Quick story: I rented this movie from the library and loved watching it from the start. towards the end of the movie (about when they started the final act with the card game) my mom and sister started watching the movie with me. I remember that they were just as into the movie as I was and after it ended they asked me if we could watch it again because they wanted to see the whole thing. Its one of my favorite memories. ^^

I actually have a funny story about the first time I saw this film. I saw it at a public screening during a Japanese culture festival with a packed crowd. There was a scene in the movie where they talk about how the super-duper world-destroying megavirus was created in... Pittsburgh. Then there was this glorious two seconds of silence where everyone in the audience had visible question marks above their heads before someone finally just blurted out, "... Pittsburgh!?" ... sorry, Pittsburgh

sees Bennett finally talk about a Mamoru Hosoda film: *all is right with the world... if just for 22 minutes* :’)

Wolf Children is still my favourite movie from this director. And incidentally, I do hope that Sage is doing OK given the terrible fires occurring in California.

Holy shit how did I NOT see the digimon movie connection? I knew there was a reason I liked summer wars.

Not going to lie Summer Wars is one of my favorite Anime movies in recent years.

While Kenji has a good amount of weaknesses, in my opinion, he is a true badass in his own way. When it counted, he stood his ground, shared what he believed was right even when others berated him for it and was the last to give up. A lot of that attributed to forming a bond and being inspired by Sakae A.K.A. Most Awesome Ba-Chan Ever! The way how he was still thinking over how to defeat Love Machine while everyone felt like surrendering, making math look badass in the end (oh yes, he did that!), and willing to stay behind and die at the slim chance of saving Natsuki and her family, who had a few members that weren’t so friendly to him in some earlier scenes. How can a girl like Natsuki not fall for him?! Yeah, they could have conveyed things better between them, but dammit, he earned that relationship and everyone’s respect! I’ve always had a soft spot for anime characters who are unimpressive at first glance, but show how truly incredible of a person they are when it really counts, especially in matters that could result in their own suffering and death. Kenji is a perfect example of that and that’s why he’s one of my favorite anime characters of all time!

What I loved the most about Summer Wars is how grounded it felt. The whole family felt believable and real.

7:30 I can already hear Dr Venture say "Nice work Dean, you broke the internet!"

This will always be among my favorite anime movies. I watched it with my mom (who was one of 11 siblings) and she cried multiple times because of how much it reminded her of her own big family.

Summer Wars Everything the American Digimon movie should've been.

Honestly, I'm seriously glad to see Bennett finally do a review and look into Summer Wars but also a look at Mamoru Hosoda too as well. Who is one of my personal favorites anime directors within the anime industry mainly because I love his filmography and that all of his movies tend to have the central theme of family or familial relationships also connections in general be it biologically or not; such as Wolf Children dealing with motherhood or the Boy & the Beast dealing with fatherhood/father figures, Girl Who leapt through Time dealing with friendships, also his recent movie Mirai of the future dealing with both a sibling relationship also the real struggles of young parenthood too as well, considering Mamoru Hosoda is a father himself. I love that he based his inspirations for his movies from his own family life and also from his wife along with his kids because it really shows in his works at how much he loves his family.

“Calls Demon Slayer generic Shonen schlock” Damn Bennett, you want a hook for the bait you’re casting

*Cries happily with tears of joy at the time of upload.* Sorry. Just found out one of my favorite reviewers on KZfaq that I follow is finally covering one of my favorite films of all time (let alone one I watched with my fiance when she visited last Christmas and she was a fan of it too)...~ And with me having a Japanese dinner tonight essentially, I can't help but feel beyond giddy right now....~

I feel like this is actually not one of my favorite anime movies. It might actually be my favorite movie period.

Sage; "Nuclear Annihilation..." [Kenshiro has entered the chat] ;o)

I think you mean Digimon: Our War Game. Edit: I do realize that he’s reviewed Digimon the Movie 2000.

This story was in the Digimon movie and then Summer Wars and again Digimon 2020

I loved this film!!! My only complaint is that I wish it was longer

Wow we just watched this last week for a movie club it was my pic so I had everybody watch. They loved it I love the film but my personal favorite of hers is a Wolf Children in my opinion that so far is his best film. Not that there’s others aren’t great they are but wolf children is definitely the best

Great review as always. Oh my God, finally! I love Bastard! Someone finally remembered it!!

Mamoru Hosoda: The Man who won anime bingo! [Thanks to Clockwork king for pointing out a misspelling. Damn auto correct]

Even that one second you showed of the Digimon Movie where Smash Mouth happens made me smile. Those are the dumb kind of shit that anime needs that don't happen anymore.

I saw this movie on accident when i was little, pulled my first all nightery because of it. I spent a long time trying the find the movie again and I'm glad I finally did.

This movie was hard for me to watch. I loved it but it was hard. The grandmother reminded me and my brother of our grandmother, a woman that we miss deeply even two decades after her passing. When the grandmother died in the movie, it reopened the scars that grandma's death left. My brother never finished the movie because of it. I had a bout of anxiety during the death scene. The past may be in the past, but it lingers with us. We can move out of the shadows of grief, but a shadow will always follow you.

For the sake of transparency, this now edited comment was used to advertise the original sponsor of this video, which has also since been edited to remove said sponsorship integration, as the intended period of time for it's inclusion has ended.

I never really thought of the whole contexulazing the past with the present angle. I always felt that it was more about not letting your own insecurities get in the way of being there for your family. If you look at the core conflict, it's not really about two generations attempting their own respective solutions to solve a problem which goes against the other. Instead it's more about someone not truly feeling like their part of a family do to their background and trying to earn they way in through dubious means; despite the fact that when comes to being family all you really have to be is there for each other when needed.

I really enjoyed this when i saw this in college. Funny thing is the day i saw it was during an earthquake that also hit NYC - i thought for a moment the action scene was doing the shaking.

What you say at the end is something that I have been admiring about anime for some time. It can be so so many things. Hilariously funny, depressingly sad, shockingly horrific, packed full of action, slow and atmospheric, just dumb fun or so good it moves you to tears. It all depends on who makes it and what it is allowed to do. You got a lot of schlock but also genuinely great movies and stories that you don´t find in many other forms of media like this.

I never listened to the English dub of this when I watched the film. But hearing Kenji being voiced by Michael Sinterniklaas in this review made me realize that is some brilliant casting. Kenji is a total Dean Venture.

"The Girl Who Leapt Through Time" sounds like a movie where Lisbeth Salander built a time machine to kill Hitler. All kidding aside, it's a pretty damn good movie.

It would be good to cover One Piece: Baron Omatsuri and the Secret Island in the future, you can enjoy it even without being a One Piece fan.

…I come to this review a year after you released it to watch for the first time because of what this film means to me, this dvd was the last gift my mother gave me before her unfortunate passing, due to this the film is kind of an emotional security blanket for me almost a metaphorical last hug from my mom and I thank you for giving the film all the respect and goodwill it deserved, Thank You for bringing my mothers last hug to all who watched this review

im in love with that Gungrave box set on your background!! You have such an impressive collection

I watched this while enduring through finals back in university, late at night. It was a rollercoaster of emotions because there were a lot of notes that struck right at home with the family dynamic and I teared up to the point where I couldn't control it. I cried for a little while.

Oh, I am SO looking forward to the next episode. "B! God of Destructive Darkness" is one of those "so stupid it's glorious" shows.

I love this movie so much. Reminds me of watching it with family members that are gone now. Also hell yeah! Bastard!

Got to watch this in Alaska at the bear tooth theater with my grandma, it holds a special place my heart and it was one of the last films we watched just us (grandmas boy) before she passed.

I adore Our War Game, which led me to discover Summer Wars and I loved it just as much. Thanks for the vid on it Bennett!

I've been waiting for years for Sage to look at some of Mamoru Hosoda's works. He's become one of my favorite directors ever since I first saw Summer Wars and Wolf Children in high school. I even bought the two on DVD at my first Comic Con that same year. Though I'm curious to see what direction Hosoda's filmography will go in the future considering how family is always a central theme to his work. You've got friends as family (The Girl Who Leapt Through Time), extended family (Summer Wars), motherly love (Wolf Children), fatherly love and adopted families (The Boy and the Beast), and the relationship between siblings (Mirai). Wonder where else you can go after you've explored all of those different aspects?

Another great review can't wait for the next one.

I try to make it a point to watch this at least once every summer and it still slaps

Summer Wars is in my top 10 anime movies. The energy, the people, how fun and out there it can be. I got my brother into and i hope it does the same for the rest of my family.

Ah yes a good film. Next Time: ITS ABOUT DAMN TIME

15:28 did anyone else cheered when the kid punched the cousin? Because I cheered. I was so pissed off.

Mamoru Hosoda has earned my viewership whenever I hear his name attached to a film, much like Miyazaki. His style is simplistic in terms of characters, but the themes of family are probably the strongest ties he uses. His characters largely feel very realistic in their portrayal, and it's easy to get caught up in their world. You hit the nail on the head though - Summer Wars is what Our War Game would look like without the license attached. He genuinely liked the idea of it, but wanted to do his own thing. And, Our War Game is hands down the most influential Digimon film in the franchise. I'm currently playing through Digimon: CyberSleuth wherein there is a hub world of avatars called EDEN. The 2020 re-imagining of Digimon Adventure has a couple episodes early in its run that are pretty well Our War Game and sets the tone for the new series - that things in the digital world can and will have impact in the real world. It took until the Myotismon Arc in the original series to establish any real world consequences for what's going on in the digital world and vice versa, but not with the new series. Ah, but what I think is most interesting about both Summer Wars and Our War game is the inter-personal stuff. In OWG, it takes place post Adventure, with all the kids having gone their separate ways. Connected by telephones and text messages, Tai and Izzy - the two most aware of the digital threat- spend a good chunk of the movie just trying to contact the other Digidestined. Sora won't talk to Tai because she's angry with him, Kari is attending a birthday party... Matt and TK, the only ones who DO wind up helping, are stuck out in the boonies with shit internet because they're at their grandparents. And Tai really wants to send an e-mail of apology to Sora! Really, he made a movie about two kids sitting in a room in front of a PC look intense, and that takes some serious chops. And that was before Summer War. ^_^ Those personal touches and growths with the Digidestined also is why the original Adventure has aged so well.

Your doing the Heavy Metal Dark Fantasy? YES!!! Talk about a series that NEEDS a proper anime adaption.

Like you I own 100s of old skool anime, BIG UP! To you for putting your reviews out, I could give you my favourite anime, but there are so many favourites, respect dude.

Summer Wars is one of my favorite movies of all time.

Summer Wars is a fantastic anime. It is one of those good examples you can show to non anime fans and expect to have a good reaction. All of the films he has done are excellent in one respect or another.

THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU BENNETT!!!!! I CAN'T WAIT FOR THE NEXT EPISODE!!!!!

I love this movie, it will always be one of my favorite.

Wolf Children has to be on my shortlist of favorite movies ever, not just anime.

Dude....you changed so much last time I saw your videos constantly, Bennett. Love the Inuyasha review you did with that "slpooge." LMAO! Good video.

I been waiting for this for so long.

Between my screaming at the film that This it that was just wrong, I actually loved this movie. So many anime are trapped in the teen demo that you get fake worlds. This one just worked on so many levels because it felt “real”. Loved your take on the work and it added to it for me. Thanks.

This is one of those few movies that when you watch it, you don’t skip a scene. You watch every second from beginning to end. That’s a rare accomplishment that I am glad this film had achieved.

Damn, I'm late to watching this, but Summer Wars was for me a wholesome movie and nostalgic in the fact that I come from a large family that can come together like this one in a crisis situation. Also seriously looking forward to you reviewing Bastard!! It is one of my all-time guilty pleasure anime OVAs. I can't wait for you to react to Dark Schenider's straight "No F*cks Given" attitude and all of the homages to the "80s - "90s Rock band names.

Thanks for the video Sage. This does explain why I like this movie in the first place. But that message at the end, it does make me think how most anime today sorta follows a pattern when in fact any idea, if followed through, can be an interesting show/story (in this case an anime). I guess what i am trying to say is that I appreciate and value more older anime a lot more than I do for the present. Like the originality is there but it’s sort of feels like we’ve already seen this before. I guess you can say my creativity is sparking once more...

Nice job, I just love this movie...

It's too bad you didn't think much of demon slayer. I found it to be an interesting theme of bonds and empathy. It doesn't excuse actions but it allowed us to view a life in those demons that is rather tragic.

I love all the Mamoru Hosoda movies, The Boy and the Beast is my favorite animated film of all time

9:45 My brain just lights up whenever I hear a TF2 reference. Thank you, Bennett.

>Bennett references Cat Soup Don't you threaten me with a good time and not deliver >:T

Summer Wars is so good glad I gave it a shot so many years ago I would of missed out

I kinda aet it. Best food box ad every. That sage this made my day.

You finally review a movie i request so long ago. NICE

Summer wars was the first film/anime that i saw in theaters in high school

I hope he gets to see the Patlabor series or Hajime no ippo

Summer Wars movie is like Predictive Programming. The makers shows what life would be like decades later with all this social media and how all social sites will connect to everyone as of not only persons, but human slaves as well. Not bad movie.

A summertime movie, on August 31st. Disregarding that, great anime.

It's so weird... I literally just wondered if Bennett was gonna grace us with a video today.

Koi-Koi is when you double-down in Hanafuda. In reality, they basically played Japanese Poker.

Been putting off watching this movie for too long. Must...watch....NOW!

The problem with Summer Wars is that it's basically Our War Game with a ton of family values romcom filler added in. (In reality the family values stuff is probably supposed to be the meat with the Oz stuff being the filler but either or) The Oz stuff is great and I enjoy it when that's moving, but the family romcom stuff really doesn't do it for me. Since Our War Game is essentially this but with the family romcom stuff cut out when I want to watch the movie I'll generally go for that instead of this, but Summer Wars isn't a bad movie and I would probably like it more if I hadn't been spoiled by Our War Game's highlight reel. Of course the climax coming down to a Japanese card game whose rules aren't explained in the movie is to me a gigantic step down from two Digimon combining into one and beating up the bad guy, but I expect that's a 'me' thing because it would probably be fine to a viewer who knew how Koikoi/Hanafuda worked.

OH FINALLY! CAN"T WAIT FOR NEXT TIME!

This is one of my favorite movies!

Ah Bastard. What a great show. This next one is gonna be exciting

this video reminds me that I should buy this on dvd. It's such a good movie

I really want to watch this now.

Sage seems a lot healthier in this video than he did in the last one. Hope you're okay!

I do think there's an intention to define film different to anime as anime is interpreted as a simplified animation- dubbed by the term's origins to the French term implying simplified animation. Some stories getting their mileage from running episodic adventures, gaining viewers or allowing a creator to pace the story. With film or feature, you have only the beginning and end of the run time to tell the whole story and to leave an impression as well.

I think Summer Wars IS Hosada’s best work.

One amazing thing about Summer Wars that i KNOW is 100% unintentional, but really resonates with me personally, is Kenji's position in the film and how it can be seen as an allegory for foreigners living in Japan, or any other country/community, really. Now I'm under NO illusions that this was intentional, but it is a very happy accident. When we come to this country we're not really part of anything. We're surrounded with people we don't fully understand even if we have something that relates to them. There's always some person who is part of a large group who will be friends with us, but the rest of the group will be distrustful. We're also HEAVILY prone towards faux pas, like dragging problems we didn't know we had to other groups. But in the end, most Japanese groups will forgive a lot. Especially if something isn't really your fault, or if you have a good enough personality that they like having you around. You just have to work that much harder for it. Kenji's an outsider in the main family's life. It's pretty natural for that to happen, but it's ESPECIALLY poignant for non-Japanese people interacting with Japanese families.

YEEEES! I am soooo excited to see that you will review Bastard! The manga is my favorite manga of all time. I first got into the anime then began collecting the manga, even after the American cancellation. I even have three of the figures. I can't wait!!!!! 😄

This and Boy and the beast are really good, I haven't seen Wolf Children but I know I'm going to cry when I get around to it.

Out of all his films currently, Wolf Children is probably my favorite out of the bunch. However I do find myself gravitating to Summer Wars any time I'm looking for something to watch that is more humorous or less serious.

*Pretty much the only I like the most from this movie is the Main Villain, he looks awesome.*

Anime is a genre, it's a medium. Nuff said.

You're actually going to review 'Basxxxd,' you Magnificent Basxxxd! That goes back a ways!

I wonder when people trying to separate film from animation will finally realize that their arguments hold no water.

i want next episode right now, I've not seen that anime in years... shame it never really finished from what i remember

bastard fuck yeah i wish there were more episodes of this anime.

omg for only the 2nd time since the start of the show he's gonna review a suggestion of mine i Suggested Bastard to him several months ago pretty awesome

I sometimes cringe when the Sage reviews some of my cherished Anime. I picked up Hosoda's Wolf Children on Blu Ray on a whim and fell in love with his movies. While this isn't as strong as Wolf Children in my opinion, I still love it despite some of its shortcomings. I almost thought the review was gonna be negative in the beginning, but then I realized, "He likes it! Sage really likes it!"

Our Summer War Games

Excellent review as always Sage... but I can't help but notice that Gungrave boxset poking out a bit more then all the rest... just an observation

YOU ROCK SAGE!!

looking good sage, remember that buff bois are allowed as much tasty things as they want cuz life is short

I found Summer Wars thanks to SF Debris, one of my favourite films of all time 😊