Summer Wars

About Summer Wars

If you are hunting for a new action series, Summer Wars (サマーウォーズ) deserves a look (2009). The setup goes like this. The setup: When timid eleventh-grader and math genius Kenji Koiso is asked by older student and hidden crush Natsuki to come with her to her family's Nagano home for a summer job, he agrees without hesitation. Natsuki's family, the Jinnouchi clan, dates back to the Muromachi era (1336 to 1573), and they've all come together to celebrate the 90th birthday of the spunky matriarch of the family, Sakae.

As things develop, that’s when Kenji learns his "summer job" is to pretend to be Natsuki's fiance and dance with her at the birthday celebration. As Kenji sets out to keep up with Natsuki's act around her family, he receives an odd math problem on his cell phone which, being a math genius, he can't resist solving. As it turns out, the solution to the enigmatic equation causes Oz, the program that controls nearly every aspect of life to be hacked into, it's up to Kenji and his new "family" to stop the hacker before it's too late.

As an action title, fight choreography, pacing and sound design carry much of the weight. Kenji Koiso (Ryuunosuke Kamiki) and Natsuki Shinohara (Nanami Sakuraba) are two of the characters you will meet early. Think of it as a pick for viewers who like fast, high-impact fights. The run is 1 episodes in total, so you know what you are signing up for.

Production & Appeal

Animation is handled by MADHOUSE, so the studio's house style defines how Summer Wars looks and moves on screen. The action focus matters here: fight choreography, pacing and sound design carry much of the weight. At 7.7/10 it earns a solid reception, a safe pick for fans of the genre. Voice casting, including Ryuunosuke Kamiki as Kenji Koiso, adds to the appeal for fans who follow seiyuu. Released in 2009, it competed with that season's other new series for attention.