Hal ~ The Movie

Konnichiwa~ 

“What if your lover died, you lost your will to live, and a robot was sent to you that looked like your lost lover?”

I recently watched the animated film Hal directed by Ryotaro Makihara. It is based off the manga Hal by Ayase Umi, which I have not read, so I can’t really say how accurately it follows it. The manga is only 1 volume long though, so I feel it couldn’t have left much out. It is completely scanlated for those who are interested, I might get around to reading it later, for now I am satisfied with beautiful movie. Let’s begin:

The story takes place in a technologically advanced society in which robots can be programmed to behave just like humans. They appear and move very humanistic, and it’s even possible to change their outer appearance so that they look completely human.

The android Q01 does just this in order to help a forlorn heart recover from the death of their lover.

After Hal’s death, Kurumi has lost the will to live. Her concerned grandfather begs Q01 to replace “Hal”, hoping that his presence will help her come to terms with Hal’s death and move forward. As the android takes of care of her, he learns about human life, Hal’s life, and Kurumi’s feelings for him. At first she keeps her distance, disgusted by the gesture. But gradually, she begins to open up to robot Hal. A heartwarming romance, but probably not in the sense you’re thinking. It focuses more on real Hal’s relationship with Kurumi

I’m not a very big fan of sci-fi: I don’t read stories about aliens and usually avoid stories about androids. But I kept hearing great things about this film, so I decided to check it out and I’m glad I did. Robot Hal is so sweet and adorably simple. He genuinely wants to bring Kurumi happiness, wants the bright smile he sees in old photographs to return. He’s kind and friendly, able to make friends with nearly everyone he interacts with. He is rather cautious about the original Hal, wondering who the person he has “replaced” was. He

learns from others that he was energetic, rather short-tempered, and because of his past, insecure about how little money he had. Overall though, he seemed to have been a kind person. A person Kurumi desperately wanted to protect: she appears most gentle when thinking of Hal and what he had to endure. She was a compassionate person, very cheerful and popular in their small community. But that isn’t the girl Hal is dealing with. He knows she once existed because of pictures from before the accident, but the one he sees now is cold, apathetic, and disinterested in the world around her.

The movie’s art and animation are beautiful. I saw the original manga art before watching the movie and was a little worried that they animators were going to ruin its cute, modern-shoujo style. The scenes were beautiful, my favorite was part of the climax so I can’t really describe it, but it was very emotional and well done.

I highly recommend this movie, its cute and heartwarming. The love Hal and Kurumi had for each other is endearing and after watching it, it easily became one of my favorite romances. I hope you watch it or read the manga

Bye-bye

~Nadeshiko-chan