Hinokio

2005 Japanese film

9 July 2005 (2005-07-09)

Running time

111 minutesCountryJapanLanguageJapanese

Hinokio (ヒノキオ) is a 2005 Japanese science fiction film directed by Takahiko Akiyama and starring Masatoshi Nakamura, Kanata Hongo and Mikako Tabe. Its tagline is "Inter Galactic Love".

Overview

A recent accident has left Satoru Iwamoto, an elementary school student, temporarily needing a wheelchair. In addition, the recent loss of his mother has thrown Satoru into a reclusive state, locking himself from the outside world. However, in an effort to help Satoru recover from his injuries, his father, Kaoru, has designed a remote-controlled robot that will go to school in his place and allow him to interact with people and do normal things.

The robot, "piloted" by Satoru from a large control terminal in his room, is nicknamed 'Hinokio' by his classmates. Hinokio is mostly admired by his fellow students, and they together start a generally normal year of school. But the story soon dwells more on Satoru, himself, as he rediscovers love and friendship through classmate Jun Kudo and also his own father.