One of my favorite anime films ever was The Girl Who Leapt Through Time from director Mamoru Hosada. But ever since then I'd been waiting for a proper follow-up from Hosada. I was hyped when he first announced Summer Wars back in 2008, but it's taken forever and a friggin' day for it to land over here on American shores. The film came out in June 2009 in Japan and was an immediate critical smash hit(even if the box office was so-so).
Summer Wars follows typical anime nerd hero, Kenji, who works as a moderator in the massive virtual reality world known as Oz.His life is pretty dull up until the moment Natsuzki, the girl of his dreams, asks him to play her boyfriend at a family gathering. Things only get weirder when Kenji receives a mysterious code in the mail, which he cracks and unleashes a rogue artificial intelligence intent on hijacking Oz and using it to destroy reality. D'oh.
The trailer's been out for awhile, but with the film premiering here in DC at the West End Cinema on January 14th, now is a perfect time for people to start getting acquainted with it. I won't be able to attend the screening, but should have a screener sent to me shortly. We're also hoping for a chance to interview Mr. Hosoda about the long process of making the film. So check out the trailer below, and as always let us know what you think. If you happen to be attending the premier next month, let us know and we'd love to get your impressions!
