Although it looks like a studio work, Voices of a Distant Star is a personal film, made almost entirely by a single artist, Makoto Shinkai. Mikako and Noboru are separated at the beginning of high school in 2046. She's accepted into the training program for mecha pilots to fight the aliens who attacked human settlements on Mars. As she moves across the miles and, ultimately, light years, she sends messages that the forlorn Noboru patiently awaits.