Interest

Mamoru Miyano to Star in Sci-Fi Romance Anime Film Hal

Voice actor Mamoru Miyano (Death Note, Chihayafuru, Soul Eater) has joined the cast of the near-future romance anime film Hal. The "near-future romance" follows a girl named Kurumi (voiced by Yōko Hikasa) who lost Haru (Yoshimasa Hosoya), a boy she liked, in a plane accident. A robot "Robo Hal (Haru)" turns into her substitute for Haru.

Miyano plays an old friend of Haru (Yoshimasa Hosoya) named Ryū. As children, Ryū and Haru worked together as part of an illegal child labor force. One day, Robo Hal runs into Ryū on the street.

Also joining the cast is Shinpachi Tsuji (Fairy Tail, Master Keaton) as Dr. Aranami, a scientist designated to teach Robo Hal the truth about the world and society, and Tamio Ohki (Eureka Seven, Ghost in the Shell) as Kurumi's grandfather.

Manga creator Io Sakisaka (Strobe Edge, Ao Haru Ride) created the original character designs, and Ryōtarō Makihara (storyboard and episode direction on Guilty Crown, The Tatami Galaxy) is making his directorial debut with this film at Wit Studio. Izumi Kizara (live-action Sexy Voice and Robo, Q10) wrote the screenplay, which is not based on preexisting material.

Katsuhiko Kitada (Guilty Crown, Fullmetal Alchemist: The Sacred Star of Milos) is in charge of the character animation as chief animation director, and Asami Kiyokawa (Paradise Kiss) is serving as the visual art director. Michiru Oshima (Fullmetal Alchemist, Beck, Blast of Tempest) is scoring the music. Hitomi Hasegawa, Hirotaka Katō, and Atsuko Nozaki are all serving as animation directors, and Shōji Hata is serving as sound director.

The film will open on June 8, and a manga adaptation just launched in Shueisha's Bessatsu Margaret (Betsuma) magazine last month.

Source: Comic Natalie

Image © 2013 Hal Production Committee