Voices of a Distant Star

Voices of a Distant Star (VOADS) is an excellent sci fi anime created almost single handedly by Makoto Shinai. It is concise, offers excellent visuals, utilizes interesting symbolism, and provides a good soundtrack that makes his simplified science fiction universe come to life.

Plotwise, VOADS is the story of Orihime and Hikoboshi (Vega and Altair) retold in a mecha universe inspired by Joe Halderman's The Forever War (TFW). In this case, Mikako fills the role of Orihime and is sent (likely conscripted by her gov't) far away from her lover Noboru (Hikiboshi) to fight the alien Tarsians. As in the tale of Orihime and Hikoboshi, a couple who can only meet on Tanabata, they must wait extended intervals before they can communicate, as radio waves (stand in for the magpies...) take progressively longer to bridge the gap between the lovers. Since the magpies cannot bridge the gap between Orihime and Hikoboshi on rainy days, precipitation has a very important symbolism in the film. Look for it, as it is very relevant. (Honestly, I haven't played look for the rain since watching a Tarkovsky film.)

The western influence in VOADS is very noticeable, as stories of similar separations have proliferated ever since the Twin Paradox (Special Relativity) was first mentioned a hundred years ago. While the VOADS universe is very classical (physics term... google it.) to help keep the story of Orihime & Hikoboshi intact (in most western works, there is also time dilation from SR), the conflict between the humans and tarsians is strikingly similar to the conflict between the humans and taurians (very similar name) in TFW... and conscription (or recruitment) of high IQ elite recruits was used in both. It is very likely that Shinai used the estrangement of the conscripted William Mandella as an inspiration for his adaptation of Orihime&Hikiboshi.

This is not to say that VOADS doesn't have flaws. I am not one for weepy love stories and it requires serious suspension of disbelief that both parties didn't move on, but I can deal with it for 24 minutes. I give it a 5 for its novelty and its radical departure from the beaten path.

As always, feel free to write on my comment wall if you disagree with what I've written.

Well this anime-movie is an unique work of ingenuity, but definitely not everyone can appreciate it. Let me put it this way out of disgust on a certain post I saw in CR, if you come to this anime hoping to see the common stuff (cute girls with big boobs, retarded and childish love harems) then you will be more than disappointed as this is not made for those type of audiences. Also this is not a mecha fighting anime of the type of Gundam, so this cannot be compared with that. This is a serious portrayal of human affection and solitude, conveyed in an intelligent way that words cannot convey alone. To appreciate this, thought must be given to interpret scenes and actions. Believe me, it is not confusing at all as long as one is willing to connect the signposts. The story is strongly melancholic, but the greatness of the show derives in its power to arouse such a strong emotion. It may not be the best show out there, especially if taking into consideration personal preferences, but it is really an outstanding anime-movie that is in itself a rarity. There are indeed flaws in it (especially at the fact that the heroine is a high school student sent to fight off aliens), but not enough to render the main and most important point of the movie anything less than great. Some may be disappointed at the accuracy of the future portrayed in here, but keep in mind that this show wasn't produced recently and that the most important thing are not the minor details of that future but at how the author conveys feelings, ideals, and views. I whole-heartily recommend this show as a great anime-movie, hoping that more people would find this as powerful as I found it when I watched it. I apologize for I am not really reviewing this show but commenting as a reply to a certain comment. I believe that there are very good reviews of this out there and that all that matters here is to tell whether this show is worthwhile or not, an instance which I have made very clear.

Member 1:
This show can be summarized as follows:
Boyfriend and girlfriend attempt to maintain a REALLY long distance relationship over phones archaic even by 2002 standards, considering that she's a mecha pilot on the other side of the solar system. And nothing else happens.

Member 2:
Why the hell is she still in her school girl uniform? In space of all places! From a artist point of view I could tell this is done from flash....who does that? What is up with the faces? I mean everything else is done wonderfully, but they got lazy. SO, since the year is 2046 why does everyone have a 1990 Nokia brick!? What's next? The telegram? Why do I imagine the pony express being faster than the text messages she sent? Maybe her phone can be used as a last resort weapon, yeah let's say that. So it is true what they say, angst is the power of all Mecha.

Member 3:
Well now I am officially 3 times stupider than before. This was 25 min of my life I have lost forever, just like my old cell phone from 10 years ago. THANKS A LOT !!!!!!!!!!!

Vice President:
Huh? Oh, I wasn't watching it. I like K-On.
And Chocobos.
But I looked up for a brief second and saw the phone I used to play snake on years ago.

Member 4:
I liked this. Apparently needing to do laundry is a thing of the past, and this gave me such nostalgia for my old Nokia. I miss that thing, man! Plus, Pluto is a planet again, which makes life like 12 times better. So yeah, best show in the whole of infinity.

Member 5:
Well I just walked in the middle of the Anime, and I just think that eating my fries 8 minutes ago, and I'm so glad I have a flip phone with a slide-out keyboard for whenever I text.

Member 6:
No comment. (She seemed shocked and possibly needed medical attention. This started right after the first text was sent.)

Member 7:
And I thought the gas station sushi looked bad. Still not as bad as the bricks they dialed on.
"I just got your 3rd text message about the breakup, and I'm already on my second marriage. Here's a picture of my kids."

President:
Sigh. First of all, I routinely work with kindergartners who draw better animation than this. Some of them bring their parents' old phones with them, which seem to be newer than the ones in this show, which is supposes to be set in 2046. I guess the economy was so bad we never discovered the smartphone. Hey, maybe they'll discover the wheel next.
Let's talk about that storyline. Oy vey. That's all I have to say on that.
And that relationship. I'm sure in Japan it's still considered mentally unhealthy to obsess over a woman whose text messages won't reach you for the next eight years.
She doesn't age as fast as someone who didn't travel near-light-speed. Which means that in the end he's 24, and she's still 15. Guess what? That's statutory rape even in Japan.
All I can say through this is *scratches head* who supplied the LSD?

As a club:
We decided to give this show five stars. Because this is the first show so bad that we stopped the club just to write this review of it together. It's a show ripe for making fun of, and boy did we just make fun of it. By the way, we had to submit this in person because it would have taken 8 years for Crunchyroll to receive it if we texted it.

This is impressive work for a one man show, but it's obvious that Shinkai hadn't found his own voice yet in this early short. The pacing and use of imagery is pure Hideaki Anno. In particular it borrows from Gunbuster both thematically (the isolating effect of time dilation) and stylistically (the ship designs, weapons, and aliens).

Shinkai delivers a setup that could have branched the theme into its own distinct territory, but the story stops abruptly before it has a chance to develop. He simply didn't take the concept far enough, and so it fails to have the impact it had in Gunbuster and The Forever War. Instead he stretches the script-writing mantra of "in late, out early" to breaking point. The resulting story sits in an awkward middleground for a piece of short SF by neither capitalising on concept nor character. It doesn't flesh out its female lead to the point where she feels like more than a highschool uniform with a body inside it. The male lead fares better, but again his situation isn't pushed far enough.

The reason is understandable, as every additional minute of animation would mean a huge amount of extra work for Shinkai. However, there's no escaping the feeling that he over-reached, setting his pacing as if intending the story to be longer. He does set enough pieces in place that the unseen subsequent events can be inferred, but the way he goes about this feels heavy-handed.

I couldn’t really get the story line much, it didn’t really explain much and I think it just points the the novel and manga for more information though I have no clue if they actually say more. It feels like a pilot to something that could have been rather then a real show. Sadly, it’s hard to get a real feel for this. It’s a lot about romance which doesn’t seem to work with mechas. There isn’t much excitement om this because of how slow passed it is. For a show that is only 25 minutes long, the excitement only happens about 10 minutes in.

Mikako doesn’t seem like a good character to be piloting a mecha but then again, I think this is the part where they use Gundam logic. She crys a lot, whines a lot about how she wants to be with her friend, and all together just seems off a bit. Way to emotional for a battle I think and why they decided to have her pilot a mecha like that.

The artwork is a bit odd, looking sort of like sketches in some areas that have been filled in. Other areas, its high detailed. The characters are as angled as mecha’s, making them look more robotic. Most of the time, it feels like I’m watching pieces of a game since the characters don’t seem to move much. Most images though actually focus more on the scenery especially during the monolog in the beginning of Mikako and her friend. This show is much like 5 Centimeters per Second in background and amature in characters. Mikako also never changes her clothing. I don’t think a middle school uniform is good for fighting in a mecha. The 3D aspect is alright though I don’t feel it fits with the artwork.

The voices don’t even feel like they are trying in the dub, sounding like they are just reading lines. It doesn’t feel like they have any actual feeling what so ever for there lines. Mikako is a little better but still, she sounds like again, only reading. Now, the writing is actually reather poetic and gentle.

It was interesting to see this, but didn’t grab me in really.

Kudos to Mr Makoto Shinkai who singlehandedly produced such a great OVA.

The story of Hoshi no Koe revolves around young lovers Noboru and Mikako in a futuristic setting whereby space is accessible and human professionals are in need to fend off aliens that may endanger the Earth.Mikako is unfortunately recruited and she cannot refuse her role which utterly means the two have to be apart.

Hoshi no Koe is a sentimental narrative about love separation and it sometimes display characters at their most helpless and dreadful moments.The story devotes most of the time on the aftermath of the couple's separation and also expressing the overwhelming emotions that the two have for each other as time passes.The story essence lies on their harsh reality of long distance relationship and their incapability to do anything.

Hoshi no Koe,although only 30 minutes,is fast-paced,straight to the point and well-conveyed.Some criticized it for being too rushed but considering its time constraints,the story was presented beautifully in my opinion.It is however the same fact that Hoshi no Koe is just too short to build up a solid story with strong characters,no matter how well it presents.There are a few questionable parts in the story which viewers should just let it be and get it over with.Regardless,I felt that the ending leaves imagination to wander,depending on how one interprets Hoshi no Koe.

Hoshi no Koe is almost like one of those tragic-love poem brought to life.Short,withering and somehow unbearable.It starts and ends like a rainbow.If you relish or enjoy such poems then you must watch this!

The gorgeous background scenery featured in Hoshi no Koe is the only highlight of its animation.The character design is below average and the sakura petals failed to fit in the mesmerizing scenery.I have mixed feeling for the mecha actions(decent looking).It was added in so the story would make sense,Mikako's really on a mission.But the time spent on this could have been used to elaborate more on the hardship Noboru and Mikako are going through after the two are separated.Then again,the mecha actions also portrays Mikako's struggle and desperation impressively.I don't know but in the end,it still goes down to the time limitations.

The character development is scarce since Hoshi no Koe is very short and there are not much history or anything of the characters either.But you can definitely tell both Mikako and Noboru share great chemistry.Their actions were believable too and at times even surpassed what I had expected of them or what anyone would have done.This highly enhances the realism of their relationship even in a sci-fi setting and brings me closer to them.However the reason that I never stopped rooting for Noboru and Mikako to be together is not because of their actions but because of how much their separation had impacted me.

Best character:Mikako

Voice acting is fine but lifeless.It doesn't play a crucial role which is good,just some necessary dialogues.There are two versions of voicing and one features Mr Makoto himself.

The music themes added befits the somber atmosphere but it was not memorable and I personally felt any soft melody could have fill in the role.The inserted song has some dreary lyrics,pretty melancholic although it may sounds not like it.

Hoshi no Koe also means Voices Of a Distant Stars and I felt that this title embody the struggle of Mikako in space.Worth a mention for a title that is meaningful.

When watching certain shows,it is important to get the mood right by watching at the appropriate time and in a suitable environment.Watching horror stuffs when the sun is shining upon you just defeats the purpose of watching one.The same applies to dramatic shows which you would just want to enjoy it with your tissue box in solitude.For Hoshi no Koe,one should watch it alone in the evening or at night for best result.

It also contains some powerful lines which I will remember for a long time.An excellent example is the message Mikako sent to Noboru that needs to travel 9 years before it reaches Noboru.This is the message you probably would expect Mikako to write down all her bottled feelings in space and how much she yearns to be together with Noboru.The simplicity of the message she sent left me flabbergasted.Her noble intentions concealed behind this message made my heart ache many time and it reflects her personality very well.It was simply the best moment of the entire show.

Hoshi no Koe should have been made a movie,instead of a 30minutes OVA that was mostly only being appreciated because it is a one-man-work and being incredibly short.I felt it was a waste since the purity of the story was being overshadowed and given its intriguing start along with the outline of a heartbreaking story,Hoshi no Koe will certainly achieve so much more with a movie length.It has the roots to become an outstanding drama but the insufficient time killed its growth.If only there were proper support behind Mr Makoto to educe this bittersweet poem...

If you like Hoshi no Koe,be sure to check out Makoto Shinkai's other works which includes Kumo no Muko,Yakusoku no Basho and Five Centimeters per Second.He seems to tackle on topics like separation and nostalgia in his works and (un-)fortunately,I always have a soft spot for these types of show.

I rented this actually, and I was a little disappointed because it was a short instead of a full movie, but it is awesome. It doesn't seem to be working, but in case it does later or someone is curious, here's my thoughts. It features near-light-speed travel, and if you've ever had problems understanding the theory of relativity, this may help. A girl is sent to fight an enemy in around a far away planet, while her friend stays on Earth. He receives messages from her as he grows older, but she has not aged. It really pulls at your heart.