Synopsis
A boy regains consciousness and finds himself lying on the sticky floor of what appears to be the insides of a monster. Dazed, a girl named Mimiru kindly greets him. Irritated, he suddenly teleports away from her, but more visitors, the Scarlet Knights, confront him. Claiming to be the guardians against evil, they question him about a cat-like character that has been seen around him. Evading them, only to meet Mimiru once again, he nonchalantly attempts to log out completely. Here is where it all goes wrong…
Review
The current generation of video games today applied to role playing are what are classified as MMORPG, standing for Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game.Instead of playing by yourself at home or occasionally if you have extra controllers with a couple of friends or relatives over, one is able to experience an environment amidst millions of other users, all interacting, all playing the same game from any country on the planet. It is dynamic in the sense that it a virtual recreation of the real world. You are able to talk to people, even develop to the extent of a relationship with fellow players. The feelings and personality of that person are reflected in the character that they play. But you must remember that it is all just a game, a form of entertainment. Now imagine being trapped in this virtual world where it is no longer a game. Every beating moment of it is real. The name of the boy described above is Tsukasa, and his situation is just that.
The Breakdown
A combination of the two best things in the world, anime and video games.
» The Pros
Sora is definitely the most intriguing character. His appearance is a darker form of the Ragnarok Online Assassin class with a knife weapon attached to both his wrists. He can be liked and disliked at the same time. Sora kills other players just for the heck of it and harasses the main characters of the series. He's that bully that always took your lunch money in grade school. They best described him as: 'Your ambiguous replies...your ambivalent attitude...the discourtesy you exhibit by hovering between yes and no...the uncertainty you use to lead people astray...'
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» The Cons
They never really reveal who Maho is, the cat character with the two colored face in a scarecrow outfit that aids Tsukasa. His lips move but you can never hear what words come out of his mouth. At first I thought he was a special playable character like Barmunk, but he appears to be some sort of transdimensional monster. Yet he possesses a conscience. How did his relationship to Tsukasa and the final evil entity behind it all come to be?
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» Animation
10. |
Developing original character designs from already established generic role playing classes was quite a difficult feat to accomplish. The background art perfectly captures the feel of the variety of fields and terrain that encompass a MMORPG. |
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» Sound
10. |
Undisputedly the best for any anime to date. I applaud their work at keeping the lyrical OST tracks in english, and excellent english be at that. The only exception is the Japanese ending theme 'Yasashii Yoake.' Very diverse. Tempo is varied from the slow 'Fake Wings,' to the almost galloping pace of 'The World.' Others express a mood like the creepy 'Aura' and the inspirational 'Key of the Twilight.' Pieces include bells, violin, piano, drums, flute, and digital effects. This is the first anime where I had to admit that it would surely draw you to purchasing the OST CD. |
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» Story
8.0 |
OK. I think I over glorified it in the Synopsis and Review portions. This anime loses points in this department largely in part to the ending. It breaks my heart to be so in love with a series and when it comes to the ending it totally ruins it. This series ranks on par to 'Bubblegum Crisis Tokyo 2040' in the fact that the ending is incomplete. The series itself is a prequel to 4 Playstation 2 video games under the same Hack//Sign name. The first is to be released in America in the coming month. In Japan they are up to the third, with the fourth coming out in April. Fortunately there are two other Hack series - a somewhat boring OVA called Hack//Liminality with one episode packaged with every game about what happens in the real world and the chibi less serious Hack//Legend of Twilight's Bracelet which is a sequel to the games. |
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» Recommend
9.0 |
Inexpensive. Animenation is advertising $58.48 pre-order for the DVD episodes 1-5, hack//INFECTION, the first game for the PS2, stickers, T-shirt, and the TV series soundtrack. |
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» Other Information
Language: English or Japanese with English subtitiles
Extras: Reversible DVD Cover, Character Gallery, and Previews
Package: Two of the protagonists of the series. Tsukasa in larger focus in the front, and behind right sexy Mimiru posing gracefully for you ^_^ |
Wednesday, September 30, 2026
