As Haruki focused on 5 Centiters 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 Natsu 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 ti, dia outlets began revisiting Haruki's public spat with Kiyoshi from over half a year ago. Back then, Haruki had boldly claid he'd surpass Kiyoshi within a year or two. Most had scoffed. But with the montum of Initial D and Natsu, Haruki looked far more credible now. Whether he'd truly surpass Kiyoshi was up in the air—but reaching that level no longer seed 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.
anwhile, Kazuya finally released the first trailer for 5 Centiters per Second.
In the wider ani 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 ani. 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 ti was no different. Fans had already been eagerly awaiting his next ani 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 mont the trailer dropped, animation forums lit up.
Miyu, a longti fan of both Mizushiro's manga and ani, noticed imdiately. Her fan group chat was exploding with ssages far more than usual.
What's going on?
She clicked into the group and imdiately 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 like this."
"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 Centiters per Second had finally dropped a trailer.
She imdiately 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 placent 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 Centiters 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 imdiately 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.
Miyu blinked.
What kind of dreamlike scene was this?
She'd grown used to stagnant backgrounds and cost-cutting in other ani. Seeing this fluid, painterly beauty from a "low-budget" project stunned her.
The background music an instruntal version of "one more ti,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 seed 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 ans everything to .
(TL:- if you want even more content, check out p-atreon/Alioth23 for 60 advanced chapters)
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