BROADCASTS.com

b'Professor Siracusa\\u2019s Anime class is back in session, as we watch two short films with similar themes, both by director Makoto Shinkai. First there\\u2019s \\u201cThe Voices of a Distant Star,\\u201d which features a boy and a girl separated by light-years as she fights an alien scourge. Then there\\u2019s \\u201c5 Centimeters Per Second,\\u201d in which a boy and a girl are separated by\\u2026 a long train journey. Both are beautiful explorations of teenage romantic angst and isolation, with images that will stick with our panelists for a long time.'