First Teaser for Hoshi wo Ou Kodomo

nilpotent said:
my issue with all of shinkai's work so far is that it all treads more or less the same thematic ground. granted i think he's pretty good at it (5cmps is one of my favorite anime movies ever just because it's relevant to my life in more ways than anything i have ever watched) but i would really like it if his storytelling could match his fantastic art.

Grmo said:
I actually am not sure if I have hopes for this. Generally speaking, Makoto's works are brilliant in every aspect, but rendered nearly unwatchable due to the emotionless voice acting. The Place Promised in Our Early Days (best example), Voices of a Distant Star, and what little I was able to watch of 5cm per second all had this problem, which made it incredibly frustrating to watch. Admittedly, giving up on 5cm wasn't fair on my part, but I'd been watching his stuff all day and was sick to death of how bad the acting is. Makoto himself is a better actor than half the people who voice his movies.

Did anyone else have this problem, or is it just me? Anyway, I really hope that problem is absent in this, because it looks pretty damn good.

hentai_proxy said:

The (lack of) temperament in the voice acting in Shinkai's works seems to be a conscious choice, tailored to fit the melancholy and generally dry mood of the character. Does it really work? Some people like it, some don't. I, for one, feel relieved to see a work whose director does not seem to be behind the scenes screaming "Emote! Emoooote!" like an old lobster. On the other hand, the VAs do push it too far to the other side (for my taste) in all of Shinkai's works. I think the actors should strive harder to avoid all extremes, especially in works like Shinkai's that are supposedly reflective. The voice acting alone in 5cm per second, for example, makes the anime sound pretentious and somewhat unpleasant, as if it is not honestly trying to convey a story that takes a bitter route, but rather forces that route on every aspect of the work. Eh, I still liked the anime, but Shinkai would be well advised to pay more attention to the old saying: Pan Metron Ariston, everything in moderation.