Both Summer Wars (2009) and the Second Digimon Movie: Bokura no War Game (2000) were both directed by Mamoru Hosoda… and on closer inspection, these two movies might have more in common than just being directed by the same person.

Following the jump will be detailed comparison between the two movies inclusive of plot details, screenshot comparisons and more. Those who have not watched either movie yet (or at least haven’t watched Summer Wars), please do so because they are both phenomenal movies.

(SUPER PICTURE HEAVY. Don’t get me started on how long the entire post took to complete…)



Before getting into the comparisons, this will not be a review of either movie, nor is this an attempt to discredit Summer Wars. Summer Wars does have numerous differences that sets itself apart from the Second Digimon movie, however, the similarities that they share are nothing short of uncanny. It also seems that many people who have seen both movies are inclined to agree with this observation.

The thing is, I really hope that those who watched and enjoyed Summer Wars would give the Digimon movie a chance. It is really unfair to avoid the latter due to the stigma that is attached to it (Digimon = Children’s Cartoon), which it really isn’t.

The animation and artstyles are strangely similar, despite the fact that the Second Digimon Movie and Summer Wars were animated by different animation studios, Toei Animation and Mad House respectively. Not to mention, it doesn’t seem like anyone from the Second Digimon Movie worked on Summer Wars, other than Mamoru Hosoda.

When watching these two movies, I noticed a ton of shots and dialogue that were so bizarrely similar that I refuse to believe that they were coincidences.

Let’s get right to it shall we?

First, the basics:

Premise: Teenagers having to deal with a digital threat that poses a very real danger in the real world.

Main Duo: Koiso Kenji & Ikezawa Kazuma / Yagami Taichi & Koshiro Izumi

Digital World: OZ / Internet

Threat: AI / Virus Digimon

Digital Character: Avatars / Digimon

Now that that’s out of the way, let’s get right to the plot and screenshots. For the following screencaps, it will be Summer Wars first, followed by Digimon.

———

The movies begin as a threat on cyberspace emerges. This entity ‘consumes’ data.

We see our main duo in front of computers at the start of it all.

Cut to our first battle in cyberspace.

Target in sight.

Come forth our heroes!

The battle commences.

Our heroes seem to have the upper hand, but then, evolution!

…and they are swiftly defeated.

The threat then begins to mess with communications networks and the like.

Family/reinforcements can’t make it to our heroes’ residence…

Desperation face.

The effects are reported on the news.

Help is enlisted via video conference.

Then it’s time for an upgrade…

and rematch!

The enemy evolves into its final form.

Once again, our heroes gain the upper hand, but as they say, technical issues strike at the most critical moments.

Defeat.

A timer pops up.

SW:

DM:

To make things worse, the ante is upped when the enemy causes an object that can cause mass destruction to fall from the sky.

SW:

DM:

The solution is to search for one specific target within millions.

When all hope seems lost…

people from around the world come to the rescue by giving our heroes strength.

which allows them evolve into a more powerful form.

Kaboom!

SW:

DM:

People from around the world witness the final battle and cheer our heroes on.

The falling object is moments away from impact!

Disable the enemy!

Time to deliver the final blow!

The incident concludes with the object falling just meters from the protagonists’ residence.

———

So there we have it. Summer Wars and the Second Digimon Movie compared nearly scene for scene, shot for shot. Coincidence? Tribute? Reference? Homage? Plagiarism? You be the judge.

Oh yeah, Baseball!

UPDATE! 5 years later, I’ve finally managed to make a video version going through both movies scene-for-scene! Do enjoy!

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