Voices of a Distant Star
| Voices of a Distant Star | |
|---|---|
 DVD cover art. | |
| Original Light Novel | Waku Ōba |
| Director | Makoto Shinkai |
| Format | Anime (OVA) |
| Made By | CoMix Wave Inc. |
| Running Time | 25 minutes |
Contents
Genre
Sum it up in a Sentence
A girl tries to keep in touch with her childhood friend and love interest through cell phone messages as she is vaulted farther and farther into space on a mission as a fighter pilot.
Main Description
By the year 2046 a war has begun between Earth and an alien race known as the Tarsians. Before long, humanity recovers enough technology from the Tarsians to make a series of warps out to their homeworld in a counter-offensive. A young girl named Mikako joins the Space Army as a mech pilot, leaving her boyfriend behind on earth, able to communicate with him with light speed emails as she ventures far beyond our solar system.
Characters
- Nagamine Mikako - A junior high student who joins the UN Space Army as a mech pilot during a war against an alien race known as the Tarsians.
- Terao Noboru - Mikako's boyfriend. Noboru remains behind on Earth as she ventures into space, as his grades didn't make the cut to be a pilot alongside her. As he grows older on Earth, the wait between young Mikako's emails becomes longer and longer as she makes warp jumps farther and farther away from Earth.
She and Her Cat
The short film She and Her Cat, one of Shinkai's first independent works, is featured on the original DVD release of Voices of a Distant Star. The near solo effort, with music by Shinkai's friend and frequent partner, Tenmon, is presented here in it's original 5 minute format, along with 2 minute and 30 second "Digest" edits.
If You Liked This, You Might Like...
- 5 Centimeters Per Second
- She and Her Cat
- The Place Promised in Our Early Days
- The Girl Who Leapt Through Time
- Baby Blue (Genius Party)
Personal Opinions
Grenadier
Much like the short film She and Her Cat, included with this, Voices manages to pack a lot of emotional punch in short amount of time. The somewhat ambiguous ending could be viewed as either hopeful or soul-crushingly tragic based on reactions from people I've shown this to. Either way you look at it, the show certainly entertains. Background art is utterly spectacular, and animation and character design is passable. Great value for a short watch.
a kitten
A beautiful, lyrical and super emotional story packed into 25 minutes. Especially impressive because it was created solely by Shinkai and his computer, with he and his wife even supplying the voice acting in its initial release. His use of lighting and color is remarkable, as is his ability to capture the feelings of growing up, growing apart, and reflecting on missed opportunities. I absolutely love this little film.
