Kurumi’s heart was broken by the sudden death of her boyfriend in a tragic airplane accident. By melding futuristic technology with the binary equivalent of human emotion, a brilliant scientist created an ultra-lifelike robotic surrogate to take Hal’s place – and lure Kurumi from her shroud of solitude.
Score
Michiru Oshima's delicate strings that know exactly when to crush you.
Writing
A 60-minute runtime with zero fat and a third-act gut punch.
Director
Ryotaro Makihara
Yoshimasa Hosoya
Hal (voice)
Yoko Hikasa
Kurumi (voice)
Mamoru Miyano
Ryuu (voice)
Shinpachi Tsuji
Aranami (voice)
Tamio Ohki
Tokio (voice)
Ako Mayama
Tsukiko (voice)
Hikari Yono
Rumiko (voice)
Ikki
Nepali (voice)
Kanami Satou
Megane (voice)
Hiroki Goto
Maru (voice)
Arisa Nishiguchi
Hat (voice)
Ryo Kuratomi
Ryuu's Friend (voice)
Uko Tachibana
Erika (voice)
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Hal was produced by Wit Studio right after Attack on Titan season 1, making it their unexpected pivot from giant horror to intimate sorrow.
The film's title is deliberately ambiguous — it refers to both the human Hal and the robot HAL, blurring which 'version' was ever truly the 'real' boyfriend.
JP
