Review of Hello World

“Dating is something that you can’t do alone...let’s try it together, shall we?” I honestly love this line so much, it provides a different outlook, and seeing Ichigyou get all red after was quite the treat. There were many takeaways from Hello World, and I think the biggest thing for me was that sometimes you’re gonna have to let people go, everybody who is in your life is meant to be apart of your journey, but not all of them are going to stay to the end. It’s intriguing to see Ichigyou be mostly unphased, even as she sees her boyfriend literally summon a black hole fromher hands. She is placed in a ridiculous predicament, yet she never questions the state she’s in, the world she’s come to know, and Naomi’s incredible power.

The ending we received was very eye opening, as we get to see this recreated future with Naomi and Ichigyou on an entirely new world. I am slightly depressed to see Ichigyou’s cuteness diminished over the years.

Story: 8/10

Hello World introduces a really unique plot and concept. The story does contain cliches, but the concepts shown throughout are stellar. For whatever reason, animes that alter with timelines are usually really appealing and amazing, this film is no exception. I’m pretty sciency and philosophical, so I really took to the entire idea of the ALLTALE Quantum tech. I thought it was really interesting to see this perspective, where it’s possible to go back and forth with the present and past. Hello World bears similarities to Steins;Gate, as they are both Sci-Fi romances, and introduce some similar concepts. Both are great in their own right, and I really enjoyed both. That plot twist was well…a plot twist, and it was extremely suspenseful and exciting at that.

Art: 9/10

Initially you can see the flaws with using C.G.I in the characters, but later it gets unnoticed. It’s understandable, and was necessary for this film to be C.G.I given the objects we would see in the second half of the movie. The characters look very similar to that of Kyoto Animation, and I’m all for it. There were some great examples using C.G.I in this film, like when Naomi starts to alternate universes. Holy, that beautiful rainbow we got treated to in the end was really amazing and beautiful.

Sound: 10/10

Sound design was really god damn good. The application of music and sound effects in their scenes were perfect, especially toward the end. I could download the entire Hello World soundtrack and listen to it on loop. The voice actors were also pretty good, and I felt like they fit the roles really well. Of course their voice acting wasn’t out of this world, but nevertheless they did a good job.

Character: 8/10

All the characters don’t have all that much depth, the most depth we get is in future Naomi. That being said, Naomi and Ichigyou look so good as a couple together. I heavily respect Naomi's drive to do what he does, and he does a really good job being a mentor to his past self. Naomi’s past self isn’t much of a slouch either, the progression of this Naomi we get to witness is nothing short of impressive. Ruri doesn’t go through much character development, however Ichigyou is stupiddd cute, and she slightly reminds me of Azusa from K-On

Enjoyment: 9/10

It’s been quite a while since I felt emotional about anything, and even though that farewell between the Naomi's was slightly cliche it still felt wholesome and impactful. I’m a big sucker for these school romances, and I thought that the romance in Hello World was really enjoyable. Even though there wasn’t much action, I savored every single moment of it. Not to mention that this was a Sci-Fi Romance, with very interesting theories, ideas and concepts that keep your head turning. With technology and knowledge increasing, it’s interesting to see the various possibilities our world has in the future, just a mere 6 years away.

Overall: 8/10

Overall, my experience with Hello World was extremely good. The themes that were expressed throughout were meaningful, and I think that’s important when you’re enjoying something. Graphinica killed it with this film, and I cannot wait to watch their other works. There are going to be people who critique, but I think you should definitely give this movie a watch.