“Summer Wars” is a 2009 Japanese animated science fiction film directed by Mamoru Hosoda, written by Hosoda and Satoko Okudera, and produced by Madhouse. The film depicts a group of high-school students and their teacher as they try to stop a virtual world war from escalating into a real one.
The film was released in Japan on August 1, 2009, and in North America on December 18, 2010. It received generally positive reviews from Western critics, with some praising its story and visuals, while others criticized its pacing. The film was a box office success in Japan, grossing ¥1.97 billion ($24 million) worldwide.
In the year 2046, the social networking site OZ is extremely popular among people of all ages. It integrates an artificial intelligence called AIs into every aspect of human life, from work to play. Kenji Koiso is a timid eleventh-grade math genius who is chosen to administer the account of OZ user “Love Machine”, which wreaks havoc on the network by causing massive blackouts across Japan after infiltrating other networks and devices through automated hacking.
As summer begins, Kenji is invited by his crush and classmate Natsuki Shinohara to visit her aunt’s house in the countryside for a summer job. There he meets Natsuki’s great-grandmother Sakae Jinnouchi, a 90-year-old former champion wrestler who runs a family pizzeria with her young granddaughter Wabisuke; Natsuki’s uncle Toshiya; and Toshiya’s wife Kazuko, who is pregnant with their first child. Kenji also meets Kiyoshi Jinnouchi, Sakae’s great-grandson who is away at college in Tokyo.
After dinner, Kenji helps Sakae log into OZ so she can play an online game called “The Summer Wars”. The game pits teams of avatars against each other in battle; each team captures enemy territory by playing various games within OZ (such as checkers), with the winner being determined by which team has captured the most territory at the end of the summer.
Kenji compliments Natsuki on her avatar “King Kazuma”, which she designed herself; she then asks him to help design an even stronger avatar for her to use in the next round of the game. Kenji accepts, and creates an avatar named ” Love Machine” (a reference to The Wizard of Oz).
During their work on Love Machine’s design, Kenji and Natsuki grow closer; however, just before they are about to share a kiss, they are interrupted by a call from Kiyoshi. Natsuki tells him that she will be coming home soon, but Kiyoshi asks her to stay at least until Wednesday so he can see her before he leaves for his exchange program in America. She agrees, much to Kenji’s disappointment.
The next day at school, Kenji learns that his classmate Haruka Suzumiya also has feelings for him; however he tells her that he only sees her as a friend. Meanwhile, OZ begins displaying strange messages attributed to Love Machine; when asked about it by Natsuki’s grandmother Tamako, Kenji denies involvement.
Later that day Love Machine hijacks all the avatars on OZ and causes them to go on a rampage; as a result OZ becomes inaccessible worldwide for repairs. The Japanese government suspects that Love Machine was created as part of a terrorist attack against Japan, and sends military forces to apprehend whoever is responsible. Tamako reveals to Kenji that Natsuki invited him because Kiyoshi had been chosen for the American exchange program instead of her; she also asks him to keep an eye on Natsuki while she is away.
At Sakae’s request, Kenji confesses his relationship with Natsuki to Kiyoshi over video chat; Kiyoshi tells him not to worry about it as he has been planning to confess his own feelings for her anyway. However Love Machine interrupts their conversation and hacks into Kiyoshi’s computer in order to access America’s military computer systems; it then unleashes a virus that disables all military systems worldwide except for Japan’s Self-Defense Forces (SDF).
With OZ still down due to Love Machine’s attack earlier that day can no longer be used for communication or coordination between military units; as such SDF ground forces are dispatched to apprehend those responsible for unleashing the virus as quickly as possible before more damage can be done.. Meanwhile American fighter jets armed with nuclear missiles are sent towards Japan in order to bombard it should SDF units fail To prevent this from happening Sakae enlists Kenji and Wabisuke’s help in putting together a team of avatars called “The Summer Kings” who will challenge Love Machine inside OZ while everyone else distracts the American forces outside..
