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 Tyler Klang
30th May 04

Voices of a Distant Star is best described as one long emotion. And that emotion is loss. The anime is the second endeavor by Makoto Shinkai, after She and Her Cat (also included on the DVD). The story follows a young boy and girl in school together in 2046. There is talk about the war outside the planet with an alien force and this eventually impacts the lives of the two friends/potential lovers. Mikako decides to join the battle as a pilot, which means that she must leave Noboru (her friend) behind on earth. The two stay in touch through cell phone messaging. Unfortunately for the two, the distances of space pull them farther and farther and it starts to take months and then even years for the massages to reach one another. As if this was not enough, Mikako traveling faster speeds ages only months while Noboru ages years. These problems create the incredible tension and emotion in the story.

The style and music help to drive the point home. The smooth and beautifully colored artwork is some of the best that I have seen (the only better example of computer animation in anime that I can think of is in Blood: The last Vampire). The locations of the two main characters contrast well. Noboru is left on Earth and exists in a more familiar world to the audience. We see him in the rain and walking near train tracks. On the other side we have Mikako who lives on a station in space, but more often we see her in the large robot that the pilots. This is a world of colorful lights and smooth metal set against the spotted blackness of space. These elements only help to remind the viewer of the separation that the two face.

This is what artistic anime should be like. This is not your average action or comedy type of anime. It's not even like the romantic anime of Love Hina or others like it. This is pure and real. I have no problem telling you that I cry whenever I see it. It's run time of 30 min. might seem like a down side however it allows for a quick build up of strong feelings that explode out of the ending. This anime is one of my favorites and I look forward to the third project by Makoto Shinkai.

10/10

-- Tyler Klang 30th May 04

Voices of a Distant Star Images