Summer Wars
Director: Mamoru Hosoda
Story by: Mamoru Hosada
Release date: 1 August, 2009
Rating: [8/10]
Storyline: The show revolves around Kenji Koiso, a high-school math-genius who moderators the virtual reality world of OZ. He winds up staying with his senior, Natsuki Shinohara, to celebrate her great-grandmother’s (Sakae Jinnouchi) birthday. Suddenly, he received a mysterious email with a mathematical code which he managed to crack. Unbeknownst to him, it was sent by an artificial intelligence, Love Machine, who used Kenji’s account to hack into OZ’s main framework and cause havoc worldwide in reality. Do Kenji and the Jinnouchi family have what it takes to stop Love Machine?
Artwork: Unlike most animes with funky hair, exotic colour or exaggerated features, this movie manages to capture attention with characters that have simplistic oriental appearances but complex personalities. By contrast, the world of OZ is rendered in 3D, giving a more futuristic feel. The artwork surprises us with its fine details in over millions of unique avatars, and even more “virtual shopping items”. Animation wise, it impressed us with fast-paced action like when King Kazma rapidly dodged the obstacles.
Sound: Good use of sound effects for both virtual and reality realms. Narration was succinct and clear, although fast.
Concepts: It starts like a normal story with a bashful young hero, and proceeds to something more fresh and original. It is able to bring mind-boggling world-scale situations into relatable contexts. It is an excellent balance of corny science-fiction and sentimental slice-of-life.
Favourite Scene: The scene where the extended family got together for lunch, despite the time limits, made the show very heartwarming and nostalgic.
Favourite Character: Sakae Jinnouchi, the great-grandmother. Seeing an old lady calling up all her family members and associates in important emergency positions just to encourage them in the crisis, makes you respect her deeply. She is also quick to forgive her black-sheep son, Wabisuke, and is the driving force in reuniting him with the family.
Recommendations: Yes. I recommend this to everyone who enjoys good family shows. However, younger audiences may find it difficult to understand the narrations that move very quickly.
Review by: Marcus Quek
