Summer Wars was directed by Mamoru Hosoda and found widespread critical acclaim both in Japan and the United States. You may know Hosoda as the director of The Digimon Movie back in 2000. I didn't realize this until researching Summer Wars and rewatching the Nostalgia Critic's review of The Digimon Movie (the review is pretty funny, so if you love Digimon, watch it, or even if you didn't, still watch it:http://youtu.be/wr7ikH9YR5w).
The story is about a boy named Kenji Koiso, who accepts an offer by his crush, Kuonji, to attend her grandmother's 90th birthday in their family home in the country. However, once he gets there, he discovers that he has to play the role of Kuonji's fiance. Hesitant at first, Kenji decides to go along with the charade, even after meeting Kuonji's large, wacky extended family.
This movie also centers around a digital world called OZ, where basically everything in the online and real world take place. The same night that Kenji arrives at the Jinnouchi residence, he gets a cryptic text message. Being a brilliant mathematician, he solves the message, only to discover that a rogue avatar called Love Machine used the information to hack OZ (or so it would seem). Love Machine takes over OZ and starts eating up avatars while causing worldwide catastrophes and panic.
Overall, Summer Wars has a beautiful story, and weaves themes of love, family and acceptance into this wacky science fiction family drama movie. While the the main story is happening in OZ, there are smaller, but essential stories occurring in the real world as well. One I particularly enjoy that one of Kuonji's aunts is watching her son play in a baseball tournament during the entire movie and is pretty much oblivious to everything that is happening around them because she is so focused on the games. The story isn't overly romantic or cheesy, choosing to focus more on the family than on the budding relationship between Kenji and Kuonji. It's so simply, yet conveys a lot of emotion, and I believe that it is also due to some of the other major draws of the movie.
The animation and art for example. I hadn't seen The Digimon Movie for a while, so I had forgotten what I had originally thought of the artistic style: light and plain. Seriously, even when Greymon and Parrotmon are fighting in the middle of the night, somehow, everything seems so bright. It seems like Hosodo is not a fan of shadows, because they play a small part in his style. Also, most of the characters don't haven any defining features. Everyone just looks normal, I guess is the best way to put it. So while I was watching Summer Wars, I felt like I was watching an older movie. Now with all the technology animators use for the films and shows, there's a certain level of quality that is expected today. Not with Summer Wars. When you watching the events happening in the real world, it looks so normal. Even with all the crazy shenanigans, everything you see happening could totally happen if one had the right equipment.
That is just half the animation. The online world of OZ shows the real artisitic draw of this movie. If you've seen the first episode of Sword Art Online, when Kirito is first logging into SAO, imagine a world built around the style of that login process. Everything is OZ is bright and crisp, just as you expect the digital world to be. The various avatars are more defined and stand out then their human counterparts. Also, the various fighting and destruction scenes flow well and look so amazingly cool. The way that things are broken apart and redesigned is phenomenal. I imagine that this was done to show a clear contrast between the real and digital world, and it totally works.
Then there are the characters. Now, normally there are a few anime voices who don't quite match up with their character, but Summer Wars did a perfect job with each of the voices. Some of the voices you may recognize from other great animes and tv shows, but all of them did a great job with embodying the emotions of their characters. Even the kid's voices were spot on. This story is both heart wrenching and hilarious, and everyone brought their A game to every scene in this film.
The thing that I love the most about this movie, is that it is a family movie. Seriously. I totally 100% think that a whole family could sit down and watch this movie together. Hosoda does a great job at creating movies that everyone can watch. The best thing is that everyone gets something different out of this movie. Some could watch it for its great action scenes and others could watch it for its emotional resonance. Even for religious families, I think that this would make a great movie night for everyone. Of course, it is anime, so you can make that decision for yourself, but I am totally ready to recommend this movie to my family back home as something we could watch together. That's why I wanted to review this anime, because it has something for everyone. It's not just for teens or adults. Movies by directors like Hosoda and Hayao Miyazaki are a lot of fun for everyone and I hope that more parents will recognize the beauty and value in anime and not see it as sinful media or whatever.
Just remember that you have the power to pick and choose your animes. Some may appeal to you and others may not. However, Summer Wars is one that I believe everyone can enjoy and I hope it will help viewers see the value of love and family.
Peace and Love
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