What I thought while watching this movie and my analyses:
Kazuma reminds me of a Mexican/Native American or some tan friend I used to have...Maybe still have if he hasn't forgotten about me the way I did....I can't help not knowing because of all the accidents that have interrupted my brain and timeline at times...
He reminds me of someone that was mean to me, but not mean in a "I want to hurt you" kind of way, but more like "don't bother me" sort of way. And being surrounded by men who wanted to touch me, woo me, date me, grope me etc....I liked his don't bother me attitude more because it worked with my "I don't want to be bothered or touched" mood. After a while of living in his house, or near him we became friends. Kazuma's expression is almost identical to his...I just don't remember his name but I remember his face somewhat....It pains me not to remember everything fully but I know he was a good person and this fact alone makes me miss my friend.
This movie is amazing. It's so full of life and humanity. It also is full of abstract mental goodies! It's also such a thorough slice of Japanese life cartoon that I loved watching the background environment that depicts Japanese style and flavor. It's also easy to see/follow what the Grandma was thinking when she snapped and tried to hurt her step-grandson. She couldn't bare the thought of the world's chaos being tied to her because Japanese folks are a very proud, honorable people. It also makes sense that she didn't really want to hurt him because she loved him but she was just ashamed for him and herself that he had made this grave error in judgement to try and help out the family with money. The animators and storyboard writers really know how to explain different mindsets and showcase their culture's life through animation. These people are incredibly talented, I think they are some of the best animators of our time!
Also it was incredibly interesting to view the different abstract concepts that were subtly introduced in the anime. Like, for example:
1) Was the world descending into chaos because the baseball star was playing badly or was he playing badly because the world was melting into a mess?
2) One person can affect the world but the world also affects each of us differently and individually.
3) Motivation might be made up of small, white, good lies but that's okay because when cheering people up it does have to do with what they want/need to hear and not what reality has already hurt them with. Positive pick me-ups are invaluable and necessary.
4) Each of us have a large network of people we carry with us that can influence us/we can influence them vice versa etc
5) Japanese people are more aware of traumatic, dangerous catastrophes and are sensitive to what if-scenarios because they have already seen a very dark/gory side to humans during the world wars. This is why the illustrators are not afraid to think outside the box, showcasing what could happen might inspire others to keep this from happening.
6) When tragedy strikes people band together. Kazuma's family reminded me of my Canadian family. I miss my family in Canada, it's also a very large and sometimes obnoxious bunch lol
7) I love how it showed how anxious the heroes were in the movie. Being a hero is not easy. Caring about the future of your family, yourself, the world is not easy. Also when everything goes wrong, your brain taps into what I call an "I need you God right now" mode and no matter what you just cannot help but pray and God answers. I don't care if your a Christian, atheist or a believer of another religion when you need that extra ounce of hope we-humans turn to God and he delivers. The movie shows this several times when the characters are almost frozen in fear in a very touchy, scary situation. That extra ounce of hope can come from external sources like family, random strangers etc but regardless of how its delivered-it gets delivered.
I also loved how this movie portrayed a near futuristic future so realistically. Even if our technology is super advanced and we are all connected online, it won't take away some of the more traditional things in human life like family meeting, tradition, houses and memories.
I really loved this movie. I think everyone should watch this Summer Wars movie. Towards the end I cried and it felt good to know that my humanity is still alive. I was scared for the female protagonist when she was playing the Koi game, I didn't want her to loose and even though I knew she had to win it was still scary to think that she might not. I had genuine anxiety waiting to see what would happen and it felt great to worry about someone else for a change.
