Makoto Shinkai’s 5 Centimeters Per Second is streaming on HBO Max

Almost every Makoto Shinkai story contains an element of fantasy wish-fulfillment. His acclaimed, record-breaking Your Name (2016) is about star-crossed lovers who reunite after defying the rules of fate, while Weathering With You (2019) revolves around a girl who can control the weather. Even Shinkai’s 2022 coming-of-age adventure, Suzume, features two people searching for ancient doors to prevent a supernatural worm from causing earthquakes in Japan.