In the 2009 anime film Summer Wars, Japanese director Mamoru Hosoda presented a prescient exploration of a virtual world remarkably similar to today’s vision of the metaverse. More than a decade before Meta and Microsoft aimed to make interconnected virtual spaces a reality, Hosoda had imagined an immersive digital realm blended with real life. In the movie, the world of OZ is a massive virtual universe where people interact through avatars, engage in commerce, socialize in beautiful landscap...