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Voices of a Distant Star (2002)
Voices of a Distant Star (2002) poster
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Voices of a Distant Star (2002)

ほしのこえ

Animation, Science Fiction, Romance • 25m

Director: Makoto Shinkai

Cast: Makoto Shinkai, Mika Shinohara, Donna Burke, Chihiro Suzuki, Sumi Mutoh

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IMDbThe Movie Database (TMDB)

Best English-friendly & video release

Japan SD Blu-ray (bonus on the International Edition of 5 Centimeters per Second)

DVD
Video notes:

Japan SD Blu-ray (bonus on the International Edition of 5 Centimeters per Second) has English dub and subtitles

Japan SD Blu-ray (bonus on the International Edition of 5 Centimeters per Second) is the native SD transfer in a superior MPEG-4 AVC encode. GKIDS Blu-ray is upscaled.

Updated 3 months ago


About the film

It is 2046 when a mysterious alien force begins their annihilation of the human race. Leaving behind the one person she loves, Mikako joins the interstellar battle as a pilot. And so - while Mikako risks her life to save mankind - Noboru waits. The two lovers, worlds apart, desperately strive to remain connected as the gap between them widens at a frightening pace.

Alternative Titles
The Voices of a Distant Star

More from Makoto Shinkai

See more →

Director: Makoto Shinkai

4K · Solid
Best English-Friendly & Audio:

US GKIDS 4K Blu-ray

Audio Notes:

Caveat: Songs are only in Japanese, even with the English dub selected.

JP Toho 4K Blu-ray for the alternate Japanese audio with English songs, and US OOP Funimation Blu-ray for the English dub with English songs

Best Video:

US GKIDS/Japan Toho 4K Blu-ray

Video Notes:

(US GKIDS 4K Blu-ray has a higher bitrate than the Japan Toho 4K Blu-ray, but improvements are minimal, if visible.)

Additional Info:

Most international releases have a green tint. Only the Japan Toho and US GKIDS releases have no such issues.

Director: Makoto Shinkai

4K · Excellent
Best English-Friendly:

Hong Kong Neofilms 4K Blu-ray

US/UK Crunchyroll Blu-ray for English dub

Upcoming Release:

US/UK Crunchyroll 4K Blu-ray

Best Video:

Hong Kong Neofilms 4K Blu-ray

Best Audio:

Hong Kong Neofilms 4K Blu-ray/Japan Toho 4K Blu-ray

US/UK Crunchyroll Blu-ray for English dub

Additional Info:

Hong Kong Neofilms 4K Blu-ray has better bitrate and detail than Japan Toho 4K Blu-ray, both releases have English subtitles.

The original theatrical Atmos mix has not been given a home release.

Director: Makoto Shinkai

Best English-Friendly:

US GKIDS Blu-ray

Best Video:

Italy Dynit Blu-ray

Best Audio:

US GKIDS Blu-ray for Japanese audio and Bandai Entertainment USA dub

OOP US ADV DVD for ADV dub

Director: Makoto Shinkai

Best English-Friendly & Audio:

US GKIDS Blu-ray

Best Video:

Italy Dynit Blu-ray

Director: Makoto Shinkai

Best English-Friendly & Audio:

US GKIDS Blu-ray

Best Video:

Italy Dynit Blu-ray

Director: Makoto Shinkai

Best English-Friendly:

US Sentai Filmworks Blu-ray

Sources: slow.pics (opens in a new tab)

Best Video:

Dynit ITA Blu-ray (caps)

Director: Makoto Shinkai

4K · Worse Than BD
Best English-Friendly & Audio:

US GKIDS / UK Anime, Ltd. Blu-ray

Best Video:

Italy Dynit Blu-ray

Additional Info:

4K Blu-ray is an inferior upscale that is oversharpened and overexposed HDR.

More Animation on Blu-ray

Director: Satoshi Kon

4K · Disappointing
Best English-Friendly & Video:

Sony 4K Blu-ray

Sources: Blu-ray.com (opens in a new tab)

Video Notes:

Sony 4K Blu-ray is very smeary with the upscaling but has correct aspect ratio and very good HDR grade.
UK Blu-ray has wrong colors, and Sony 2007 Blu-ray is the worst (encoding and AR)
See professorwho's review

Directors: Chris Appelhans & Maggie Kang

Best English-Friendly, Video & Audio:

Criterion 4K Blu-ray

Additional Info:

"Sing-Along Edition" not included on the Criterion 4K Blu-ray, only available on Netflix Streaming

Director: Masaaki Yuasa

Best English-Friendly & Video:

US GKIDS Blu-ray

Video Notes:

Japan Aniplex Blu-ray is severely lowpassed, which is not an issue on the US release

Director: Mamoru Oshii

4K · Solid
Best English-Friendly, Video & Audio:

Bandai JP 4K Blu-ray

Sources: slow.pics (opens in a new tab)

Video Notes:

All 4K releases are sourced from the same mediocre transfer provided by Bandai, with various amounts of tweaks. Japanese disc presents it with the least tinkering.

The best attempt at improving it comes from the German/French releases from KSM/All the Anime, both of which use the same master with HDR regrading (original grade is SDR in HDR container), tasteful regraining and sharpening, in an attempt to breathe some life into the middling transfer, making for an arguably more pleasing viewing experience.

All earlier releases are from an even worse transfer, with significant black crush, with the exception of a Japanese TV airing, which doesn't suffer from that issue, but instead is heavily sharpened and suffers from poor encoding.

Comparisons: JPN UHD, USA UHD, FRA/GER UHD, ITA UHD (tonemapped), JPN UHD, USA UHD, FRA/GER UHD, ITA UHD, ESP UHD (PQ), All 1080p BDs, HDTV, HDTV filtered

Audio Notes:

Original matrixed stereo mix: Bandai JP 4K Blu-ray
Most discs include this track with comparable fidelity (which is excellent).

Dolby Atmos remix: Lionsgate US 4K / All the Anime FR 4K
6.1 remix (from Ghost in the Shell 2.0): KSM DE 4K / All the Anime FR 4K

All tracks on the Lionsgate US 4K replace the original ending song with the one heard on the English dub. As the Atmos track on the FR 4K is just a port, it also has this song replaced.

Additional Info:

Japanese 4K includes English dub and subtitles.
French/German 4Ks are not English friendly, with no dub or subtitles.
French disc includes the Atmos track, but the German disc does not.

TV series

Best English-Friendly & Video:

UK Anime Ltd. Blu-ray

Video Notes:

UK has reportedly better compression than the US Viz Media

TV series

Best English-Friendly & Video:

UK Anime Ltd. Blu-ray

Video Notes:

UK has reportedly better compression than the US Viz Media

Director: Simon Wells

Video format: 1080p Blu-ray

Best Audio:

Dolby Stereo: THX Certified Laserdisc

Director: Hayao Miyazaki

Video format: UHD Blu-ray

4K · Excellent
Best English-Friendly:

2026 Japan Studio Ghibli (remastered) Blu-ray

Upcoming Release:

France 4K Blu-ray announced

Video Notes:

Remastered Blu-ray only included as a pack-in with the 4K Blu-ray. Includes English subtitles and a dub, which the 4K Blu-ray does not.

Best Audio:

Japan Studio Ghibli 4K Blu-ray

UK StudioCanal Blu-ray for the English dub

Audio Notes:

4K Blu-ray includes the original 5.1 mix in its unaltered form, all other releases after the LaserDisc, as well as the remastered Blu-ray, had its dynamic range lowered.

For the English dub, the UK StudioCanal Blu-ray is the least limited mix.

Additional Info:

US Disney Blu-ray has dubtitles. US GKIDS Blu-ray and Japan Studio Ghibli Blu-ray releases (both 2013, box set, and RM4K) have proper English subtitle translations.

Director: Hayao Miyazaki

Best English-Friendly & Video:

2014 Japan "Hayao Miyazaki Collection" Studio Ghibli Blu-ray

Upcoming Release:

Japan Studio Ghibli 4K Blu-ray announced for a November 25, 2026 release

Best Audio:

Japanese audio: 2014 Japan "Hayao Miyazaki Collection" Studio Ghibli Blu-ray/US GKIDS Blu-ray

English dub (Disney): 1998 US Disney VHS has better sounding vocals despite altered music and sound effects, the US Disney LaserDisc has limited audio, and 2003 DVD is a fake 5.1 upmix

Releases from 2010 onward have the original music and sound effects, but distorted vocals

English dub (Streamline): 1996 Japan remastered LaserDisc, available in Ghibli Ga Ippai Collection boxset

Additional Info:

2012 US Disney Blu-ray has dubtitles. US GKIDS Blu-ray has bonuses that are absent on the US Disney Blu-ray

Director: Wolfgang Reitherman

Video format: 1080p Blu-ray

Best English-Friendly & Video:

Original: 35mm scans or Disney LaserDisc (1.33:1 open matte)

Restored: Disney Limited Issue DVD (1.33:1 open matte)

Sources: Criterion Forum (opens in a new tab)

Video Notes:

Later Disney DVDs and Blu-ray are altered

Best Audio:

35mm scans or Disney LaserDisc

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· last reviewed 3 months ago

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