Kenji is how most of us would describe a geek: awkward, introverted and good at maths. He works for OZ, the world’s largest social network in the film. Kenji’s in charge of keeping its traffic under control throughout the school holidays, when his plans changed at the last minute.
Natsuki, the girl he pines for, invites Kenji to her clan’s estate to celebrate her great-grandmother’s birthday. He is forced to pretend to be Natsuki’s boyfriend at her request, and is openly embraced by the clan as such. As the awkward outsider, with no knowledge of what a real family is like, he sees this chance to experience a proper family life.
Meanwhile in the OZ network, an impish program managed to sneak inside and started wreaking havoc in its digital world. Kenji soon figures that his digital life will eventually cross with his real life, so he and his new family must work together to stop the program and the end of civilization.
Summer Wars was an entry in the 2010 New Zealand Film Festival. Before its arrival in the country’s shores however, it gathered lot of attention on the Internet. Intending to find weight from that buzz, I seized the opportunity to watch it when it appeared in Wellington.
I later discovered that Ryûnosuke Kamiki voiced Kenji, and this added to my joy with each repeated viewing.
Most people who watch Summer Wars will want to expect the same elements one associates with a Studio Ghibli film. Mamoru Hosoda is no Hayao Miyazaki, and I salute him for it.
Hosoda knows his Japanese, tech savvy and pop-culture obsessed audience well, so the film never falters on show and spectacle. He doesn’t rely solely on the spectacle however; as he merges it with a well written story about family, honor, and courage. The story is further improved by the pacing, apparent in the fast action in the OZ scenes compared to the steady flow of the real world scenes.
The animation is the highlight, especially in the OZ scenes, where it’s fluid and gorgeous to the point it becomes scary. And let me tell you something: when most cartoon battle scenes you watch involve people shooting lasers and shouting out the name of their attacks, there will be times you’ll be thankful that you’ve watched the film’s rabbit character just get it over with and actually punch someone in the face.
Its cast of characters will seem cliché at first given that this is an ensemble piece, but the main players will surprise you. Kenji is a welcome change as the boy who’s humble of his talents, unlike most geniuses in western media who are so aloof and obnoxious to the point of irritating (the titular character from House and Sheldon Cooper from The Big Bang Theory spring to mind). The Great-grandmother Sakae, though frail and old, is serious and unfaltering in her role as the clan matriarch, but is never afraid to show her caring side.
Summer Wars is essential viewing that definitely has something for this generation’s people, both young and old alike. Hosoda seamlessly blended your typical household drama with deliciously outrageous action nonsense you find in anime. If you can, do yourself a favor: watch it with your family. You won’t regret it.
