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19 of 20 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
An epic love story, in under 30 minutes...., July 23, 2003
If you were ever looking for an anime that could be used as an introduction to the world of Japanese animation, look no further than Voices of a Distant Star. I will not give away too much of the story other than the basic plot of the movie. First off, if you are looking or a big mech fighting melee, look somewhere else. Not to say that there isn't any of that, it is primarily a love story about two people torn apart by war. This film has just the right amount of mech fighting to balance the whole thing out. The story is told entirely through the two main characters, one from the soldier traveling light years through space, and one from the man that she left behind back on earth. Now, enough of the story, now onto the details of the film: The DVD Menus:
This is one of the cleanest DVDs I've seen in a while, no excess junk on any of the menus. I'm a firm believer in the whole "less is more" concept, and this DVD adheres wonderfully to that. From the minute I put the disc in, I found my self hunting through the menus so I could listen to the music clips that were on each one. The Music:
From the music on the title screen, you will be hooked on the perfectly fitting piano score selected for this story. Throughout the entire film the music changes to help with the emotional direction of the story. Even the battle theme managed to turn a soft piano song into a believable fight song. I found myself scouring the internet trying to find the music for download. The animation:
The animation on this DVD is mostly computer generated. The character designs look a little choppy compared to the 3D rendered mechs, buildings, and spacecraft scattered throughout the feature. Still, they don't look out of place at all. A lot of complaints I've seen were about the lack of actual animation and the excessive use of still images. There is still a lot of animation, and the still images in no way take away from the film. In most cases, I believe it just adds to the story, it also gives you time to sit and stare at the awesome use of color. If only the real world looked as nice as this. :) The voice acting:
This is one of the few Animes where I can honestly say that the English voices are WAY better than the original Japanese tracks. The voice actors hired for this did a top notch job and really brought forth the emotional impact to this film that I felt was missing on the Japanese track. You can truly hear the pain in the voices on the English track. Even though I don't understand any Japanese other than "hello", it just seemed to be lacking any emotion. DVD Extras:
There are quite a few extras on this disc that will keep you from feeling that you wasted [$$] on a 30 minute DVD. There is another feature by the creator called "She and Her Cat" and an interview with the creator. Japanese trailers for Voices of a Distant Star, and a few other trailers of other releases from ADV Films. After watching this DVD once, it has towered over all of my other Anime movies by far. Do not hesitate to add this to your collection.
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DVD ~ Kenji Mizuhashi
DVD ~ Mamoru Hosoda
DVD ~ Carrie Savage
DVD ~ Miyoko Shôji
DVD ~ Kenichi Ogata
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