Brilliant! Don’t even waste your time reading this review just go get this movie. Summer Wars, winner of the Japan Academy Prize for best animated film (and in Japan that’s a wide field), is the story of the social network gone awry. OZ is an online community that boasts over 1 billion users worldwide. Day to day functions have been replaced with online versions from workplaces to vacations. For instance, if you are the American president and have access to nuclear weapons then your OZ account would also have access to nuclear weapons. You can already see where trouble may arise.
Kenji is a high school student that works a summer job for OZ checking code. He is a budding mathematician that nearly earned a spot on the Olympic math team. Natsuki is a girl in Kenji’s physics club and she needs travel companion to accompany her to her great-grandmother’s birthday party. Upon arrival Kenji learns that he must play the part of the loving fiance.
After their first night at the family estate OZ security is breached by an AI program designed for hacking. Kenji becomes the prime suspect after it is discovered that he solved a math problem sent to his phone. After it is discovered that Kenji was set-up his “new family” must ban together to defeat the hacking AI, overcome family issues, and win a high school baseball tournament.
The direction and art are beyond amazing. Getting sucked into the world of OZ is the easy part. Getting yourself out is much more difficult. Why are you reading this still? Go see it already. The magic words are Squeamish Ossifrage.
