‘Hotori’ Blu-Ray Review: A Short Yet Poignant Anime That’s Worth A Watch

InnovationGaming‘Hotori’ Blu-Ray Review: A Short Yet Poignant Anime That’s Worth A WatchByOllie Barder,Contributor.Forbes contributors publish independent expert analyses and insights. Ollie Barder covers Japanese pop-culture and gaming from Tokyo.Follow AuthorJun 02, 2026, 05:18am EDT--:-- / --:--This voice experience is generated by AI. Learn more.This voice experience is generated by AI. Learn more.One of the more overlooked anime of the past few decades is the rather sweet Hotori, and now it’s finally remastered on Blu-ray.A short one-off short story, Hotori tells the tale of the titular Hotori, who has a condition where she is losing her memories, and Suzu, her friend, who’s also a robot that is being implanted with memories of a dead boy.The anime starts with Suzu walking to meet Hotori holding a gun with ominous intent, only for the story to go back in time and show how the two originally became friends.Obviously, I’m not going to spoil how this plays out, as much of the exposition is directly relevant to how the anime concludes. However, it is a surprisingly poignant tale and one that deals very directly with the theme of loss, both through death and the importance of a person’s memories.I remember seeing this back in 2005 and finding it quite moving, but I felt that it could have had a bigger budget and slightly better character designs.Not that the character designs are bad, but from the side, they look a bit odd and flat. This is a minor gripe, as the anime itself isn’t really impacted much by this.It’s also a noteworthy anime as anime creative veteran Ryosuke Takahashi was involved as a creative producer.'Hotori' was originally released back in 2005.AnimEigoThis is a strange role for him, as he normally just writes, directs, or produces. However, once you’ve seen the anime, you can certainly sense his gentle deft hand in how the characters interact and the nature of the story.While Hotori does feature robots and advanced technology that depict...