.hack//SIGN (2002– )

A strange boy named Tsukasa appears in the online video game "The World". He claims to be alive, and without a computer.

Stars:

Megumi Toyoguchi, Amanda Winn Lee, Kazuhiro Nakata

Cast

Series cast summary:
Megumi Toyoguchi	...	Mimiru (7 episodes, 2002-2003)
Amanda Winn Lee	...	Mimiru (7 episodes, 2002-2003)
Kazuhiro Nakata	...	Bear (6 episodes, 2002-2003)
Brianne Siddall	...	Tsukasa (6 episodes, 2002-2003)
Mitsuki Saiga	...	Tsukasa (5 episodes, 2002-2003)
Kaori Nazuka	...	Subaru (5 episodes, 2002-2003)
Isshin Chiba	...	Silver Knight (5 episodes, 2002-2003)
Mitsuyo Kondo	...	Grunty (5 episodes, 2002)
Paul Mercier	...	Bear (5 episodes, 2002-2003)
Donna Rawlins	...	BT (4 episodes, 2002-2003)
Akiko Hiramatsu	...	BT (4 episodes, 2002-2003)
Kim Mai Guest	...	Subaru (4 episodes, 2002)
Douglas Rye	...	Silver Knight (4 episodes, 2002-2003)
Rie Tanaka	...	Morganna (3 episodes, 2002)
Hiroshi Yanaka	...	Sora (3 episodes, 2002)
Valerie Arem	...	Morganna (3 episodes, 2002)
Dave Wittenberg	...	Sora (3 episodes, 2002)
Shin'ichirô Miki	...	Crim (3 episodes, 2002-2003)
Lex Lang	...	Crim (3 episodes, 2002-2003)
Yumi Tôma	...	Helba (2 episodes, 2002-2003)
Mary Elizabeth McGlynn	...	Helba (2 episodes, 2002-2003)
Crispin Freeman	...	Balmung (2 episodes, 2002-2003)

Storyline

It is the year 2010. After the great network crash of 2005, online entertainment was restricted. Two years after, the CC Corporation released the first Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing game since the incident. The extremely popular game, called "The World" sells millions of copies. And when that many are playing, things are bound to go wrong. A mysterious boy, who calls himself Tsukasa, appears. He is very mysterious, and he claims that he is actually alive "in the world" - that he isn't a person in front of a computer. He is branded a server malfunction by Ginkan and the Scarlet Knights, and is pursued.

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Plot Keywords:

multiplayer | face slap | paraplegic | loss of mother | father son relationship | 

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Taglines:

The only thing he can't do....Is log out

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Genres:

Animation | Action | Adventure | Drama | Fantasy | Mystery | Sci-Fi | Thriller

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Certificate:

TV-Y7

Details

Official Sites:

Offical site of film and PS2 games.

Country:

Japan

Language:

English Japanese

Release Date:

1 February 2003 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Bandai Entertainment, Bandai Visual Company, Bee Train

Technical Specs

Runtime:

25 min 25 min (25 episodes and 3 bonus episodes)

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital Silent

Color:

Color Black and White

Did You Know?

Trivia

The character of Bear is inspired by Mel Gibson (I)' 's character in Braveheart.

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Goofs

In the episode "Party" Tsukasa initially miscalculates the product of 331 and 3 in answering the second riddle. This is only in the English dub.

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Quotes

Subaru: Meeting someone is God's doing, but parting is what humans do themselves.

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Connections

Featured in JesuOtaku Anime Reviews: Madoka Magica (2012)

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Soundtracks

"Yasashii Yoake"
("Gentle Dawn")
Ending Theme
Music, Lyrics and Arrangement by Yuki Kajiura
Performed by See-Saw

User Reviews

A tedious work of art. 8-9/10

.hack//SIGN cannot be judged alone. This show was meant to be connected with many other forms of multimedia and many other shows. There is.hack//Liminality 4 episode series, .hack//DUSK manga and anime (a.k.a. Legend of the Twilight Bracelet), and the gaming series. Each seperate show/game/manga fills in those questions that are left by the others and you must even do some investigating yourself to fill in some of the blanks.

Standing alone, .hack//SIGN is a work of art. The scenery is amazing, the character designs are very original, and the soundtrack is mindblowing. Because the entire series takes place witin a digital world, the artists had a lot of freedom in the design of the enviroment; yet they also had the guidelines of keeping the same feeling of the enviroment in the games (.hack//Infection, Mutation, Outbreak, and Quarintine). This provided a challenge because the graphics in the games aren't exactly wonderful. But the artists pull through keeping true to the game and making an unforgetable world for us to enjoy. Anoter big challenge was to create a way to make the main characters recognizable while keeping them within design of the "extras" because the series is a game where there are skins for the players. The characters that stick out in my mind are Chrim and Mimiru. Finally, during the course of the whole series, there are very few moments where there is no music playing and whenever this happens, it is for dramatic effect. They even have a feature on the DVD to take out the dialogue and just watch the beautiful art and listen to the amazing muisc.

I don't want to talk much about the story because it is something you need to discover for yourself. All you need to know is that at times the story can drag and seem slow but all you need to do is stick with it and make sure you don't get lost in the many intellegent conversations that take place.

I HIGHLY reccomend this series espicially with taking part in the many other offered .hack media.