“This is the nature of war: By protecting others, you save yourselves. If you only think of yourself, you’ll only destroy yourself.”
– Seven Samurai (1954)
One never knows what their introduction to a filmmaker’s filmography will be. Someone could just as easily start their Martin Scorsese journey with Killers of the Flower Moon (2023) as with Boxcar Bertha (1972), their Bong Joon Ho journey with Parasite (2019) or Memories of Murder (2003), or their Karyn Kusama journey with Destroyer (2018) or Girlfight (2000). The entry point matters less than the opportunity to get exposed to their work and then have the chance to dig into their filmography. For this reviewer, my entry point for animation writer/director Mamoru Hosoda and Studio Chizu is the fantastic 2018 sibling tale Mirai (which released as I was still coming to terms with being a parent), but it was the marvelous 2021 Beauty and the Beast adaptation BELLE (竜とそばかすの姫) which cemented me as a fan. Since then, I’ve tried to seek out other Hosoda films and, thankfully, GKIDS Films is making moves which will make this task even easier. Announced in 2024, GKIDS Films added the Hosoda catalog to their titles and is set to re-release three Hosoda films into theaters and on physical formats in 2025. The first is the 2009 sci-fi action film Summer Wars (2009), receiving a new Blu-ray edition and limited edition 4K UHD steelbook in April 2025 including all the previously available bonus features.
Natsuki Shinohara (voiced by Nanami Sakuraba) in SUMMER WARS. Photo courtesy of GKIDS Films.
After missing out on a spot on the official Japanese Math Olympics team, highschooler Kenji (Ryunosuke Kamiki) is set to spend his summer working one of the low-level admin positions on the digital world service OZ. At least, until his classmate, Natsuki (Hitomi Miyauchi), pops by his work station and hires him to pretend to be her boyfriend for a few days as she travels for her grandmother’s 90th birthday. The socially-awkward Kenji thought being surrounded by Natsuki’s many relatives would be hard enough, but then OZ gets infected by an A.I. that starts tearing the system apart and he suddenly finds himself on the frontline of a digital war with Natuski’s family at his back as they fight for the safety of all of Japan.
L-R: Kenji Koiso (voiced by Ryunosuke Kamiki), Kazuma Ikezawa (voiced by Mitsuki Tanimura), and other members of the Jinnouchi family in SUMMER WARS. Photo courtesy of GKIDS Films.
Despite what the summary says, Summer Wars isn’t merely a mistaken identity comedy with a growing digital threat. It includes those elements, but that’s not what the film is really investigating. Hosoda’s script uses this narrative framework as the gateway to look at a number of concepts like duty, community, family, and the dangers of a digitally-connected world. The film starts small and simply, introducing OZ as this digital access point providing freedom of expression via avatar creation and global access to commerce while hinting at local municipal access with an emphasis on instantaneous translation capabilities so that users can communicate with anyone at any time. This opening doesn’t just establish OZ, a place the characters will frequent and where the battle will commence, it also sets up the single most important thing within the narrative: we are stronger together, we are stronger when we communicate. Amid the familial strife across multiple generations, each one arriving at great-grandmother Sakae Jinnouchi’s (Sumiko Fuji) home (itself a generationally-owned home with deep ties to the community and country due to the family’s involvement as samurai or, in the case of Sakae, her work during World War II) to celebrate her 90th birthday, they also bring with them their own perception of what’s valuable. So when the A.I., oxymoronically named “Love Machine,” begins disrupting OZ, resulting in chaos in transportation, emergency services, financial systems, and more, the family bickers about the party while Sakae not only jumps into action contacting all of the members of major organizations to coordinate, she calls her family members in the field (those not yet able to come to the homestead) about why their work matters. As the danger rises, in response to Kenji’s expression of needing to do something to stop Love Machine, one of her progeny references Akira Kurosawa’s Seven Samurai, proclaiming the importance of helping one’s community before helping themselves because the act of protecting the community makes one stronger whereas focusing on self makes one weaker and more vulnerable. It helps to illustrate how Kenji moves from the low confidence individual whom meets Sakae at the start of the film and whom Sakae seems to believe he can be.
The split priorities create a number of hilarious moments that offer levity amid chaos (thanks in large part to Natsuki’s second-cousin Shota (Yutaka Shimizu)), but this also helps highlight how far some in the family have moved from the selfless POV of Sakae’s era to the individualistic POV of modernity (again, exemplified by OZ’s initial intro which showcases the ability to customize your experience within the system). For instance, the family is largely split between familial responsibilities related to Sakae’s birthday and what’s going on within OZ. This comes to a head when Sakae passes in her sleep, causing one contingent to shift entirely toward the funeral to honor Sakae and another toward honoring Sakae by putting her memorial on hold to facedown Love Machine. Though this doesn’t sound particularly humorous, just when a small contingent of men in the family seem to have Love Machine on the ropes with Kenji’s plan, the high-tech computer they hauled in to power-up Kazuma’s (Mitsuki Tanimura) avatar (revealed to be the heroic and strong rabbit, King Kazuma, from the OZ intro) starts to crap out because it overheats — the giant pieces of ice used to cool it taken by Shota to prevent the recently-deceased Sakae from decomposing. Shota means well, demonstrating duty to family, but he and most of the family only see Kenji, Kazuma, and the others as playing a game, not realizing the stakes at play or how Sakae would push the whole family to contribute (as she had done previously during the initial chaos of OZ’s disruption). It’s only when the whole family pulls together, specifically behind Natsuki as she uses all she’s learned from Sakae to take on Love Machine, and communicates that success is achieved, done-so digitally (on a modern field of war) but executed through the physical realm. Hosoda’s tale could’ve easily been a simple rom-com, focused on young love and the difference in generations. It could’ve been a story about the significance of family, how generational clout is leaned on in the good times and why it matters most in the bad (when that clout is forgotten in favor of personal needs). It could’ve been a story about the ways in which society makes themselves most vulnerable by placing so much of ourselves (data, specifically) online and, therefore, put everything from our personal health to global security in jeopardy if they fall into the hands of a bad actor. Instead, Hosoda manages to weave all of this together in an affecting narrative that slowly builds to a conclusion that, looking back, clearly influenced what would come in his follow-up BELLE.
Before GKIDS Films acquired the Hosoda catalog, Summer Wars had received a physical release via FUNimation, a company that was, themselves, acquired by Sony Pictures’s Crunchyroll. So if you’ve seen Summer Wars on home video before, you’re not wrong, but it was just a different edition from a different distributor. The new editions — regular Blu-ray and 4K UHD steelbook — are updated with the GKIDS label, but is that all there is? Since this reviewer owns the FUNimation Blu-ray and GKIDS was kind enough to send over a Blu-ray edition of their version, I can fully-confirm that the Blu-ray is entirely the same, save for three things: a reskinning of the Blu-ray itself, a reskinning of the menu options, and no “Coming Soon” preview option in the bonus materials. Otherwise, the exact same interviews and trailer/teaser/TV spots that came before are included now. This makes the only big difference between the distributors is that GKIDS is offering Summer Wars on 4K UHD, which was not available before. I can also confirm that the Blu-ray includes a new cover image (Natsuki and her family in their respective OZ avatar forms as they battle Love Machine) and the reverse of the liner is a wide shot of OZ itself with the digital admin building at the center. The disc is split with the bottom portion containing the GKIDS Films logo and the upper portion depicting when Natsuki is leading the charge against Love Machine with her family behind her.
King Kazuma (voiced by Mitsuki Tanimura) stands inside OZ with other avatars behind him in SUMMER WARS. Photo courtesy of GKIDS Films.
Having not gotten my hands on that edition, I can’t speak to its quality or the full design of the steelbook. If the previous 4K UHD of BELLE is any indication, however, I suspect that the OZ-based sequences of Summer Wars will look and sound outstanding in 4K UHD given the stark contrast in visual language and coloring against the reality-based sequences, but those same regular sequences may not receive the same benefit. Again, this is conjecture based on nothing but the prior BELLE release, so keep that in mind if you’re trying to decide between the two. As I already own the FUNimation Blu-ray, and knowing that it’s essentially the same release, I’d opt for the 4K UHD merely to get a new presentation out of the re-purchase. Be advised, however, that while you can pick up the Blu-ray of Summer Wars at virtually any retailer that sells GKIDS films, you can only get the 4K UHD steelbook from Amazon.
L-R: Natsuki Shinohara (voiced by Nanami Sakuraba) and other members of the Jinnouchi family in SUMMER WARS. Photo courtesy of GKIDS Films.
When it comes to American cinema, too many fall back on the old familiars of Disney, Pixar, and DreamWorks for their animated stories because they see animation as a safe medium versus as an avenue to explore adult concepts. The work by Hosoda and Studio Chizu, at least in the three films I’ve seen of theirs (Mirai, Summer Wars, and BELLE), are accessible for their ability to capture and convey universal ideas without talking down to or simplifying things for their audience. Through GKIDS Films, audiences have the opportunity to visit or revisit Hosoda’s work and, perhaps, add Studio Chizu as a new animation house to follow. Luckily, GKIDS is also providing opportunities to see these films in theaters with a brief three-day theatrical window for Wolf Children (2012) in May, Summer Wars in July, and The Girl Who Leapt Through Time (2006) in September. If you don’t want to wait and want to experience Summer Wars sooner rather than later, take the chance.
Summer Wars Blu-ray Special Features:
- Interviews with the Original Cast – Ryunosuke Kamiki (Kenji Koiso)
- Interviews with the Original Cast – Nanami Sakuraba (Natsuki Shinohara)
- Interviews with the Original Cast – Mitsuki Tanimura (Kazuma Ikezawa)
- Interviews with the Original Cast – Ayumu Saito (Wabisuke Jinnouchi)
- Interviews with the Original Cast – Sumiko Fuji (Sakae Jinnouchi)
- Interview with Mamoru Hosoda
- Teasers & Trailers
Available on 4K UHD Blu-ray limited edition steelbook, Blu-ray, and VOD April 1st, 2025.
In theaters July 27th – 29th, 2025.
For more information, head to the official GKIDS Films Summer Wars webpage.
To purchase the Blu-ray, head to the official Shout! Factory Summer Wars webpage.
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Categories: Films To Watch, Home Release, Home Video, Recommendation, Reviews
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