.hack//Sign
You *will* be assimilated...
Review by: M.H. "Remember me? I run this site" Torringjan
Length: 27 episodes
Genre: Fantasy/sci-fi
Watched: 27 eps subbed
I thought I wouldn't get addicted. I thought I'd be able to avoid the commericalizing juggernaut with this series, no matter how many video games, how many series, how many mangas, how many collectible thermoses with attachable wireless internet access they brought out. But NOOOOOO... They designed this very well-done series just so that you'd have to get *everything* if you wanted to get the entire story. Well, except for Dusk, but that's a different review altogether. Only read on if you're willing to put about one hundred hours into this whole shebang. Or if you're just looking for a good time. Either way, let's get on with it!
Plot Summary: A bunch of people with no lives play an online RPG. *Real* enthralling plot, right? Well, while these people are playing the game, "The World," a mysterious player character named Tsukasa shows up with an incredibly strong summonable monster and claims that he is unable to log off. Other players, Mimiru and Bear, befriend him and decide to undertake the task of investigating his affliction and the connection that he has with a young girl who lies in a coma in a hospital in Tokyo and a legendary item of The World, the Key of the Twilight.
Artwork: The drawing style of this series is vivid, matching the setting and the plot. The landscapes are pretty well done, even the floating mushrooms that make me wonder what the art designers were smoking when they were pulling those all-nighters. Not that I've got anything against the art design, but marijuana is bad, mmm-kay? The character design is fairly generic MMORPG fodder. And what makes it even more like an actual video game is that the character designs are replicated through characters with the same class, so they all look essentially the same. Not all that creative, but what can we expect from an RPG that wasn't done by Square?
Music: This is the real highlight of the show. Although I'll admit that it wasn't Yoko Kanno, they got the next best thing and hired Yuki Kajiura. This series, which was oddly devoid of actual fighting scenes for something about an MMORPG, made use of a nice mix of techno and classical music (and no, I'm not talking techno-Beethoven) to really leave the series with an interesting soundtrack. However, Madame Kajiura apparently didn't learn her lesson from Noir, as the same problem arose in this series. The same four or five tracks were playing at the same times during the whole series. And while I'll be the first to admit that the songs were very nice, I will also say that they weren't as good the twenty-fifth time I heard them as they were the first. I'd just like to say that the decision to leave Latin lyrics out of this series's soundtrack was a well-made one, as well.
Characters: This series' characters are pretty representative of the fantasy genre, almost to the point of being cliché. However, those same characters are anything but representative of the "zit-faced-video-game-player" genre, so it saves them from fading into mediocrity. Begin with Tsukasa, who seems at first to be an unsociable little loser who has access to hidden areas in The World and can't in fact leave The World. His inner turmoil is brought about by the voices of the World that speak only to him, trying to convince him that he's better off living in the World. However, he finds respite in the people he discovers in his travels who are determined to help him, either for his own or 
their own benefit. The first of these is Mimiru, a young girl who discovers Tsukasa in the bottom of a dungeon. She has a bright, enthusiastic personality and tries to help Tsukasa in any way that she can. Her desire to help him, however, may border slightly on obsession due to her desire to wait for him for extended periods of time and her willingness to go on adventures with him that might border on being physically dangerous to her in real life. Another cohort of the two is the elder of the group, Bear. This knowledgeable player character is the brawns of the group who offers his aid in investigating Tsukasa's link to the real world and goes on adventures with the group to find more out about The World. His elderly wisdom also plays the fatherly role to the other characters, helping them to cope with the difficulties of the journey. The final character of note is the leader of the Crimson Knights, Subaru. She is a stately young player who takes an interest in Tsukasa when he and his creature begin attacking normal players. Tsukasa meets her and eventually falls for her, hoping that she isn't a 50-year-old man with a weird fetish in real life. Subaru is an insecure sort of leader who believes that all players are equal, and that everyone is just there to have a good time.
Plot: The plot of this series succeeds in being original despite its similarities to traditional RPG/fantasy storylines. The idea of interweaving real world influences into the fantastic world presented by having the world be a part of the real world creates an interesting feeling of cognitive dissonance that isn't strong enough to be annoying. The story takes a nice blend of character-driven action and plot-driven action, while keeping the stand-alone episodes to a minimum. I can off-hand only think of two episodes that were stand-alone, and they served to develop characters. The only lack of economy that I can think of is a single recap episode. And the worst part isn't its existence so much as its placement. It just happened right in the middle of a suspenseful plot point and really broke up the rhythm that was happening at the time.
CHICKS!!! This series was pretty short on chicks. I suppose you work with what you've got, though. For starters, there's Mimiru, whose enthusiasm and kindness more than make up for the lack of emphasis on her form (although her outfit is just about always a battle bikini, which really helps her case). The only problem is that she seems to already be wrapped on Tsukasa like a lamprey, 
making it difficult to get into her heart. Or battle bikini. Next, there's BT, the Heavy Spear who seems to want to use Tsukasa to find the Key of the Twilight. She's an antisocial, scheming woman who seems to be willing to go to any length to achieve her ends. She seems like you'd have to use a flamethrower to warm her up towards you, which is a major mark against her. However, I can only imagine that her character looks at least as good in a battle bikini as does Mimiru, probably better. The third chick of the series is Subaru, who has a petit figure, which is complimented very well by her shy demeanor and her quiet air. She's probably the most cute girl in this entire series, and yet another one that's like metal for Tsukasa's magnet. I suppose he's got an excuse for having chicks draped all over him, though, what with being mysterious and broody and fighting for his life and all.
Overall: This series was kind of short on action, which is understandable for a series that's meant to be a lead-in to a more significant series of (appropriately enough) video games. What's impressive about this series is that, unlike the video games, it's interesting and thorough enough to stand on 
its own as a significant series that has a memorable plot and characters. I'd say that this series will more appeal to fantasy fans and video game players with nothing better to do with their spare time (read: me). It doesn't have the all-around appeal of other series, like Trigun or Cowboy Bebop, but it is good within its own right. I'd recommend checking it out if you want a well-done series that doesn't have all that many heavy philosophical implications.
In a nutshell:
+ Music is really nice
+ Characters have depth
+ Original blend of fantasy and reality
- Music is overused
- limited appeal
- A bit short on chicks
Final grade: 8/10
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