Voices of a Distant Star Recommended

Publisher
ADV
Director
Makoto Shinkai
Production
Mangazoo
Country of origin
Japan
Format
OVA
Running time
25 mins (plus 75 mins of extras)
Year
2002

Voices Of A Distant Star

By Marq Mosier
28th May 04

Lets get right into it shall we?

The animation is unreal considering it was done by one person. Makoto Shinkai is the man that is responsible for this film. It is his first attempt at animation besides a 5 minute short called She and Her Cat: Their Standing Points, which is also included on the DVD. 3 versions of it in fact! I am not a fan of CGI mixed with handdrawn animation, however, in this film it is absolutely amazing. The CGI is subtely used to excentuate the animation as it were. The result is some of the prettiest looking visuals I can imagine ever being concieved by one person. The art is a little rough, and lensflare effects are a bit overused, but overall, it does not hurt the final result whatsoever.

The strong point of this whole piece lies in the story though, as with most great animation. The tale is so thoughtfully concieved and exectued. This will be a big turnoff to most buyers looking for a deal, but the whole animation is only 25 minutes in length. I know it is hard to imagine 25 minutes being enough time to convey any real feeling or familiarity with the characters, but trust me, it is sufficient. The strength of this film does not lie in the 2 characters featured, but in the overall story of love and loss. Anyone who has ever felt emotion for another living being will find an easy and overwhelming connection with this piece of art. In the 25 minutes given, Shinkai also manages to sneak in some decent action sequences, although they are not the primary focus of the whole body of work. They serve to compliment the severity and finality of the essence of separation. This severely short, but massively moving film, actually made me shed a tear. The music is so beautiful and appropriate, that even my wife heaped praises upon it, and she is not one to do that with anime. I have never known her to be impressed by the musical composition and tone of an anime, but in Voices of a Distant Star, it really reached her. We spent another hour just listening to the menus after we watched the film. Afterwards I watched the other 2 versions available on the DVD. They are the subbed version (my wife likes dubs, which is why we watched that first), and the Directors cut, which features Shinkai's and his wife's voices in place of the official sieyuu (voice actors). I would describe the experience of watching VoaDS as a completely calming and grounding feeling. The ambient nature of the whole film together really changes the feeling of the room you are in. A calm and satisfied feeling is the only way to describe it.

It reminded me of a shorter, more well told, and effective Macross Plus. Not to take anything away from MP, but this short achieves a level of perfection that is untouched in this particular type of story. Space/love/longing/and finality reach new heights here. If you are a fan of the Gunbuster series this is probably right up your alley.

She and Her Cat: Their Standing Points is the short film included with this release of VoaDS. It really is a nice piece of work, considering how amateur it is. At 5 minutes there is really not alot to comment on other than the fact that the black and white animation is really effective for what is being said. It is basically about a cat's relationship with its owner, and the emotions that they both feel. A nice bonus, but nothing to rave about in my opinion.

The main consideration in buying this DVD would be the price to time ratio. Are the 25 minutes and nice extras worth the $20 or so dollars (US) that this DVD costs?

To me? Yes. For everyone else, I don't know honestly.
As I stated before, it is only 25 minutes long (although there are 75 minutes of bonus footage!), but for that 25 minutes, you forget about everything else. It was the best 25 minutes I experienced all week, and it was worth every single penny I spent. I would gladly have paid double the price I did for this DVD. I am currently trying to hunt the OST down because the music is so amazing!

As a recommendation from me personally, I would say go out and get this immediatly, but as it is pricey for such a short film, it may not be worth it to you I hope you all decide to go out and pick this up, as I honestly do not think you will regret it. Bite the bullet, and drop the cash for it, you won't be sorry. I hope I am not steering anyone in the wrong direction here, but this has instantly become one of my favourite single experience stories available. This film does in 25 minutes, what others can not achive in a lifetime....

10/10

-- Marq Mosier 28th May 04

Voices of a Distant Star Images