‘Summer Wars’ tells of how virtual reality as a ‘Second Life’ spills over to reality, till it becomes indispensable to real life when it gradually replaces aspects of it. In reality, like the illusory in Samsara, nothing is merely virtual once it is taken seriously with much energy and emotions invested. Though virtual worlds are created out of visions of a better world as fantastical getaways, they can only be as paradisaical as its inhabitants are enlightened.
When too many important things are connected online, it’s likened to putting all of one’s eggs in a basket. And the terror of it all is that it’s ‘only’ a virtual basket. ‘Summer Wars’ demonstrates this horror with a balance of humour though. The way I look at it, it’s eventual indeed – that future wars will be waged in virtual worlds – especially when their existence become so important that they become precious.