Summer Wars (2009)

Summer Wars Movie Poster

“Quitting won't do you any good. You have to work for an answer.” This was a line from the movie, “Summer Wars”,  a 2009 Japanese animated science fiction film directed by Mamoru Hosoda (who was also the director of “The Girl Who Leapt through Time”), animated by Madhouse and distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures. As the quote suggests, I can clearly picture out one of the scenes in which  the protagonist, Kenji Koiso, had to do his best solving the security code problem mentally regarding the social networking site called “Oz”. Check out the film’s trailer below:

(Japanese)

(English)

Natsuki (left-center) and Kenji (right-center)
gets some teasing from Natsuki's relatives.

The film is about the life of Kenji Koiso, a young high school student who is a math nerd and a part-time moderator in the massive computer-simulated virtual reality world called “OZ”. He was invited by Natsuki Shinohara, who happens to be the most popular girl in their school to participate in the 90th birthday of her great-grandmother, Sakae. Kenji travels with her to Sakae's estate in Ueda. This part of the film was actually fun. Along the way, Kenji and Natsuki get to meet Natsuki’s other relatives. Well, as far as I know, relatives do really like to talk about a lot, especially about their family. Kenji appears to be attentive to them, but I did wonder if he actually remembers all that information. The problem begins when Kenji solve s a complex math riddle that has been mysteriously sent to his cell phone, and he unknowingly unleashes a malicious program called “Love Machine” that threatens to devastate not only “Oz” but also the people outside the virtual world.

OZ: A massive computer-simulated virtual reality world.

Love Machine vs. King Kazma

King Kazma, Natsuki's and Kenji's avatar
along with the other virtual residents of Oz.

Summer Wars clearly showed how society has become dependent on the internet; focusing on the perspective of the younger generation. This aspect of a person who is totally into the internet can be seen on one of the characters in the film. It shows us just how life is with the internet and what becomes of the people dependent on it once it crashes or even disappears.

The film actually  won several awards: 2010 Japan Academy Prize for Animation of the Year, the 2010 Japan Media Arts Festival's Animation Division Grand Prize, the Anaheim International Film Festival's Audience Award for Best Animated Feature and was nominated for the 2009 Golden Leopard award at the Locarno International Film Festival.

For me, Summer Wars was a complete package: sci-fi, action, a bit of drama and comedy and of course, romance. The film was praised for its dazzling visuals, its narrative and how it had pointed out about the dangers of technology. I'm sure you'll enjoy the film as much as I did!

If you are interested about the film here’s an interview:
(this video has 7 parts; this is only part 1 :D)

To end this, here’s a quote from the matriarch of the Jinnouchi clan: “...and you always eat together as a family, even during difficult times, because being hungry and being all alone are the worst things that can happen to anyone.”