Forum - View topicVoices of a Distant Star (OVA): highly praised, though seriously lacking.
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MaxSouth
Posts: 1364 |
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This OVA "Voices of a Distant Star" is supposed to be "marvelous film in almost every way" (ANN's review), but, as it turns out, it is marvellous in few ways, and seriously lacking in many ways:
Strong sides: * concept of long, lengthening distance of communications between lovers provokes in viewers immersively deep thoughts and emotions * great music * great mecha designs Weak sides: * plot is blatantly unbelievable: girl and boy obviously knew that with the idea that she wants to chase aliens she could time-warp to decades long in the future and that he would die already once she would be back to Earth in case of further expeditions -- so whole drama is their own doing * there is no way that in the future mankind would use 15 year old school girls to fight aliens (if to suppose that these would exist): for moral ethics reasons * and because the fights will be done computerized way, no bodily presence of human will be needed * also, there is no way humaniod spacecrafts will be used in the future -- it makes no practical sense * and, of course, there is no way that cellphones of the future would look like devices from 2001 * not only outdated, but also bad, twisted/crooked character designs Overall, this OVA confirmed my dislike for "scientific fiction"/"mecha" genre -- because authors usually can not handle thinking out future at least somehow realistic way. Typical fantasy that includes magic does not have that drawback, because it does not claim the future or its supposed inventions. I had to rate this OVA as "very good", two levels below highest rank, because author did not thought out details of the future in way that would not alienate thinking viewers. [EDIT: Cleaned up your thread title a little to make it flow better. -TK] Last edited by MaxSouth on Fri Feb 10, 2012 3:52 pm; edited 2 times in total |
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Saffire
 Posts: 1256 Location: Iowa, USA |
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If you hated it enough to write a rant about all the things wrong with it, why would you rate it as a very good movie? I'm kind of confused what your actual overall opinion is.
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Symmetrical_Magician
 Posts: 274 |
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Speaking as someone who hasn't seen this yet, but really wants to, I can pretty safely say that these two points are more than enough for me. Actually, just the first one would be, but good music would be the icing on the plot cake. I think it kind of depends on just what you're watching for and/or what you value in this kind of story? The idea of scientific inaccuracies might stick out strangely- if one even notices, which isn't always the case- but it's not going to pull everyone out of the story nor detract from their interest in the characters, and I think that's what's being considered most strongly. Thinking about it, I don't know if I've ever seen a professional review where aspects of the technology were mentioned as pushing someone's suspension of disbelief, particularly not in a sci-fi series. The point of mecha/sci-fi series isn't usually to predict the future, even if that kind of prediction is implied by the setting. It's to tell a cool story. |
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MaxSouth
Posts: 1364 |
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Yes, I would highly recommend everyone to see this OVA.
As I wrote in the first post, it is marvellous in few ways. With its concept and music, this anime is epic, poetic work of art. And the rate "Very good" I gave it despite serious drawbacks means that the work is indeed very good. If you are able to turn your pragmatic, realistic, logical mind off, you could easily able to find this OVA to be exceptional. I am only warning these people like myself, who can not really turn their minds off, and who suffer when setting is not thought out really well. It is actually a waste that author did not took time to think more about setting of his concept.
As my rate states, overall opinion is that though the drawbacks are serious and more plenty than strong sides, the latter are exceptional and prevail. (If this OVA would be just "good" content-wise, then my overall rate would be "weak" or something.) So I am just trying to be as objective as possible -- without siding with typical binary "love"/"hate" positions. [EDIT: Please use the Edit button instead of double posting. -TK] |
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Konopan
Posts: 399 |
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Isn't this every Shinkai work? I really don't know what you would want to try and expect from a romance-based rehash of Gunbuster made by a guy best known for making cloud porn, but the stuff you're complaining about seems more like baseless nitpicking you could have settled with yourself before watching the film. |
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MaxSouth
Posts: 1364 |
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"Baseless nitpicking"?
Weaknesses I listed are very concrete and so far no one, including you, disputed any item. And no wonder, since I did not list there emotional attitudes or "dontlikes". Points I made are not matter of taste. |
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Symmetrical_Magician
Posts: 274 |
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This I would disagree with. While I don't doubt the points you listed, it's a matter of taste whether or not they are worth mentioning. Everyone has different standards for what does and doesn't detract from things they watch, as far as technical points are concerned. You seem to have enjoyed it despite the problems you found, but not everyone will find these same issues as troubling. I think one could argue that everything in fiction is a matter of taste. Almost anything can and will be subjected to different interpretations... You found "Voice of Distant Star" lacking, and other people didn't. Nobody is incorrect. |
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Key
Moderator
 Posts: 18461 Location: Indianapolis, IN (formerly Mimiho Valley) |
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No, they didn't know this in advance. I saw nothing in it which can reasonably be interpreted as indicating that they expected from the start to ultimately be separated by eight light years.
If you're raising these beef about this title then you must have the same beefs about 95+% of all mecha titles ever made. And while I agree that the former one is unbelievable and has bothered me a bit, it is a concession that must be accepted because it is done in the spirit of decades of mecha titles and is entirely a side issue which does not in any way interfere with the quality of the production.
Say what?
This is your only other legitimate complaint. Character designs have long been acknowledged as Shinkai's weak point.
Oh, give it a rest. This thread has only existed for a little more than an hour and featured three posts that weren't yours. And yes, some of the points you mention are "matters of taste" whether you want to admit that or not. |
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MaxSouth
Posts: 1364 |
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Key:
1) they knew: the girl discussed in the beginning that she is going to study in the space academy. This obviously means that the duty might lead her to go far away. Long-distance travel in space would always convert to years on Earth. (And she mentioned aliens, which makes that possibility even clearer.) They both knew; it is not like it was "fate" or she was kidnapped to space; 2) I would raise this about every mecha show, yes; this is one of the reasons why I can not fully like most of these shows; 3) translation: live human pilots will be never sent to deep space to fight aliens (if these would exist and considered to be a threat). This would be done by autonomous unmanned machines. So, for now, you did not dispute even single point (of six) about weaknesses of the show I listed. Last edited by MaxSouth on Fri Feb 10, 2012 4:24 pm; edited 3 times in total |
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Errinundra
Moderator
 Posts: 6587 Location: Melbourne, Oz |
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I think what MaxSouth is trying to say is that, with the technology available, why have pilots at all? The mecha could be controlled remotely. No explaination is provided as to why there must be pilots, let alone 16 year old pilots. But, as you say, Key, it's part of a long tradition in anime. My view of Voices of a Distant Star is that it says everything his subsequent films say (which is worthwhile) but in considerably less time. |
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DavidShallcross
 Posts: 1008 |
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What do "outdated character designs mean?" Just that they are out of fashion? That would be a pretty shoddy criticism. So, please explain. |
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Megiddo
 Posts: 8360 Location: IL |
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Thank you for making me laugh MaxSouth.
That you can sit down and watch a very small 25 minute 'movie' and then come out with a bunch of questions is adorable. It's like you don't understand what happens in character-specific works. I can read a short story by Asimov and come out with a similar set of questions. Because they're short stories. They have a purpose other than providing a full narrative backdrop. When he wrote 'Robot Dreams' Asimov didn't want me questioning 'How do robots dream' because such notion wasn't at all important to the story. He wanted to draw a parallel between the enslaved Hebrews and the 'enslaved' robots, which is why the robot dreamed he was Moses, freeing his 'brethren'. Asking such questions means that one completely missed the purpose of the short story. |
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P€|\||§_|\/|ast@
 Posts: 3498 Location: IN your nightmares |
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I actually agree with a lot of what MaxSouth is saying, and I'm having a similar discussion in the latest The Stream thread. MaxSouth seems to be a hard sci-fi fan. I have nothing against that brand of sci-fi fandom, I just care more about story and characters than details and explanations in sci-fi. Sci-fi is fiction with a setting that is interesting (space, aliens, technology) but isn't an integral part of the story. Even still I think MaxSouth has valid points, BUT one small detail I do think there's some confusion with:
Time does not pass differently between the main character and her lover. Her long-distance travel has no affect on the passage of time than if they were both sitting in the same room throughout the duration of the movie. Hard-science-wise it would because high speed travel actually impacts the relative passage of time between a stationary object and a moving object. But that is omitted from Voices of a Distant Star because it complicates the actual premise of phone communication only being able to travel at the speed of light when the increasing distance between them is approaching many, many light years. You have to omit that piece of science reality, therefore the only way to tell the story is in a soft sci-fi fashion. I did a little math and discovered the story ignores one other small detail of just math alone. Here's an example. I am just 1 light year from earth traveling at just 0.75 the speed of light. If I sent a message traveling at the speed of light to earth and the recipient responded the same day they got it. I would not receive that message for another SIX years. This is because even if I am traveling slower than my message, it still takes time for it to *catch up*. And if I am traveling faster than the speed of light, it will NEVER catch up. Last edited by P€|\||§_|\/|ast@ on Sat Feb 11, 2012 2:48 am; edited 1 time in total |
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MaxSouth
Posts: 1364 |
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Thank you for making me laugh, Mediggo. Size of the story has nothing to do with how much effort author does -- or does not -- coming up with consistent, reasonable setting. I think that when in "scientific fiction" appear such ridiculousnesses like 2001' cellphones or blinking tubed TVs as in Akira movies, it is gross disrespect toward viewers. Authors should have chosen other genre work with, not "scientific fiction", or really take time to come up with more accurate settings. And no, I do not mean that length of the work would all of sudden have to be increased because of that. |
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dtm42
Posts: 14084 Location: currently stalking my waifu |
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My biggest problem with Voices of a Distant Star is that it is so overhyped. It's a nice-enough OVA, and fair credit to Shinkai, what he created is an amazing feat for one person. But boy do some people worship this OVA unnecessarily. This is not the masterpiece that people try and claim it to be, nowhere close. Overhyping it just turns people off because their expectations were raised too high.
I rated it as Very Good and I stand by that rating. It is a good piece of work. But the only standout aspect to it is the history of its creation and the way it launched Shinkai's directorial career, nothing more. |
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