Summer Wars
Encyclopedia
is a 2009 Japanese animated
science fiction
romance
film directed by Mamoru Hosoda
, animated by Madhouse
and distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures
. The film's voice cast includes Ryunosuke Kamiki
, Nanami Sakuraba
, Mitsuki Tanimura
, Sumiko Fuji
and Ayumu Saitō. The film tells the story of Kenji Koiso, a timid eleventh-grade math genius who is taken to Ueda by twelfth-grade student Natsuki Shinohara to celebrate her great-grandmother's 90th birthday. However, he is falsely implicated in the hacking of a virtual world
by an artificial intelligence. Kenji must repair the damage done to the virtual world and he must find a way to stop the artificial intelligence from causing any further damage.
After producing The Girl Who Leapt Through Time, Madhouse was asked to produce the next film. Hosoda and writer Satoko Okudera
conceived a story about a social network and a stranger's connection with a family. The real-life city of Ueda was chosen as the setting for Summer Wars, as part of the territory was once governed by the Sanada clan
and was close to Hosoda's birthplace in Toyama. Hosoda used the clan as the basis for the Jinnouchi family after visiting his then-fiancé's home in Ueda.
Production of Summer Wars commenced in 2006. Art director Youji Takeshige incorporated Japanese houses into his background designs. Hosoda also insisted that 80 family members were to be included as main characters. The project was first announced at the 2008 Tokyo International Anime Fair
and the first trailer of the film was released in April 2009. Audience interest was fueled primarily through word of mouth and Internet publicity. A manga
adaptation of the film was written by Iqura Sugimoto and began its serialization in July 2009.
Summer Wars premiered in Japan on August 1, 2009. It grossed over US$
1 million in its opening weekend in 127 theaters and ranked No. 7 at the box office. The film was well received by critics and the general audience and was financially successful, earning $18 million worldwide. It won several awards such as the 2010 Japan Academy Prize for Animation of the Year
, the 2010 Japan Media Arts Festival's Animation Division Grand Prize, the Anaheim International Film Festival's Audience Award for Best Animated Feature and was nominated for the 2009 Golden Leopard award at the Locarno International Film Festival
.
) is a young high school student with a gift in mathematics
and a part-time moderator in the massive computer-simulated virtual reality world OZ along with his friend Takashi Sakuma (Takahiro Yokokawa).
After Natsuki Shinohara (Nanami Sakuraba
) invites him to participate in the 90th birthday of Sakae Jinnouchi (Sumiko Fuji
), her great-grandmother, Kenji joins her on the journey to Sakae's estate in Ueda. While there, Natsuki introduces Kenji as her fiancé to Sakae. Kenji meets several of Natsuki's relatives and Wabisuke Jinnouchi (Ayumu Saitō), Natsuki's half-granduncle and a computer expert who has been living in America for 10 years.
Kenji receives an e-mail with a mathematical code and cracks it. Love Machine, an artificial intelligence
in the OZ infrastructure
, uses Kenji's account and his avatar
to invade
the infrastructure, causing widespread damage. Kenji, Natsuki's cousin Kazuma Ikezawa (Mitsuki Tanimura
) and Sakuma confront Love Machine. Kazuma's avatar, King Kazma, is defeated as Love Machine continues to steal accounts and create catastrophic traffic congestion
, as well as disabling electrical devices. Two of Sakae's relatives — Rika (Sakiko Tamagawa
) and Shota Jinnouchi (Yutaka Shimizu) – discover Kenji's involvement. Shota arrests Kenji, but they are forced to return to the house.
Recognizing the situation as akin to war, Sakae calls her associates in important positions in Japan's society and her relatives who work in emergency services. She encourages them to work their hardest to reduce the potential chaos and damage that could have occurred. Kenji is able to return control of the virtual world to the moderators and engineers. Wabisuke reveals that he created Love Machine and sold the program to the United States Armed Forces
. After an argument with Sakae, Wabisuke leaves the estate and Sakae later encourages Kenji to take care of Natsuki during a Hanafuda
match. Later, Kenji and the Jinnouchi family, running to Sakae's bedside, discovers that she has died; her son Mansaku (Tadashi Nakamura
) reveals she had angina and Love Machine had deactivated her heart monitor. Kenji, Sakuma, and most of the Jinnouchi family initiate a plan to defeat Love Machine using a supercomputer
and ice blocks while Natsuki and the others prepare a funeral
for Sakae.
Kenji, along with Sakuma and the others, capture Love Machine, but Shota carries the ice blocks to Sakae's body causing the supercomputer to overheat. Love Machine empowers itself and assimilates King Kazma; the redirects the Arawashi, an orbiting satellite, onto a collision course with a nuclear power plant
. At the same time, Natsuki discovers a will
left by Sakae before reuniting with Kenji and the rest of the group. Natsuki has Wabisuke return home before reading Sakae's will, asking the family to bring Wabisuke back to their lives. Kenji surmises that the Love Machine sees everything as a game and has the Jinnouchi family play Koi-Koi with Love Machine in OZ's casino world. They wager their accounts in a desperate attempt to stop Love Machine and Natsuki initially wins several rounds, but gets distracted and nearly loses her "winnings".
However, OZ users worldwide enter their own accounts into the wager on Natsuki's side. Natsuki damages Love Machine and Kenji hacks into the satellite's GPS; Love Machine redirects the Arawashi towards a collision on Sakae's estate and prevents Kenji's attempts. To destroy Love Machine, Wabisuke disables its defenses, distracting it long enough for King Kazma to be revived and assisted by several Jinnouchi family avatars before destroying the artificial intelligence. Kenji activates the GPS code and redirects the Arawashi away from the estate. The Arawashi's impact causes a shockwave that destroys the satellite and the estate's entrance. The Jinnouchi family, celebrating their victory as well as Sakae's birthday, has Natsuki kiss Kenji after confessing their love to each other.
Non-speaking characters include , the youngest son of Katsuhiko Jinnouchi, and , Sakae Jinnouchi's dog.
was offered to produce another film. Whereas Madhouse based the previous film on a novel, the studio was given the chance to create the next film. Director Mamoru Hosoda selected a story for both people with family and those without having a family. Production of Summer Wars commenced in 2006.
Most of the film is set in the real-life city of Ueda. Ueda was chosen as the primary setting of the film because it is located in a territory formerly governed by the prominent Sanada clan
, upon which the Jinnouchi family is based. Ueda is also close to Hosoda's birthplace in Toyama
. Hosoda's inspiration for the name of the social network OZ came from a large supermarket
that he once visited while still working for Toei Animation
at the time. Although noting similarities between OZ and Second Life
, Hosoda also cited the Japanese social networking
website mixi
as a primary influence because of his experiences. For the color and design of OZ, he cited Nintendo
games as inspiration. The design aesthetic was compared by some reviewers to the appearance of OZ. Hosoda said that he admires the artwork of Takashi Murakami
, but designed the social network as a "clean, uncluttered look." During production, Hosoda visited his then-fiancé's house in Ueda, and experienced the history of her family's life. Hosoda cited his influence of using a family as the basis of the film from his marriage and from attending several film festival
s.
In addition to Hosoda, the team included writer Satoko Okudera
and character designer Yoshiyuki Sadamoto
, who previously worked with Hosoda on The Girl Who Leapt Through Time. Hiroyuki Aoyama served as an animation director, while action animation direction was handled by Tatsuzo Nishida. During production, Sadamoto based Wabisuke's design on those of actor Yusaku Matsuda
. Aoyama was responsible for supervising the animation of the real world scenes, while Nishida supervised the animation for the digital world, using both traditional animation
and computer animation
techniques. Digital animation studio Digital Frontier
was responsible for creating the visuals of OZ and its avatars. Youji Takeshige oversaw the art direction for Summer Wars. While visiting Ueda, Hosoda thought that Takeshige, who has previously worked with Studio Ghibli
, should draw traditional Japanese houses for the film. The film also features the Japanese spacecraft Hayabusa
, whose control center is located in the nearby city of Saku
. Hosoda included the spacecraft to support Japan's contribution towards space exploration.
The film was announced at the 2008 Tokyo International Anime Fair
. At the 2009 Otakon
convention Madhouse president Masao Maruyama
said that Hosoda insisted on including 80 family members as its main characters. Maruyama then quipped that he asked Hosoda to promise only two main characters and two years of production for his next film. Summer Wars was one film in Madhouse's larger theatrical film release strategy, to release one new film each season for the next year. The release of Summer Wars was followed by Mai Mai Miracle
and Yona Yona Penguin
in 2009 with Redline
released during the first half of 2010.
for Summer Wars. The soundtrack of the film, titled , was released by VAP on July 9, 2009. It remained on the Oricon music charts for four weeks and peaked at No. 112.
, titled , was written and performed by Tatsuro Yamashita
. It was released by Warner Music Japan
as a maxi single
on August 19, 2009. The single included two other songs by Yamashita that are unrelated to the film. The first two songs have corresponding karaoke
versions, and the third song is recorded from a live performance. The single peaked at 8th place on the Oricon charts.
promoted the film online through their official YouTube
channel, aiming at international as well as domestic fans. On April 8, 2009, a one-minute high-definition
(HD) trailer
was released followed by a longer trailer on June 16. On July 29, the Japanese website of Yahoo! Movies
streamed the first five minutes of the film and Kadokawa offered the footage on their YouTube channel several days later to allow for international viewing. It also offered two of the film's 15-second television adverts online. Before its release Masao Maruyama believed that "the film should be pretty popular, since the pre-sales for the tickets are very high".
Iqura Sugimoto's manga
adaptation of the film was featured in the July 2009 debut issue of Kadokawa's manga magazine Young Ace
. The first compilation volume
of Sugimoto's work was released in Japan on August 10 and debuted in 23rd place on the Oricon
comic ranking, selling 51,645 copies. The second volume was released on February 4, 2010 and debuted in 12th place, selling 53,333 copies. An additional manga side story was featured in the July 2009 issue of Comp Ace
magazine.
released Summer Wars in Singapore on February 25, 2010. Mighty Media released the film in Taiwan on June 4, 2010. The film was released by Eurozoom in France on June 9, 2010.
Summer Wars had its North American premiere on February 26, 2010 as the opening night event of the annual New York International Children's Film Festival
with director Mamoru Hosoda
in attendance. Hosoda answered audience questions following the film's screening through an interpreter. Hosoda and a producer subsequently appeared at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)
Comparative Media Studies Program on March 1, 2010, where they offered a public screening free of charge and answered questions. The film was also screened at the IndieLisboa Film Festival. The debut screening in Australia was on June 14, 2010, as part of the Sydney Film Festival
. It also screened at Melbourne International Film Festival
on August 8, 2010. The Leeds International Film Festival
showed the film on November 20, 2009 and the English
dubbed version of the film premiered at the New York International Children's Film Festival on November 20, 2010. At Otakon
2010 Funimation Entertainment
announced that a limited release
of the film would begin in theaters on December 3, 2010, at the Gene Siskel Film Center
.
reports that 76% of critics have given the film a positive review based on 21 reviews with an average rating of 7/10. At Metacritic
, which uses a normalized
rating system, the film earned a "generally favorable" level rating of 63/100 based on 12 reviews by mainstream critics.
Mark Schilling of The Japan Times
rated the film 5 out of 5 stars and observed that Summer Wars "may contain familiar elements, beginning with its bashful, moonstruck young hero, but it combines them in ways fresh, contemporary and dazzlingly imaginative". He also said that the film provides a social commentary on the differences between an "analog world" and a "realm of digital devices". Schilling titled his article "The future king of Japanese animation may be with us; Hosoda steps out of Miyazaki
's shadow with dazzling new film". He praised Sadamoto, Aoyama and Nishida for producing "scenes of animated spectacle that, in their dazzling fluency of motion and untethered brilliance of invention, makes the usual SF/fantasy anime look childish and dull". Twitch Film published a review by Guillem Rosset who also referenced Miyazaki noting that following The Girl Who Leapt Through Time "cries went out immediately hailing him [Hosoda] as the heir apparent". He claimed that with Summer Wars, "Hosoda is the new king, the best story teller working within the animated medium in Japan and – quite possibly – the world." Rosset praised the film itself as "richly detailed and beautifully written...gorgeous to look at." and "blessed with an extensive cast of stunningly detailed and authentic characters." He concluded by saying "Hosoda has perfectly balanced the need to entertain via the visuals with the rich and satisfying character work that separates him from the massive pack of quality technicians to establish himself as truly a master story teller." He also noted that "The wonderful cast of characters is one of the film's greatest strengths" while also highlighting that, of the virtual world of OZ, "Here the creative minds of Madhouse can let their imagination run wild." With regards to the technical aspects, Rosset called the film "a top class audiovisual show." He concluded by writing "Mamoru Hosada deserves a place as one of the top contemporary Japanese animators. And it's good to know that once the time comes for Miyazaki to retire (not too soon I hope!) there's people capable of following his steps." The Korean newspaper Herald Business
saw the film's fantasy theme and gorgeous animation as a differentiator from works produced by Hollywood studios.
Patrick W. Galbraith of Otaku2.com compared the design of OZ to Takashi Murakami
's artwork, specifically "the flatness, or slick, polished surfaces" and then contrasted them with the sequences in Nagano noting, "it has a warm and lived in feel to it, aided by a scrupulous attention to detail." Of the story and characters Galbraith wrote that "scenes such as the large family coming together and talking over dinner are heartwarming and hilarious." and compared the movie to "a moving picture book, a family photo album turned back a few decades." He also noted the audience response, reporting sold-out screenings two nights in a row, and highlighting handwritten notes left at the theater by "hoardes of fans who on the spot decided to move to Nagano" In conclusion, Galbraith wrote "there is an innocence and purity to this work that really reminds [him] of Miyazaki Hayao and Studio Ghibli
back in the day, and the stellar backgrounds invoke Shinkai Makoto
." Justin Sevakis of Anime News Network
gave the film an 'A' rating and wrote that "decades from now, Summer Wars will be seen as the official arrival of [director] Mamoru Hosoda into the realm of historically important anime directors." He called the film "a near-perfect blend of social satire and science fiction, at once timely and timeless, sardonic and optimistic." and noted that the film is "practically overflowing with sharp social insight in a way we have not seen from anime in years." Sevakis praised Yoshiyuki Sadamoto's character designs and highlighted the visuals as "sharp and consistently great". In summing the film up he called Summer Wars "Incredibly entertaining, and intriguingly intelligent. Accessible and fast-paced. Pretty much perfect." Similarities have been commented on between the film and a previous work of Hosoda, Digimon Adventure: Our War Game. Neo
magazine has stated that Our War Game is "plainly a prototype" of Summer Wars.
Rachel Saltz of The New York Times
also gave a positive review of the film. Saltz praised Mamoru Hosoda's direction, and says it "matches the clean, classically composed images of his [Hosoda's] outer story." She further praised the visuals and themes, comparing it to those of director Yasujirō Ozu
. In his review for Variety
critic Peter Debruge stated that Hosoda's direction "appeals to the hard-to-please teen crowd by taking mind-bending ideas and planting them within a relatable contempo context." He also praised the CG animation in the OZ sequences. Peter Hartlaub of the San Francisco Chronicle
praised Hosoda's style and said that it "adds enough dimensions to his characters and kinetic battles that the serene real world seems like a dream state." He also likened Hosoda's style to that of Hayao Miyazaki
and Nintendo
. Hartlaub complained that Kenji's character is "a bit too over-caffeinated in the first part" and concluded that the film is "the kind of fun and quirky film that you don't see very often in art houses this time of year." Ty Burr
of The Boston Globe
gave the film 3 out of 4 stars. He stated that "Summer Wars is most appealing in its hushed moments" and also praised Satoko Okudera's writing, stating that it "stakes a claim for the non-virtual world of history and of family ties that stretch back to Japan’s medieval era." He also praised the OZ animation sequences as "visually ravishing explorations of white-on-white cyberspace, but the hectic gaming action sequences feel curiously passé." Burr notes that in the film, "it's what's old that's made to seem refreshingly new." In his review for the New York Post
V.A. Musetto gave the film 2 out of 4 stars and called the film "great despite its structural problems". Musetto also complained about the storyline, stating that the "sci-fi elements seem silly rather than suspenseful." Nicolas Rapold of The Village Voice
also praised the film's visuals, and said that "it’s hard to appreciate things like the character detail amid the insufferably squealy voicing and arbitrary suspense."
Kevin Thomas of the Los Angeles Times
praised the visuals, stating that "Summer Wars is awesome in its detailed depiction of Oz, which floats in space with an array of satellites, and earthly cityscapes visited by calamities." Thomas also said the film is "also a superb example of Japanese anime, balancing science fiction fantasy with a paean to the timeless value of family life." and called it "a sophisticated yet poignant family entertainment with an appeal beyond Japanese animation buffs." Stephanie Merry of The Washington Post
gave the film 2 out of 4 stars. Merry criticized the film's plot, stating that it "ventures into territory both melodramatic and corny." Merry also said that the relationship between Natsuki and Kenji "unfolds as blandly as a Debra Messing
rom-com." Frank Scheck of The Hollywood Reporter
stated that the "increasingly convoluted narrative may be too difficult to follow for younger viewers," but said that the film's "thematic ambition and dazzling visual style ultimately make it one of the more rewarding anime efforts to reach these shores [United States]."
1,338,772 on 127 screens during its opening weekend, and ending its run with a total gross of $17,425,019. In South Korea, the film debuted in 8th place and earned an equivalent of US$369,156 on 118 screens with a total gross of $783,850. In Singapore
, the film opened in 17th place and earned an equivalent of US$14,660 on 3 screens, and later concluded its run with a total gross $29,785. As of June 2010, the film went on to gross $18,353,560 worldwide. During the film's limited release in the United States, it grossed $1,412 and opened 76th at the box office in its opening weekend, later concluding its run with a total gross of $80,678.
and Blu-ray
editions. In its first week of release the film became the top selling anime Blu-ray in Japan, with an estimated 54,000 copies sold and surpassed the previous record holder Evangelion: 1.0 You Are (Not) Alone
. To date it is the second highest Japanese Blu-ray debut overall, following Michael Jackson's This Is It
. Based on pre-orders Summer Wars was expected to be eclipsed in sales by Evangelion: 2.0 You Can (Not) Advance on its release in May. Summer Wars also topped the Oricon
Animation DVD charts with 55,375 copies sold in its first week. The Japanese Blu-ray release of Summer Wars was nominated for a Digital Entertainment Group of Japan (DEG Japan) Award for Best Interactivity.
In Europe the DVD and Blu-ray release was released on November 26, 2010, by Kazé
. British distributor Manga Entertainment
announced in January 2010 they had licensed Summer Wars for the United Kingdom, where it is scheduled for a March 2011 release on DVD and Blu-ray. In North America Funimation Entertainment
released the Blu-ray and DVD editions of Summer Wars on February 15, 2011. The first press copies included art cards. In order to get out enough copies to meet demand some did not ship with the OZ O-card (cardboard slip-cover), as it required speciality printing that takes longer to produce than the rest of the product. Funimation has offered to send out the O-Card to customers who did not receive one as soon as they are available if they fill out a request form on their site.
awards in Switzerland
, where it was nominated for the 2009 Golden Leopard award. The film made its international premiere at the festival's celebration of manga, paying tribute to its impact on the animation industry. Although the film did not win the award the Swiss newspaper Tribune de Genève
said it was, "by far, the best film we could find" in the competition and noted that the film would have been the logical winner given the festival's theme. The film was featured in the Sitges Film Festival in the category, where it won the Gertie Award for Best Animated Feature Film. Summer Wars received an award for new media from Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry on October 24, 2009, at the Digital Content Association of Japan's annual convention. Summer Wars was also nominated for Best Animated Feature Film at the Asia Pacific Screen Awards
, although it did not win. The film was awarded the Animation Division Grand Prize at the 13th Japan Media Arts Festival
which Hosoda's The Girl Who Leapt Through Time won in 2006. Summer Wars won an Award of Excellence in Animation along with four other films at the 33rd Japan Academy Prizes. The Award of Excellence is in effect a nomination for the Animation of the Year Prize
, which it won in the final ceremony on March 5, 2010. The film was shown at the 60th Berlin International Film Festival
in February as part of the Generation 14plus program. Summer Wars won the Audience Award for Best Animation Feature at the Anaheim International Film Festival. Funimation, along with GKIDS, submitted the film for Best Animated Feature
for the 83rd Academy Awards
. The film was the 14th submission for the category. Hosoda received an Annie Award
nomination as Best Director, becoming the third Japanese individual, besides Hayao Miyazaki and Ghibli composer Joe Hisaishi
, to be nominated in an individual Annie category since 2004.
Anime
is the Japanese abbreviated pronunciation of "animation". The definition sometimes changes depending on the context. In English-speaking countries, the term most commonly refers to Japanese animated cartoons....
science fiction
Science fiction film
Science fiction film is a film genre that uses science fiction: speculative, science-based depictions of phenomena that are not necessarily accepted by mainstream science, such as extraterrestrial life forms, alien worlds, extrasensory perception, and time travel, often along with futuristic...
romance
Romance film
Romance films are love stories that focus on passion, emotion, and the affectionate involvement of the main characters and the journey that their love takes through courtship or marriage. Romance films make the love story or the search for love the main plot focus...
film directed by Mamoru Hosoda
Mamoru Hosoda
Mamoru Hosoda is a Japanese animator and director. Since 2005, he has been a staff director at Madhouse, where he has made his acclaimed films The Girl Who Leapt Through Time and Summer Wars.Hosoda was commisioned by Studio Ghibli to direct Howl's Moving Castle but left the project during the...
, animated by Madhouse
Madhouse (company)
is a Japanese animation studio, founded in 1972 by ex–Mushi Pro animators including Masao Maruyama, Osamu Dezaki, Rintaro, and Yoshiaki Kawajiri. It has created and helped to produce many well known shows, starting with TV anime series Ace o Nerae! in 1973, and including western favourites Ninja...
and distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures
Warner Bros.
Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc., also known as Warner Bros. Pictures or simply Warner Bros. , is an American producer of film and television entertainment.One of the major film studios, it is a subsidiary of Time Warner, with its headquarters in Burbank,...
. The film's voice cast includes Ryunosuke Kamiki
Ryunosuke Kamiki
is a Japanese actor and voice actor.-Biography:When he was 2 years old, his mother enrolled him in Central Group, a talent agency specialising in representing babies and children, and that was the start of his career in acting....
, Nanami Sakuraba
Nanami Sakuraba
is a Japanese gravure idol, actress and singer who won "Miss Magazine 2008".- Drama : - as Sara Nakagawa - as Reiko Torihama - as Shiori Yanagawa - as Asumi Kamogawa - as Kaori Takagi...
, Mitsuki Tanimura
Mitsuki Tanimura
, is a Japanese actress.-Filmography:* The Chasing World * God's Puzzle * Summer Wars * Kanikōsen * Mei-chan no Shitsuji * Mori no Asagao * Hankyū Densha as Miho...
, Sumiko Fuji
Sumiko Fuji
is a Japanese actress. The daughter of a producer at the Tōei studios, she originally began acting under the name Junko Fuji , becoming famous as the female lead in yakuza films against such stars as Ken Takakura and Kōji Tsuruta. She even starred in her own series as the knife-wielding gambler Red...
and Ayumu Saitō. The film tells the story of Kenji Koiso, a timid eleventh-grade math genius who is taken to Ueda by twelfth-grade student Natsuki Shinohara to celebrate her great-grandmother's 90th birthday. However, he is falsely implicated in the hacking of a virtual world
Virtual world
A virtual world is an online community that takes the form of a computer-based simulated environment through which users can interact with one another and use and create objects. The term has become largely synonymous with interactive 3D virtual environments, where the users take the form of...
by an artificial intelligence. Kenji must repair the damage done to the virtual world and he must find a way to stop the artificial intelligence from causing any further damage.
After producing The Girl Who Leapt Through Time, Madhouse was asked to produce the next film. Hosoda and writer Satoko Okudera
Satoko Okudera
is a Japanese screenwriter. She is known for her screenplays in both the live-action and anime mediums. Her 1995 screenplay for Gakkô no kaidan was nominated for the Japan Academy Prize...
conceived a story about a social network and a stranger's connection with a family. The real-life city of Ueda was chosen as the setting for Summer Wars, as part of the territory was once governed by the Sanada clan
Sanada clan
The was a Japanese clan which rose to prominence in the Sengoku period. During the Edo era, the Sanada ruled the Matsushiro Domain, where they remained until the Meiji Restoration.-Sengoku period:...
and was close to Hosoda's birthplace in Toyama. Hosoda used the clan as the basis for the Jinnouchi family after visiting his then-fiancé's home in Ueda.
Production of Summer Wars commenced in 2006. Art director Youji Takeshige incorporated Japanese houses into his background designs. Hosoda also insisted that 80 family members were to be included as main characters. The project was first announced at the 2008 Tokyo International Anime Fair
Tokyo International Anime Fair
The Tokyo International Anime Fair also known as Tokyo International Animation Fair is one of the largest anime trade fairs in the world, held annually in Japan. The first event was held in 2002 as "Tokyo International Anime Fair 21". The event is held at Tokyo Big Sight, a convention and...
and the first trailer of the film was released in April 2009. Audience interest was fueled primarily through word of mouth and Internet publicity. A manga
Manga
Manga is the Japanese word for "comics" and consists of comics and print cartoons . In the West, the term "manga" has been appropriated to refer specifically to comics created in Japan, or by Japanese authors, in the Japanese language and conforming to the style developed in Japan in the late 19th...
adaptation of the film was written by Iqura Sugimoto and began its serialization in July 2009.
Summer Wars premiered in Japan on August 1, 2009. It grossed over US$
United States dollar
The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....
1 million in its opening weekend in 127 theaters and ranked No. 7 at the box office. The film was well received by critics and the general audience and was financially successful, earning $18 million worldwide. It won several awards such as the 2010 Japan Academy Prize for Animation of the Year
Japan Academy Prize for Animation of the Year
The of the Japan Academy Prize is one of the annual Awards given by the Nippon Academy-sho association .-History:...
, the 2010 Japan Media Arts Festival's Animation Division Grand Prize, the Anaheim International Film Festival's Audience Award for Best Animated Feature and was nominated for the 2009 Golden Leopard award at the Locarno International Film Festival
Locarno International Film Festival
The Film Festival Locarno is an international film festival held annually in the city of Locarno, Switzerland since 1946. After Cannes and Venice and together with Karlovy Vary, Locarno is the Film Festival with the longest history...
.
Plot
Kenji Koiso (Ryunosuke KamikiRyunosuke Kamiki
is a Japanese actor and voice actor.-Biography:When he was 2 years old, his mother enrolled him in Central Group, a talent agency specialising in representing babies and children, and that was the start of his career in acting....
) is a young high school student with a gift in mathematics
Mathematics
Mathematics is the study of quantity, space, structure, and change. Mathematicians seek out patterns and formulate new conjectures. Mathematicians resolve the truth or falsity of conjectures by mathematical proofs, which are arguments sufficient to convince other mathematicians of their validity...
and a part-time moderator in the massive computer-simulated virtual reality world OZ along with his friend Takashi Sakuma (Takahiro Yokokawa).
After Natsuki Shinohara (Nanami Sakuraba
Nanami Sakuraba
is a Japanese gravure idol, actress and singer who won "Miss Magazine 2008".- Drama : - as Sara Nakagawa - as Reiko Torihama - as Shiori Yanagawa - as Asumi Kamogawa - as Kaori Takagi...
) invites him to participate in the 90th birthday of Sakae Jinnouchi (Sumiko Fuji
Sumiko Fuji
is a Japanese actress. The daughter of a producer at the Tōei studios, she originally began acting under the name Junko Fuji , becoming famous as the female lead in yakuza films against such stars as Ken Takakura and Kōji Tsuruta. She even starred in her own series as the knife-wielding gambler Red...
), her great-grandmother, Kenji joins her on the journey to Sakae's estate in Ueda. While there, Natsuki introduces Kenji as her fiancé to Sakae. Kenji meets several of Natsuki's relatives and Wabisuke Jinnouchi (Ayumu Saitō), Natsuki's half-granduncle and a computer expert who has been living in America for 10 years.
Kenji receives an e-mail with a mathematical code and cracks it. Love Machine, an artificial intelligence
Artificial intelligence
Artificial intelligence is the intelligence of machines and the branch of computer science that aims to create it. AI textbooks define the field as "the study and design of intelligent agents" where an intelligent agent is a system that perceives its environment and takes actions that maximize its...
in the OZ infrastructure
Infrastructure
Infrastructure is basic physical and organizational structures needed for the operation of a society or enterprise, or the services and facilities necessary for an economy to function...
, uses Kenji's account and his avatar
Avatar (computing)
In computing, an avatar is the graphical representation of the user or the user's alter ego or character. It may take either a three-dimensional form, as in games or virtual worlds, or a two-dimensional form as an icon in Internet forums and other online communities. It can also refer to a text...
to invade
Hacker (computer security)
In computer security and everyday language, a hacker is someone who breaks into computers and computer networks. Hackers may be motivated by a multitude of reasons, including profit, protest, or because of the challenge...
the infrastructure, causing widespread damage. Kenji, Natsuki's cousin Kazuma Ikezawa (Mitsuki Tanimura
Mitsuki Tanimura
, is a Japanese actress.-Filmography:* The Chasing World * God's Puzzle * Summer Wars * Kanikōsen * Mei-chan no Shitsuji * Mori no Asagao * Hankyū Densha as Miho...
) and Sakuma confront Love Machine. Kazuma's avatar, King Kazma, is defeated as Love Machine continues to steal accounts and create catastrophic traffic congestion
Traffic congestion
Traffic congestion is a condition on road networks that occurs as use increases, and is characterized by slower speeds, longer trip times, and increased vehicular queueing. The most common example is the physical use of roads by vehicles. When traffic demand is great enough that the interaction...
, as well as disabling electrical devices. Two of Sakae's relatives — Rika (Sakiko Tamagawa
Sakiko Tamagawa
is a Japanese voice actress from Tokyo. She works at Sigma Seven and is married to fellow voice actor Shūichi Ikeda.-Anime:*Akihabara Dennou Gumi as Miyama Soshigaya/Death Crow*Atashinchi as Mrs...
) and Shota Jinnouchi (Yutaka Shimizu) – discover Kenji's involvement. Shota arrests Kenji, but they are forced to return to the house.
Recognizing the situation as akin to war, Sakae calls her associates in important positions in Japan's society and her relatives who work in emergency services. She encourages them to work their hardest to reduce the potential chaos and damage that could have occurred. Kenji is able to return control of the virtual world to the moderators and engineers. Wabisuke reveals that he created Love Machine and sold the program to the United States Armed Forces
United States armed forces
The United States Armed Forces are the military forces of the United States. They consist of the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force, and Coast Guard.The United States has a strong tradition of civilian control of the military...
. After an argument with Sakae, Wabisuke leaves the estate and Sakae later encourages Kenji to take care of Natsuki during a Hanafuda
Hanafuda
are playing cards of Japanese origin that are used to play a number of games. The name literally translates as "flower cards". The name also refers to games played with those cards.-History:...
match. Later, Kenji and the Jinnouchi family, running to Sakae's bedside, discovers that she has died; her son Mansaku (Tadashi Nakamura
Tadashi Nakamura
is the founder of Seidō juku karatedo.-Early years:Tadashi Nakamura was born on the February 22, 1942 in the town of Maoka on the island of Karafuto. Nakamura trained in various martial arts including Goju-Ryu, Kendo, and Kyokushin...
) reveals she had angina and Love Machine had deactivated her heart monitor. Kenji, Sakuma, and most of the Jinnouchi family initiate a plan to defeat Love Machine using a supercomputer
Supercomputer
A supercomputer is a computer at the frontline of current processing capacity, particularly speed of calculation.Supercomputers are used for highly calculation-intensive tasks such as problems including quantum physics, weather forecasting, climate research, molecular modeling A supercomputer is a...
and ice blocks while Natsuki and the others prepare a funeral
Funeral
A funeral is a ceremony for celebrating, sanctifying, or remembering the life of a person who has died. Funerary customs comprise the complex of beliefs and practices used by a culture to remember the dead, from interment itself, to various monuments, prayers, and rituals undertaken in their honor...
for Sakae.
Kenji, along with Sakuma and the others, capture Love Machine, but Shota carries the ice blocks to Sakae's body causing the supercomputer to overheat. Love Machine empowers itself and assimilates King Kazma; the redirects the Arawashi, an orbiting satellite, onto a collision course with a nuclear power plant
Nuclear power plant
A nuclear power plant is a thermal power station in which the heat source is one or more nuclear reactors. As in a conventional thermal power station the heat is used to generate steam which drives a steam turbine connected to a generator which produces electricity.Nuclear power plants are usually...
. At the same time, Natsuki discovers a will
Will (law)
A will or testament is a legal declaration by which a person, the testator, names one or more persons to manage his/her estate and provides for the transfer of his/her property at death...
left by Sakae before reuniting with Kenji and the rest of the group. Natsuki has Wabisuke return home before reading Sakae's will, asking the family to bring Wabisuke back to their lives. Kenji surmises that the Love Machine sees everything as a game and has the Jinnouchi family play Koi-Koi with Love Machine in OZ's casino world. They wager their accounts in a desperate attempt to stop Love Machine and Natsuki initially wins several rounds, but gets distracted and nearly loses her "winnings".
However, OZ users worldwide enter their own accounts into the wager on Natsuki's side. Natsuki damages Love Machine and Kenji hacks into the satellite's GPS; Love Machine redirects the Arawashi towards a collision on Sakae's estate and prevents Kenji's attempts. To destroy Love Machine, Wabisuke disables its defenses, distracting it long enough for King Kazma to be revived and assisted by several Jinnouchi family avatars before destroying the artificial intelligence. Kenji activates the GPS code and redirects the Arawashi away from the estate. The Arawashi's impact causes a shockwave that destroys the satellite and the estate's entrance. The Jinnouchi family, celebrating their victory as well as Sakae's birthday, has Natsuki kiss Kenji after confessing their love to each other.
Voice cast
| Character | Japanese | English | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ryunosuke Kamiki Ryunosuke Kamiki is a Japanese actor and voice actor.-Biography:When he was 2 years old, his mother enrolled him in Central Group, a talent agency specialising in representing babies and children, and that was the start of his career in acting.... |
Michael Sinterniklaas Michael Sinterniklaas Michael Tremain Sinterniklaas is a Dutch American actor, voice actor, ADR Director and script writer who has worked for Viz Media, Bandai Entertainment, Funimation Entertainment, DuArt Film and Video, 4Kids Entertainment, and Tripwire Productions... |
||
| A math-savvy 17-year-old high school student and a moderator of the interactive computer world OZ along with his close friend Takashi Sakuma. Kenji is less skilled in dealing with people. Kenji is invited by his friend Natsuki Shinohara for Sakae Jinnouchi's 90th birthday. After receiving a cryptic code on his cell phone and cracking it, he becomes a primary suspect. | |||
| Nanami Sakuraba Nanami Sakuraba is a Japanese gravure idol, actress and singer who won "Miss Magazine 2008".- Drama : - as Sara Nakagawa - as Reiko Torihama - as Shiori Yanagawa - as Asumi Kamogawa - as Kaori Takagi... |
Brina Palencia Brina Palencia Brina Michelle Palencia is an American voice actress, singer, and ADR director who works for Funimation Entertainment. She has provided voices for a number of English language versions of Japanese anime films and television series.Apart from her adult female voices, she has been cast in younger... |
||
| A spirited 18-year-old high school student and a close friend of Kenji Koiso. She invites Kenji to meet her large extended family for her great-grandmother Sakae Jinnouchi's 90th birthday. | |||
| Mitsuki Tanimura Mitsuki Tanimura , is a Japanese actress.-Filmography:* The Chasing World * God's Puzzle * Summer Wars * Kanikōsen * Mei-chan no Shitsuji * Mori no Asagao * Hankyū Densha as Miho... |
Maxey Whitehead Maxey Whitehead Maxey Whitehead is an American stage actress and voice actress who works for anime series at Funimation Entertainment. She has provided voices for a number of English language versions of Japanese anime films.... |
||
| The 13-year-old second cousin of Natsuki Shinohara. His avatar is King Kazma, a renowned program in OZ. Kazuma is also a hikikomori Hikikomori is a Japanese term to refer to the phenomenon of reclusive people who have chosen to withdraw from social life, often seeking extreme degrees of isolation and confinement because of various personal and social factors in their lives... who seldom leaves his room and uses his talents to win every game in OZ. When he is not in his room he trains in Shaolin Kung Fu Shaolin kung fu Shaolin Kung Fu refers to a collection of Chinese martial arts that claim affiliation with the Shaolin Monastery.Of the multitude styles of kung fu and wushu, only some are actually related to Shaolin... with his grandfather, Mansuke Jinnouchi. |
|||
| Sumiko Fuji Sumiko Fuji is a Japanese actress. The daughter of a producer at the Tōei studios, she originally began acting under the name Junko Fuji , becoming famous as the female lead in yakuza films against such stars as Ken Takakura and Kōji Tsuruta. She even starred in her own series as the knife-wielding gambler Red... |
Pam Dougherty | ||
| The 89-year-old great grandmother of Natsuki Shinohara and indomitable head of the Jinnouchi family. Despite her advanced age she holds the family together. She also has connections in the highest ranks of political and financial circles. | |||
| Ayumu Saito | J. Michael Tatum J. Michael Tatum John Michael Tatum is an American voice actor, ADR Director, and Script writer who works for anime series at Funimation Entertainment and OkraTron 5000... |
||
| A handsome and sardonic 41-year-old computer expert, a professor at Carnegie Mellon University Carnegie Mellon University Carnegie Mellon University is a private research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States.... , and the half-granduncle of Natsuki Shinohara. Naomi Miwa refers to him as Natsuki's "first love" and is the illegitimate son of Natsuki's great grandfather, Manzo. He was adopted by Sakae Jinnouchi, whom Wabisuke cares for deeply. |
|||
| Takahiro Yokokawa | Todd Haberkorn Todd Haberkorn Todd Michael Haberkorn is an American actor, voice actor, ADR Director and Script writer at Funimation Entertainment and OkraTron 5000... |
||
| A 17-year old fellow moderator of OZ and close friend of Kenji Koiso. | |||
| Kiyomi Tanigawa | Anastasia Munoz | ||
| The 47-year-old mother of Natsuki Shinohara. | |||
| Mutsumi Sasaki Mutsumi Sasaki is a male Japanese freelance anime/manga artist from Hokkaidō, Japan. He mainly provides character designs for bishōjo characters.-Works:Character design*Happy Lesson*Futakoi*Memories Off*Memories Off 2nd*Myself ; Yourself*Chaos;Head... |
Bill Jenkins | ||
| The 55-year-old father of Natsuki Shinohara. Kazuo works as a member of Tokyo's water department. | |||
| Mieko Nobusawa | Shelley Calene-Black Shelley Calene-Black Shelley Calene-Black is an American actress and voice actress who has worked for Funimation Entertainment, ADV Films, Seraphim Digital, and OkraTron 5000... |
||
| The 71-year-old daughter of Sakae Jinnouchi who works as a housewife Housewife Housewife is a term used to describe a married woman with household responsibilities who is not employed outside the home. Merriam Webster describes a housewife as a married woman who is in charge of her household... . |
|||
| Takuya Kirimoto Takuya Kirimoto is a Japanese voice actor and actor. He is a graduate of Meijo University.-Anime:* Bleach as Saito Eikichiro* Darker than Black as Amagiri* Death Note as Aiber* Eyeshield 21 as Agon Kongo* Kamisama Dolls as Kyousuke Karahari... |
Chuck Huber Chuck Huber Chuck Huber is an American voice actor, ADR Director and Script writer who work for anime series at Funimation Entertainment and OkraTron 5000... |
||
| The 41-year-old son of Mariko Jinnouchi. Riichi is a member of the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force Japan Ground Self-Defense Force The , or JGSDF, is the army of Japan. The largest of the three services of the Japan Self-Defense Forces, the Ground Self-Defense Force operates under the command of the chief of the ground staff, based in the city of Ichigaya, Tokyo. The present chief of ground staff is General Yoshifumi Hibako... and is stationed in Camp Ichigaya. |
|||
| Sakiko Tamagawa Sakiko Tamagawa is a Japanese voice actress from Tokyo. She works at Sigma Seven and is married to fellow voice actor Shūichi Ikeda.-Anime:*Akihabara Dennou Gumi as Miyama Soshigaya/Death Crow*Atashinchi as Mrs... |
Cynthia Cranz Cynthia Cranz Cynthia Jane Cranz is an American voice actress who works for anime series of Funimation Entertainment... |
||
| The 42-year-old daughter of Mariko Jinnouchi. She works as an agent of the city's government. | |||
| Ichirō Nagai Ichiro Nagai is a male seiyū from Ikeda, Osaka Prefecture. He was formerly represented by Tokyo Actor's Consumer's Cooperative Society, but is now represented by Aoni Production.-Television animation:*Akuma-kun *Bikkuriman... |
John Swasey John Swasey John Swasey is an American actor, voice actor, ADR Director, and Script Writer who works at Funimation Entertainment, ADV Films, Seraphim Digital, and OkraTron 5000... |
||
| The 70-year-old middle son of Sakae Jinnouchi. Mansuke is an owner of a local fish market. Along with his grandson Kazuma Ikezawa, he trains in Shorinji Kempo Shorinji Kempo was established by as a system for self-improvement and training in Japan in 1947 based on Shaolin kungfu .... . |
|||
| Takashi Kobayashi | John Burgmeier | ||
| The 45-year-old son of Mansuke Jinnouchi. Tasuke works as a shopkeeper of an electronics store. | |||
| Yutaka Shimizu | Mike McFarland Mike McFarland Michael Charles McFarland is an American voice actor, ADR Director, Script, and Line Producer at Funimation Entertainment. He also did work with ADV Films, Bang Zoom! Entertainment, New Generation Pictures and Okatron 5000... |
||
| The 21-year-old son of Tasuke Jinnouchi. Shota is a policeman. | |||
| Kaori Yamagata | Lydia Mackay Lydia Mackay Lydia Marie Mackay is an American theatre actress and voice actress who works for Funimation Entertainment and OkraTron 5000... |
||
| The 42-year-old eldest daughter of Mansuke Jinnouchi who is divorced. | |||
| Tagame Tamura | Jennifer Seman | ||
| The 39-year-old youngest daughter of Mansuke Jinnouchi and mother of Kazuma Ikezawa. Kiyomi is a care worker based in Nagoya. Throughout the film she is pregnant with Kazuma's sister. | |||
| Tadashi Nakamura Tadashi Nakamura is the founder of Seidō juku karatedo.-Early years:Tadashi Nakamura was born on the February 22, 1942 in the town of Maoka on the island of Karafuto. Nakamura trained in various martial arts including Goju-Ryu, Kendo, and Kyokushin... |
Barry Yandell Barry Yandell Barry Yandell is an American voice actor who works for anime series of FUNimation Entertainment. He has provided voices for a number of English language versions of Japanese anime films. He also is a Theater Director for Schools in the Keller independent School District.-Anime:* Aquarion - Moroha*... |
||
| The 68-year-old youngest son of Sakae Jinnouchi. Mansaku monitors Sakae's health problems. | |||
| Yoji Tanaka | Robert McCollum Robert McCollum Robert McCollum is an American voice actor who works for anime series at FUNimation Entertainment. He has provided voices for a number of English language versions of Japanese anime films... |
||
| The 45-year-old eldest son of Mansaku Jinnouchi. Yorihiko works as an emergency medical technician Emergency medical technician Emergency Medical Technician or Ambulance Technician are terms used in some countries to denote a healthcare provider of emergency medical services... in Matsumoto Matsumoto, Nagano is a city located in Nagano Prefecture, Japan. Matsumoto is designated as a Special City.-Outline:The new city of Matsumoto is the city comprising the mergers of the old city of Matsumoto and four villages. Matsumoto officially absorbed those villages without creating a new municipal... 's fire department. |
|||
| Hashiya Nakamura | Patrick Seitz Patrick Seitz Patrick Seitz is an American voice actor, ADR Director, and Script Writer primarily known for his work for Geneon Entertainment, Bang Zoom! Entertainment, Bandai Entertainment, Media Blasters, NYAV Post, New Generation Pictures, Funimation Entertainment, and Viz Media... |
||
| The 42-year-old middle son of Mansaku Jinnouchi. Kunihiko works as a fire sergeant in Suwa Suwa, Nagano is a city located in Nagano, Japan.As of October 1, 2010, the city had an estimated population of 51,084 and a density of 468.40 persons per km². The total area of the city is 109.06 km².... 's fire department. |
|||
| Mitsutaka Itakura | Christopher R. Sabat | ||
| The 40-year-old youngest son of Mansaku Jinnouchi. Katsuhiko is a member of Ueda's fire department and assists in the department's rescue squad. | |||
| Eiko Kanazawa | Colleen Clinkenbeard Colleen Clinkenbeard Colleen Smith Clinkenbeard is an American voice actress, Line Producer, ADR Director, and Script Writer who works for Funimation Entertainment, ADV Films, and OkraTron 5000. She has provided voices for a number of English language versions of Japanese anime films and series, most notably, Monkey D... |
||
| The 37-year-old wife of Yorihiko Jinnouchi. | |||
| Chigusa Takaku | Caitlin Glass Caitlin Glass Caitlin Tiffany Glass is an American voice actress and ADR director. While still a college student, Glass was hired by Funimation Entertainment while on a tour of the studio. Her first roles were bit parts on Case Closed until she landed the role of Hiyono Yuizaki in Spiral... |
||
| The 32-year-old wife of Kunihiko Jinnouchi. | |||
| Riisa Naka Riisa Naka is a Japanese actress. She was given a Best New Talent award at the 2009 Yokohama Film Festival. Naka became famous by appearing in Hachi One Diver .-Personal life:Naka has a Swedish grandfather, making her one-quarter Swedish and three-quarters Japanese... |
Monica Rial Monica Rial Monica Jean Rial is an American voice actress, ADR Director, and Script Writer who works for Funimation Entertainment, ADV Films, Seraphim Digital, and OkraTron 5000... |
||
| The 38-year-old wife of Katsuhiko Jinnouchi. | |||
| Naoto Adachi | Jason Liebrecht Jason Liebrecht Ernest Jason Liebrecht is an American actor and voice actor who works for anime series at Funimation Entertainment, ADV Films, New Generation Pictures, and OkraTron 5000... |
||
| The 17-year-old eldest son of Katsuhiko Jinnouchi. Ryohei plays in his local high school's baseball team. | |||
| Rikito Ota | Brittney Karbowski Brittney Karbowski Brittney Marie Karbowski is an American actress and voice actress who works for Funimation Entertainment, ADV Films, Seraphim Digital, and OkraTron 5000... |
||
| The 7-year-old middle son of Katsuhiko Jinnouchi. | |||
| Yuki Imai | Alison Viktorin | ||
| The 6-year-old son of Yorihiko Jinnouchi. | |||
| Sumire Morohoshi | Cherami Leigh Cherami Leigh Cherami Leigh Kuehn is an American actress and voice actress who is affiliated with Funimation Entertainment... |
||
| The 4-year-old daughter of Yorihiko Jinnouchi. | |||
| Hinano Minagawa | Tia Ballard Tia Ballard Tia Lynn Ballard is an American actress, artist, comedian, writer, and voice actress for FUNimation Entertainment.She received an Associate of Science degree in 2006 from Paris Junior College with an emphasis on Theatre and Art... |
||
| The 2-year-old daughter of Kunihiko Jinnouchi. | |||
Non-speaking characters include , the youngest son of Katsuhiko Jinnouchi, and , Sakae Jinnouchi's dog.
Development
After the critical and commercial success of The Girl Who Leapt Through Time, MadhouseMadhouse (company)
is a Japanese animation studio, founded in 1972 by ex–Mushi Pro animators including Masao Maruyama, Osamu Dezaki, Rintaro, and Yoshiaki Kawajiri. It has created and helped to produce many well known shows, starting with TV anime series Ace o Nerae! in 1973, and including western favourites Ninja...
was offered to produce another film. Whereas Madhouse based the previous film on a novel, the studio was given the chance to create the next film. Director Mamoru Hosoda selected a story for both people with family and those without having a family. Production of Summer Wars commenced in 2006.
Sanada clan
The was a Japanese clan which rose to prominence in the Sengoku period. During the Edo era, the Sanada ruled the Matsushiro Domain, where they remained until the Meiji Restoration.-Sengoku period:...
, upon which the Jinnouchi family is based. Ueda is also close to Hosoda's birthplace in Toyama
Toyama, Toyama
is the capital city of Toyama Prefecture, Japan, located on the coast of the Sea of Japan in the Chūbu region on central Honshū, about 200 km north of the city of Nagoya and 300 km northwest of Tokyo....
. Hosoda's inspiration for the name of the social network OZ came from a large supermarket
Supermarket
A supermarket, a form of grocery store, is a self-service store offering a wide variety of food and household merchandise, organized into departments...
that he once visited while still working for Toei Animation
Toei Animation
Toei Animation Co., Ltd. is a Japanese animation studio owned by Toei Co., Ltd. The studio was founded in 1948 as Japan Animated Films . In 1956, Toei purchased the studio and it was reincorporated under its current name...
at the time. Although noting similarities between OZ and Second Life
Second Life
Second Life is an online virtual world developed by Linden Lab. It was launched on June 23, 2003. A number of free client programs, or Viewers, enable Second Life users, called Residents, to interact with each other through avatars...
, Hosoda also cited the Japanese social networking
Social network service
A social networking service is an online service, platform, or site that focuses on building and reflecting of social networks or social relations among people, who, for example, share interests and/or activities. A social network service consists of a representation of each user , his/her social...
website mixi
Mixi
mixi, Inc. is one of several social networking websites in Japan, founded in 2004. As of May 2008, mixi had over 21.6 million users and an 80% share of the social networking market in Japan...
as a primary influence because of his experiences. For the color and design of OZ, he cited Nintendo
Nintendo
is a multinational corporation located in Kyoto, Japan. Founded on September 23, 1889 by Fusajiro Yamauchi, it produced handmade hanafuda cards. By 1963, the company had tried several small niche businesses, such as a cab company and a love hotel....
games as inspiration. The design aesthetic was compared by some reviewers to the appearance of OZ. Hosoda said that he admires the artwork of Takashi Murakami
Takashi Murakami
is an internationally prolific contemporary Japanese artist. He works in fine arts media—such as painting and sculpture—as well as what is conventionally considered commercial media —fashion, merchandise, and animation— and is known for blurring the line between high and low art...
, but designed the social network as a "clean, uncluttered look." During production, Hosoda visited his then-fiancé's house in Ueda, and experienced the history of her family's life. Hosoda cited his influence of using a family as the basis of the film from his marriage and from attending several film festival
Film festival
A film festival is an organised, extended presentation of films in one or more movie theaters or screening venues, usually in a single locality. More and more often film festivals show part of their films to the public by adding outdoor movie screenings...
s.
In addition to Hosoda, the team included writer Satoko Okudera
Satoko Okudera
is a Japanese screenwriter. She is known for her screenplays in both the live-action and anime mediums. Her 1995 screenplay for Gakkô no kaidan was nominated for the Japan Academy Prize...
and character designer Yoshiyuki Sadamoto
Yoshiyuki Sadamoto
is a Japanese character designer, manga artist, and one of the founding members of the Gainax anime studio. Before the studio was founded under the official name , he served as animator on the second animated project, the Daicon IV opening animation...
, who previously worked with Hosoda on The Girl Who Leapt Through Time. Hiroyuki Aoyama served as an animation director, while action animation direction was handled by Tatsuzo Nishida. During production, Sadamoto based Wabisuke's design on those of actor Yusaku Matsuda
Yusaku Matsuda
was a Japanese actor. Yusaku was born in Shimonoseki, Yamaguchi to a Zainichi Korean mother. His father is not known. His date was wrongly recorded as 1950 on his birth records due to a parental error in filing a report.-Career:...
. Aoyama was responsible for supervising the animation of the real world scenes, while Nishida supervised the animation for the digital world, using both traditional animation
Traditional animation
Traditional animation, is an animation technique where each frame is drawn by hand...
and computer animation
Computer animation
Computer animation is the process used for generating animated images by using computer graphics. The more general term computer generated imagery encompasses both static scenes and dynamic images, while computer animation only refers to moving images....
techniques. Digital animation studio Digital Frontier
Digital Frontier
Digital Frontier （デジタルフロンティア）is a motion picture production company in Japan with a distinguished large scale CG production department. The company is equipped with motion capture studio called "OPAKIS" in Odaiba, Tokyo....
was responsible for creating the visuals of OZ and its avatars. Youji Takeshige oversaw the art direction for Summer Wars. While visiting Ueda, Hosoda thought that Takeshige, who has previously worked with Studio Ghibli
Studio Ghibli
is a Japanese animation and film studio founded in June 1985. The company's logo features the character Totoro from Hayao Miyazaki's film My Neighbor Totoro...
, should draw traditional Japanese houses for the film. The film also features the Japanese spacecraft Hayabusa
Hayabusa
was an unmanned spacecraft developed by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency to return a sample of material from a small near-Earth asteroid named 25143 Itokawa to Earth for further analysis....
, whose control center is located in the nearby city of Saku
Saku, Nagano
is a city located in Nagano, Japan.Due to the refounding of Saku back on April 1, 2005, the city became the fifth city in Nagano Prefecture to go over 100,000...
. Hosoda included the spacecraft to support Japan's contribution towards space exploration.
The film was announced at the 2008 Tokyo International Anime Fair
Tokyo International Anime Fair
The Tokyo International Anime Fair also known as Tokyo International Animation Fair is one of the largest anime trade fairs in the world, held annually in Japan. The first event was held in 2002 as "Tokyo International Anime Fair 21". The event is held at Tokyo Big Sight, a convention and...
. At the 2009 Otakon
Otakon
Otakon is a fan convention in the United States focusing on East Asian popular culture and its fandom. The name is a portmanteau derived from convention and the Japanese word otaku...
convention Madhouse president Masao Maruyama
Masao Maruyama (film producer)
is a Japanese film producer, animation developer, the co-founder, board of directors member, and producer of Studio Madhouse, one of the leading animation production companies in the world...
said that Hosoda insisted on including 80 family members as its main characters. Maruyama then quipped that he asked Hosoda to promise only two main characters and two years of production for his next film. Summer Wars was one film in Madhouse's larger theatrical film release strategy, to release one new film each season for the next year. The release of Summer Wars was followed by Mai Mai Miracle
Mai Mai Miracle
is a Japanese animated film based on Nobuko Takagi's novelization of her autobiography, Maimai Shinko. It was produced by the animation studio Madhouse, distributed by Shochiku, and directed by Sunao Katabuchi....
and Yona Yona Penguin
Yona Yona Penguin
Yona Yona Penguin is an animated film by the Japanese anime studio Madhouse and sister company Dynamo Pictures. It was Madhouse's first fully 3D CGI film...
in 2009 with Redline
Redline (2010 film)
is a 2009 science fiction auto racing anime film produced by Madhouse and released in Japan on October 9, 2010. The directorial debut feature of Takeshi Koike, it features the voices of Takuya Kimura, Yū Aoi and Tadanobu Asano, and an original story by Katsuhito Ishii, who also co-writes and sound...
released during the first half of 2010.
Soundtrack
Akihiko Matsumoto composed the scoreFilm score
A film score is original music written specifically to accompany a film, forming part of the film's soundtrack, which also usually includes dialogue and sound effects...
for Summer Wars. The soundtrack of the film, titled , was released by VAP on July 9, 2009. It remained on the Oricon music charts for four weeks and peaked at No. 112.
Our Summer Dream
The film's theme songTheme music
Theme music is a piece that is often written specifically for a radio program, television program, video game or movie, and usually played during the title sequence and/or end credits...
, titled , was written and performed by Tatsuro Yamashita
Tatsuro Yamashita
is a Japanese singer-songwriter, and record producer. He has been known by his musical style deeply influenced from 1960s American pop and rock music....
. It was released by Warner Music Japan
Warner Music Group
Warner Music Group is the third largest business group and family of record labels in the recording industry, making it one of the big four record companies...
as a maxi single
Maxi single
A maxi single or maxi-single is a music single release with more than the usual two tracks of an a-side song and a b-side song.-The first maxi singles:...
on August 19, 2009. The single included two other songs by Yamashita that are unrelated to the film. The first two songs have corresponding karaoke
Karaoke
is a form of interactive entertainment or video game in which amateur singers sing along with recorded music using a microphone and public address system. The music is typically a well-known pop song minus the lead vocal. Lyrics are usually displayed on a video screen, along with a moving symbol,...
versions, and the third song is recorded from a live performance. The single peaked at 8th place on the Oricon charts.
Marketing
A high level of anticipation surrounded Summer Wars before its release, due to the critical and popular success of The Girl Who Leapt Through Time. Kadokawa ShotenKadokawa Shoten
is a well-known Japanese publishing company based in Tokyo, Japan. Kadokawa has published both manga novels and magazines, such as Newtype magazine...
promoted the film online through their official YouTube
YouTube
YouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....
channel, aiming at international as well as domestic fans. On April 8, 2009, a one-minute high-definition
High-definition video
High-definition video or HD video refers to any video system of higher resolution than standard-definition video, and most commonly involves display resolutions of 1,280×720 pixels or 1,920×1,080 pixels...
(HD) trailer
Trailer (film)
A trailer or preview is an advertisement or a commercial for a feature film that will be exhibited in the future at a cinema. The term "trailer" comes from their having originally been shown at the end of a feature film screening. That practice did not last long, because patrons tended to leave the...
was released followed by a longer trailer on June 16. On July 29, the Japanese website of Yahoo! Movies
Yahoo! Movies
Yahoo! Movies , provided by the Yahoo! network, is home to a large collection of information on movies, past and new releases, trailers and clips, box office information, and showtimes and movie theater information. Yahoo! Movies also includes red carpet photos, actor galleries, and production...
streamed the first five minutes of the film and Kadokawa offered the footage on their YouTube channel several days later to allow for international viewing. It also offered two of the film's 15-second television adverts online. Before its release Masao Maruyama believed that "the film should be pretty popular, since the pre-sales for the tickets are very high".
Iqura Sugimoto's manga
Manga
Manga is the Japanese word for "comics" and consists of comics and print cartoons . In the West, the term "manga" has been appropriated to refer specifically to comics created in Japan, or by Japanese authors, in the Japanese language and conforming to the style developed in Japan in the late 19th...
adaptation of the film was featured in the July 2009 debut issue of Kadokawa's manga magazine Young Ace
Young Ace
is a seinen manga magazine in Japan published by Kadokawa Shoten, started in 2009.-Manga artists and series featured in Young Ace:*Akuma no Ikenie by Ayun Tachibana*Black Rock Shooter: Innocent Soul by Sanami Suzuki...
. The first compilation volume
Tankobon
, with a literal meaning close to "independently appearing book", is the Japanese term for a book that is complete in itself and is not part of a series , though the manga industry uses it for volumes which may be in a series...
of Sugimoto's work was released in Japan on August 10 and debuted in 23rd place on the Oricon
Oricon
, established in 1999, is the holding company at the head of a Japanese corporate group that supplies statistics and information on music and the music industry in Japan. It started as , which was founded by Sōkō Koike in November 1967 and became known for its music charts. Oricon Inc...
comic ranking, selling 51,645 copies. The second volume was released on February 4, 2010 and debuted in 12th place, selling 53,333 copies. An additional manga side story was featured in the July 2009 issue of Comp Ace
Comp Ace
is a Japanese computer game and manga magazine published by Kadokawa Shoten. Comp Ace began as a special edition version of another one of Kadokawa Shoten's magazines, Comptiq. The first issue was released on March 26, 2005, and was published quarterly for the first three volumes which had cover...
magazine.
Screenings and release
Summer Wars premiered in Japan on August 1, 2009. The film was distributed in South Korea by CJ Entertainment where it premiered on August 12. Cathay OrganisationCathay Organisation
Cathay Organisation Holdings Limited is one of Singapore's leading leisure and entertainment groups. It has the first THX cinema hall and digital cinema in Singapore. The group has operations in Singapore and Malaysia.-The early years:...
released Summer Wars in Singapore on February 25, 2010. Mighty Media released the film in Taiwan on June 4, 2010. The film was released by Eurozoom in France on June 9, 2010.
Summer Wars had its North American premiere on February 26, 2010 as the opening night event of the annual New York International Children's Film Festival
New York International Children's Film Festival
The stated mission of the New York International Children's Film Festival is to promote intelligent, passionate, provocative cinematic works for ages 3–18 and to help define a more compelling film for kids....
with director Mamoru Hosoda
Mamoru Hosoda
Mamoru Hosoda is a Japanese animator and director. Since 2005, he has been a staff director at Madhouse, where he has made his acclaimed films The Girl Who Leapt Through Time and Summer Wars.Hosoda was commisioned by Studio Ghibli to direct Howl's Moving Castle but left the project during the...
in attendance. Hosoda answered audience questions following the film's screening through an interpreter. Hosoda and a producer subsequently appeared at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology is a private research university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts. MIT has five schools and one college, containing a total of 32 academic departments, with a strong emphasis on scientific and technological education and research.Founded in 1861 in...
Comparative Media Studies Program on March 1, 2010, where they offered a public screening free of charge and answered questions. The film was also screened at the IndieLisboa Film Festival. The debut screening in Australia was on June 14, 2010, as part of the Sydney Film Festival
Sydney Film Festival
The Sydney Film Festival is an annual film festival held in the Australian city of Sydney and is held over 12 days in June. The competitive film festival draws international and local attention, with films being showcased in several venues across the city centre and includes features,...
. It also screened at Melbourne International Film Festival
Melbourne International Film Festival
The Melbourne International Film Festival is an acclaimed annual film festival held over three weeks in Melbourne, Australia. It was founded in 1951, making it one of the oldest in the World....
on August 8, 2010. The Leeds International Film Festival
Leeds International Film Festival
The Leeds International Film Festival is the largest film festival in England outside London. Held in November at various venues throughout Leeds, West Yorkshire it shows over 200 films from around the world, commercial and independent....
showed the film on November 20, 2009 and the English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
dubbed version of the film premiered at the New York International Children's Film Festival on November 20, 2010. At Otakon
Otakon
Otakon is a fan convention in the United States focusing on East Asian popular culture and its fandom. The name is a portmanteau derived from convention and the Japanese word otaku...
2010 Funimation Entertainment
Funimation Entertainment
Funimation is an American entertainment company. Originally founded in 1994 by Gen Fukunaga, the company became a subsidiary of Navarre Corporation on May 11, 2005...
announced that a limited release
Limited release
Limited release is a term in the American motion picture industry for a motion picture that is playing in a select few theaters across the country ....
of the film would begin in theaters on December 3, 2010, at the Gene Siskel Film Center
Gene Siskel Film Center
"The Film Center" redirects here. Not to be confused with the Film Center Building in New York CityThe Gene Siskel Film Center, formerly The Film Center of the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and commonly referred to as The Film Center or The Gene Siskel, is the cinematheque attached to The...
.
Critical response
Summer Wars has received generally positive reviews from film critics since its release in 2009. Review aggregator Rotten TomatoesRotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...
reports that 76% of critics have given the film a positive review based on 21 reviews with an average rating of 7/10. At Metacritic
Metacritic
Metacritic.com is a website that collates reviews of music albums, games, movies, TV shows and DVDs. For each product, a numerical score from each review is obtained and the total is averaged. An excerpt of each review is provided along with a hyperlink to the source. Three colour codes of Green,...
, which uses a normalized
Standard score
In statistics, a standard score indicates how many standard deviations an observation or datum is above or below the mean. It is a dimensionless quantity derived by subtracting the population mean from an individual raw score and then dividing the difference by the population standard deviation...
rating system, the film earned a "generally favorable" level rating of 63/100 based on 12 reviews by mainstream critics.
Mark Schilling of The Japan Times
The Japan Times
The Japan Times is an English language newspaper published in Japan. Unlike its competitors, the Daily Yomiuri and the International Herald Tribune/Asahi Shimbun, it is not affiliated with a Japanese language media organization...
rated the film 5 out of 5 stars and observed that Summer Wars "may contain familiar elements, beginning with its bashful, moonstruck young hero, but it combines them in ways fresh, contemporary and dazzlingly imaginative". He also said that the film provides a social commentary on the differences between an "analog world" and a "realm of digital devices". Schilling titled his article "The future king of Japanese animation may be with us; Hosoda steps out of Miyazaki
Hayao Miyazaki
is a Japanese manga artist and prominent film director and animator of many popular anime feature films. Through a career that has spanned nearly fifty years, Miyazaki has attained international acclaim as a maker of animated feature films and, along with Isao Takahata, co-founded Studio Ghibli,...
's shadow with dazzling new film". He praised Sadamoto, Aoyama and Nishida for producing "scenes of animated spectacle that, in their dazzling fluency of motion and untethered brilliance of invention, makes the usual SF/fantasy anime look childish and dull". Twitch Film published a review by Guillem Rosset who also referenced Miyazaki noting that following The Girl Who Leapt Through Time "cries went out immediately hailing him [Hosoda] as the heir apparent". He claimed that with Summer Wars, "Hosoda is the new king, the best story teller working within the animated medium in Japan and – quite possibly – the world." Rosset praised the film itself as "richly detailed and beautifully written...gorgeous to look at." and "blessed with an extensive cast of stunningly detailed and authentic characters." He concluded by saying "Hosoda has perfectly balanced the need to entertain via the visuals with the rich and satisfying character work that separates him from the massive pack of quality technicians to establish himself as truly a master story teller." He also noted that "The wonderful cast of characters is one of the film's greatest strengths" while also highlighting that, of the virtual world of OZ, "Here the creative minds of Madhouse can let their imagination run wild." With regards to the technical aspects, Rosset called the film "a top class audiovisual show." He concluded by writing "Mamoru Hosada deserves a place as one of the top contemporary Japanese animators. And it's good to know that once the time comes for Miyazaki to retire (not too soon I hope!) there's people capable of following his steps." The Korean newspaper Herald Business
Herald Media
Herald Media is a newspaper corporation located in Seoul, South Korea. It publishes the Korea Herald, Herald Business, Junior Herald, and Campus Herald....
saw the film's fantasy theme and gorgeous animation as a differentiator from works produced by Hollywood studios.
Patrick W. Galbraith of Otaku2.com compared the design of OZ to Takashi Murakami
Takashi Murakami
is an internationally prolific contemporary Japanese artist. He works in fine arts media—such as painting and sculpture—as well as what is conventionally considered commercial media —fashion, merchandise, and animation— and is known for blurring the line between high and low art...
's artwork, specifically "the flatness, or slick, polished surfaces" and then contrasted them with the sequences in Nagano noting, "it has a warm and lived in feel to it, aided by a scrupulous attention to detail." Of the story and characters Galbraith wrote that "scenes such as the large family coming together and talking over dinner are heartwarming and hilarious." and compared the movie to "a moving picture book, a family photo album turned back a few decades." He also noted the audience response, reporting sold-out screenings two nights in a row, and highlighting handwritten notes left at the theater by "hoardes of fans who on the spot decided to move to Nagano" In conclusion, Galbraith wrote "there is an innocence and purity to this work that really reminds [him] of Miyazaki Hayao and Studio Ghibli
Studio Ghibli
is a Japanese animation and film studio founded in June 1985. The company's logo features the character Totoro from Hayao Miyazaki's film My Neighbor Totoro...
back in the day, and the stellar backgrounds invoke Shinkai Makoto
Makoto Shinkai
, better known by the stage name , is a Japanese anime director, animator, and voice actor. A native of the Koumi Nagano Prefecture in Japan, he studied Japanese literature at Chuo University. He traces his passion for creation to the manga, anime, and novels he was exposed to while in middle...
." Justin Sevakis of Anime News Network
Anime News Network
Anime News Network is an anime industry news website that reports on the status of anime, manga, Japanese popular music and other otaku-related culture within North America, Australia and Japan. Additionally, it sometimes features similar happenings throughout the Anglosphere and elsewhere in the...
gave the film an 'A' rating and wrote that "decades from now, Summer Wars will be seen as the official arrival of [director] Mamoru Hosoda into the realm of historically important anime directors." He called the film "a near-perfect blend of social satire and science fiction, at once timely and timeless, sardonic and optimistic." and noted that the film is "practically overflowing with sharp social insight in a way we have not seen from anime in years." Sevakis praised Yoshiyuki Sadamoto's character designs and highlighted the visuals as "sharp and consistently great". In summing the film up he called Summer Wars "Incredibly entertaining, and intriguingly intelligent. Accessible and fast-paced. Pretty much perfect." Similarities have been commented on between the film and a previous work of Hosoda, Digimon Adventure: Our War Game. Neo
Neo (magazine)
NEO is a 100-page monthly magazine published in the United Kingdom and Ireland by Uncooked Media that focuses on various aspects of East Asian entertainment such as Japanese anime and manga ; Hong Kong, Korean and Japanese films; and Japanese pop, rock and visual kei music, etc.The magazine...
magazine has stated that Our War Game is "plainly a prototype" of Summer Wars.
Rachel Saltz of The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
also gave a positive review of the film. Saltz praised Mamoru Hosoda's direction, and says it "matches the clean, classically composed images of his [Hosoda's] outer story." She further praised the visuals and themes, comparing it to those of director Yasujirō Ozu
Yasujiro Ozu
was a prominent Japanese film director and script writer. He is known for his distinctive technical style, developed during the silent era. Marriage and family, especially the relationships between the generations, are among the most persistent themes in his body of work...
. In his review for Variety
Variety (magazine)
Variety is an American weekly entertainment-trade magazine founded in New York City, New York, in 1905 by Sime Silverman. With the rise of the importance of the motion-picture industry, Daily Variety, a daily edition based in Los Angeles, California, was founded by Silverman in 1933. In 1998, the...
critic Peter Debruge stated that Hosoda's direction "appeals to the hard-to-please teen crowd by taking mind-bending ideas and planting them within a relatable contempo context." He also praised the CG animation in the OZ sequences. Peter Hartlaub of the San Francisco Chronicle
San Francisco Chronicle
thumb|right|upright|The Chronicle Building following the [[1906 San Francisco earthquake|1906 earthquake]] and fireThe San Francisco Chronicle is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of the U.S. state of California, but distributed throughout Northern and Central California,...
praised Hosoda's style and said that it "adds enough dimensions to his characters and kinetic battles that the serene real world seems like a dream state." He also likened Hosoda's style to that of Hayao Miyazaki
Hayao Miyazaki
is a Japanese manga artist and prominent film director and animator of many popular anime feature films. Through a career that has spanned nearly fifty years, Miyazaki has attained international acclaim as a maker of animated feature films and, along with Isao Takahata, co-founded Studio Ghibli,...
and Nintendo
Nintendo
is a multinational corporation located in Kyoto, Japan. Founded on September 23, 1889 by Fusajiro Yamauchi, it produced handmade hanafuda cards. By 1963, the company had tried several small niche businesses, such as a cab company and a love hotel....
. Hartlaub complained that Kenji's character is "a bit too over-caffeinated in the first part" and concluded that the film is "the kind of fun and quirky film that you don't see very often in art houses this time of year." Ty Burr
Ty Burr
Ty Burr has been a film critic for the Boston Globe since 2002 where he reviews films alongside Wesley Morris.Born in 1957, he studied film at Dartmouth College and New York University and has written three books: The Hundred Greatest Movies of All Time, The Hundred Greatest Stars of All Time and...
of The Boston Globe
The Boston Globe
The Boston Globe is an American daily newspaper based in Boston, Massachusetts. The Boston Globe has been owned by The New York Times Company since 1993...
gave the film 3 out of 4 stars. He stated that "Summer Wars is most appealing in its hushed moments" and also praised Satoko Okudera's writing, stating that it "stakes a claim for the non-virtual world of history and of family ties that stretch back to Japan’s medieval era." He also praised the OZ animation sequences as "visually ravishing explorations of white-on-white cyberspace, but the hectic gaming action sequences feel curiously passé." Burr notes that in the film, "it's what's old that's made to seem refreshingly new." In his review for the New York Post
New York Post
The New York Post is the 13th-oldest newspaper published in the United States and is generally acknowledged as the oldest to have been published continuously as a daily, although – as is the case with most other papers – its publication has been periodically interrupted by labor actions...
V.A. Musetto gave the film 2 out of 4 stars and called the film "great despite its structural problems". Musetto also complained about the storyline, stating that the "sci-fi elements seem silly rather than suspenseful." Nicolas Rapold of The Village Voice
The Village Voice
The Village Voice is a free weekly newspaper and news and features website in New York City that features investigative articles, analysis of current affairs and culture, arts and music coverage, and events listings for New York City...
also praised the film's visuals, and said that "it’s hard to appreciate things like the character detail amid the insufferably squealy voicing and arbitrary suspense."
Kevin Thomas of the Los Angeles Times
Los Angeles Times
The Los Angeles Times is a daily newspaper published in Los Angeles, California, since 1881. It was the second-largest metropolitan newspaper in circulation in the United States in 2008 and the fourth most widely distributed newspaper in the country....
praised the visuals, stating that "Summer Wars is awesome in its detailed depiction of Oz, which floats in space with an array of satellites, and earthly cityscapes visited by calamities." Thomas also said the film is "also a superb example of Japanese anime, balancing science fiction fantasy with a paean to the timeless value of family life." and called it "a sophisticated yet poignant family entertainment with an appeal beyond Japanese animation buffs." Stephanie Merry of The Washington Post
The Washington Post
The Washington Post is Washington, D.C.'s largest newspaper and its oldest still-existing paper, founded in 1877. Located in the capital of the United States, The Post has a particular emphasis on national politics. D.C., Maryland, and Virginia editions are printed for daily circulation...
gave the film 2 out of 4 stars. Merry criticized the film's plot, stating that it "ventures into territory both melodramatic and corny." Merry also said that the relationship between Natsuki and Kenji "unfolds as blandly as a Debra Messing
Debra Messing
Debra Lynn Messing is an American actress, voice artist, and comedienne. She is perhaps best known for her role as Grace Adler in the NBC sitcom Will & Grace and as Molly Kagan in the mini-series The Starter Wife....
rom-com." Frank Scheck of The Hollywood Reporter
The Hollywood Reporter
Formerly a daily trade magazine, The Hollywood Reporter re-launched in late 2010 as a unique hybrid publication serving the entertainment industry and a consumer audience...
stated that the "increasingly convoluted narrative may be too difficult to follow for younger viewers," but said that the film's "thematic ambition and dazzling visual style ultimately make it one of the more rewarding anime efforts to reach these shores [United States]."
Box office performance
In Japan, Summer Wars ranked 7th in the box office, grossing an equivalent US$United States dollar
The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....
1,338,772 on 127 screens during its opening weekend, and ending its run with a total gross of $17,425,019. In South Korea, the film debuted in 8th place and earned an equivalent of US$369,156 on 118 screens with a total gross of $783,850. In Singapore
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
, the film opened in 17th place and earned an equivalent of US$14,660 on 3 screens, and later concluded its run with a total gross $29,785. As of June 2010, the film went on to gross $18,353,560 worldwide. During the film's limited release in the United States, it grossed $1,412 and opened 76th at the box office in its opening weekend, later concluding its run with a total gross of $80,678.
Home media
The film was released in Japan on March 3, 2010, on DVDDVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
and Blu-ray
Blu-ray Disc
Blu-ray Disc is an optical disc storage medium designed to supersede the DVD format. The plastic disc is 120 mm in diameter and 1.2 mm thick, the same size as DVDs and CDs. Blu-ray Discs contain 25 GB per layer, with dual layer discs being the norm for feature-length video discs...
editions. In its first week of release the film became the top selling anime Blu-ray in Japan, with an estimated 54,000 copies sold and surpassed the previous record holder Evangelion: 1.0 You Are (Not) Alone
Evangelion: 1.0 You Are (Not) Alone
is a 2007 Japanese animated film written and chief directed by Hideaki Anno. It is the first of four films released in the Rebuild of Evangelion tetralogy based on the original anime series Neon Genesis Evangelion. It was produced and co-distributed by Anno's Studio Khara in partnership with Gainax...
. To date it is the second highest Japanese Blu-ray debut overall, following Michael Jackson's This Is It
Michael Jackson's This Is It
Michael Jackson's This Is It is a 2009 American documentary–concert film directed by Kenny Ortega that documents Michael Jackson's rehearsals and preparation for the concert series of the same name scheduled to start on July 13, 2009, but canceled due to his death eighteen days prior on June 25. It...
. Based on pre-orders Summer Wars was expected to be eclipsed in sales by Evangelion: 2.0 You Can (Not) Advance on its release in May. Summer Wars also topped the Oricon
Oricon
, established in 1999, is the holding company at the head of a Japanese corporate group that supplies statistics and information on music and the music industry in Japan. It started as , which was founded by Sōkō Koike in November 1967 and became known for its music charts. Oricon Inc...
Animation DVD charts with 55,375 copies sold in its first week. The Japanese Blu-ray release of Summer Wars was nominated for a Digital Entertainment Group of Japan (DEG Japan) Award for Best Interactivity.
In Europe the DVD and Blu-ray release was released on November 26, 2010, by Kazé
Kazé
Kaze is the name of a French publisher which specializes in anime. Founded in 1994, the company began its debut publishing Chronicles of Lodoss War on VHS....
. British distributor Manga Entertainment
Manga Entertainment
Manga Entertainment is a producer, licensor and distributor of Japanese animation in the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, France, Australia and New Zealand...
announced in January 2010 they had licensed Summer Wars for the United Kingdom, where it is scheduled for a March 2011 release on DVD and Blu-ray. In North America Funimation Entertainment
Funimation Entertainment
Funimation is an American entertainment company. Originally founded in 1994 by Gen Fukunaga, the company became a subsidiary of Navarre Corporation on May 11, 2005...
released the Blu-ray and DVD editions of Summer Wars on February 15, 2011. The first press copies included art cards. In order to get out enough copies to meet demand some did not ship with the OZ O-card (cardboard slip-cover), as it required speciality printing that takes longer to produce than the rest of the product. Funimation has offered to send out the O-Card to customers who did not receive one as soon as they are available if they fill out a request form on their site.
Awards and nominations
Summer Wars was the first Japanese animated film to be included as a competitor at the Locarno International Film FestivalLocarno International Film Festival
The Film Festival Locarno is an international film festival held annually in the city of Locarno, Switzerland since 1946. After Cannes and Venice and together with Karlovy Vary, Locarno is the Film Festival with the longest history...
awards in Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
, where it was nominated for the 2009 Golden Leopard award. The film made its international premiere at the festival's celebration of manga, paying tribute to its impact on the animation industry. Although the film did not win the award the Swiss newspaper Tribune de Genève
Tribune de Genève
Tribune de Genève is the most prominent regional newspaper of the Canton of Geneva, Switzerland.Tribune de Genève was founded on 1 February 1879 by James T. Bates. The French language daily is published by Edipresse in Geneva...
said it was, "by far, the best film we could find" in the competition and noted that the film would have been the logical winner given the festival's theme. The film was featured in the Sitges Film Festival in the category, where it won the Gertie Award for Best Animated Feature Film. Summer Wars received an award for new media from Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry on October 24, 2009, at the Digital Content Association of Japan's annual convention. Summer Wars was also nominated for Best Animated Feature Film at the Asia Pacific Screen Awards
Asia Pacific Screen Awards
The Asia Pacific Screen Awards is an international cultural initiative of the State Government of Queensland, Australia, through Events Queensland, to honour and promote the films, actors, directors, and cultures of Asia-Pacific to a global audience and to realise the objectives of UNESCO to...
, although it did not win. The film was awarded the Animation Division Grand Prize at the 13th Japan Media Arts Festival
Japan Media Arts Festival
The Japan Media Arts Festival is an annual festival held by Japan's Agency for Cultural Affairs since 1997. The festival for a nominal year was usually held during February or March next year, rather than at the end of the nominal year. For instance, the 2010 Japan Media Arts Festival, where...
which Hosoda's The Girl Who Leapt Through Time won in 2006. Summer Wars won an Award of Excellence in Animation along with four other films at the 33rd Japan Academy Prizes. The Award of Excellence is in effect a nomination for the Animation of the Year Prize
Japan Academy Prize for Animation of the Year
The of the Japan Academy Prize is one of the annual Awards given by the Nippon Academy-sho association .-History:...
, which it won in the final ceremony on March 5, 2010. The film was shown at the 60th Berlin International Film Festival
Berlin International Film Festival
The Berlin International Film Festival , also called the Berlinale, is one of the world's leading film festivals and most reputable media events. It is held in Berlin, Germany. Founded in West Berlin in 1951, the festival has been celebrated annually in February since 1978...
in February as part of the Generation 14plus program. Summer Wars won the Audience Award for Best Animation Feature at the Anaheim International Film Festival. Funimation, along with GKIDS, submitted the film for Best Animated Feature
Academy Award for Best Animated Feature
The Academy Award for Best Animated Feature is one of the annual awards given by the Los Angeles-based professional organization, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences...
for the 83rd Academy Awards
83rd Academy Awards
The 83rd Academy Awards ceremony, presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences , honored the best films of 2010 and took place February 27, 2011, at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles beginning at 5:30 p.m. PST / 8:30 p.m. EST. During the ceremony, Academy Awards ...
. The film was the 14th submission for the category. Hosoda received an Annie Award
Annie Award
The Annie Awards have been presented by the Los Angeles, California branch of the International Animated Film Association, ASIFA-Hollywood since 1972...
nomination as Best Director, becoming the third Japanese individual, besides Hayao Miyazaki and Ghibli composer Joe Hisaishi
Joe Hisaishi
, known professionally as , is a composer and director known for over 100 film scores and solo albums dating back to 1981.While possessing a stylistically distinct sound, Hisaishi's music has been known to explore and incorporate different genres, including minimalist, experimental electronic,...
, to be nominated in an individual Annie category since 2004.
See also
- WarGamesWarGamesWarGames is a 1983 American Cold War suspense/science-fiction film written by Lawrence Lasker and Walter F. Parkes and directed by John Badham. The film stars Matthew Broderick and Ally Sheedy....
- MetaverseMetaverseThe Metaverse is our collective online shared space, created by the convergence of virtually enhanced physical reality and physically persistent virtual space, including the sum of all virtual worlds, augmented reality, and the internet...
- Virtual worldVirtual worldA virtual world is an online community that takes the form of a computer-based simulated environment through which users can interact with one another and use and create objects. The term has become largely synonymous with interactive 3D virtual environments, where the users take the form of...