Setting:
Summer Wars takes place in two primary locations, Ueda, Japan and the virtual world OZ. The year is an alternate, but very similar 2009, where the world relies on a virtual database known has OZ. Every piece of information humanity controls and uses is stored in OZ; from personal records to nuclear launch codes. Least to say, humanity struggles to function without it (sound familiar).
Story:
The story of Summer Wars accomplishes what many other anime fail to do; teach two separate lessons and manage to give ample development to both. To add a cherry on top, the two lessons have very little to do with each other; but they meld together so well I had to remind myself that they weren't one and the same. The movie has a natural, realistic feeling about it; so the moral lessons rarely come off as childish or goofy. In addition to a great message, Summer Wars provides an interesting look into the lives of a "traditional" Japanese family. Hosoda himself said that he received inspiration from the first time he meet his wife's extended family. I'm always interested in learning about the daily lives of other cultures; even if it is through a semi-fictional movie.
However, the story of Summer Wars doesn't hit every mark correctly. Often times the older family members appear to have little to no knowledge of OZ, only to have fully fledged avatars a few hours later. All throughout the movie people seem to lose and gain knowledge of OZ, just to progress the plot and allow for exposition. In turn this makes many scenes come off as silly and unbelievable, which is one of the worst flaws for a fictional movie to have. If the viewing audience can't take the film serious, the message in question will be lost. Luckily this isn't prominent enough in SW to ruin the picture.
Art:
I have a love-hate relationship with the art direction of Summer Wars. The style used in the real world was a wonderful choice. It has a "lived in" feel; everything is worn and brimming with history, just like the Jinnouchi family. In addition to their personalities, the design of the different family members makes them very easy to relate to. Unlike most anime, they are designed with realistic proportions in a way that gives them an inviting appearance. I could feel the emotions they were expressing as if they were real people; the facial movements were wonderful. However, none of this applies to the virtual world of OZ. The art direction is goofy at best, and the 3D animations looks terrible. Not to mention the very creepy and nonsensical design of the central, social hub. The whole world is just very bizarre and I have trouble believing that this program would have worldwide success. Also what's up with the obvious Disney advertising? Disney world/land are mentioned multiple times in the movie; and the main character's avatar is literally an angry version of Mickey Mouse.
In the animation department everything is on par with your average high budget film. Nothing is particularly bad, but there isn't anything ground breaking either. The biggest highlight would be the movement of various facial features, such as lip flap, cheekbones and smiles. I can't say the "Art" for Summer Wars was poor, but it left me grasping for more.
Sound:
The sound design of Summer Wars is a bit of a mixed bag. The environmental noises meet the required mark, and never show a desire to go beyond that point. For most anime series I'd let this pass, but not for a movie with such a large grossing total. By this point the anime industry is doing well enough, that budget and "expertise" issues are no longer a legitimate excuse. It's time to step up to the plate and get "sound design" under control. However, I am happy to say that the English dub for Summer Wars is of very high quality. Each voice actor matches their character's personality perfectly; and they project their emotions in a way that warms the heart.
The OST is on the same note (sorry) as the voice work. Just like life, the spice of soundtracks is variety; and Summer Wars never lets down. There are soaring trumpet blares, emotional violin pieces and funky electronic beats. It has a magical air about it, that you only find in top quality animated works. All this was especially surprising, when I found out that the lead sound director was a relatively new face. The guy doesn't even have an English wiki page, so you know he's pretty obscure. Still, he did a wonderful job; and I hope to hear more by him.
Characters:
This, my friends, is where Summer Wars truly shines. This why we watch it. The dialogue between the family members and Kenji's friends is wonderfully crafted, without any of the charm being lost in translation. As a matter of fact, the translators have written in some American cultural references to give the characters even greater charisma. I've never felt more connected to a group of characters than I did with the Jinnouchi family. Every one of the members is unique; each has a memorable personality that is original and easy to identify with. I found myself comparing them with members of my own family; rekindling past "get togethers" and events.
My biggest and only complaint is the amount of screen time each family member receives. A handful were allotted large chunks of dialogue, but many were left with just a few moments in the movie. These characters still stand on their own; I just want to get to know them better.
Personal Enjoyment/ Overall:
Summer Wars is a gripping tale, that will catch hold of your heart and not let go. Even with its problems, there is just too much to love. This movie needs to go down as a family classic. I give it a rating of Must Watch on my scale of recommendation.
Masterpiece-Best
Must Watch
Watch
Try The First Couple Episodes
Skip It
Run For Your Life-Worst
As usual I recommend you buy a copy, and help support our local dubbing companies and the anime industry as a whole. However, just taking the time to watch it is of greater importance.
As a final statement I recommend that you take my numerical scores with a grain of salt; as numerical scores are easily skewed and each person has their own understanding of the 1-10 scale.
