Recently, I decided to rewatch an old movie I had watched when I was little, called Summer Wars. Frankly, I did not have high expectations for this movie, because I do not regularly watch anime. Needless to say, I was in for a big surprise. Halfway in, I found myself completely immersed into the movie. The interesting plot, likeable characters, the lively, vibrant animation made the film one of the best anime films I have ever watched.

Mamoru Hosoda is a Japanese animator and director, with Summer Wars being one of his works. Nevertheless, Summer Wars is not the only one of Hosoda’s films that has received high acclamation in the world of movies. A few other works directed by Mamoru are Mirai (2018), The Boy and the Beast (2015), Wolf Children (2012), and The Girl Who Leapt Through Time (2006). He was recently nominated for an Academy Award for the category Best Animated Feature Film at the 91st Academy Awards for his 2018 film Mirai.

Kenji Koiso, a high-school math genius, lives in Tokyo, and spends most of his time hanging around the virtual reality of ‘Oz’. He and his friend Takashi Sakuma are part-time moderators of Oz, the vast, virtual, online-world where everything is possible. In this world, people create personal avatars to communicate, browse social media, play games, fight other avatars, shop, and even do work, like building business relationships and investing in stocks. Oz is used by millions worldwide, including governments, CEOs, and managers of the largest companies in the world. At the start of summer vacation, Kenji meets Natsuki Shinohara, a pretty, outgoing 18 year-old high schooler. At the start of summer vacation, Natsuki recruits Kenji to act as her boyfriend during a family meeting in her grandmother’s house, to celebrate her great-grandmother, Sakae Jinnouchi’s 90th birthday. The movie mainly takes place in Grandma Sakae’s large, traditional house in Ueda, a city in the Nagano prefecture, although occasionally some scenes play inside the city of Tokyo. The house is located in the more rural areas of the city, surrounded by a lush landscape among green hills, trees, and nature. While Kenji is having a fun time with the family, Kenji’s Oz account is hacked by a rogue artificial intelligence named Love Machine, and used to break into Oz’s security system. With Kenji’s avatar, Love Machine hijacks millions of accounts, bringing chaos to cities worldwide, and growing stronger by the hour. Before Love Machine’s power transcends the virtual world of Oz and imperils real-life, Kenji, with the help of Natsuki’s family and his friends, has to stop the Love Machine’s rampage in less than 24 hours.

Family and uniformity are leading themes in the movie. Both themes equally provoke genuine emotions inside the hearts of the audience. The importance of family and uniformity is emphasized many times throughout the movie, through Mamoru’s memorable story-telling and smooth, entertaining animation. Kenji and Natsuki, the two high-schoolers, are able to bear great wins and losses, due to the presence of family at their side. Scenes showing Natsuki’s huge, lively, extended family working together to reach one great goal of saving the planet, are exciting and madly entertaining to watch. Additionally, the family helps Kenji realize they are there to help him, whatever the problem might be. The film effectively shows how the uniformity of Natsuki’s family touches not only Kenji, but other communities around the world. Millions of people across the world develop this beautiful uniformity to defeat their shared enemy, Love Machine, and restore peace to planet Earth. Even if for a little while, the strong sense of family pulses through millions of people around the world and transcends nationality, profession, gender, race, and identity. Summer Wars gives the empowering experience of witnessing this phenomenon, offering us to rethink what humanity is really capable of.

Furthermore, the animation was superb. The overall style, colour, and designs of the characters and scenery is wonderful. The animation manages bring out the difference between the eventful, fictional world of Oz and the steady, composed, and sometimes boring reality that we live in. The magnificent world of Oz presents a huge array of avatars and structures, all animated with bright colours, portraying the wild, child-like nature of Oz. The animation keeps its fluidity in battle scenes, which are especially fun to watch. At every corner of your screen you look, there is always something moving, whether it be the landscape or the characters; the movie never loses its spirit.

One could say that the movie is too childish, especially because it is anime. I beg to differ. As a person who does not indulge into anime, I greatly enjoyed watching Summer Wars. The movie contains of the right amounts of action, romance, comedy, and sci-fi, making it suitable for all audiences. It’s the perfect animated movie for you to watch on a relaxed Saturday evening with a bowl of popcorn, or simply whenever you want to watch something light-hearted, but refreshing. The fun characters, smooth animation, and a plot are ensured to keep you on your toes from the very start to the end. You will never know if you like it unless you try it. So I say, give Summer Wars a try. I assure you that you are in for a surprise, and who knows, you might even enjoy it!