Hoshi no koe

Makoto Shinkai could direct traffic and I would watch. This was an amazing anime. You could feel the distance and loneliness of the two main characters. Shinkai wrote, directed and made this all on one computer and you can feel the very personal feel that it gave this animation.

I heard a lot of good things about this anime movie long before I watched it and did not think too much about actually picking it up. But I have to tell the truth when I saw it on sale that pushed me over the line to get it and I am very glad I did. It is was wonderful addition to my collection.

Even the bonus that comes on the DVD version about a cat is great, it is only 5 minutes long but he makes it great. I look forward to his works, I am sure it will be tugging at the heart-strings as he weaves his tale into our hearts.

What a simple concept for a film, executed so wonderfully. A teenage girl travels in space, and the only way for her to contact the boy she loves back on earth in through her cell-phone's text messaging. But as she drifts further from earth, the messages begin to take a much longer to reach him. He begins to give up on hearing from her again, and she grieves over what she is unable to tell him from this distance. However, the ending is extremely moving and uplifting, more so than I thought this 25-minute film would be.

I need not mention how this film was made, by one man on his computer. While the visuals are surprisingly good for a film made with such sparse resources, Makoto Shinkai clearly understands that storytelling is the most important part of animation, and he made a film that is more beautiful and touching than almost anything you'd see in Hollywood, and he did it on his computer, and with a run time of under a half hour. This guy is talented, and I hope to see him directing more animes in the future.

Voices of a Distant Star is a superb film by any standards, certainly a must see for anime fans.

First of all, it is really really good.

What amazed me the most is how in such a short period of time Makoto Shinkai is able to create such a wonderful, clear, interesting and beautiful story.

This 25 minute ova tells the story of two friends who are separated because of military reasons. as the distance between them grows, it is harder for them to communicate. Just as Makoto Shinkai's other movies the story basically tries to explain how time and distance make people grow apart even when they love each other. This movie however is still in every aspect bellow 5 minutes per second. The reason I didn't like it as much as other Shinkai's movies is because animation was not very good, or maybe I just didn't like it. Never the less, its still a great movie which I recommend to everyone, (anime fan or not). Its easy to follow, very well built, and as I already said, is by far the best work I've ever seen in such a short period of time. Very very good. p.s: watch 5 minutes per second (also by the same director) is the best!!

This is a great amateur feature which captures emotions and imagination better than many full length studio flicks. I first watched it as a fan-subtitled release via the internet, and I think that translation stands as the most emotionally true to this point.

Though the American voices are well done, some things have been added and some taken away as in any translation. I suggest watching a subtitled version instead of the American translation. None of the emotional intensity is lost... I don't know many folks who have watched it and not cried.

The story of junior high sweethearts separated by war and then time is as uplifting as it is poignant. Communicating via email which becomes more and more intermittent as the combatant moves first years and then light years away, one half of the partnership grows to adulthood on earth as the other fights battles 8.6 light years away... and remains 15. It's agonizing to see one choose to move on and one still feel the immediacy of a love that just months ago shared lunch at the bus stop. It's just as powerfully lovely to see the bond remain through space and time.

Simply put, this is the reason why anime is so superior to any other art form out there. The stunning visuals and freedom of the storyline make something like 'Voices of a Distant Star' a pleasure to watch. Unhindered by the traditional commercial constraints on any 'big-budget' title, Voices succeeds at the highest level, making you deeply care about the characters. And to say this is all done in a mere 30 minutes is such an achievement.

Movingly beautiful and very interesting. Voices of a Distant Star is the type of entertainment that doesn't come around too often.