Hoshi no Koe

Originally published on Anime Viking: http://animeviking.wordpress.com/
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The first time I saw Voices of a Distant Star was in the middle of the night back in 2007 when I was merely 14 years old. One of the biggest television channels in Sweden was holding an anime marathon from 12:00A.M. to 06:00A.M. and naturally, since I was an anime fan and this was a rare occurrence, I simply had to stay up and watch it all.

Out of every short, OVA and movie that aired, the single piece that stood out was Voices of a Distant Star. This is not surprising, considering how unique Shinkai’s works really are. The ... often substantial and realistically portrayed stories (either in the real world or the fictitious one) accompanied by wonderful music and visuals are honestly one-of-a-kind in the anime industry as far as I can tell. There is a clear vision of what Shinkai wants to tell and he does so without compromising his own goal, or at least that is how it comes across.

But Shinkai has always had trouble with making me feel connected to any of the characters, which is extremely notable due to all his works focusing on the characters rather than the stories themselves.

Voices of a Distant Star tells a story about two lovers literally being separated by space and time, as one of them is stuck on Earth while the other is travelling through space. Their only mean of communication is sending mail messages via cellphones, but as their distance grows, so does their lack of contact. It is a simple and perfect idea for a story, yet Shinkai misses the chance to make a heart-wrenching tale.

The problem mainly lies in the aforementioned lack of connection to the characters. We are never really shown how much they mean to each other and have to solely rely on the emails if we want to understand them. But because the emails are rather sparse and nonsensical, this does not work. In theory it should, particularly since we viewers are experiencing the same thing as the characters, but in practice is comes off as slightly hollow. I see that the characters care for each other, I understand the message, but why… why should I care, unless I have been through the same?

Another thing hampering Voices of a Distant Star is the overall production, which, especially today, is very simple and on the verge of outdated. While it is possible to ignore ugly heads and static images, it is harder to accept the poorly made CGI-scenes in space and a directing lacking a finishing touch (scenes dragging, odd scene expositions etc.). All of this is understandable since Shinkai essentially did everything by himself, but it does take away a little from the experience.

While not perfect in any way, Voices of a Distant Star manages to tell a fascinating tale in only thirty minutes. But sadly it never manages to reach any of the heights it could have had. This, however, does not mean it is bad. It is merely a missed opportunity.

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.

This is perhaps the most emotional OAV I've ever watched! The funny thing is, most of the story takes place in space, so the main characters never kiss, or any of that lovey dovey stuff. It takes romance to a whole other level. It's like the longest long distant relationship ever. I cried alot, really. It was just so beautifull. The best 25 minute OAV in anime history that goes deeper that full lenght serieses.

This anime is the holder of my record for the SHORTEST TIME ANY ANIME COULD LEAVE ME WITH AN IMPACT which was previously holded by the first 4 episodes of Aoi bungaku.
I randomly watched this series cause I saw it and I was like 25 minutes,lets see if its good.THEN I GOT BLOWN.It was amazing.
Hoshi no Koe or Voices of a distant star(although I study Japanese and this should just be Voices of a star) is a story about a girl who was chosen to be a part of a space expedition and a boy she left and their communication.The communication however takes longer time ... to send mail depending on their distance to one another.
The time in space flows differently from Earth which means the guy would age faster and the girl not aging at all.(Although I question why she is still wearing her school uniform and not a plug suit.)This is where it starts to show so much emotions about romance and longing.
With an amazing man as its creator.This a must watch and heck,ITS JUST 25 MINUTES YET ITS 25 MINUTES OF AWESOME.
So just watch it.

Well, first I must admit that "Drama" and "Romance" aren't my favourite anime genres, but, dammit [!], I must admit "Voices of a Distant Star" is one beautiful production as well.

Warning! The following text contains spoilers!

Story: 9! - A tail for one girl, one boy and one love. Oh, and bunch of text messages as well. A tail for two student-lovers, who, in spite of all, keep the relation between them. I give "9", just because I think something's missing.

Art: 3! - Well, that was the weak point for me. Pretty annoying art. All the animation sucks as well.

Sound: 10! - Great, great ... sound. Great-placed sounds, which connect with the special moments. The ending song was heart-braker.

Character: 8! - I liked both of them. Real people with their defects (mostly from their age), emotions and dreams. Full of hope, love, courage young guys - all you need in one only OVA episode.

Enjoyment: 10! - And the most important index for me. Lol, it was totally amazing and interesting experience. You can play it, but you cannot stop it. It ties you for your seat, you cannot move until you see the end captions.

Overall: 8! - "Very good". I thinks this is fair. The anime has the potential to be masterpiece if that art wasn't so ... umm, nasty. But the rest is OK (even better than OK) - so, sit back, press "Play" and enjoy. You will lose 20-25 minutes, but you will win one special experience from this pure-beauty part of anime world.

P.S: This is my first review. Please, be indulgent. And thanks for the reading.

Story 10/10
It´s important to know, that Voices of a Distant Star is a only 25 minutes long anime.
This seems to be quite short, but to tell the truth, it´s plenty of time.
The 25 mins are very good used. The story has no fillers and nothing irrelevant is shown.
Even talking between the characters is kept to a total minimum, yet it´s enough.
Actually most of the talking are short messages, sent between the mobilphones of the two characters.
And it´s these messages, which make this anime really unique.
Since Mikako is flying away from earth the messages take longer to reach Noburo, whose still on earth.
But the really interesting ... part is always, after Mikako send a message, you seen Noburo when this message arrives, which is a long time after.
It´s basiclly the future you get to see.
After the audience sees Noburos reaction on the message you jump back through time and space to Kikako.

This makes the storytelling a bit hard to follow at first, but the result is just epic!

Art 9/10
The art really hit my taste and the mechas looked really cool.
Nothing much to say, it just looks beautyful.

Sound 9/10
The soundtrack is totally fitting in every scene.
That´s all there is to say.

Character 9/10
In this anime are only two characters.
This might seem to less, but since the whole story is centered around thier relationship it´s enough.
Mikakos personal developing is not much, because basiclly her story is just a few days long.
On the other hand Noburos development is seen through several years, because of the timejumps.

Enjoyment 10/10
I totally enjoyed this show.
Again, nothing to add here.

Overall 10/10
Voices of a Distant Star is really outstanding.
At first i was cautious because it seemed very short, but at the end, i just thought: "Wow..!"
The story might be nothing special, a classic lovestory which is tested by the circumstances, but the way of telling this story makes this anime a totally new and unique experience.

I personally recommend this anime to nearly everyone.

Additionally: even if it´s not your taste, since it´s only 25 minutes you didn´t lose much, right?

After watching hundreds of hours of filler anime this one is a real breath of fresh air. In 25 minutes this anime managed to grab me and hit me in my soft parts. This anime proves that you don't need 24 episodes to tell a story. This anime is simple (just a story of two lonely people in love) but it's told in such a way really sucks you in right from the start. There are definitely no extraneous plots. They cut everything out but exactly what you need to know. They don't explain a lot of what's going on but that ok because it ... is all sacrificed for the plot. It is not the situation that matters in this anime but the emotions and the relationship between the two people.

This anime is short and sweet. There is no reason why you should check this one out. It is only 25 min and I promise you that you will not regret it (unless you don't care for soppy stories and even then you should probably watch it cause it could hurt to soften up a bit) And if you have time to waste reading my review then you definitely have 25 min. Shoot, it has taken me longer to right this review than the length of the actual anime. So, I'm going to stop. Just go watch it. Thank me later.

Two young friends, Mikako Nagamine and Noboru Terao, are separated when Mikako is selected to fly a Tracer, a mecha robot, to fight against an invasion of Earth by aliens called Tarsian's and they keep in touch by sending text messages which become more and more infrequent the further the one in space as the war is taken o the Tarsian's, first a month, then a year and finally 8 years.

If you expect a mecha / alien anime click the back button because this is not a mecha anime. Instead you get a 25 minute film which nothing short of an intelligent and gut ... wrenching story.

The anime is about longing for someone you love and it does it impressively well especially from a personal point of view where I have been in that situation. The film gets more and more poignant is it goes along until the end. I can't express how much more emotional it gets without a spoiler.

The animation is spectacular, the story is beautiful, you can sympathise with the character's and the music is perfect.Even the English dubbing is good

It should be said this was Makoto Shinkai's first anime which he made on his home computer with no production staff. To produce a master piece first time is just amazing.

All I can say is watch it, you won't be disappointed

This is an anime I'm not quite sure what to make of. Through most of watching it, I was thinking, "dude, this sucks." Firstly? The art is frikkin' terrible. Seriously. The people look like they were drawn by three year olds. Secondly, because it's so short, it rushes through so fast that the characters have basically no personality and the story hardly even seems like a linear plot. At the end, I thought "well, that was a waste of that half-hour", and then I realized that I was actually deeply moved. I realized that you're not really meant to look at it as a linear ... story. I don't know what you'd call it, then, but whatever it is I think you could even call it avant-garde. Anyway, long review short I think it was a very good although strange anime and I'm going to be checking out more work from this director.

This 1 OVA touched me so much that I downloaded the manga as soon as I completed the OVA. The story is about a girl and a boy who are in a long distance relationship(not the one where you are separated by states, countries or, continents but by planets) The only way of your communication are mails that take years to be delivered. This is one heart touching story which am sure will make you want to complete it.
Story: The story as I said above is about a girl and a guy with a feeling so true for each other that they are ... able to bear such distances and yet not give in to the circumstances. I give it a 9/10
Art: The overall art is good. I believe the only 2 people that we see in the story looked a bit more better.
Sound: The sound perfectly complements the anime. An 8
Character: The purity of the characters is what touched me. The feeling of true love that they gave off was just amazing. An 8 again.
Enjoyment: If it was a complete story I would surely cry. Thats how much this OVA touched me. 8 again
Its something you should definitely give a try. Its only 24 mins no harm watching it. I am late for my college now just because I wanted people to acknowledge this series and hence I wrote a review. Better not waste my effort please :).

A friend had suggested this anime to me a while back and a couple of days ago I had the time to watch it.

No spoilers

Story - 8/10

In my opinion, the story and concept were beautifully written and thought of. Especially considering that the entire story had to fit into a 25-minute episode. Two friends who are separated by distances far away, and try to keep in contact with each other. And as the distance grows, it grows more difficult, messages taking longer to go through. There isn't much more to say on the story due to the episode again- being only 25 ... minutes.

Art- 4/10

Unfortunately, comparing to other anime's art styles at the time it had come out, it was a poor art style. Though the art style did work well with the space battles, I'm afraid that's all. It was at the point where the characters looked very different depending on the angle, and it was hard to decipher the character's emotions though they looked like it was supposed to be clear on their face. Overall the art style really isn't that great.

Sound- 7/10

The sound was quite redeeming in the story. The AI's voice was played well, along with the electronic and mechanic noises such as the blasts and beeping. Along with sounds from the character's surroundings were played quite well. The thing about the sound though is that with the characters, along with the animation, it's hard to tell their emotions.

Character- 6/10

Considering the 25-minute span, it's obvious we weren't going to go too deep into the characters. It's quite impossible. So within the span of 25 minutes, we don't get much of the character's character. And like said before, it was hard to decipher if there was any, emotion. Though it is mainly shown through the actions they make that show how they are feeling.

Enjoyment- 8/10

Hoshi no Koe has such an interesting concept. Could it have been portrayed better? Yes. But that doesn't mean that it hasn't already been portrayed well. It's a beautiful and emotional story that I did like.

Overall- 6/10

Overall, all things considered, I'd give the OVA a 6/10. Like said earlier, the OVA portrayed the story well, though the animation and character are lacking. I would suggest this to a friend if they were looking for a quick watch, considering it's only 25 minutes.

A calassic war time love story. Being seperated from a love one to go fight can be a depressing thing to deal with. The farther she traveled into space the longer it took for her loved one to recieve a text message, until it took almost 8 years for him to recieve a message. He also had to deal with the fact of not knowing if she is alive or dead and when he is going to get another message, with the obvious doubt in the back of his head that he wont ever recieve one. A very well plotted story and the animation was ... great and on point. 9/10 stars

Hoshi no Koe manages to do in 25 minutes what many series don't succeed in 25 episodes: it has a well developed, and rather intricate story, presented through the relationship between Noboru and Mikako; it manages to create plausible characters.
The reason behind the overall grade being an 8 lies in the art. Noboru and Mikako are really badly drawn. And I don't think this is a matter of taste; it's a matter of fact.The reason why I was able overlook characters being badly drawn is because, although they are vital to the story, they are not as present as one might expect.
The Tracers ... (mechas) and the Tersians (aliens) were also less than satisfying, but acceptable.
However, Hoshi no Koe has amazing artistic moments which almost completely compensate for the mentioned flaws. The scenery, the sky... actually, everything except that what I have mentioned as flawed is superbly beutiful and it's an eye-candy. I especially enjoyed the way rain was drawn, as well as the cloudy sky in sunset.

You know, when I read reviews for this movie, the major sticking point always seems to be the length of the movie. At 30 minutes, it is a LOT shorter than most of it's animated brethren.
However, what Voices of a Distant Star (Hoshi no Koe) lacks in length it more than makes up for in the density of it's story and the intensity of it's plot.
I was amazed at how much emotion was packed into this piece, much more than I've felt in many other 12 or 26 episode series. However, this could be in part too to my natural inclination for more ... melancholic and wabi-sabi pieces :)
Above all, don't let other reviews keep you from just giving this short piece a try. Just for yourself.

when i first saw this OVA in my folder i think like " oh 24 mint .. good move to spend time ! " ..
never think that i love ot !
the silent, the plants , and the war between the eliens ..
All was so calm and peaceful..

the story is about 15 years girl went to space to find and fighting the aliens ..
the girl " Mikako " is connected with her classmate " Noboru " , and always send him a letters , but every time she been far away from earth the message take more time ... to arrive !
the first year , second year and year after year the letter take more and more time !
it's sad, for her to not coming back to the earth , it sad for him to receive messages !

to me the drew was to bad, in any normal day i will have close the video and delete it !
But thanks to my bad mood to see this OVA !
it great when you think that you sick of bing in the earth and want to run any way !
after the ova i think like " thank you god ! i can see my family every day withaut waiting 8 year to read one short message !

"" sorry 4 my bad English :$

Voices of a distant star was made by Makoto Shinkai back in 2003.

Fun fact: Voices of a Distant Star was written, directed and produced entirely by Makoto on his Power Mac G4.

Yes really. So how did this this one man production go?

It went great this may only be a 25-30 minute anime movie but it would feel as if had lasted over an hour or two.

The story follows two teenage characters Noboru Terao and Mikako Nagamine and the distance that separates them. (that being lights years apart) and their struggle to overcome the feeling of loneliness.

Mikako the female character heads ... off with the Lysithea and the US space army to fight the aliens know as 'Tarsians, whilst Noburu is left behind on earth yearning for the days and the nights that they both shared together to return once more.

The two communicate via e-mail/text messaging and as Mikako drifts further out into space its take longer for Noboru to receive the messages which go from weeks, to months, then to years with the last text that Mikako sends taking 8 years to reach him.

The music is pretty much piano based and suits the feel and tone of this anime with the main song being 'through the years and far away' it isn't exactly the greatest song ever but still is good and suits the tone of the anime.

This story is about the characters love for one another and the regret of not confessing their feelings sooner as they come to realize that they may never meet again. It is rare that i see an anime film that could put a lot 24 episode romance anime series to shame, this also contains science-fiction elements but it only adds to the main plot of the movie which is sadness of separation.

Looking back at the year it was released (2002) the animation style of Voices of a distant star could match or even ascend beyond work such as: Saikano, full metal panic and Kanon.

The characters get a decent back story of their happier days together and they are developed really well as they grow older. (well just Noboru)


Come to think of it i was wondering what the budget of this film could possibly be, and i did some research and apparently there wasn't really a budget to begin with as he did all the animation work on his laptop, a friend of his did the music pieces and even himself and his wife provided the voice acting. He deserves a lot of credit for delivering an outstanding anime out of nothing.

Overall this anime was very enjoyable, i do wish that it had been longer and maybe made into a 12 episode anime series but it is still worth the watch in my opinion, i would definitely recommend this.

This week I went on a Shinkai binge. After seeing 5 centimeters per second, I launched into his remaining work. I quickly realized that 5 centimeters is by far his best work. Voices of a distant star is probably his least solid piece of animation (besides "She and her cat") that he has done. The theme of the story wasn't bad but because of Shinkai's reoccurring love themes, it was old by the time I saw this animation. The actual plot was kind of weak and was very hollow to say the least. The animation was in my opinion very poorly done (opposite of some ... of Shinkai's other work). Character development was better than you would have thought for the length of the film. Sorry to say that It wasn't very good in any way. One last rant...all the text messages were in Japanese and there was no dub or sub for it (what a rip) in the end, if you aren't able to read Japanese then you are not entitled to know what they are texting to each other...

Voices of a Distant Star is a very short OVA by Makoto Shinkai. And I've fallen in love again. If you liked 5 Centimeters Per Second than I guarantee you'll like this one. From the very beginning you see the love between the two characters and how they try to overcome the distance and time that is put against them. I was crying 5 minutes in. The story really is very touching and very sad. I liked how I was captured immediately into the story. Not 5 minutes in and I'm loving it already. If your in for a tear jerker than take 30 minutes ... to sit and watch a love that transcends light years.

The animation is pretty simple. Simple but amazing. Especially if it is in the space scenes.

Character design.. I would say 'bleh'. XD
The character design is not that good unlike other popular animes.
Just notice the shape of their heads. You wouldnt like it.

The story is amazing. It more focuses on the 'romance or love' genre. And a unique love story. Unique, nostalgic, simple.

You really would enjoy this anime. A short anime but very nice and has a deep meaning story. Even people who dont like romance will love this. Cause I am one of them. :D

Overal.. Just watch this anime!!

truly a great work. quite touching despite its shortness.

Story:10/10
the letters from war theme of the plot is a stroke of genius, bringing the characters together despite the distance. far off the beaten path most anime follow. touching climax and ending.

Art:9/10
the strongest quality of this short anime is its art. the landscapes and setting are drawn masterfully well...exept for the people. the people are drawn at a much lower quality level than the rest of the anime. character images aside this anime scored fantasticly well for being only 30 min long.

Sound;10/10
as usual, tenmon delivers a stunningly magnificent sound track. ... proudly lending his talent to this anime to make it better than it already is. lip synching is all on target and the sound effects for the battle scenes and background are all believabl and of good quality. music adds to the emotion of the anime well.

character:9/10
while the shortness of the anime makes getting to know the characters nearly impossible the viewer cannot help but feel the sense of love the characters have for eachother radiating off the screen. absense of a main character(no constant focus one one particular individual) leads to the viewer seeing the characters thoughs and feelings and getting a unique view at the situation from both characters.

Enjoyment:10/10
i sat throught this short anime and basked in the great animation, great music, and simple yet sweet storyline with a smile on my face. i thoroughly enjoyed this one and am now seeking others by this director for similar satisfaction.

overall:10/10
a great way to spend a spare half hour. show this to your friends and family.

(side note) as i always do, i suggest watching this in japanese with english subs. its not like the dubs suck its just that the lip synching is off and the emotion is somewhat flat in english.