Watch the visual review at https://www.youtube.com/watch? v=pTvCA1i6B50Never would I have thought that so much emotion could be captured and work in a 25 minute movie. I was surely proved wrong.The Voices of a Distant Star follows a girl and a boy. These two are together but become distant as the girl is sent to war in different galaxies, and the only form of communication is over their phones, but the messages take almost ten years to send. This is a movie as you might be able to tell, explaining the distant relationship between some and even the issues that soldiers had to face when wanting to talk to their loved ones on the other side of the world. And I found it very surreal and scary, and that's why I got a little teary eyed. And I just want to say, that this isn't your normal anime. All of Shinkai's movies focus on emotions, and things like loss, love and finding yourself, these all tend to kind of break the fourth wall and make you analyse your own emotions and ask you if you're okay, regardless of the characters. He says through his story telling that sometimes the situation is out of hand and it is impossible for you to change anything, much like in Distant Star.The story, like most of Shinkai's work, is simple. But as I always say with his movies, it doesn't need to be anything else. This is beauty in simplicity. This is the same reason I loved The Garden of Words. Everything feels so real. Regardless of the mecha robots fighting in space, the characters aren't superficial and is a big part of what backs up this simple story. They don't have horns on the head, or have tails on the back, they're just people wanting to talk to their lover. Earth feels so much like Earth, from the rain and the landscape. A planet that the girl discovers seems a lot like Earth with the same looking creatures, landscapes and rain, and then she bursts into tears realising that there is nowhere like Earth. The real winner in this movie is the gorgeous soundtrack this comes with! Holy moly, what sound! I think that at times I felt I was going to cry from the music itself!This isn't a perfect movie though, it has its downsides. I can't say that it needed to be longer, as this director likes creating these shorter movies, and having this as a short worked well. The main issue I have is the machine that the girl is in. The 3D rendering of the objects looks so fake and extremely overdone, I believe they should have stayed with the 2D drawing style. The mixture of 3D and 2D in animation can work hand in hand with each other, but here, the mixture of both didn't gel and work. I think Shinkai learned from his mistake as I haven't seen another machine looking as bad as this since he made it in 2002. Another part I didn't like was the English dubs. I've definitely heard worse, but this is nothing to write home about.But all-in-all The Voices of a Distant Star is just another movie to persuade you that this guy can create beautiful films, from the music to the characters to the artwork. Everything is done with so much heart. This is a film that beautifully looks at war, love and separation. This is more of an emotionally investing film than most of Hollywood's movies. And seeing that this short 25 minute movie, that was created by one single person and is executed with a great amount of detail shows just how special this film and director is.OVERALL : A

First of all, I wanted to say that this is a superb masterpiece by Makoto Shinkai. I'm not a big fan of Japanese anime or whatsoever, but this one stunned me, like BAM! Seriously though, I do not regret my decision, watching this anime instead of doing my task. A story with a simple concept, and I LOVE IT BIG TIME, because this one contains a time and space elements, a time difference from one place to another etc. You don't have to be an anime lover/fans or maniac to love this great job by Makoto Shinkai. The story itself, straight to the point and tells everything needed to be a perfect short anime/movie and even better, the duration is short. It also contains some action, drama and romance as well. Yes, the graphic is not as good as 5cm per-seconds and some modern anime, sure because this one was made a long time ago(duh it was 2003). But, you can compare it to any anime at that time, and I assure you that this one has a good quality. All in all, after I watched this, I can't move on from this anime, for hours, I don't know probably days or weeks. Anyway, if you haven't watched it, GO ON MAN, FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, IT'S GREAT AND THIS IS 2014 ALREADY. =))

This anime puts a human face on intergalactic warfare.If you have been even remotely fascinated by the portrayal of war between humanity and alien species, e.g. as depicted in "The Forever War" and "Starship Troopers", while at the same time appreciating the delicateness and sensitivity that typically characterize boy-girl love relationships in Japanese manga, you owe it to yourself to watch this piece of 21st century art...The fact that it was done largely by a single guy working off his computer is indeed phenomenal, not enough kudos can really go to him...Finally, the song "Through the Years and Far Away", providing the soundtrack to the final dramatic battle and act of apparent self-sacrifice by the mecha pilot, never fails to bring a tear to the eye and a jump to the heart.

As others have noted, this is basically a love story set during a war. It features Mikako and Noboru as two teenagers who have grown up together and fallen in love. They are separated when Mikako leaves to fight a battle in a distant star system and Noboru is left behind on Earth. Their only means of communication is via text message/e-mail over their cell phones. However, the many light years of space between them caused a time delay of months and sometimes years between these messages.I was incredibly disappointed when this film ended at only a little over 20 minutes. When I rented it, I did not know it was a short. I thought it was a full-length film. The brevity of the film was a bit disconcerting as I was just beginning to empathize with the characters when it ended. I am very impressed that one man created this on his home computer. Although the visuals would not win awards, they are adequate for the film. Additionally, the strength of the visuals comes in the backgrounds rather than in the animation itself.Much of this film is atmospheric. The backgrounds of space and planetside vistas lend the film a lyrical feel. The language of the characters themselves is almost poetic. And the music truly brings poignancy to life. I found myself sitting with the menu screen on the DVD just so I could listen to the theme music. It captures a hopeful yet incredibly melancholy feel of separation.Perhaps the greatest weak point in this film is that some ideas are suggested but never fully developed. (Spoilers may follow.) At one point, we see Noboru walking with another woman. Is the implication that he has found someone he could share his life with even if he truly still loves Mikako? Also, the communication between the aliens and Mikako suggests that the war is a misunderstanding. And what of the message that the alien leaves with Mikako that she will see Noboru again? Overall, though, I enjoyed this short. The music alone conveys much of what the story is. Although the beginning is rushed (I'm certain due to the length of the film), the ending that intercuts Mikako and Noboru's voices is artistically imagined and creatively executed. I was pleasantly surprised by the poignancy of the story if a little disappointed by the length of the film.