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Voices of a Distant Star Directors: Makoto Shinkai, Steven Foster Number of Items: 1 Format: Animated, Color Running Time: 30 minutes Studio: A.D. Vision Product Group: DVD Release Date: 2003-06-10 Buy from Amazon

Customer Reviews: Total numer of reviews: 69 Average rating: 4.0 "5 stars but..." 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... "the epitome of melancholy" It's short. Somehow I didn't pick up on this, so it was disconcerting to have the thing end so soon. But that's not important. What's important is the vast glowing cloud of melancholy that emanates from this film. It's not despair... but it's not hope, either. It just is what it is. (The short about the girl and her cat -- told from the cat's point of view -- has the same magical quality.) When it was over I sat there motionless for several minutes, looking at the dark grey screen, with a quiet mind. "NICE!" Well, first of all when i was watching this dvd, i was suprised how one person had done all the work by himself for the animations and i was thinking how crazy this guy is at anime. To the director of this film: i personlly think that u are a talented man not only to create this anime on your own, but how all your the ideas were brought by yourself and put togther without other people's opininons. Now with the story, its pretty good and that there is a meaning to all this crap that happens to the to people that had a relationship. The main meaning of this film is that Love is strong no matter wut can get in the way and no matter how far apart the relationship is. The whole idea of this film is that LOVE is the strongest thing the mankind has to survive, inorder to live, LOVE is the one thing that keeps a person alive and it takes more than a distant relationship to break the strength of love. By the way, the action scenes were pretty cool and the animation realistic, kinda better than evangalion, but evangalion is a better anime overall. the action scenes are all computer animated and its not that entertaining, but its satisfying. Overall this dvd is worth buying to many anime lovers, its part of a collection that one should buy and keep. "A love story that transcends time and space..." For those who say this is eye candy - well, they're absolutely right, but to say it's just that - well, they couldn't be more wrong. "Voices of a Distant Star" is a short 30 minute animation by Makoto Shinkai that uses both 3D and traditional drawings. And while the graphics are visually stunning with otherworldly effects that will keep you captivated, it's the story that did it for me. Although I do wish this film had been longer to give us viewers more insight on the depth and history of their friendship/relationship, quality rules over quantity here and you can't help but feel the strong connection they have for one another right from the start... Nuboro and Mikako had hopes of attending the same high school together but when a strange alien force threatens the human race, Mikako gives in to her fascinations with the sky above and decides to become a pilot for the UN Forces to help save mankind. But in doing so she was forced to leave behind the one person she cared about more than anything: Nuboro. Their only means of communicating is through text messaging but the further Mikako goes out to space, the longer the messages take to reach him (1 month, 1 year, 8 years...) as he grows older and she remains young. There's of course a sprinkle of battle scenes here and there with sci-fi imagery but "Voices of a Distant Star" mostly relies on emotional impacts to keep one entranced and Makoto has done that with misty-eyed perfection. In short, this is a breathtaking anime about one couple's heart-wrenching struggles and how they deal with being apart. It shows that no matter the distance, true love can withstand the test of time, despite how difficult it may be. {This DVD also includes the independently produced "She and Her Cat" which won Makoto several awards}. LOVE IS FOREVER "What a beautiful work of art" I'm not an anime buff, but this work, though short, stands on it's own as a masterpiece. I love the music, poetic dialog, and gorgeous animation. Bravo!