“If you had a chance to play God, would you take the risk of being selfish with the consequence of everything falling apart, leading to your own destruction?” is the phrase I’d write for Hello World.
HELLO WORLD is your one of a kind sci-fi movie released this 2019. Before we start this review, all I can say is it was mind-boggling. It gave the viewers a different view of Kyoto from how the movie was described online and the trailers.
The Technicalities
The movie was fully animated in CGI. The characters were in a beautiful and smooth animation. Props to the studio that brought us Weathering with You that gave us the superb eye candy for 3D pans and visuals and the creators of Sword Art Online with the high-tech transitions and technical aspects of the movie that made me remember SAO and GGO.
The Plot
Because of its sci-fi theme, many might relate it with To Aru Majutsu no Index for its relation to deep science, or Steins; Gate because the movie also has the time travel aspect—but it’s more than that.
Hello, World is like a mix of plots of known sci-fi themed series and novels. Personally, somewhere in the middle got me questioning that all of the events that took place were too much for a sci-fi film, as it went into a fantasy-like turn of events. It made me think that all of the things happening do not even make sense anymore. However, the execution of the film from its climax to end was superb.
Overall Verdict
The first part of the film features your usual romantic story introduction, wherein the protagonists Katagaki Naomi and Ichigyo Ruri meet, eventually fall in love. The middle part of the movie is where the story unfolds with the revelations and twists happening. Meanwhile, the resolution of the film is where the Katagaki has his dramatic end as he realizes what he did and what he has to do, leading to his sacrifice.
Friendly tip, once the screen goes black, do not stand and leave just yet, because the real twist of the movie is at the end. Remember to notice small details that will affect your expectations on the movie. It’s like those “unseen lines” that would connect the dots which will explain all the things that happened to the protagonists. The visual that flowed smoothly with the plot is 100% eye candy and pleasing to anime movie enthusiasts. Seeing it on the big screen is worth it.
Closing
HELLO WORLD is a movie that I would watch at least 2-3 times if given a chance. The story is simple but the actual plot can happen someday with how technology advances nowadays. We were bamboozled at the end, after all the ride we went through with Katagaki and Ichigyo. The ending made total sense if you paid attention to every small detail. This is a sci-fi anime movie you should see before 2019 ends!
Watch HELLO WORLD on cinemas starting October 30, 2019!
SetsuAni would like to thank Pioneer Films and Anime Movies Philippines for the opportunity and invitation to be one of the first to watch HELLO WORLD here in the Philippines through the advanced private screening held in Cinema ’76 at Anonas Quezon City on the 28th of October 2019.
–Franz Rivera
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