.hack//Sign

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.hack//Sign
Tsukasa (front), Aura (right), Subaru (left).
GenreAdventure, Drama, Fantasy, Mystery, Science Fiction
Anime
Directed byKōichi Mashimo
StudioBee Train
Anime
.hack//Intermezzo, .hack//Unison, .hack//Gift
Directed byKōichi Mashimo
StudioBee Train
Related Works


.hack//Sign is an anime television series directed by Kōichi Mashimo and produced by studio Bee Train and Bandai Visual, that makes up one of the four original storylines of the .hack franchise. Twenty six original episodes aired on TV and three additional bonus episodes (Intermezzo, Unison, and Gift) were released on DVD as OVAs.[1] The series features character design by Yoshiyuki Sadamoto, known for his work on Evangelion,[2] and screenplay by Kazunori Ito, who penned Ghost in the Shell.[3]

.hack//Sign explores how technology, such as the Internet and online games, can be used to escape reality and serve to isolate each other from making social connections. Conversely, it also shows how this technology can work in the opposite way, assisting people in forming the social ties a human needs to grow and mature.[4] The series focuses on a Wavemaster (magic user) named Tsukasa, a player character of a virtual-reality massively multiplayer online role-playing game called The World. Tsukasa wakes up to find himself in a dungeon in The World, but he appears to have no recent recollections as he wonders where he is and how he got there. The situation gets worse when he discovers he is not able to log out and is trapped in the game. From then on, along with other players Tsukasa embarks on a quest to figure out the truth behind his abnormal situation.

The show premiered in Japan on TV Tokyo between April 4 2002 and September 25 2002, and was broadcast across East Asia, Southeast Asia, South Asia, Latin America, and other regions, by the anime television network, Animax, and across the United States and Canada by Cartoon Network and YTV respectively. It is distributed across North America by Bandai Entertainment.

The storyline moves at a leisurely pace,[5] and has multiple layers[6]—the viewer is quite often fed false information and red herrings, potentially leading to confusion until the true nature of events is unveiled towards the end of the series.[7] It relies on character development and has little to no action scenes; most of the time character interaction is presented in the form of dialogue.[5] While the English language reception to .hack//Sign has been generally positive,[4][2] it has received negative criticism from some sources as a result of the slow pacing and character-driven storyline.[6]

Story

Background

Mac Anu, Delta Server's Root Town, as seen in the .hack//Sign anime series.

.hack starts in a fictional 2005, introducing a computer virus called Pluto's Kiss as the cause of a 77 minutes long massive Internet shutdown.[8] The results are catastrophic: traffic lights shut down, planes collide in midair, and the United State's nuclear missiles are nearly launched. As a consequence, cyberspace is subjected to severe restrictions. The virus affects all operating systems except for one, Altimit OS, the only operating system immune to all computer viruses.[9]

Two years later free access to the networks recovers, bringing with it the release of The World; the first online game since Pluto's Kiss, developed for Altimit OS by CC Corporation.[8] The World is portrayed as a fantasy setting wherein player characters can be different classes, adventure by themselves to go searching through dungeons, or join with others and form parties.[3] They can fight monsters and level up, collect new items and participate in special events. At the center of each server is a Root Town, which contain shops, a save point, and the Chaos Gate that the players use to travel between servers in the game.[10]

Harald Hoerwick is introduced as the creator of The World. He secretly designed the game as a virtual womb in order to create the ultimate AI, by receiving emotional and psychological data from the players. His motivation is revealed to be the death of Emma Wielant, a German poet whom he was in love with; the AI, who was named Aura, would serve as the "daughter" they never had.[11] Harald left the gathering of the required data for Aura's development at the care of the core system of The World itself, an omnipresent AI called Morganna Mode Gone.[11][9]

Most of the events depicted in the .hack franchise revolve around the premise of Morganna attempting to stall the growth of Aura indefinitely, after realizing that she will lose her purpose once Aura is complete.[11] This sets the background for the storyline of .hack//Sign, that takes place in early 2010.[8]

Plot summary

Main article: List of .hack//Sign episodes

.hack//Sign follows the story about Tsukasa being mind-trapped into the game. While it is "a fantasy quest type adventure",[4] it does not rely on "frenetic action sequences".[3] Instead the show is driven by mystery, slowly revealing its secrets to the viewer while paying much attention to the individual characters.[5] Questions like what happened to Tsukasa in the real world, who he really is and why he is unable to log out are driving points of the story.[4]

Soon after the beginning of the series Tsukasa is led to a hidden area. There he meets Morganna, depicted as a voice without physical appearance, and Aura, who appears as a young girl clad entirely in white, floating asleep above a bed. The storyline introduces Morganna as an ally, but her real intentions are unknown at this point.

As the story progresses many characters are introduced, some who want to help, some who have ulterior motives. Then more questions arise as to "what is happening in the game itself, who are these various characters, what are their true goals and what will happen to Tsukasa".[4] All the while he is seen struggling with his increasingly dire situation as well as his own social and emotional short comings. Tsukasa isolates himself, but eventually he begins to get closer to other players, and builds strong relationships with some of them. The most important is that which is born between him and Subaru, a kind and thoughtful female Heavy Axeman.[12][4]

File:Tsubaruz.jpg
In a heart to heart exchange, Subaru reassures Tsukasa that she does not mind his real life gender.

In the meantime, the anime follows the quest for the Key of the Twilight (黄昏の鍵, Tasogare no Kagi), a legendary item rumored to have the ability to bypass the system in The World.[6] Some characters want the Key to gain the power this supposedly confers. Others believe the item will provide Tsukasa with a way to log out. Despite the reasons for seeking it, everyone agrees that it is related to Tsukasa in some way, as he is also a factor bypassing the system in the game.[13] The revelation that his body is in a coma in the real world adds a sense of urgency to the search.

Near the end of the series Tsukasa's real life identity takes a more central place in the storyline, particularly in relation to his growing bond with Subaru.[14][15] The series shows his fear and insecurity as he confesses to her that he is probably a girl in the real world.[16][15] It is also at this point when Tsukasa is told Morganna's plan by a highly skilled hacker called Helba. Morganna conceived the plan to link Aura to a character who could corrupt her with negative emotional data, placing her in a state where she would never awaken. The chosen character was Tsukasa, as his real life was filled with distressful memories.[15] Helba also suggests that when Aura is able to awaken, "the Key of the Twilight will take form".[17]

The story reaches its climax when Tsukasa confronts Morganna. Then the viewer sees him declaring that he is no longer afraid of her or of reality, and will log out because there is someone he wants to see;[18] a statement that triggers Aura's awakening, allowing Tsukasa to log out. The last scenes feature an emotional encounter between Tsukasa's real life self, finally shown to be a girl, and the real life player behind Subaru.

Characters

Clockwise from top-left: Helba, Bear, Crim, Sora, BT, Subaru, Tsukasa, and Mimiru
Main article: List of .hack//Sign characters

Tsukasa (司) is the protagonist character of the story and plays a Wavemaster. At the start of the series, he is seen waking up to find himself in a dungeon in The World, but he has no idea why he is there or who he is. Not much time passes until Tsukasa discovers he is trapped in the game, unable to log out. He is initially depicted as a cynical loner who tends to avoid others as much as possible, but his character develops to realize there are people who care about him.[19] One of these people is Subaru (昴), a female Heavy Axeman introduced as the leader of the Crimson Knights, a player organization designed to fight injustice (such as player killing) in The World. Most of the time Subaru is the only character preventing the Crimson Knights from running wild; she knows that they must restrain from abusing their power. She eventually joins in the search of a way to help Tsukasa, and builds a close relationship with him.[12]

Also close to Tsukasa is Mimiru (ミミル), a Heavy Blade described on Helba Gate as a "tough-it-out-through-anything, devil-may-care fighter who is poor at planning things out and following through on them".[20] She is the first player to meet Tsukasa, and later tries to form a bond with him in order to protect him. She usually hangs out with Bear (ベア, Bea), trying to solve the mystery of Tsukasa's inability to log out. Bear is an older player of the game and plays a Blademaster. He appears as cool and collected, always willing to help out newbies, giving off an experienced air. He also conducts research in the real world on Tsukasa; he is the first character who discovers Tsukasa's real life identity. In an interview, Kōichi Mashimo was asked if Bear's design had been inspired by Mel Gibson in his role as William Wallace. He replied, "there are similarities".[21] One of Bear's acquaintances is BT, a Wavemaster considered by Helba Gate as a "plotting, scheming character who forms friendships just to achieve a goal".[20] She rarely ventures out to fight monsters, but she is skilled in both offensive and defensive magic.[20] BT teams up with Crim (クリム, Kurimu) and Sora (楚良) to find the Key of the Twilight.

Crim is a powerful Long Arm, friend of Subaru who founded the Crimson Knights organization with her, but afterwards left it as he found it did not match his personality. Amiable, easygoing and sociable; he prefers to keep the real world and the game separate. Crim's stated goal when playing is simply to have fun,[22] although he never turns down a chance to help somebody in need. Sora is a Twin Blade player killer who enjoys hunting players down, especially attractive female ones, and demanding their Member Addresses in exchange for their lives. He sees Tsukasa as the strongest link to the Key of the Twilight, and starts to work with BT in the quest for it. He also helps BT and the others to contact Helba. In the English dub Sora was given lines in leet-speak, a feature that was not present in the original Japanese version. In the latter episodes of the series the Crimson Knights organization is disbanded, and Sora and BT team up with its former second-in-command, Silver Knight (銀漢, Ginkan). As described by Frank Ellis of Epinions, Silver Knight possesses a strong sense of justice (becoming overzealous at times),[10] but is extremely naïve, leading him to end up as more of a tool to be used by whoever is in control.[23] He is extremely overprotective of Subaru.

Design

Development

The project development began in early 2000, with the original idea of producing an online game.[24] In online games people can interact with each other and create their own stories.[24] The producers wanted to design a game that would give the players the same experience, but they later thought it would be more appealing with its own storyline, like in standard offline RPGs.[24] According to Daisuke Uchiyama, sub-leader of Bandai's video game planning department, the result was a challenge to the RPG genre itself:[25] an offline game that takes place in an a simulated online RPG (The World).[24]

As the project started shortly before the PS2's release, the authors seized the opportunity to make the .hack game on the new platform.[25] This decision allowed them to develop into unexpected directions.[25] Shin Unozawa, general manager of Bandai's game department, suggested dividing the game into four parts and release them in three-month intervals.[26] The idea being to follow the four panel manga style as well as to keep sales constant throughout the year.[27][26] Taking advantage of the PS2's capability to read DVD-Video, the authors also decided making an OVA series (.hack//Liminality) comprised by four episodes, one to go with each game.[25][26] Nevertheless, they still felt the need to bolster the project with something more, hence the decision to produce .hack//Sign, a TV show timed to air with the first game's release.[26] For Kōichi Mashimo, director of both projects, it was a hectic schedule as he was also in the midst of developing Noir.[26]

According to Mashimo, ".hack has a complex storyline".[21] Each media was designed to have a particular depiction of the series. .hack//Sign serves as a prologue to the PS2 games and takes place within the virtual world itself.[21] It lays down the basis for the games' plot, while building its own, self contained storyline,[21] centered on the characters' search for real human contact and friends.[4]

Themes

Among the most recurring themes in .hack//Sign are the gaming environment in which most of the series takes place and how the characters relate to it.[28] The different settings, including towns, cities, forests, fields, tundras; the characters' habit of discussing gameplay aspects, such as e-mail, member address, the BBS and others. They are part of the myriad of in-game elements screenplay writer Kazunori Ito incorporated into the story to enhance the realism of the virtual world.[24] His research for references has covered several online RPGs available at the time, including Phantasy Star Online, Final Fantasy, and Ultima Online.[27]

One of the main themes of the series is the depiction of the characters as player characters of the game,[29] a concept that director Mashimo defines with the word "mask".[21] "All people wear masks. Currently I'm wearing a mask called 'director'. In my personal life, I wear a mask called 'father of two daughters'", he says.[21] "The characters in the anime & game [the PS2 games] wear respective masks. On the Internet, everyone wears a mask of anonymity."[21] Mashimo wanted to show how the characters interact with each other under these conditions.[21]

In .hack//Sign the real world is portrayed in shades of gray.

The characters in .hack//Sign have also been given different backgrounds and personal issues, shown to the audience through glimpses of the real world scattered throughout the series.[29] The show explores how these issues, which range from dysfunctional families to physical impediments, become their motivations for playing the game as well as affect their relationships with other characters.[28] Tsukasa himself has been subject to physical abuse and neglect, resulting in his constant attempts to shun emotional ties with others and his unwillingness to log out.[20][18] As the anime series follows this multi-layered approach the viewer is invited "to speculate on the nature of the players behind the characters in The World".[2][21]

Fear is a main driver in Tsukasa's inner struggle,[20][18] as well as the reason behind his father's abusing behavior and Morganna's manipulative plan.[30][18] The show sets a parallelism between the latter two as both resort to violence to deal with their fears.[30][18] In contrast the anime also explores how emotionally supportive relationships, such as friendship and love, help the characters to overcome insecurities and personal problems.[4]

.hack//Sign does not depict explicit lesbian content, but Erica Friedman, president of Yuricon and ALC Publishing,[31] considers that the interaction between Subaru and Tsukasa implies a relationship of that nature.[32] The series follows their burgeoning affection to the point where they become emotionally dependent on each other.[12][33] Once Tsukasa learns the truth about his real life gender, he is afraid of being rejected.[16] Nevertheless, after discussing the matter with her the outcome is a positive one;[16] a development that, in Friedman's opinion, supports the perception of their bond as yuri.[32]

Music

File:VICL-60905-OST1.jpg
Cover of the first .hack//Sign soundtrack album, featuring Mimiru and Tsukasa.
Main article: .hack//Sign Original Soundtracks

The .hack//Sign soundtrack was composed entirely by Yuki Kajiura, marking hers and director Kōichi Mashimo's second project together.[34] Most of the series' insert songs were performed by Emily Bindiger, whose vocals have been praised by Kajiura herself.[35] Other insert songs were performed by Yuriko Kaida, and the opening and ending themes, "Obsession" and "Yasashii Yoake" (優しい夜明け), were performed by Kajiura's musical group See-Saw.

At Anime Expo 2003, Kajiura mentioned that she had some trouble coming up with a suitable name for Subaru's theme, "Fake Wings". For a long time the song was simply referred to as "Subaru".[35] The opening for the show presented some inconveniences as well. Director Mashimo declared in an interview that the song would have been considered "profane in Japanese".[21] In order to avoid this problem, he decided to produce the opening theme in English.[21]

The soundtrack, which consists of character-defining themes and background music, is very melodramatic and has strong Celtic influence.[29] The BGM tracks have a sophisticated variety of electronic effects, and in some cases a noticeable console-RPG style.[36] The songs feature a dynamic synthesizer and strings composition,[36] and vocals comprised of English chanting, giving off an ethereal air of mystique that is usually associated with an "anime series set in a mysterious fantasy world".[37]

Cultural references

The .hack//Sign anime series features references and allusions to various literary works. Waiting for Godot, an absurdist play written by Samuel Beckett,[38] is mentioned as an analogy of Mimiru waiting for Tsukasa in episode eight.[39] There is also a reference to The Little Mermaid, a story written by the Danish author Hans Christian Andersen. The tale is cited through Morganna as a mean to persuade Tsukasa that nothing will come out of leaving the hide away and pursing his friends.[40]

The series also makes reference to the work of Moto Hagio. Hagio was part of Year 24 group, a female mangaka group that revolutionized the Shōjo genre, by introducing issues as gender and sexuality.[41] She writes about relationships between boys, often depicting young men resembling "lithe, gorgeous women".[41] This gender-bending tactic has its roots in the Takarazuka theater, a "stunningly kitsch" all-women revue, in which "women play men romancing women playing women".[41] Hagio is quoted through Subaru in episode ten: "Meeting someone is God's doing, but parting is what humans do themselves" (出会いは神の御技。別れは人の仕業。, Deai wa kami no miwaza. Wakare wa hito no shiwaza).[42] The quote serves as a reflection on the interaction between the characters, one of the main themes of the series (see Themes of .hack//Sign).[43]

The show makes reference to other fields as well. In episode nine, a biological term called apoptosis is used as an analogy of the Key of the Twilight and its purpose in The World.[44] Apoptosis is one of the main types of programed cell death (PCD), and involves an orchestrated series of biochemical events leading to a characteristic cell morphology and death. The differentiation of fingers and toes in a developing human embryo requires cells between the fingers to initiate apoptosis so that the digits can separate. In the series Bear suggests that the Key may be a part of the system in the same way cells die to form fingers.[44]

Media

Releases

File:Hack3bw.jpg
Third .hack//Sign DVD volume, released by Bandai Entertainment. This release includes the .hack//Liminality soundtrack.

Originally, .hack//Sign was broadcast in Japan by TV Tokyo between April 4, 2002 and September 25, 2002. In North America it was licensed and distributed by Bandai Entertainment,[45] and dubbed by PCB Productions, who are known for their adaptations of fare like Geneshaft.[2] The dub aired on Cartoon Network between February 1, 2003 and March 1, 2004.[46]

The series was also released on DVD under the trademark .hack//SIGN, spanning six volumes. The limited edition was released first and ran from March 4, 2003 to March 16, 2004, followed by the regular editon from March 18, 2003 to March 16, 2004.[47][48] The recap episode Evidence and the DVD only episode Intermezzo are included in the sixth volume, and Unison is only included in its limited edition.[49]

Following the multimedia approach of the franchise, Bandai released the limited edition of the first volume along with many extras, including a "Grunty" plush doll, a .hack//Sign T-Shirt, the first .hack//Sign soundtrack, a postcard and sticker set, and a .hack//Infection Demo disc. Subsequently the second .hack//Sign soundtrack, the .hack//Liminality soundtrack and the .hack//Extra soundtrack were released with the limited edition of the second, third and fourth volume respectively.[48]

The North-American DVD release contains easter eggs. When all six DVDs are lined up numerically, the first letters of the titles (on the spines) spell out the word "LOGOUT". On the backs of the DVD covers Area Words can be found, which can be used in the .hack//Games to access areas that contain rare items.

The series was compiled twice. The first DVD boxset was released on October 26, 2004 by the name .hack//Sign - Complete Collection, and the second, more affordable one on August 22, 2006 by the name .hack//Sign: Anime Legends Complete Collection. Neither of these releases contains the OVA episode Unison.[50][51]

Publications

File:Visions15x.jpg
Illustration of Tsukasa and Subaru from .hack//the visions by Satoshi Ohsawa, animation director of .hack//Sign.[26] Original character design by Yoshiyuki Sadamoto.[2]

.hack//the visions is a compilation artbook of .hack//Sign, .hack//Legend of the Twilight, and the .hack//Games illustrations by Rei Izumi, Yoshiyuki Sadamoto, Satoshi Ohsawa, and Yuko Iwaoka. The illustrations were originally shown in different issues of Newtype during 2002. The artbook was included in the February, 2003 issue of Newtype published by Kadokawa Shoten.

Encyclopedia .hack (ISBN 4-82-917530-3) is an info book about Project .hack. It is a compilation of theories and information about .hack, its setting and characters, taken from the many series of the franchise. It was published in June, 2003 by Fujimi Shobo.[52] .hack//analysis (ISBN 4-79-732455-4) is another info book about Project .hack. Unlike Encyclopedia, it includes never-before-seen information on The World and the characters of the many media of the .hack franchise. Information about .hack//Sign characters like Bear and BT was expanded in this book. It was published on September 27, 2003 by Softbank Creative.[53]

Reception

The English language reception to .hack//Sign has been largely positive. Frank Ellis from Epinions acclaimed the series as a "masterpiece", adding that the story is a little slow to start but that "only leaves more room for character development."[10] Holly Ellinwood of Anime Active saluted Ito's "well thought out, even provocative" storyline in her 2006 review of the series, saying that it is "far more cerebral, even existential than the anime's other less sophisticated contemporaries."[4] Nevertheless, reviewers agree that .hack//Sign is a show viewers either love or hate.[54][3][2] According to Mike Toole from Anime Jump, it "deserves to be both maligned and admired".[2] NeedCoffee's reviewer regarded the show as "one of the most controversial titles in recent years".[54] Negative criticism is focused on the very slow pacing of the story as well as on the almost total absence of action sequences throughout the series,[10][7] yet, the same sources praised these elements as what make the series "most unique".[7][10] Similar is the case of Anime Academy's reviewer, who says that at the beginning of the series "the plot advancements are few and far between, far enough apart to probably deter many viewers," but also admits that as the series progressed she started to recognize .hack//Sign as "an anime with a great story" and "characters with emotion and depth".[55]

The series generally receives high marks for technical aspects. Chris Beveridge from Anime On DVD feels the animation is "gorgeous" and the "colors are lush and vivid".[3] Tasha Robinson from SCI FI Weekly says that "The World's hugely varied settings provide ever-changing backgrounds,"[7] which are considered by Rob Lineberger of DVD Verdict as "detailed and innovative".[6] In his review of the first English release, Mike Toole describes .hack//Sign as "a beautiful, rich-looking series, with frequently sumptuous character design and animation that's only emphasized by the quality of the DVD."[2] A negative opinion is expressed by Rob Lineberger himself, who says that "many of the animated sequences were static characters with slightly moving lips."[6] Tasha Robinson, instead, shows a more neutral perspective, saying that "the animation is simple but attractive."[7] A concern several reviewers express is that the gaming environment the series tries to simulate should be more crowded, being a game supposedly extremely popular world wide.[2][7] A different opinion is that of Anime Academy's reviewer, who as a long-time player of MMORPGs, writes that the anime's depiction of the game-world setting is realistic and accurate.[55]

Bandai's release earned praise for the quality of the video transfer and the DVD extras (particularly in the limited edition).[3][2] Reviewers appreciated the English voice acting: Lauren Synger from DVD Vision Japan feels that "everyone was very appropriate to their characters," noting that Brianne Sidal did an excellent work capturing Saiga's Tsukasa.[56] Lineberger, in contrast, finds the English dub to be "antiseptic and uninspired".[6] Bamboo Dong of Anime News Network thinks for his part that Mimiru sounded bland and poorly executed, but overall, the actors did a good job "delivering their lines and giving life to their characters."[37]

Ridwan Khan of Animefringe welcomes "the excellent .hack//Sign score" composed by Yuki Kajiura,[36] which is hailed by Mark McPherson from Anime Boredom as "the best orchestrated track ever made for a television series".[5] Most reviewers agree that the soundtrack is one of the series' most prominent features.[2][6][55][10] A negative criticism on the music is that it tends to overwhelm the dialogue in the first couple of episodes.[2][3] Kōichi Mashimo has stated that he specifically had the music louder than the dialogue as he tried to do some experimentation, and it was his intent to draw complaints from the audience.[21] Still, Chris Beveridge thinks it is an "interesting device to sort of ratchet up the speed of things."[3]

Notes and references

  1. ^ a b c "Anime News Network's Encyclopedia: .hack//Sign". Retrieved 2006-09-28.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Toole, Mike. "Anime Jump: .hack//Sign Review". Retrieved 2007-01-20.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h Beveridge, Chris. "Anime On DVD: .hack//Sign (Version 1.0) - Login Review". Retrieved 2007-01-21.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i Ellinwood, Holly. "Active Anime: .hack//Sign: Anime Legends Complete Collection Review". Retrieved 2007-01-24.
  5. ^ a b c d McPherson, Mark. "animeboredom: hack//Sign Review". Retrieved 2007-01-24.
  6. ^ a b c d e f g Lineberger, Rob. "DVDverdict: .hack//Sign (Version 2.0) - Outcast Review". Retrieved 2007-01-24.
  7. ^ a b c d e f Robinson, Tasha. "SCI FI Weekly: hack//Sign Review". Retrieved 2007-01-21.
  8. ^ a b c "Japanese .hack timeline from .hack//AI buster 2" (in Japanese). Retrieved 2007-02-11.
  9. ^ a b Hamazaki, Tatsuya (January 1, 2006). "Area.4 Memory". .hack//AI buster. Tokyopop Press Inc. ISBN 1-59532-869-6.
  10. ^ a b c d e f Ellis, Frank. "Epinions.com: .hack//Sign Review". Retrieved 2007-02-03.
  11. ^ a b c "The Helba Gate: .hack//Liminality Review". Retrieved 2007-01-26.
  12. ^ a b c Bear: "The reason Tsukasa is still barely able to be involved with people is because of Subaru. If I was the enemy, I would strike at her." BT: "If that happens, then Tsukasa would surely be unable to recover. (...) We should not think of those two separately." .hack//Sign, episode 24, Net Slum.
  13. ^ "Defragmented: .hack//Sign episode 3, Folklore, summary". Retrieved 2007-01-22.
  14. ^ "Animetique: .hack//Sign episode 21, Despair, summary". Retrieved 2007-02-25.
  15. ^ a b c "Animetique: .hack//Sign episode 24, Net Slum, summary". Retrieved 2007-01-24.
  16. ^ a b c Tsukasa: "I thought that I was a guy. But that's because my memories were altered. (...) I think the real me is a girl. Do you still want to see me?" Subaru: "Yes. Because..." Tsukasa: "Because?" Subaru: "Because I've been touched by your trembling soul." .hack//Sign, episode 24, Net Slum
  17. ^ Bear: "When Tsukasa is able to log out, then Aura will awaken." Helba: "I believe so. And at that moment, the Key of the Twilight will take form." .hack//Sign, episode 24, Net Slum.
  18. ^ a b c d e Tsukasa: "You're the same. You use force, just force to make me... to make her submit to you. But that because you're very afraid, very anxious." Morganna: "If you obey, I do not need to exercise my power. Do not make me use my power. You know how truly powerful I am!" Tsukasa: "I'm no longer afraid of you or my father! There is someone that I want to see. So I'm going to return, return to the place where I belong!" .hack//Sign, episode 26, Return.
  19. ^ Beveridge, Chris. "Anime On DVD: .hack//Sign (Version 6.0) - Terminus Review". Retrieved 2007-01-21.
  20. ^ a b c d e "The Helba Gate: .hack//Sign character guide". Retrieved 2007-01-26.
  21. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Iyadomi, Ken (2002). "Anime Expo: Interview with Kōichi Mashimo". Retrieved 2007-03-03.
  22. ^ Crim: "I have enough obligations and duties in the real world. I come here to play." .hack//Sign, episode 19, Recollection.
  23. ^ BT: "His simplicity is his only merit." Sora: "Because he is so simple, he can be used as a pawn." .hack//Sign, episode 20, Tempest.
  24. ^ a b c d e "GamePro: Interview with Hiroshi Matsuyama and Daisuke Uchiyama". 2003. Retrieved 2007-03-17.
  25. ^ a b c d "RPGFan: Interview with Daisuke Uchiyama". 2003. Retrieved 2007-03-17.
  26. ^ a b c d e f Wong, Amos (March 2005). "Inside Bee Train". Newtype USA: 10. {{cite journal}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); External link in |date= (help)
  27. ^ a b "IGN: Interview with Hiroshi Matsuyama". 2003. Retrieved 2007-03-17.
  28. ^ a b Hall, Justin (2004). "Chanpon: Signs of .hack". Retrieved 2007-04-10.
  29. ^ a b c "Animetique.com: .hack//Sign Review". Retrieved 2007-01-21.
  30. ^ a b Ito, Kazunori. "CyberConnect2: .hack//Sign, episode 26, Return Screenplay outline" (in Japanese). Retrieved 2007-06-01.
  31. ^ Corson, Suzanne (2007). "AfterEllen: Yuricon Celebrates Lesbian Anime and Manga". Retrieved 2007-05-01. Erica Friedman, the founder of Yuricon and ALC Publishing, a North American publisher specializing in lesbian-themed manga...
  32. ^ a b Friedman, Erica. "Okazu: Bee Train does it again". Retrieved 2007-01-26. Okazu is the oldest and most comprehensive blog for Yuri anime and manga reviews, information and events of interest to yuri and shoujoai fans by Erica Friedman, founder of Yuricon.
  33. ^ Subaru: "I want to see Tsukasa. I want to see and talk to him... that's all I want. I will continue playing this game until I can see Tsukasa again. That is what the game The World is to me right now." .hack//Sign, episode 21, Despair. Subaru: "I've decided to get involved with Tsukasa. Tsukasa, and everything that surrounds him. (...) I want to see all of it. I want to stay by him. That is what I want." Crim: "You've gottern stronger. No, that's not exactly it. You've found the place where you belong." .hack//Sign, episode 23, The Eve.
  34. ^ "CD Japan: .hack//Sign Original Sound & Song track 1". Retrieved 2007-01-15.
  35. ^ a b "Anime Source: Report of Yuki Kajiura's concert at Anime Expo 2003". Retrieved 2007-01-17.
  36. ^ a b c Khan, Ridwan. "Animefringe: .hack//Sign Original Sound & Song track 1 Review". Retrieved 2007-01-20.
  37. ^ a b Dong, Bamboo. "Anime News Network: .hack//Sign (Version 1.0) - Login Review". Retrieved 2007-01-26.
  38. ^ Fowlie, Wallace (1960). Dionysus in Paris. New York: Meridian Books. pp. 210–214. Retrieved 2007-01-23.
  39. ^ "Defragmented: .hack//Sign episode 8, Promise, summary". Retrieved 2007-01-23.
  40. ^ "Defragmented: .hack//Sign episode 12, Entanglement, summary". Retrieved 2007-01-23.
  41. ^ a b c Randall, Bill (May 15, 2003). "Three By Moto Hagio". The Comics Journal (252). Retrieved 2007-02-04.
  42. ^ ".hack//Sign 第１０話「Compensation（代償行為）」 より" (in Japanese). Retrieved 2007-01-24.
  43. ^ Subaru: "What is important is to try to be associated. The worst thing you can do is to show no concern. (...) I think Tsukasa is seeking some association. He isn't actually shutting people out. No, that's what I would like to believe myself. There is a phrase. Meeting someone is God's doing, but parting is what humans do themselves." Bear: "Moto Hagio, was it?" Subaru: "You know her? Please, don't give up." .hack//Sign, episode 10, Compensation.
  44. ^ a b "Defragmented: .hack//Sign episode 9, Epitaph, summary". Retrieved 2007-01-16.
  45. ^ "Anime News Network's News: .hack//Sign". Retrieved 2007-01-14.
  46. ^ "TV.com: .hack//Sign". Retrieved 2007-02-28.
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  48. ^ a b "Bandai Entertainment DVD Product Catalog: .hack//Sign". Retrieved 2007-01-19.
  49. ^ "Bandai Entertainment DVD Product Catalog: .hack//Sign - Limited Edition (Version 6.0) - Terminus". Retrieved 2007-01-14.
  50. ^ "Bandai Entertainment DVD Product Catalog: .hack//Sign - Complete Collection". Retrieved 2007-01-14.
  51. ^ "Bandai Entertainment DVD Product Catalog: .hack//Sign: Anime Legends Complete Collection". Retrieved 2007-01-14.
  52. ^ "Amazon Japan: Encyclopedia .hack" (in Japanese). Retrieved 2007-01-14.
  53. ^ "Amazon Japan: .hack//analysis" (in Japanese). Retrieved 2007-01-14.
  54. ^ a b "Needcoffee: .hack//Sign (Version 5.0) - Uncovered Review". Retrieved 2007-02-22.
  55. ^ a b c "Anime Academy: .hack//Sign Review". Retrieved 2007-03-24.
  56. ^ Synger, Lauren. "DVDVisionJapan: .hack//Sign Voice Box Review". Retrieved 2007-03-24.

External links

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