Anime has just taken a giant leap forward into its next level of entertainment. “Voices of a Distant Star” is a brand new animated adventure film from Director Makoto Shinkai, which doubles as his premiere entrance into the feature film world. One wonders where Shinkai has been prior to this – his first film is a masterpiece.

Most notably, the viewer will revel in the stunning graphical work that Shinkai has created – the pictures are a stunning blend of 3D animation and traditional artwork unlike anything else that has been brought to the screen this year, or any before it. Shinkai has also gone the extra mile in using “effects,” including that of sunlight splashes as the “camera” pans across the screen, and plenty of other camera tricks to make the action appear fast and furious, just as it should.

My only complaint with “Voices of a Distant Star” relates to its length – its duration does not quite reach 30 mintues, and honestly, the end of the film simply leaves the viewer wishing for more. Fortunately, the DVD contains an additional 75 minutes of Special Features, including interviews with Shinkai and additional short films from the man.

Even with the relative sparseness of the “Voices of a Distant Star” DVD, a major new talent in Japanese anime has been ushered in. Watch for Makoto Shinkai in the near future – with a modicum of motivation, animated films are about to be brought into a brand new era of production quality.