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Sunday 11 November 2012

Been Watching: Summer Wars (2009)

Anime Madhouse
  When pretty Natsuki Shinohara asks fellow pupil Kenji Koiso if he wants a job he is more than happy to take her up on the offer, especially since it involves a few days out at her family's countryside home.
 What she didn't tell him was that the job involved being introduced to her large, boisterous family as Natsuki's fiance.
 Things then get even more complicated when somebody uses Kenji's account to hack into the worldwide OZ network - backbone of world commerce, entertainment and government - and cause all kinds of havoc.
  But as the perpetrator is about to find out, pissing off Natsuki''s family was a bad idea.
 Because this clan has never yet backed down from a fight and aren't about to start now.

  I'm going to come right out and say that I absolutely loved this one.
  Studio Madhouse manage to create an anime that covers family drama and cyberspace antics and does both wonderfully.  Almost every single one of the extended Jinnouchi clan is established as a vibrant character and their interaction with each other is as good as anything Hayao Miyazaki has ever done.
 Then there's the action in Cyberspace which is equal parts charming and jawdropping, building up to a spectacular climax.
 Naturally the animation is up to the usual Madhouse quality. The character designs are kept simple but the faces especially are beautifully expressive, while the Oz network itself is astonishing, colourful and bristling with detail.

  If you want some sort of underlying theme, I'd interpret "Summer Wars" as highlighting the need for humanity and social bonds, even in the 21st Century. 
  Personally I'd recommend you just watch, and enjoy, one of the best anime movies I've seen in the last few years.
 Here's the trailer if you fancy a sneak peak.


2 comments:

  1. I'll have to jot this down and try to find it. Love a good anime.

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  2. It's not the usual Anime that I see, but might be worth the look.

    ReplyDelete