Yuriel Castoriz
This is, whatever anyone might say, one of the best anime ever created. I say this because, although i do admit that the story plot pace is slow - slower than anyone could imagine - it still holds a valuable plot and of course, opens up much more for the following series of games, and manga. Of course, there is a novel before this series as well, and overall i just have to say that Project Hack was such a good success, at least in my opinion. Espscially the use of many different approach was good - manga, anime, games and novels.If someone was to watch only .hack//SIGN, then of course it may seem unsatisfying, because it really does not give much info about anything. Since it was meant to be a prequel of the games, if you want to find out what happens to Sora, Aura or Tsukasa after wards, you would have to play the games.Overall, i do admit that there were much more talking than action - in which it lost many action-anime fans. However it is an anime that is more inspirational movies than the action-packed ones. You had to get into the human emotions and philosophy to fully enjoy the meaning behind the anime - hard lives, choices, obstacles that appear in the real life, the players (characters) try to avoid by logging into "The World". However in the end they all realize to face fear and live their life to fullest extent.Overall, i personally would give this anime 10/10, for its superb performance. Whether it was the heart-touching quotes, the ever-beautiful music, or the mind-blowingly complex plot, i find that .hack//SIGN is a must for all anime fans.P.S: Just adding a reply to one of the comments... Tsukasa is NOT an AI character.
arorashadow_2003
(Ten Stars) I think this is one of the best Animes, amongst many others. .hack//SIGN intrigued me, and actually made me wonder. Not to mention the occasional chill sent down my spine. While it may be confusing it beats most clichéd RPG-Based Anime'sand Fantsy base Anime out there. The cliff hangers leave you waiting and wanting more. Even though it doesn't have so much action in it I think it is great. Beats the crap out of Pokemon, and Final Fantasy. What I love about this is it's so mysterious, and dark, and unpredictable. Unlike with Final Fantasy, Zelda, Pokemon, Yu-Gi-Oh and so on. The music is great to. The acting was great, the best I have ever seen. This is one of the bests in my opinion. In Fact .hack//SIGN is the first Anime I have seen, that was actually dark. With the many surprises in there, I have never been the same. There are many great characters in this series, some goofy, others serious, and just plain lovable. Tsukasa is a highly emotional enigma. Subaru is a personal fav. of mine. She's sweet, and cute. And they didn't try to hard to make them funny, or make their jokes funny. "Tsukasa, let's play red light green light!" -Sora. That was the best gag I have ever heard. David Whittenburg did wonders for Sora. And the Chrimson Knights. And A-20 is an adorable characterVery wonderful animation by Bee-Train along with some guy with a really long Japanese Name. Yoshiyuki Sadamoto. They have tone, to their bodies, and the EFX are wonderful. There is some cell shading, but it's light, and doesn't stick out like a sore thumb.Wonderful songs by Yuki Kajiura (FLCL, Fiction, Boogie Pop, NOIR, MADLAX) wonderful blend of Ambiance, and Orchestral sound. And mix of pop, and classical, makes it just right. I have two sound tracks to the show, and one to the game. And it's just wonderful. The songs are memorable, and greatly composed. Music is very important to me, and Yuki pulled it off nicely.Great voicing. Brianne Siddal, Amanda Win Lee, Kim Guest, and many others, including the man Dave Whitenburg (WHR, Speed Racer, Digimon 03) as the malevolent, yet goofy "Sora" My favorite Quote from Sora "Tsukasa! Let's play red light green light!" And Valiery Arem as "The Voice" Morgannah. "I need you, as much as you need me. As long as we walk together, I shall protect you." Kim Guest, plays the sweet Subaru, and she brings her out very nicely.Who would have thought up such a novel of a story? It is brilliant. It's so mysterious, and not predictable. Full of dialog yes, but still. Fighting isn't everything. There comes a point when fighting gets ridiculous, and takes away from the story. And it's told across this show, the games, and Manga books. Truly the largest story I have seen in an Anime. (Not counting Pokemon)Like I said, seeing .hack For the first time was chilling. When you are watching light comical Pokemon all the time, plus G® Rated Cartoons and you see something with that strong of thematic elements, you get chills. During one episode, when Aura, stabs Tsukasa, and who can forget, wasn't expecting that. And who can forget, "Data Drain." This was a rare treat for me, because I hadn't (and still don't) seen that strong of Thematic Elements in Cartoons before. .hack is truly my Gate-Way Anime, to much better Anime.This is one of my favorite shows because it didn't go overboard with Violence, but it remained dark, and just unknown. It really bugs me when people give this show poor reviews. If it were just another type of it's Genre, fine. But I see this as a rather unique show. Not by it's Genre, by everything else. Stuff I had never seen before, prior to this. Imagine my reaction to Mimiru ;) Plus when they give it a low score just because it's full of dialog. Not everything has to be violent to be good! I hate it when Violence is so extreme, that I can't bare to watch it. (Inuyasha, Read or Die Wolf's Rain Cowboy Bebop) Because it's just distracting. Violence doesn't make for good story telling. But you don't see me giving those 0's or lower than 7, because of that. I gave Read or Die, a 8/10 over all. I can understand if you have ADHD, and you can't sit through it. Fine that's fact, doesn't mean you have to give it a low score. .hack//SIGN is more on thematic elements than combat, and more on mystery, than action. You want action, play the .hack GAMES, or watch something else You'll get your action. One of the best Anime I have ever seen.
thegreatgrundle
Before I start, let me point out that the only exposure I've had to the.hack universe is through this series. So if I'm just not getting something that is somehow enhanced by the games or other series, I apologize.Anyway, this is really a pretty good show. Not great, but good. Good characters, great animation and music, and an inventive and creative plot. The only real beefs I have with this show are the length and the confusion. During the series, I accepted the fact that things may seem a little confusing, and I'd just have to stick with it. I expected that things would be tied up at the end, maybe not completely, but at least enough to justify watching all these (mostly pointless) episodes. Unfortunately, I don't feel that they really explained what happened. It kind of left me hanging. I understand the story goes on, but I would have preferred a little more closure.As for the length, the series contains far too little content to fill nearly thirty episodes. Its kind of an anti-FLCL, if you know what I mean. They could have easily wrapped it up in 13, if not fewer. It just seemed to drag on and on, talking a lot without really saying anything. Of course, sometimes it was nice to just sit back and enjoy the beautiful animation and music. They were something of a saving grace.So in the end, I'd recommend .hack//sign. Despite its length, it managed to keep my interest throughout, and that's always a good thing.
