Hoshi no koe (2003) Voices of a Distant Star

Directed by Makoto Shinkai

A stunning short anime written, directed and created by one man and his computer. 

At only 25 minutes long you wouldnt expect very much but this simple tale of a boy and girl in love, being pulled further and further apart but still getting strength from each other is a delight.

Mikako dreams of going into space and given the opportunity, grabs it; Noboru her boyfriend stays on earth but feels lost without her. They continue to communicate by cell phone but as the distance gets greater the messages take longer to reach each other, by the time she arrives at Pluto her messages takes 6 months to get to Noboru and his life appears to be falling to pieces but things have a habit of getting worse and due to an interplanetary war they do, but will matters improve?

A stylish anime although some of the 3D work stands out a bit too starkly against the traditional 2D animation, the greatest strength though are the characters and storyline, a simple but beautiful tale illustrating that love can cross all boundaries, even that of time, it also shows how not being close to the one you love can disrupt your life.

If this is anything to go by, Makoto Shinkai has a great future in anime ahead of him, as long as he keeps putting as much thought into the characters and story as he has with this.

Cheers Trev.

BBFC rated PG 

P.S Thanks hengcs, I got this after your recommendation.