Shinkai, Makoto

"Mikako Nagamine recruited as a pilot to fight in the interstellar war against a force of alien invaders, leaving behind her one true love. Mikako's only connection to Noboru Terao, who continues living the life of an ordinary student, is through cell phone text messages. As Mikako travels light years away, it takes longer and longer for Noboru to receive her messages, until finally one arrives eight years and seven months after she sent it ..."--Back cover.

As the comet approaches, Taki--still occupying the body of Mitsuha--works to save the skeptical town, trying hard to convince them of impending doom.

After months of living in the body of Mitsuha, Taki suddenly finds himself stuck in his own. However, he can't forget the town and the girl he's never seen, so he sets out to find Mitsuha's village in the mountains from memory. His journey leads him into a reality he never could have imagined.

Mitsuha is a high school girl from the mountains who dreams of living freely as a boy in urban Tokyo. Taki is a high school boy from Tokyo who dreams of being a girl in the mountains. Their wishes come true and they wake up one morning to discover they have swapped lives.

"This is the story of Miyu, a woman who lives alone with her cat, Chobi. As Miyu navigates the world of adulthood, she discovers both the freedom and loneliness that come with living independently, and Chobi learns of the outside world through her actions. Time drifts slowly for Miyu and her cat, but the harsh realities of the world soon catch up"--Back cover.

Mikako becomes part of a research team that journeys into space in order to explore reported contacts between humans and aliens; however, the long years apart from Noboru have effected their relationship.