Voices of a Distant Star
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Movie Reviews of Voices of a Distant Star
Movie Review: An epic love story, in under 30 minutes....
Summary: 5 Stars
If you were ever looking for an anime that could be used as an introduction to the world of Japanese animation, look no further than Voices of a Distant Star. I will not give away too much of the story other than the basic plot of the movie. First off, if you are looking or a big mech fighting melee, look somewhere else. Not to say that there isn't any of that, it is primarily a love story about two people torn apart by war. This film has just the right amount of mech fighting to balance the whole thing out.
The story is told entirely through the two main characters, one from the soldier traveling light years through space, and one from the man that she left behind back on earth.
Now, enough of the story, now onto the details of the film:
The DVD Menus:
This is one of the cleanest DVDs I've seen in a while, no excess junk on any of the menus. I'm a firm believer in the whole "less is more" concept, and this DVD adheres wonderfully to that. From the minute I put the disc in, I found my self hunting through the menus so I could listen to the music clips that were on each one.
The Music:
From the music on the title screen, you will be hooked on the perfectly fitting piano score selected for this story. Throughout the entire film the music changes to help with the emotional direction of the story. Even the battle theme managed to turn a soft piano song into a believable fight song. I found myself scouring the internet trying to find the music for download.
The animation:
The animation on this DVD is mostly computer generated. The character designs look a little choppy compared to the 3D rendered mechs, buildings, and spacecraft scattered throughout the feature. Still, they don't look out of place at all. A lot of complaints I've seen were about the lack of actual animation and the excessive use of still images. There is still a lot of animation, and the still images in no way take away from the film. In most cases, I believe it just adds to the story, it also gives you time to sit and stare at the awesome use of color. If only the real world looked as nice as this. :)
The voice acting:
This is one of the few Animes where I can honestly say that the English voices are WAY better than the original Japanese tracks. The voice actors hired for this did a top notch job and really brought forth the emotional impact to this film that I felt was missing on the Japanese track. You can truly hear the pain in the voices on the English track. Even though I don't understand any Japanese other than "hello", it just seemed to be lacking any emotion.
DVD Extras:
There are quite a few extras on this disc that will keep you from feeling that you wasted [$$] on a 30 minute DVD. There is another feature by the creator called "She and Her Cat" and an interview with the creator. Japanese trailers for Voices of a Distant Star, and a few other trailers of other releases from ADV Films.
After watching this DVD once, it has towered over all of my other Anime movies by far. Do not hesitate to add this to your collection.
Movie Review: Like a Great Short Story
Summary: 5 Stars
"Voices of a Distant Star" is like a great short story. Clocking in at under 30 minutes, it manages to hit emotional heartstrings more powerfully than some longer movies can.
The story takes place after an alien race called Tarsians have started attacking the human race, starting with an attack on the moon. Mikako, a teenage girl, has joined the fight as a pilot. With her cell phone, she periodically sends text updates to Noboru, a boy she knew from school back on earth. But, as her mission takes her farther and farther from earth, those messages take longer and longer to reach him, and as he begins to receive messages from a Mikako who hasn't aged as much as he, their longing for each other grows, as they remember a simpler time together.
Like all great stories, this movie focuses on its characters and their emotions, deftly mixing in battle sequences with heart-to-hearts. I also liked the added scientific dimension of text messages taking longer and longer to reach their destination the farther out in space Mikako goes. This movie utilizes that fact to emphasize how vast the physical distance is between the two of them, and yet the farther apart they become spatially, the closer together they become emotionally, driving the story towards its emotional and poignant climax.
As for the visuals, they are beautiful, but many of them also serve to create a mood, whether it's rain that drives Mikako and Noboru to shelter, or the light snow that falls while Noboru receives one of Mikako's messages.
My only complaints with the movie have to do with the dubbing and the subtitles. Other discs give the option of removing subtitles from the screen: why ADV did not do that for this release is puzzling, especially for people who want to hear the Japanese without subtitles cluttering the screen. Also, why subtitle the song? It's in English, and the lyrics are included with the DVD.
As for dubbing, the opening sentences don't match the meaning of the opening Japanese sentences as closely as the subtitles do, and since there isn't any mouth to match the words to in the beginning of the movie, why use different words with a completely different meaning? Also, why does the voice actor doing Mikako's voice have an accent? Did I miss a country dialect in the Japanese version?
Translation issues aside, this is one of the best movies I have ever seen, animated or otherwise. And, because it's so short, you can watch and enjoy it again and again. Also comes with bonus features, including "She and Her Cat" in three versions of differing length, which was the previous short film done by the creator of this movie.
Movie Review: One the most touching 30 minute work of art
Summary: 5 Stars
Hi folks, I usually don't write reviews unless I like the anime DVD or series. ... on the work of art even though it was low budgeted and done by one man with the help of a few others like his wire.It is a touching romantic story of two high school separated by space. The boy fails the Earth Defense exam and loses his chance to go with the first expedition force to take the war to the aliens who destroyed their colonies on Mars. However, she passes and is sent out with the expedition. It is so touching because though separated by space and time, their love continues. The only way to communicate their love is by phone messages/e-mail yet because it only travels at the speed of light, at first, it would take weeks, then months, and then years for him to receive her messages of love.
For those who are science buffs or taken basic geography like I did, you know that as you travel outside our solar system towards the middle of the universe, time seems to stay the same but from our perception, it actually speeds up. Or to be more technical, as you get closer to the middle of the universe, it is older and your existence of time which is based on our galaxy, slows down especially when you have to travel hyper speed (faster than the speed of light) so what maybe a year on Earth would be an hour of your life in space (when going farther from Earth). The movie points this concept out in the movie as the girl travels further from Earth, her boyfriend gets older and she stays young, which enhances the drama and enhance the messages of love.
For the technical parts, the DVD has great music. There aren't many lyrics or no lyrics to the music but it really reflects the personality and the emotion of the movie. For those who aren't familiar with Japanese anime, some of the scenes may be one panel and the movement is made as the camera moves along the panel, changing the perspective view of the viewers. In the movie, it is well done. It maybe only 30 minute movie but it is very deep and concise and the bonus is great too. There is another little except that doesn't really have to do with the movie but it is very touching as it focuses on a girl and her cat in different time lengths(you'll see if you buy the dvd). The graphics are beautiful especially the background details. However, the characters are simply drawn and not detailed but the scenery and music makes up for it. Overall, I'd recommend this DVD for those who appreciate anime in terms of the art, story concepts, scenery, and romantic drama story. For those who just want entertainment, comedy, or just watch anime for fun, this is not for you.
Movie Review: Monolithic Virtuous Prestige Filled Wonder. My God!!!!!!!
Summary: 5 Stars
Okay I was at my local Blockbuster looking for something to rent, bored out of my skull and then out of nowhere all of a sudden I see Voices of a Distant Star. Just like the man who finds a diamond and doesn't even know it's worth I rented this film, and I am exuberantly glad I did.
All right the back story first, in the not so distant year 2039, a NASA expeditionary force is sent to Mars, this survey unit then discovers an alien city on Mars. The Tarsian City begins to be explored, but something goes wrong, someone fires first, it is unknown who did it, the humans or the Tarsians, but the Tarsians end up killing off all of the explorers, thus a giant galactic war begins.
Come seven years later, two middle school lovers, are trying to figure out their lives, as the U.N. Space Force is getting ready to send massive space ships, and robotic killing machines called Tracers, to fight a fleet of the Tarsians. This is the beginning of our story.
Flash forward to this awesome OAV (Original Animated Video) Voices of a Distant Star is not just an anime, it is the best film I have ever seen, and that is saying it mildly; if a live action two hour film like this came out here, it would have easily won all the Oscars, again putting it mildly. It captures more emotion, drama, depth, and beauty than any movie, series, or even novel has been able to do, in but thirty minutes, I'm not kidding.
It gets even better because one guy did it on his Power Macintosh G4/400 MHz computer. Do you know what this film is? A masterpiece! In the way of Leonardo Di Vinci's Mona Lisa or Michelangelo's Sistine Chapel.
This film really puts to shame companies here who spend hundreds of millions of dollars, with thousands of people working on a film, it makes them all look like fools, because none of their films could even come close to this. As for Disney they should just close their animation studios, they haven't come close to making something like this and you know what they never will. Looking at all the horrible garbage that people call films here in the U.S., we've missed out on the greatest things, it is like we do not know any better than the garbage we get fed, heck I'm so fed up I'm just going to watch anime for the rest of my life from now on.
So what are you waiting for, would you skip out on the love of you life? Go out already and buy it.
Movie Review: Hoshi no Koe: The Voices of a Distant Star
Summary: 5 Stars
There is many different words to describe this film. The one I choose to use is phonomenal (I appologize if there's spelling errors). It's about only two people, Noboru and Mikako. It takes place in the future, in the late 2040's, I believe. Mikako is a typical teenager who does kendo and has just finished her entrance exams for high school. But Mikako won't go to high school. She won't even go to college, at least, not for a very long time. Just where is she going?
To space to battle aliens known as the Tarsians, who had killed humans on Mars without warning.
You may be thinking at this point, "Oh, a sci-fi flick, big deal. I could watch Star Wars if I want space action." But it's so much more. Noboru and Mikako have been friends for a long time. Best friends. But both of them know it's beginning to change. They love each other. So when the adventurous Mikako travels on board a cosmonaut, the only way they can communicate is by slow cell phone texts. First, they take a month to reach Noboru. Then, a year. Finally, eight long, lonesome years. Mikako has close encounters with the Tarsians, but makes it somehow.
Noboru, meanwhile, begins dating a girl, but his heart is still with Mikako. Later, he discovers that eight years will be the distance between them. He thinks that he won't have a life.
Mikako travels to another star. She goes on another planet. But she finds herself longing to return back to Earth, to eat at the bus stop. To be in the rain during the summer. To see him. Even though she knows that while he's getting older, 24 years old by now, she'll still be 15.
This film, only a half hour long and with only two characters, is so full of emotion, you want to cry. You feel like you are Mikako, praying to stay alive and wanting to see Noboru, or Noboru, loving Mikako and just waiting, trying to see the next text messege, just to know she is alive. This is probably even better than Studio Ghibli's films, which is a lot saying, of course. Even the music is unbelievable. There's only one song with vocals, "Through the Years and Far Away," and it fits so perfectly into the film. Practically the only instrument played through this piece is the piano, but it still is filled with a lot of feeling.
Experience the love, tragedy, and pain in this moving masterpiece: Hoshi no Koe. Voices of a Distant Star.