Welcome! Come one come all to the review of Summer Wars, what is considered to be one of the best animated movies of all time and one of the best anime movies of all time. I don't know if it is the best of all time, but if you haven't seen it yet I'm here to show you if you are wasting your time or if this is worth seeing as an anime fan. Let's begin.
WARNING spoilers WARNING
So the plot begins with a young man of 17 being hired to help the most popular girl of his class out. He has to take a trip with her however little does he know she wants him to pretend to be her boyfriend. Unfortunately for him trouble just continues to follow as he gets his profile for a virtual world called Oz hacked by AI. The AI called Love Machine begins ruining most of Japan as Oz is hooked up to nearly everything in Japan. As the young man and the family he is now staying with begin fighting Love Machine, however Love Machine also has a tendency to fight back.
The only thing I have an issue with is everything being connected to this Oz world. I have a hard time believing that Oz was so secure that EVERYTHING was connected to it. Hell the main character was using his incredible math skills to hack Oz in his head by the end of the film. Outside of that oversight, the plot is pretty decent. Not the most original plot ever though. The parts in the real world are incredibly original but the computer part of it, it is basically Digimon Adventure: Our War Game! or the Digimon Movie part 2 if you don't live in Japan. No joke, even the final battle is similar... incredibly similar... so much so that I have to take a point off for the plot. Like I said the family aspect is original, but the Oz parts of the movie are nearly scene for scene the same movie with a slight few original plot points, but not many. I'm aware that this movie was inspired by that movie, but it is almost plot point for plot point so I'm still removing a point.
There isn't really a bad character in this movie. Each character is crazy and eccentric in the best ways possible making each member of Natsuki's family feels real but crazy as hell. You can't help but like most of them for either being incredibly stupid or crazy awesome. Heck their grandmother who is going through her 90th birthday attacks her adopted son with a spear out of anger. She is crazy awesome honestly. Even the adopted son or "uncle" as Natsuki calls him is a pretty decent character, he may be something of an ass but he is still worth looking into as he still grows as a character. There are a bunch of characters in this anime movie, and honestly I never saw once a bad character. Hell Love Machine, the artificial intelligence is characterized and interesting as a villain. He isn't exactly evil, rather he finds hacking and messing things up as fun, he is programmed to learn in that manner. However the A.I. also learns quickly and thinks that it would be funny to kill those who defeat him making him slightly spiteful. He is only involved in this family by coincidence but he is still an interesting character even if he isn't purposely hunting down anyone from the family.
The action scenes are pretty cool, and the final "game" against Love Machine is pretty tense with the clock counting down. The scenes with the family are crazy but somewhat fun as well. There are more tense scenes near the end but the rest of the movie is action and fun... however there is a more depressing and sad scene with one of my personal favorite characters. It is actually sad since the character is awesome but it eventually is inspiring as well. Not bad for an anime movie honestly.
Probably some of the best animation I've ever seen so far. While the real world side of things has that film like animation and while I feel it isn't bad some people may dislike it. It is the same animation that cropped up in the Digimon movie, not surprising as it was the same director and the movie was inspired by the Digimon movie. The animation in Oz however is awesome as each avatar is animated differently and the world itself is more computer generated making it look amazing. There isn't a worthless scene in the movie either, but I never felt rushed which is good. No confusion during fight scenes either. While some may not like the animation style of the real world, it fits well into the movie, and others will adore the style.
I know the plot is partially taken from another movie, but this category isn't rated about that. Oz's creative design is absurdly original and actually pretty awesome and practical. The idea that the world can change by programmers editing it, or that there are video games in it just makes the overall design of the place cooler as the overall design changes to creative backdrops many times in the film. Some of the ways they have basic functions going through Oz is pretty creative as well even if not realistic. The avatar designs are pretty awesome, and Love Machine's design is also pretty cool. The touches outside of Oz however make you think "slice of life" anime and they do well separating both until the end. Eventually the real world and Oz comes together in a bigger way at the end which is awesome.
This is a great anime film. The only major issue is that this anime takes too many ques from the Digimon movie that also takes place in the internet which also has the issue of being based on another movie. There is so much Digimon here that it is hard at times to not see it. If you've never seen the Digimon movie you will be fine. Even if you have seen the Digimon movie, the real world plot is original, and everything else about the movie is pretty awesome. The characters are original and fantastic, the emotional pull is good even beyond the action and tension, the original animation and designs are fantastic and while some people may not like the animation of the real world others will love it.
I think if you are an anime fan you should see this movie if you haven't already. If you have seen Digimon before, I'd say rent this film, but if not and you are an anime fan looking for something new, the odds of you not liking this movie are slim. I really recommend checking this movie out some day soon if you like anime. If you really loved the Digimon movie in which they went into the internet, then by all means get this movie. This movie isn't great for action junkies as there is more family drama then action, but the action this movie does have is pretty good. Again, not many reasons to not go see this movie.