5 Centimeters Per Second

On March 5, 2010 Crunchyroll will participate in Global Shinkai Day. 48 hours of Shinkai’s most celebrated works will stream for free to members, and this stream goes all the way up to 480p.

Dubbed the “next Miyazaki” by The Japan Times, Shinkai is an acclaimed director and creator of anime. With such famous titles as 5 Centimeters Per Second and Voices of A Distant Star, his vision has captivated audiences worldwide.

If you haven’t seen Shinkai’s work yet, it’s quite necessary. Like Miyazaki, this is anime as a high expression of culture and art.  And no, this is not the playground of snobby connoisseurs, or even the minutia-obsessed and self-proclaimed “underappreciated” experts. Well, it doesn’t have to be anyway. Shinkai simply reminds us of how anime’s kanji-inscribed vision miraculously penetrates the eyes and ears of the gaijin, as if some midnight doctor from the X-Files had sewn a translator chip into our cerebral flesh. We just know we get it. We know we love it.