During Anime Expo last year, we announced that we had acquired the rights to the romantic sci-fi film, Hal. From the studio behind Attack on Titan comes their first film ever, and wow is it stunning. Hal is a love story set in the near future, with sci-fi elements and gorgeous animation. Manga fans might recognize the character designs from Io Sakisaka, the manga artist and creator of Strobe Edge and Ao Haru Ride.
We’ve been pretty quiet about this film since we announced it last year, but now we’re pleased to tell you that the film will be coming to Blu-ray and DVD combo pack this fall; and yes, it will be a dual language release (that means it’ll have both a dubbed and subbed track). Here’s a promotional trailer.
synopsis:
From the studio behind Attack on Titan comes the directorial debut of a bold, new voice in the world of anime.
Kurumi’s heart was broken by the sudden death of her boyfriend in a tragic airplane accident. Forced to carry on without her beloved Hal, she fell into a reclusive and joyless existence. Kurumi had given up on the world, but a brilliant scientist devised a plan to win her back. By melding futuristic technology with the binary equivalent of human emotion, they created an ultra-lifelike robotic surrogate to take Hal’s place – and lure Kurumi from her shroud of solitude. Resistant at first, this shattered beauty slowly yielded to her feelings of longing – and took comfort in the company of a robot. Though their unique bond grew stronger with each passing day, Kurumi and Hal would soon discover that nothing about their artificial love story was quite as it seemed.
Hal‘s official North American subtitled film premiere will be at Sakuracon this Friday at 4:15 pm. Be sure to catch it if you’re attending!
