Whenever I watch a movie and the romance is lazy and/or rushed, I want to watch a foreign movie because they often handle the topic a lot better. Lost in Starlight is an example of that. While it’s not my favorite romance story I’ve seen in recent animated movies, it is still a good title. The movie is also a solid watch overall. I’d consider it a very low key title that isn’t going all out or trying to be explosive but just giving you a solid story with good pacing and no real issues.

The movie starts off with Nan’s mother dying off in space. Unfortunately while the space missions have been going well for humanity, she was the sole victim of the voyage. Her daughter Nan has still decided to pursue a career in going to space but others wonder if perhaps she is just burying her feelings. Her supervisor decides to play it safe and prohibits her from actually going to space. Nan is upset and tries to force her way back in with her scientific knowledge. In the meantime, she meets a guy named Jay who is a bit of a technician. It’s not his true passion though, he used to be a musician but then stuff happened and so he has walked away from it. Can Nan help Jay embrace his musical career once more? As for Jay, can he truly root for Nan to go into space when it will mean that they are separated for a long time?

Relationships will always have some drama and that’s the main dilemma for these two. Now Nan was pretty upfront about wanting to go to space from the jump so naturally I tend to be more on her side with this. The relationship was built with the understanding that she may have to go away. She definitely should have come clean to him the instant she was selected to go to space, but even so it’s not like this came out of the blue. Whenever you get together with someone who has a big life’s passion, you can’t expect that to ever fade. Fortunately Jay does his best to be supportive and handles it better than other leads would have. I was expecting more of a big crash out but for the most part it wasn’t so bad.

I can sympathize with it feeling sad of course, particularly the distance of it all. He can’t just walk over and visit her while she’s in space after all. At least they are able to stay in touch, albeit with a fairly long delay. That’s still far better than having no contact at all. Nan gets into some trouble over there but all in all things go pretty well. The themes of determination and trust are handled really well.

The plot that feels a bit unnecessary is Jay’s music though. I understand that he needed something to do and it was set up as a plot point early on but it was just hard to care as much. Nan was facing a life and death journey in space while Jay is trying to sing. They had to do this at the same time for parallels but when the stakes are so lopsided it just doesn’t work as well. I’d also say the music in this film could have been a bit better in general. It’s not bad but fairly subdued. It’s not the kind of soundtrack that will bring tears to you eyes the whole time.

This may go back towards the theme of this being an ordinary adventure as opposed to some kind of end of the world event but you could still go a bit crazier with the songs. They’re not bad by any means but you won’t remember them quite as well. The animation is pretty solid though. In particular it felt like they were putting a lot of attention on the clothing textures, animating more wrinkles and sharp colors there. So I’d say that works well enough and the movement is good. The film looks a little more faded in that cinematic look a lot of animations go for but it doesn’t hold the movie back or anything like that.

In terms of supporting cast, Jay probably beats Nan here. The rest of the band seemed rather interesting and I wouldn’t have minded seeing more of them. Nan’s best friend gets a decent amount of screentime but she tends to be a little more on the annoying side. She does a good job of cheering Nan up every now and then but some of her pranks can go a bit far. I always thought it seemed a bit annoying to just pick up the phone to try and embarrass your friend when the boyfriend is calling. Nan’s friend is there for her during the serious moments though.

The romance may feel a tad rushed but we did have some montages here and there so at least it’s not like it took place over the course of 5 days or anything like that. Still could have been built up more but at least it’s not a rebound or anything like that. The main two have some disagreements but don’t lose their heads either. It’s why I can call this a good romance all around. With both characters having some trauma (Nan’s being a lot more serious) it was also good for them to be able to talk to each other. Nan ultimately gets some closure in space although I would have liked a long conversation with her Mom. Perhaps that would have been a bit cheesy but I think it could have worked considering all the setup was there.

I was glad we got to space though. It takes a while before we actually see Nan leave so for a bit there you’re wondering just how much time is left. The beginning is definitely fast and very frantic but by the end the pacing slows down. it does help you to get the setup out of the way early though so I don’t have any issues with that. If I could add just one thing to the film, it would maybe be a final interview with Nan to show how far she has really come. We do see that she is over her trauma now but that would be a pretty good ribbon to tie the film from start to finish. This is the kind of film that will likely not get a sequel, but if one ever does appear it’ll be fun to see how that goes.

Overall, Lost in Starlight is a good film. It won’t hit the same levels as most of the anime romance films you watch but Korea’s still off to a good start with this one as a big budget animated title. I’ll look forward to seeing what they bring out next. There is no end to the amount of stories you can write after all and everything about this one was fundamentally sound so I’m not particularly worried. If this movie is up your alley then you should check it out. It’s one of those wholesome films that is hard to dislike and it being so down to Earth and low key is part of its charm.

Overall 7/10