# Hello World

By [John Cao](https://paragraph.com/@john-cao) · 2024-05-13

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**_Hello World_** ([Japanese](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_language): ハロー・ワールド), stylized as **_HELLO WORLD_**, is a 2019 [Japanese animated](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anime) [science fiction](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Science_fiction) [romantic drama](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Romantic_drama) film directed by [Tomohiko Itō](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tomohiko_It%C5%8D_\(director\)) from an original [screenplay](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Screenplay) written by Mado Nozaki. Produced by [Graphinica](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Graphinica) and distributed by [Toho](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toho), the film is set in a futuristic [Kyoto](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kyoto) where a high school student named Naomi Katagaki encounters a person claiming to be himself, who time-traveled from 10 years in the future to save a classmate named Ruri Ichigyō.

The film stars [Takumi Kitamura](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Takumi_Kitamura), [Tōri Matsuzaka](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/T%C5%8Dri_Matsuzaka), and [Minami Hamabe](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minami_Hamabe). In December 2018, Itō announced that he would be directing the film along with Nozaki and character animation designer [Yukiko Horiguchi](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yukiko_Horiguchi), making it his first film outside [_Sword Art Online_](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sword_Art_Online) series that he was known for directing.

_Hello World_ premiered in Kyoto on September 11, 2019, and was released in Japan on September 20. The film grossed over $25 million worldwide, with critics praising the direction and animation. The film received novelization, two manga adaptations, and an anime spin-off.

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*Originally published on [John Cao](https://paragraph.com/@john-cao/hello-world)*