Synopsis

Voices of a Distant Star is a short film that focuses on the budding relationship between two high school students, Mikako and Noboru. The story begins in 2046 as the Mars colony is being invaded by an unknown alien force. Mikako has been accepted into the training program for mecha pilots, which she has been a lifelong dream for her. She leaves on her journey with the promise that the two will keep in touch through cell phone messages.

Review

Despite its extreme brevity, this is a film that has significant visual and emotional impact. The imagery and music conveys the sense of solitude shared by both characters by depicting both the harshness of space and the quietude of peaceful terrestrial locales.

The pacing is slow, possibly to reinforce the waiting that is taking a toll on the characters. Mikako sends a text message every once in a while, and as she travels farther away, the messages take longer and longer to reach Noburo. Eventually, her last message states that it will take eight years to reach earth. There is an implication that time passes more slowly for Mikako because of the type of space travel she is using while Noburo is aging normally, although this is never really confirmed.

Although the story leads you to feel sorrow on behalf of the characters, they are rather stoic participants. They do not show much affection towards each other before Mikako departs, so the music and visuals are mostly responsible for generating any emotion.

The tale is beautiful in some regards, with a sense of tragic romance; however, it leaves an impression, not of true love, but simple melancholy. Mikako is following her dream and finding it less than she had perhaps imagined, while Noboru waits and finds little comfort in his unsuccessful pursuits.

Visually, Voices of a Distant Star is a beautiful and unusual anime. The scenes alternate between detailed illustrations with a slow panning camera and well-done CG space scenes, including a few short action sequences. Many of the scenes are very static, but there isn't really much going on that could be depicted anyway.

The soundtrack is definitely compelling, although not very memorable, in my opinion. It sets the emotional tone when necessary and keeps the pace slow and steady.

There are several story elements that I found troubling, although they do not affect the overall theme. For instance, I found the fact that the space fleet Mikako is traveling with relies on antiquated one-way messaging technology (that travels extremely slowly) highly unlikely. They can travel across vast distances relatively quickly and use advanced mecha fighters, but they have almost no communication capabilities? The use of high school age girls as front-line warriors is also a bit unbelievable, but that is apparently accepted anime convention.

Conclusion

Voices of a Distant Star is worth watching, despite its short length. In fact, I can't imagine watching it for much longer without falling into a deep depression. Fans of more traditional action fare will likely be bored by the pacing and lack of activity, while romantics may feel the tone is a bit too dark. Still, for the open-minded, this title may be worth adding to your collection for its originality and for those times when you need a quick cry.

-Review by Reptile (17 Jun, 2006)

Audio:	Effective use of music, good quality audio
Video:	Crisp stills with good (short) CG action sequences
Plot:	Emotional story, but somewhat hard to believe
Style:	Unique style of animation, but generic characters
Characters:	Lethargic, disengaged characters
Violence:	Mild
Language:	Mild
Nudity:	None
Genre:	Scifi
Episodes:	1
Rating:	3.0 of 5
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