![]() ![]() My favorite character of the bunch, and the one I haven’t mentioned yet, is the great grandmother. ![]() The grandchildren nearer to Natsuki’s age, Kazuma and Shoto, were interesting in their own right, with Kazuma having the clearer character arc. Her aunts and uncles were charming and unique, with each one feeling like you could have met them at a friend’s birthday party as a kid. Natsuki’s grandparents were memorable as well, though it was creepy that she had a crush on one of them (like, seriously? that’s a plot point? I love this movie, but come on. The young children were as accurate to real life as they were hilarious. There are too many characters in this family to count, so I’ll just quickly go over the individuals in a broader sense and link a family tree if you want to really study them more. But what I can describe to you is how the world of Oz is attacked during the weekend long celebration and that it is up to Kenji along with the Ueda family, maybe even the world, to stop the maniacal digital threat. And why does Natsuki need Kenji to attend this celebration with her? Easy: She needs him to pretend to be her fiance because…well, can’t spoil everything (I could, but some things are better left as surprises. Without any warning, he is whisked away by his crush, Natsuki, to the beautiful city of Ueda for her great grandmother’s 90th birthday with her entire extended family. We follow an introverted math nerd named Kenji whilst he hangs out with his friend Takashi during a summer job where they maintain servers of the massive online platform Oz during the Summer. I am, of course ,talking about the multi award winning film: Summer Wars.Ĭreated by the famous studio Madhouse, the same one that brought you One Punch Man and Trigun among many other classic anime, Summer Wars takes place in the very real but animated world of Japan. But one that sticks out in my mind is of the animated variety from Japan. If you are looking for any example of the importance familial dynamics through the human experience, just look towards the medium of film for projects like Remember the Titans or Finding Nemo or The Fast and the Furious with many others to boot. In my opinion, everyone needs some sort of family to keep them going. ![]() When I use the phrase family, I don’t mean just those by whom you’re related to by blood, but by a lifetime bond as well. They are there for your most transformative moments of your life and will, hopefully, guide you down the best path when you can’t find a way forward. Summer Wars (2009) is a magical film to start this challenge with and one that warmed my heart from beginning to end.Love’em or hate’em, your family plays a vital role in your upbringing. What I appreciate the most about the picture is its commentary on gender norms on not just women in a family, but those that force men into a single definition of masculinity. That along with the voice acting, score, heart, and humor that revolves around the film makes it so special. The film is highly stylized and is as anime as it gets, but it is unique in its sense that it does not look like a Studio Ghibli, Shonen, or a film by Satoshi Kon but it is in the style of Mamoru Hosoda. What seems like such a simple plot is a very well thought out story about family and gender norms. Cyber hijackers use a virtual video game to control nukes that could destroy not just the family’s home but the whole city. The story is a pretty simple young boy is taken to the girl of his dreams’ great-grandmother’s 90th birthday to act as her boyfriend, but there is a huge twist to all that is going on. So from now on to the end of the year, I hope you enjoy reading my journey through these 75 films. Welcome to my 75 Films From Asia column where you will find all the reviews for my 2020 movie challenge where I watch 75 movies from the grand continent of Asia! All films have been pre-selected and you can find them on this google doc or follow along on my Letterboxd! I have always been interested in Asian Cinema and now I have the chance to broaden my film horizons by exploring more of this continent’s cinematic history. ![]()
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