.hack//sign Appreciation Post
Anime is always following "the next hot thing" and burning through stuff at an alarming rate (remember when everything was all about "Blue Exorcist"? Remember when "Bleach" was top of the pile?) so take your time, guys, relax: focus on some stuff you missed the first time around. Like ".hack//sign"!
In the world's only MMO, a player named Tsukasa wakes up with no idea who he is. He cannot log out, and there is a mysterious guardian angel protecting him from harm. He doesn't want answers, he wants to be left alone, but no man is an island... Subaru, the shy leader of a guild of "Justice Bringers" is curious about this new "cheater" in the system, and together with the nice old guy Bear, who plays the game to reconnect with his son, Crim, a flamboyant roleplayer who co-founded the Guild with her but got bored, B.T, the information broker interested moreso in the powers this kid possesses in game, and Mimiru, the upbeat schoolgirl here to have fun; an investigation into the mystery player goes on! But there are darker forces at play here, and matters are complicated by the excellent character of overpowered player-killer Sora...
It's like if "Sword Art Online" was good, focused on characters, growth, the nature of self, identity, and just a HINT of lesbianism, and came out BEFORE that trash show! Imagine if it used the concept well, was experimental in its storytelling (all of the real world parts are done as washed out silent movies, representing the need for a technicolour escape from it all. *chef's kiss*) and had, like, CHARACTERS! With arcs, feelings, depth, episodes dedicated to them, growth!
Imagine if our protagonist was not building a harem, but learning to be a person and to socialise! And if instead of an almight god power letting them save the world, they were instead seen as a cheat and an asshole for having this, and were hunted by every single person on the server! Interesting subversion of it, right? Sure, it was experimental, and didn't always work (Tsukasa is kind of a prick for a lot of it, and that's rather off putting to some, even if they are an introverted, amnesiac trauma victim growing and learning; and the central villain and plot is kind of glossed over and rushed unless you play the games. Which I did.) but what was there was bold, and tight, and fun, and excellent!
Oh, and Paul "Leon S Kennedy" Mercier plays Bear.
Plus, the music (by Yuji Kajiura, and with breathtakingly beautiful vocals from Emily Bindiger on a couple of songs, you'll know her from "Flying Teapot" in "Cowboy Bebop") is ALL FANTASTIC, and has the best disconnect between its pumping theme song and actual content I've seen.
It was wholesome, without being treacly, it was all about mood, atmosphere, dialogue and people. Give it a go.
Or don't, I'm not your keeper.
