mizuhashi
The voice was provided by actor Kenji Mizuhashi. While he has appeared in many films and dramas, his role as Takaki Tono in 5 Centimeters per Second appears to be his only one as an animation voice actor to date.
Akari Shinohara | Voice Actors: Yoshimi Kondō / Ayaka Onoe
About Akari Shinohara
The heroine of the first episode, “Cherry Blossom,” and Takaki’s first love.
She becomes Takaki’s classmate at an elementary school in Tokyo after transferring (Takaki was also a transfer student). Takaki and Akari, who mysteriously hit it off, grow closer as classmates, but they are separated when Akari moves to a junior high school in Tochigi after graduating from elementary school.
Although she continued to exchange letters with Takaki, their correspondence eventually faded with the passage of time, and the two went on to live separate lives.
In the third episode, “5 Centimeters per Second,” Akari is shown to be engaged. While Takaki was quitting his job to take a new step, she was also taking a new step in the form of marriage.
Surely, Akari Shinohara must have had her own days of struggle and conflict that were not depicted in the main story of 5 Centimeters per Second.
About the Voice Actors, Yoshimi Kondō and Ayaka Onoe
Her voice was provided by Yoshimi Kondō in the first episode and Ayaka Onoe in the third. It seems Ms. Kondō is no longer active in the entertainment industry, but she was also featured in a commercial for the Shinano Mainichi Shimbun produced by director Shinkai. Ayaka Onoe was also active as a model but appears to have retired from the entertainment industry as well.
Kanae Sumida | Voice Actor: Satomi Hanamura
About Kanae Sumida
A third-year high school student attending school on Tanegashima. She met Takaki when he transferred to her school in junior high and has had a crush on him ever since.
In her third year of high school, she started walking home with Takaki after his club activities, but their relationship never really progressed.
At the end of the second episode, she mustered the courage to confess to Takaki, but ultimately, she couldn’t go through with it.
Kanae was such a devoted character, but even Takaki must have noticed her feelings. And… he was just too relaxed about it.
He was probably still unable to get over Akari, but if he had time to write emails with no recipient, he should have paid a little more attention to Kanae.
What did Kanae even see in a guy like him? Perhaps his somewhat aimless and mysterious vibe was appealing. From my perspective, I think he was just shy, but Kanae fell for a complicated guy. But then again… I guess that’s what it’s like to fall in love with someone.
About the Voice Actor, Satomi Hanamura
Her voice was provided by voice actress Satomi Hanamura. Besides this work, she has also played Mirai Onosawa in Tokyo Magnitude 8.0 and Aya Okamura in Makoto Shinkai’s short animation Someone’s Gaze.
Risa Mizuno | Voice Actor: Risa Mizuno
About Risa Mizuno
Takaki’s girlfriend who appears in the third episode, “5 Centimeters per Second.”
She appeared with a somewhat unsettling aura, and just as expected, she breaks up with Takaki by sending him a text that says, “Even after exchanging 1,000 emails, I feel like our hearts only moved 1 centimeter closer.”
I want to believe that even those two had their happy days, but I just can’t imagine it.
The line “after exchanging 1,000 emails” might suggest they were both so busy that they could only communicate through text. Since they had lost the habit of “meeting in person,” their final goodbye was also via text.
Considering that, perhaps it wasn’t that they “weren’t a good match,” but rather that they “met at the wrong time.”
If they had met after Takaki quit his job, they might have had better days. I can only hope that brighter days await her as well.
About the Voice Actor, Risa Mizuno
Her voice was provided by voice actress Risa Mizuno (who shares the same name as the character). She is a regular in Shinkai’s works, having played Maki Kasahara in The Place Promised in Our Early Days, the teacher in Children Who Chase Lost Voices, and an announcer in The Garden of Words.
About the Author
Recent Posts
- 2025-10-15
Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny(2023):Historical Background-WWII, the Real Dr. Schmidt, the Siege of Syracuse, and the Antikythera Mechanism - 2025-10-08
Why Does Children Who Chase Lost Voices Feel So Ghibli-esque? [Makoto Shinkai’s “Tale of Farewell”] - 2025-10-07
5 Centimeters per Second: Characters, Voice Actors, Character Analysis and Character Map - 2025-10-06
5 Centimeters per Second: Full Synopsis, Analysis, Ending Explained & Character Map (Spoilers) - 2025-10-04
5 Centimeters per Second Is Neither Depressing Nor Terrible: A Positive Interpretation of the Film
