I Byeol-e Pil-yohan

Lost In Starlight is a victory not only for Korean animation, but for the animation scene as a whole. My greatest wish at this moment is that this film will touch many hearts like mine, which is celebrating wildly.

Han Ji-won's direction brings a unique sensibility, combining elements of science fiction with a deeply human narrative.
The animation is stunning, capturing the essence of a technological future without losing the poetry of the present. She did such an impressive job that I even thought it was a film directed by Makoto Shinkai.

This film is not just a love story; it is a reflection on dreams, ... sacrifices, and the strength of human connections, even in the face of immeasurable distances. It skillfully balances romanticism with elements of science fiction, without ever losing focus on the humanity of its characters. It is truly moving and incredibly artistic. Combining stunning visuals and an emotionally powerful soundtrack, Lost in Starlight establishes itself as one of the most beautiful anime films humanity has ever been able to make—an ode to love, memory, and the vastness of human feelings.

For romance enthusiasts like me, this film is a real treat! It is a film that stays with you even after the final credits, showing the power of animation to tell stories as powerful as any other film genre. A milestone for Korean animation and an experience that warms the soul.

I might be the odd one out here, but the reason why I didn’t like this film as much as I expected, after looking at a trailer, was not plot holes, was not occasionally weak writing, was not somewhat annoying characters, but much more the world this story takes place in.
Lost in Starlight is generally a good film and one that is worth a watch, though not as much as a lot of other stuff, but for all the things it shows, all the imaginative imagery it uses to tell its story, it fails to address one incoherence at its core. This is a ... romance story set in a dystopian world, that is sold to us as utopia. Flying taxis, drone delivery, ten lane highways, advertisements everywhere, blasted through your windows straight into your brain; this is a world that screams Blade Runner, that bleeds of the corpo bullshit of Cyberpunk and Ghost in the Shell, but is so dazzled by flickering pixels of neon lights, that it fails to see the problems in these things. Lost in Starlight, through selling us a dystopian future as a hopeful tomorrow, frames its entire narrative as one of corporate bliss, of utopia through the systems constructed at the end of the line, that has to go up and up and up, and will eventually reward all of us. You can write beautiful stories of romance and friendship in settings that fight kindness at every step, look at an anime like Edgerunners, a show about how humanity always resists no matter how fucked the world is, but these narratives exist in acknowledgement of what we are fighting, they are tales of people who get together, not because Tinder is mandatory, but in spite of it, that end up happy, even though the state outlawed happiness, that fight a system that forbids to acknowledge anything but its own existence. Lost in Starlight sells us a future that forgot us, as one that was created for us, and though I understand how people can look at a movie like this and say, “well, it’s just a romance story”, that is exactly the problem. We can not forget reality, simply because our manufactured version of romance is so much more fluffy than the hard edges of this hellhole we built for ourselves, that was built for us. We should find happiness and hope at every step of the way, but that happiness should lie in truth, in the actual human connection at the heart of any romance story, and that heart can not be found in advertisements, no matter how lavishly animated.
Lost in Starlight is a good movie, one well worth checking out, but it is not lost in starlight, but much more the workings of reality itself.

I know Lost in Starlight is a significant achievement for Korean animation. But honestly, I just didn’t think the movie was that good. There were a lot of plot holes and inconsistencies that made it hard for me to get emotionally invested. For example, Nan-young’s motivation for going to Mars is all over the place. At first, she says she wants to complete her mother’s mission, but later she reveals she was basically pressured into becoming an astronaut. The film never really explains how or why her feelings change, so her character arc feels unconvincing.

The romance between Nan-young and Jay also felt forced and repetitive. ... There’s a scene where Nan-young has a dramatic realization that she loves Jay, even though she already confessed her feelings earlier in the film. This made the emotional payoff feel redundant and less impactful. On top of that, some of the characters’ decisions just didn’t make sense—like Nan-young risking her life by venturing out during a Martian tornado, even after promising to be careful. It felt like the movie was forcing drama rather than letting it develop naturally.

There are also practical plot holes, like how her mother’s underground quarters somehow survive a massive marsquake with no explanation, and the sudden appearance of life-supporting flowers in an environment that shouldn’t be able to sustain them. The film tries to tackle a lot of deep themes and metaphors, but it never really explores them in depth, so the story ends up feeling shallow despite its ambitions.

And am I the only one who didn’t cry while watching this movie? Every review I’ve seen talks about how emotional it was and how people were in tears, but I honestly didn’t find it that sad. I’m genuinely curious—what exactly made you cry? For me, the emotional moments just didn’t land, maybe because of the plot holes or the lack of depth in the character development. Did I miss something, or was it just not that moving?

Honestly, I was leaning toward “not recommended” at first, but since this is the first time we’re seeing a major Korean animated production like this, I’d say it’s worth checking out for yourself. The visuals are truly excellent—there are some breathtaking scenes that really showcase what Korean animation is capable of. Even if the story didn’t quite land for me, it’s exciting to support something new and see how the industry is evolving. So go see it and decide for yourself!