Hoshi no Koe

It is the year 2046, Noboru Terao and Mikako Nagamine are close friends who will soon be graduating junior high school. But after an alien attack on humanity, Mikako is selected for the UN military space expedition set to retaliate against the aliens. Separated, Noboru and Mikako attempt to keep in touch by sending emails to each other with their cell phones. Yet as the expedition journeys farther from Earth, the time it takes for them to transmit and receive each other's messages increases substantially.

Hoshi no Koe revolves around the relationship between this couple as they try to stay connected despite the growing distance between them.

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

Nagamine, Mikako Main

Mutou, Sumi Japanese

Terao, Noboru Main

Suzuki, Chihiro Japanese

Shinkai, Makoto Producer, Director, Script, Character Design, Executive Producer, Animation Director

Tenmon Theme Song Composition, Theme Song Arrangement, Music

Foster, Steven ADR Director

Latino, Maurice ADR Director

Reviews

Jun 1, 2007

Stormy_77

Recommended

Another hidden gem gets reviewed.

I randomly picked this DVD up at Blockbuster's Anime section and expected nothing much from it and 25 minutes later I was ...... !!!!!! The next day I told 10 people about this movie. That's how much it *got* to me.

Hoshi no Koe ~The Voices of a Distant Star~, is essentially a story of a long distance love and mail messages between a boy and girl. The movie is really short, but in that time you discover that the two of them are friends, the girl is sent out with space forces, but they "text" each other. As time passes (on ... earth) the boy will age quicker than the girl who is millions of light years away.

If you've ever been separated from a loved one by time or distance, this movie will resonate very strongly with you. Prepare the Kleenex. You won't really cry because the movie is sad, you'll cry because of ... sheer longing and wishing and other emotions, please watch the movie and you'll understand what I mean. It's a Masterpiece.

The movie's sheer ability to pack that much emotional punch into a 25 minutes ~ now THAT is story-writing talent. It totally disproves the myth that movies have to be long to have good character development.

What is even more amazing is this entire anime was done by 1 man with 1 Apple Mac. He and his wife provided the voice acting for both characters. The man is Makoto Shinkai. I made a vow to follow his career. Since Hoshi No Koe his career has taken off, he is the talent behind "The Place Promised in Our Early Days" and "Byousoku 5 centimeter". This guy is so good that I'll buy every anime he makes because I know it will be good.

Please watch, highly recommended.

Reviewer’s Rating: 10

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Jan 26, 2010

thresholden

Mixed Feelings

Texts from a Distant Star:

Story: Voices of a Distant Star is an update to the war letters to a loved one story, such as the real case of Sullivan Ballou's famous letters during the Civil War. The slow agonizing wait of reply is given a sci-fi spin as the characters age at different rates due to the effects of space travel. As Nagamine travels ever further into the depths of space, her texts take longer and longer to reach her childhood friend and lover, Noboru. The concept is very poignant and one can feel great empathy for the couple as the cold distance of time ... and space separates them, slowly tearing them apart. 9/10

The Problem:
The problem however is the bad execution of characterization in a very short time. The OVA is only 25 minutes long, which is not enough to build the necessary emotions to support the story. You don't understand their pain of time as the characterization scenes zip through haphazardly, undercutting the plot. Their emotions come off as cheap as little effort is made to construct their relationship, and the ensuing loneliness. Instead far too much time is put on glossy space battles and displays of background art that steal time away from character development. Everything is too rushed and the great concept is left unfulfilled.

Art:
The scenery of planets and mecha were very picturesque and detailed for its time, especially considering it's a one man production. However the characters suffer as their proportions are terrible and even for anime, their faces are misshaped.

Sound:
There is only three voices: Noboru, Nagamine, and British voice commander. Sadly the main characters have uninspired VAs that are emotionally unconvincing. The score is nothing memorable and doesn't set the mood well. The best sounds are the various beeps and blasts from the action sequences, again undercutting the emotional aspect. 5/10

Characters:
There is not enough characterization to empathize the characters. While the plot of distance and time separating them is emotional, they remain bland, unestablished, and unconvincing. 3/10

Overall:
Voices of a Distant Star is a flawed product, it's execution is poor and rushed. Shinkai misplaces his efforts in visuals instead of trying to tell a good story. Thus its potential remains unfulfilled. I recommend reading the superior manga adaption instead, as it properly focuses on the characters and their emotions. 6/10

Reviewer’s Rating: 6

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Aug 12, 2010

Shuu-chan

Not Recommended

After watching the amazing 5 Centimeters Per Second, I figure I owed it to myself to watch Shinkai Makoto's first work Voices of a Distant Star. Reviews praised it and I assumed that it must be good. Well you know what they say about assuming.

Story:
Right off the bat I was unsure about the story. I liked the concept of love separated by distance as it worked quite well in 5cm Per Second, but the idea of lagging text messages is just ludicrous. You'd think that in the year 2046 we'd have invented a more effective form of communication, but I guess Shinkai Makoto didn't think ... so. Also look at the phones! No effort was made to even design phones that even had a hint of futuristic technology. Oh yeah, they could invent gigantic, space traveling, mechas, but more advanced forms of mobile communication devices are out of the equation! Moving on, the story gets no better from beginning to end and nothing is resolved. Practically no attempt is made to even strengthen the audience's true understanding of the connection that Nagamine and Noboru share. They just sort of tell you that they like each other and expect that to mean something. The years fly by without any coherent sense of meaning and the progression of time ends up not feeling quite right. Things don't change drastically enough for Noboru or Nagamine for me to even care. The story is just a mess. A pretentious, self-indulgent, mess. 5/10

Art:
First impression was a mixture of confusion and disgust. The characters are HORRIBLY designed. From scene to scene, depending on the angle, they look so different that I sometimes couldn't realize if they were one of the leads or a new character. Proportions were also SO off at angles that I had to really try to resist the urge to punch the screen out of anger. Emotions don't quite come across as clearly as I would expect which just compounds with all the other flaws making this OVA nearly unwatchable. The space battle scenes actually stand out as the best art in the OVA, but the doesn't mean anything. The mecha designs and animation is average and uninspired. Yawn. 3/10

Sound:
The sound in this also blows my mind at just how horrible it is. You know how bad the music is? So bad I can't even remember what it sounded like. I can't even remember what if there WAS music in this! And the seiyuu are as lacking in emotion as the Twilight movie actors. The sound effects in the space battle scenes are average, just what you'd expect for that kind of thing, so they leave no impression whatsoever. 3/10

Characters:
There were characters? Really? I just thought there were talking slabs of painted wood. Not that they had much to say. The characters are just so lacking in any relatable emotion since the OVA didn't spend enough time establishing the nature of Nagamine and Noboru's relationship to make the audience give a car that they are separate. I'd like to see what exactly they love about each other. Noboru is a distant, blank, emotionless guy and Nagamine is a clingy, whiny, child. Neither are developed and both are just without any sort of distinguishing personality. And the whole lack of ANY other characters just blows my mind. Really. 2/10

Overall:
5 Centimeters Per Second is, to this day, one of my favorite anime movie/OVAs of all time and I think, since it came after this abysmal pile of filth, that Shinkai Makoto is a very talented man. He knows how to establish atmosphere and characters, situations and emotions that you can relate to. He brought none of his skills in these areas to this OVA. Flat characters, a ridiculous premise, emotionless seiyuu and horrible art all make this one of the WORST anime ANYTHINGS I've ever seen. I will never understand how so many people could enjoy this trash, but they can if they want. I do not suggest watching this. Save your time for Shinkai Makoto's other works as they are worth the investment. 4/10

Reviewer’s Rating: 4

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In this thread, you'll find a comprehensive list of anime and manga licensed in the first quarter (Jan-Mar) of 2022. Winter 2022 anime which were licensed befor...read more

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