There has always been this odd relationship between music and science-fiction, and not just that there have been artists that have albums where sci-fi has been a central theme. Expanding upon this relationship towards film and television, we have seen things like the Netflix anime series Carole & Tuesday, which ultimately is about a sentimental, if uplifting message about uniting everyone through music, set within a future that is more utopian than dystopian. Another Netflix piece is putting its own spin on the power of music set in a hopeful future, in the shape of Lost in Starlight.
Directed by Han Ji-won, who co-wrote Lost in Starlight with Kang Hyun-joo, this Korean animated feature tells the story of two star-crossed lovers. One of them is Nan-young (Kim Tae-ri), who has always dreamed of exploring space too and longs to go to Mars in hopes of finding a trace of her astronaut mom. When she meets Jay (Hong Kyung), a musician who also fixes retro sound instruments, a romance starts to bloom, until her dream comes true when she is selected as one of the astronauts for a Mars probe project.
Considering the amount of teen-centric anime romances in recent years, ever since 2016’s Your Name, Lost in Starlight’s focus on young adults feels a bit more refreshing, especially in who they are, through their personal and romantic lives. On the one hand, you have Nan-young who is still stricken with grief and pushes her career ambitions to the fullest to find some resolution for her turmoil. And then there is Jay, a part-timer who is not at all pushing his music ambitions, due to his own inner demons.
While there is more development towards Nan-young’s arc than Jay’s, the first half is centrally about their relationship, which starts with them bonding through a love of music as Jay tries to fix her vinyl player that is too retro for any of the futuristic stores in Seoul to fix. Through cute wordplay and romantic montages, this is one heartwarming romance that rivals the young love that you see in recent anime films. There is an honesty and sweetness from Kim Tae-ri and Hong Kyung’s vocal performances that it doesn’t make the film mawkish or sentimental. While there is a bit of a confrontation halfway through that sets the stage for what the two must go through individually, you are just hoping for them to reunite.
Given we have recently seen more international theatrical distribution of anime features, being a Netflix original Lost in Starlight will get never the big screen treatment, which is a shame, considering how gorgeous this looks. Although the term “anime” is specifically derived from Japanese animation, we have seen other studios from China and Korea that have put their own spin on anime, amongst them is Climax Studios from Korea. While the character designs are very anime-inspired, there’s a motion and rhythm that feels closer to live-action cinema, from handheld shots to dramatic lighting. In terms of art direction, it is nice seeing such incredible detail towards a futuristic Seoul that shows a hopeful future for us as opposed to the conventional wisdom to make it look like Blade Runner.
