Voices of a Distant Star
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Movie Reviews of Voices of a Distant Star
Movie Review: Great Story, Beautifully Made Anime but only 27 Minutes!
Summary: 5 Stars
I usually do not like Anime, but this was one of the best concept I've seen since for not only an anime but for a science fiction movie Stanley Kubrick directed Arthur C. Clarke's Space Odyssey 2001 back in 1968. The story is very original yet so simple, you sort of wonder how come no one thought of it before.
By now you probably already know the plot, so I won't go into details about it.
I will admit that the romance and chemistry between the two lovers is brilliantly communicated thru their actions and overwhelms the movie. Yes, there is amazingly shot and animated fight scenes and the animation of the spaceship is ethereal and well done and is also the BEST of what I've seen in this genre of Anime.
The storyline, as usual with most anime, involves kids who never seem to age in personality and physically, but in "Voices..." the characters age and the storyline is very mature and the dilemna of love lost is realistically written.
This is where this anime rises above the others and even movies. It's beauty lies in the fact that this is a very believable story that pulls you in and makes you feel what the characters are going thru. Then 27 minutes or so later this brillant movie ends abruptly...too abruptly!
My only wish is that it would have been at least 30 minutes longer. I did understand that the man who made this anime did everything by himself on one MAC computer and even used his wife to voice the girl character and he himself dubbed the boyfriend's voice. That is amazing in itself!
But maybe, after recieving so much acclaim, just maybe, someone will re-do this movie in a longer 2 hr bigger budget version.
Anyway...this is a 5 star movie, but only gets 4.9 stars because 27 minutes was just annoying and too short when I was enjoying this movie.
Movie Review: Short and sweet...
Summary: 5 Stars
With beautiful animation Voices of a Distant Star stands out brilliantly among the short anime films and OVAS. Visually Voices of a Distant Star is downright beautiful, story-wise it's both innocent and romantic.
The only disappointment was the fact that it was so short. Though on second thought, "short and sweet" truly applies here - if Voices was any longer I feel that it's impact would have been lost.
It need not matter that we didn't know the answer as to whether or not the main characters would ever meet again, that wasn't the point of the anime: simply that they loved and maintained their love was the beauty of it. Innocent love, with a tad bit of naivety? You bet, but then again what's so bad about that? The main character seemed to age... sad in comparison with his young love who seemingly remained the same.
If traveling through space takes years as does sending a message through space as seen in the anime, then it makes perfect sense that her love for him would remain in tact but for him it would seem like a lifetime has gone by. This is one of the most remarkable aspects about this animated short, it portrays this excellently in a number of ways - cinematically with rain falling on the older young adult's house as he receives a text message from his childhood love... just truly amazing.
You never quite know the details behind the war the girl is involved in - I've read a number of negative reviews regarding such details failing to be explained - but isn't that just another prime example of how innocent such a love is? It transcends all situations, all circumstances... remains pure throughout the years.
Truly a masterpiece without any obvious flaws!
Movie Review: Good things come in small packages
Summary: 5 Stars
It was only through the advice of a good online friend of mine that I managed to watch this movie a year or so before the DVD came out here in America. I immediately and whole-heartedly fell in love with this piece of amazing work crafted all by one man one his own personal computer.One comment you will hear again and again when asking others for their thoughts on this particular piece is "It was too short." Many allude to this and also add that it seemed stifled, that there was a lack of a good ending because of it.
However, I think many let the ideal of such a short movie get in the way of their actual judgment of the contents. It's easy to look at a movie, see that it runs for a mere 25 minutes and thus say, "Well, it must be a bad movie if it's /that/ short."
Voices of a Distant Star (Hoshi no Koe) doesn't feel like a small movie. The storyline moves rapidly but not at a pace to leave one confused. While the fight scenes do get a little complex and, at times, confusing, the overrall result of the movie is one of a beefy, intricate plot that could have been told in an hour long movie or in a 26 episode series beautifully condensed into 25 minutes.
It is a very simple story with a simple lesson to be learned and thus may detract some viewers. But, at the heart and core of the film lies a story that hit straight to one's soul. We love no matter where we may go, even into the stars.
Even if you may be skeptical, you owe it to yourself to at least give this movie a chance. It may, as it did me, change some of your perspectives on life, love and the manners in which we take distance for granted.
Movie Review: Let this rejuvenate ANIME!
Summary: 5 Stars
So much anime is dull, and over used plots and ideas. Many are just ways to joke about sex and look at cartoons in swim suits (pathetic). And then there is anime like Voices of a Distant Star. Also called Hoshi no Koe in Japanese this is an incredible anime. An amzing adventure, while short, will leave you breathless. More character depth than almost any other anime out their. This should be what people watch and compare other animes to. Now the most amazing fact: This enitre movie was animated, and computer graphics and colorized, and scripted by one man. Not a whole team of "pros" just one man and one Power Macintosh G4 400. The best version is to watch him and his wife do the voices(with subtitles),they get so passionate towards eachother it is amazing. I've read that this version will be inclueded on the DVD I can't wait to watch this movie with correct subtitles! The music was fantastic, I hope they release the soundtrack for America as well. Everything in this Anime flows like nothing you've ever seen, an emotional journey, breathtaking and lovey, I hope other Animes learn from Makoto Shinkai.
For those of you wondering how I saw this, an american version has been released already. It has very poor sub titles and no english voices. I wouldn't recomend it, since in 10 days the offical american version will be released.
I wish there was an extra star to give to movies like this, also if you enjoy this Anime stay alert, Makoto is working on his next anime...Andrew
Movie Review: 5 stars but...
Summary: 5 Stars
5 stars but...
To begin with I would like to say that it is nearly unbelievable the fact that only one man did all this; excellent work. As for the "design" and so on, it was very good. The story was very touching. However, there are people out there who believe that the story has flows etc. My opinion is that it focused on character development and that it made me a little bit sad.
Main story message: "No matter what happens, real love never dies".
What follows refer to the ending. If you would like to watch the anime but don't like to know the ending than don't read it...
The but refers to: a) That the ending was somehow abrupt, b) The ending was not so clear. On the one hand you get the impression that the boy joins the armada and therefore they will meet again somewhere out in space or that the girl was left alone out in space (maybe the main fleet was destroyed in the last combat as well as the arms of her robot and she will be lost in space or maybe die? Or maybe, I am way too confused with the ending) and the boy will search to find her? C) the anime was too short. Although the creator managed to fit successfully everything in 30 minutes I would love to see more of it, or if they would manage to create more series out of this anime this would be great.
Either way, the choice is yours to make and you most probably will like it...