Fantastic!

It isn't all that great, actually. Really cheesy and very predicable of how certain scenes are gonna turn play out. However, I guess that's the charm of it all, because I would consider this one of my guilty pleasures.

Yes, absolutely, there is fun to be had, as well as many, many things to go boom, all amid an atmospheric urban jungle.

Let me be very fair here, this is not the best movie in my opinion. But, this movie is fun, it has purpose and is very enjoyable to watch.

I recommend "Hinokio: Intergalactic Love" to anyone who likes a family movie, or anyone who is tired of Too Much Angst and wants a happy story. :) I loved this movie because it is very well tied together-- there are no lose ends to speak of, but also because it explores a mature concept-- but in a way that younger people can understand, too. This is a movie that talks about death, love, forgiveness and friendship. Even "grown" people can take something out of this movie."Hinokio: Intergalactic Love" is a story of Satoru and his classmates. Satoru lost his mom in the same car accident that left him in a wheel chair. One year after the death of his mother, Satoru's father gives him a robot that allows him to go to school from home. In this way, Satoru can re-enter life outside his room without ever leaving it.The conflict in this movie comes at first from Satoru being alienated in his class. He wants to make friends with the other children, but they cannot see past the robot in front of them to the little boy talking to them through it. The children will not even call the robot by Satoru's name—instead, they refer to him as "Hinokio." Another conflict comes from Satoru's relationship with his father-- who Satoru refuses to speak to.The story is very well woven together with the introduction of a mysterious game "Purgatory"-- a game hidden within a game (Cyber City). This game catches Satoru's interest because it is centered on the after life.How will Satoru come to terms with his mother's death? Will he every make a connection with his friends in his class? Watch and find out. :)

I'm very like the plot of this movie. From the first scene, still stop me of everything to see every scene... The story of the youth show on the right way, sincere in the manner and have imaginary. Modern Animation can go along with beautiful scenario of suburb of Japan in a harmonious theme. Sometime sub-ego or super-ego when we're in pain / in vain, we don't know how to cope with it. Without the REAL friend or the best friend helping, that person may stuck and can't get out of that blackhole and show off with drastic action...This picture,not only without the conflict of the youth actor in the best acting but also the person behind. I would like to thank you for the guys behind this scene. And want to see this kind of good picture again !Very impressive ! Thailand Fans

To be completely honest, this is a film that I had little to no interest in watching. However, because a couple of my Internet friends seemed quite interested in it, I decided to give it a shot. Now I am glad I did. I was concerned at first that the film was going to be nothing more than a kid makes friends with a robot film, but Hinokio does not fall into this overdone plot device. Instead this film delves into a number of the ills of modern society in a fresh and entertaining manner.The film opens with Hinokio making its entrance into an otherwise mundane homeroom class consisting of such students as the nerdy Joichi, the hyperactive Kenta, and the teacher's pet Sumire. Also in the classroom is the moody Jun who, although a bit intrigued with the new "student", is not overly impressed by the new arrival. We soon learn that Iwamoto Satoru a young boy who is rehabilitating from a car accident controls Hinokio. The robot allows him to attend school and interact with other students while he recuperates at home. However, instead of being warmly embraced by his new classmates, Satoru, or Hinokio, is the victim of pranks. However, after he refuses to tattle on Jun, Kenta, and Joichi, the four soon become friends.While Satoru's relationship with his friends, especially with Jun, is the primary story, Satoru's relationship with his father, who the boy blames for the death of his mother, is also central to the film. Because of his reluctance to interact with the outside world and muteness with his father, Satoru resembles a Hikikomori, or shut-in, a social ill that has spread in modern Japanese society.At times humorous and at times quite moving, Hinokio is a good film to watch for those immersed in the violent films of Miike Takashi or the nostalgic oeuvre of Ozu Yasujiro. It reminds us that there are other films that while not overly artistic can really move an audience or just make one smile.

Emotional, thoroughly wonderful drama about loss, grief and friendship, and how we deal with those issues in various ways. This is a very intelligent film about just that; the robot, "Hinokio", beautifully serves as a metaphor for the inability of human interaction that the boy "Satoru" experiences after the death of his mother. His only means of communication with the outside world is "Hinokio", and together they ultimately break the silence between "Satoru" and the world outside.The acting is top-class, and the robotic effects simply awesome (some of the best CGI ever put on screen). A unique movie experience.