Forum - View topicShelf Life - (114) Minutes of Summer
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FMAvatard
 Posts: 197 |
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I managed to catch Summer Wars in Atlanta several weeks ago, and I must say, your review mirrored mine. How that movie got snubbed for an Oscar is beyond me. It was a masterpiece in nearly every way it could be one.
I especially agree with the Hanafuda scene near the end. At point I'm fairly certain I muttered "I assume she's winning...?" I haven't gotten a chance to order my BD, yet, but you can bet it's high on my list. I'll probably follow your example and buy a DVD for lending purposes. |
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steev-sama
 Posts: 41 Location: USA |
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I think I am one of the few that thought Summer Wars was just an OK movie. I felt the message was lost in the spectacle the movie presented us. I could write a lot about how the movie ultimately failed to be in my top ten favorite anime movies even if I only included one Miyazaki film, but it would be spoiler filled and I do think the movie is worth seeing at the very least.
I will say this.. spoiler[Why didn't they just pull the plug when the AI was trapped in their server?] 
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wandering-dreamer
 Posts: 1733 |
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I saw Summer Wars with a friend when it came to my town (and I hadn't realized that my friend knew nothing about the movie, not even the fiancee thing, which made her reaction hilarious) and I loved the movie. No really good reason why I liked the movie so much but I am totally getting it on BR once I get a BR player, I'm sure it looks stunning on that too.
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Charred Knight
 Posts: 3085 |
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Disgaea is one of the worst adaptations of an excellent video game series I have ever seen. They didn't have the budget to actually make an action story so they tried to turn it into a pure comedy. The problem is that they don't seem to understand what made the game so funny because they constantly feel the need to change things. For example in the games Captain Gordon is a parody of 1930-40's sci-fi serial, but his still a competent hero who has a strong sense of justice. Here they're a copy of the Time Bokan formula of three incompetent villain.
The worse part is that if you look at the trailer of the series they could have made a competent adaptation they just didn't have the budget. As for Gun X Sword, I have become weary of ever checking out something by Goro Tanaguchi again because everything I have seen from him is either completely incompetent or mediocre at best. Last edited by Charred Knight on Mon Feb 28, 2011 9:50 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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TheGameNinja
 Posts: 92 Location: Alabama |
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Summer Wars is indeed a fantastic movie. But, if you want a light version without the family bits, watch the first part of the Digimon movie. They're essentially the same basic plot.
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meruru
Posts: 475 |
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I also thought Summer Wars was only okay. I liked the character interaction stuff, but largely the whole other plot thread with a rogue AI has been done, and in Summer Wars it was rather a meh execution of that trope story-wise, and their take on computer technology was rather ridiculous... it just doesn't work that way. Also, I thought the translation was pretty awful in that they didn't actually bother to translate any text that appears in the movie, and there's alot of it, and it's actually moderately important to understanding what's going on. I totally agree with the review of the Disgaea anime. I'm a fan of the Disgaea game, but even to me that anime was terrible. Instead of exactly copying the story of the game, they took that story and then made significant changes to it, which normally I wouldn't object to, but they in such a way that it went from being quirky and spoofy to largely just being kind of dull. And like the review said, the animation really is bad. |
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Megiddo
 Posts: 8360 Location: IL |
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Hmmm. I haven't seen the Disgaea anime, but I wonder if it's from the same studio that did the Xenosaga anime, cause that one was also based on a popular Japanese game and suffered from some of the poorest modern animation I've seen in anime.
I thought Summer Wars was... okay. I don't feel any rush to go out and buy it (unlike Eva 2.22). I don't know, but the family moments in particular seemed to bother me. Like the grandma. spoiler[Why is she calling everyone? What does she have to do with anything other than wielding a spear in once scene?] That scene just rubbed me the wrong way. I didn't care for the whole "Saving the world with Math!" concept either. Just seems like nerd fantasy (and it actually reminds me of that xkcd webcomic with Regular Expressions) |
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Akukame
Posts: 117 |
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I remember finishing the movie, and even though I loved it, thinking "Man, that was like they took the digimon movie, removed the digimon, and made it really high budget." It made so much sense to me when I found out that it was made by the same director. Although the plot of them is almost identical (sans digimon), theres so much more quality in Summer Wars. So much better attention to detail. |
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Reibooi
 Posts: 394 |
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While I haven't see the whole of the Disgaea anime I have to saw I loved what little I did see. I am also a big fan of the games and I have to say the complaint about the animation being so bad is pretty pointless. It's made to look exactly like the games intro did which was pretty bad in the first game but got alot better after the series popularity exploded.
As for those who complain the story was all different....Who cares? That's why it's a adaption and not a direct copy. It doesn't need to be the exact same story. It still has all the great characters and it still has the same humor as the games. Getting upset over the story is pointless even more so when the story itself never really took itself serious. As for the whole Summer Wars thing it really upset me it got snubbed for the Oscars. It is in my opinion a better film in every way then Toy Story 3 or How to Train your Dragon( I haven't seen the 3rd one that was nominated so I can't speak on that). While I 100% that those films are great or even nearly perfect children movies they are NOT better films then Summer Wars was. Not even close. Last I checked it was best animation and not best kids movie. It seems that's what the animation category has boiled down to in recent years. Which movie was the best kids movie. Not Which film was the better film. Which is what it's all supposed to be about last I checked. I notice alot of people here saying they thought it was just okay and to me all that means is they didn't have as much of a emotional connection to it. That doesn't however make the film any less great. It's still great even if some people don't like it. Just like how there are plenty of people who don't like the better movies out there. It's a matter of taste. Awhile back I had read something(I think it was here on ANN but I forget who wrote it) Where the writer said. You cannot tell me in good conscious that Happy Feet was a better film then The Girl Who Leapt Through Time and it's pretty much the same thing this time around. You can love Toy Story and have a great reaction to it but it isn't in any way a better film then Summer Wars. But then again all this is just my opinion and everyone is entitled to theirs. |
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penguintruth
 Posts: 8501 Location: Penguinopolis |
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I love Summer Wars. The creative take on the internet (why does the net always look better in fiction?), the poignant family element, the fun action that's really not action (people sitting at their computers translating to badass kung fu combat). The English dub is solid, too, especially Maxey Whitehead and Pam Dougherty. It's the best anime movie I've seen since Rebuild 2.22.
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DanielJay
Posts: 2 |
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Can't wait to see Summer Wars.
I totally agree with the review on GunSword. It's one of those shows I wanted to be good. Editing it down in size would be a good first step. The music's good though, a perfect match for a mecha sci-fi western. You can pick up both OSTs for a pretty cheap price if you look for them. |
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boredandlazy
Posts: 189 |
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Um, Steve Blum voiced Spike Spiegel, not David Lucas...
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Errinundra
Moderator
 Posts: 6584 Location: Melbourne, Oz |
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Erin, you say that Summer Wars reminded you of Takashi Murakami's Superflat Monogram. Are you aware that Mamoru Hosoda directed both?
I loved the film for the wonderful, convoluted family interactions. The OZ sequences were less interesting. |
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penguintruth
Posts: 8501 Location: Penguinopolis |
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They're the same guy. |
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erinfinnegan
ANN Columnist
 Posts: 598 |
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Where is your review, if you don't mind me asking? I'd like to read it, now that I've written mine... I don't like to read other reviews until I've written mine or the else my review turns into a response to someone else.
Let's see the list! Honestly, though, Summer Wars probably isn't on my top ten anime films of all time list, either, but it might be a top for its decade. It's certainly my favorite anime feature film of 2010  ...unless Eva 2.0 also came out in 2010.
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