Summer Wars

Summer Wars is a Japanese animated science fiction film directed by Mamoru Hosoda, released in 2009. It follows Kenji Koiso, a shy teenage mathematics prodigy who is invited by his classmate Natsuki to her family home in Nagano for the summer. What he believes will be a simple trip turns complicated when he learns he must pose as her fiancé before her large, extended family, who have gathered to celebrate the family matriarch's birthday. At the same time, Kenji becomes entangled in a crisis in OZ, a vast virtual network where millions of users work, shop and socialise through avatars. An artificial intelligence running out of control within OZ begins disrupting real-world infrastructure, and Kenji is wrongly implicated, leaving him and the Jinnouchi family to confront the growing threat together.

The film was written by Satoko Okudera and produced by Madhouse alongside several Japanese broadcasters and Warner Bros. Japan. It sits between The Girl Who Leapt Through Time, Hosoda's 2006 feature, and Wolf Children from 2012, in a career that also includes later films such as The Boy and the Beast, Mirai and Belle. The voice cast includes Ryunosuke Kamiki as Kenji, Nanami Sakuraba as Natsuki, Mitsuki Tanimura, Sumiko Fuji and Ayumu Saito.

Summer Wars earned about 18 million USD worldwide. On IMDb it holds 7.4/10 from roughly 34,000 votes, while on TMDB it has 7.5/10 from around 1,071 votes. A critics' rating of 7/10 from 26 reviews places it broadly in line with audience scores.