Nonureva Really Surprised!

GarnettTeenage The film was still a fun one that will make you laugh and have you leaving the theater feeling like you just stole something valuable and got away with it.

Voxitype Good films always raise compelling questions, whether the format is fiction or documentary fact.

Aneesa Wardle The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.

Tweekums This really was a delightful little film, as others have said the animation was beautiful and the story touching. Obviously being only twenty five minutes long it can't have the depth of a full length film but it certainly filled those twenty five minutes well.Mikako and Noboru are girlfriend and boyfriend ending their time in middle school, he goes on to high school but she is recruited into UN Space Army to pilot a Mecha against the Tarsians, an alien race that have attacked a human exploration team. She keeps in contact with Noboru by text message but as she goes further and further from Earth her messages take longer and longer to get to him, by the end her messages take eight years to arrive. While the love story is the main theme of the film we also see some good action sequences involving Mikako's Mecha and the Tarsians. By the end I was left wanting more, I'd definitely recommend this to anybody who enjoys anime. If I hadn't heard that this had been made by one person on his home computer I would have never have guessed as the animation is as good as that on most studio made productions I've seen.These comments are based on watching the film in Japanese with English subtitles.

Samuel Orozco First of all, it is really really good.What amazed me the most is how in such a short period of time Makoto Shinkai is able to create such a wonderful, clear, interesting and beautiful story.This 25 minute ova tells the story of two friends who are separated because of military reasons. as the distance between them grows, it is harder for them to communicate. Just as Makoto Shinkai's other movies the story basically tries to explain how time and distance make people grow apart even when they love each other. This movie however is still in every aspect bellow 5 minutes per second. The reason I didn't like it as much as other Shinkai's movies is because animation was not very good, or maybe I just didn't like it. Never the less, its still a great movie which I recommend to everyone, (anime fan or not). Its easy to follow, very well built, and as I already said, is by far the best work I've ever seen in such a short period of time. Very very good. p.s: watch 5 minutes per second (also by the same director) is the best!!

juanjevz It is quite simple to understand. Japanesse people have a great taste for animation, like almost any other culture around the world could have it. It's director (already famous by his OVAS) has give his best in the realization of the film, an adaptation for the novel "The songs of Distant Earth" by Arthur C. Clark. With a soundtrack directed by Tenmon and worthy of a whole master piece. Pure art, wonderfully made: history, scene, soundtrack, animation, voices, everything is perfect in Hoshi no Koe, even when the length of the movie is merely 20 min. In summary is just a superb piece! I just wanted to say that if you like animations, you want to taste something new, or simply fulfill the emptiness that commercial films shall never do; Hoshi no Koe is your film, and its a great option to enjoy with friends who appreciate fine art. I can assure you will enjoy every minute until the end. Recommended!

Aglaia000 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.