Voices of a Distant Star is, in a word, ambitious. Makoto Shinkai wrote, directed, and produced the anime in a period of seven months using his Power Mac G4. If that alone wasn’t impressive, he provided half of the voices for the original Japanese audio. The 2002 OVA’s story was ambitious as well: telling a story that spans nearly a decade about two childhood friends who are dragged further and further apart. It’s a story that mixes fantastical mecha elements with a very relatable, slice-of-life romance. The story sounds like it could make for a decent one-cour show, at the shortest. Prepare to pick up your jaw from the floor because Voices of a Distant Star is only twenty-five minutes long. Ambitious indeed.

And, believe it or not, Makoto Shinkai manages to pull off a compelling story despite the short run time. Nagamine Mikako and Terao Noboru are junior high school students and best friends. They are anticipating attending the same high school, but Mikako is soon recruited to serve as a pilot for UN Spacey. She’s deployed and the two are forced to communicate via text messages. As she’s deployed farther and farther from Earth, Noboru must wait longer and longer to receives texts from his friend (I loved this astronomical detail). I was initially worried that the story would end up being either quite dense and confusing or sparse and unfulfilling, but a lot happens in a short time, yet it doesn’t feel like too much. A careful balance is struck; enough is shown to make the story to make it cohesive while, given the runtime, the OVA isn’t bogged down. In hearing their thoughts about the situation they’re in, even if they’re not super fleshed out, you really start to feel for them. Helping out matters is the music which is simple, but moving.

The low point of this anime is definitely the animation and art. Given that this was a solo project, I suppose it couldn’t be helped. Character models often look downright amateurish and at times remind me of something from ctrl-alt-del. Luckily, the art didn’t detract from the experience much, for me, but if subpar art bothers you, I’d take heed. There’s also CGI for the mechs, but it really didn’t seem that out of place. For its faults, the anime still looks pretty modern for 2002.

I didn’t really like how the story started in media res, with Makoto in a school building, only for it to be revealed to be her internal musings, with her in a mech. Yes, it’s shocking, but it’s also confusing and I think it would be better if the story was told chronologically, given how short it is and how necessary it is for the viewer to understand this story. Still, this is a minor nitpick.

Ultimately, there isn’t much to say about Voices of a Distant Star, but that’s more due to its brevity than anything. The things that are said are pretty much all positive. I enjoyed my brief time with this OVA and implore viewers to experience this hidden gem for themselves. It’s only twenty-five minutes, but it certainly leaves an impression for longer.

8/10

B-