Average Rating: 
Rating: - .Hack // SIGN beats them all.
.Hack // SIGN is what some animefans never thought that could be possible : An excellent anime that`s way outside of the mainstream. No mechas, or anything like that ! In the .Hack universe, "The World" is a popular massive multiplayer online role playing game (MMORPG) set in a fantastic universe of strange lands, monsters, treasure, and adventure. Players access the game by donning virtual reality headsets and connecting through the internet, and entering this universe that remains faithfull to the ideal online RPG (beats FF XI). .Hack // SIGN takes place almost entirely online and follows the adventures of Mimiru, Bear, and the other player characters as they try to unravel the mystery of Tsukasa, and in the process find out the truth about "The World". Well, basically .HACK is a must see, for many things: Addictive storyline, excellent soundtrack, and the best soundtrack I`ve ever heard for any TV series (Yuki Kajiura`s key of the Twilight song rocks !!!!!)
Rating: - Enrapturing and inspiring.
When people think anime, they think violence, curse words, sometimes nudity, and sometimes even worse things. Dot Hack Sign, however, is a step above all of them. The Dot Hack Sign story is fantastic, and considering that Dot Hack Sign relies wholly upon its story to keep its viewers interested, that's saying quite a lot. People who have become hooked on anime for its violence, action, destruction, and adult content should avoid Dot Hack Sign. There is very, very little action in the series (I've seen all of it, so I know), and it is liable to bore people who are more interested in flashy animation. Dot Hack Sign's story, however, is enthralling. The characters are developed so well, and the story executed so wonderfully, that you find yourself actually caring about what goes on. After watching all of the series, I even found myself caught up in it for several days afterward. It is that sort of story that endears itself to you, so that you'll never forget it. As mentioned before, the story progresses slowly, but you can easily get caught up into it and don't notice. Normal 25-minute episodes seem to stretch for an hour, which is only a bad thing if you have to go to the bathroom. The story spans itself across all of the episodes, and there aren't any "breather" episodes that provide a pause in the story (instead, the writers cleverly wrote an episode or two like that into the story). This provides a very solid story, though you're in trouble if you miss an episode. Overall, this is my favorite anime series out of all that I have seen (and I have seen many), and that is not to disparage anime. In fact, I can safely say that this is my most favorite series of any genre, anime or otherwise.Recommended to: People who love character development and long, elaborate, and great stories. People who want a great story that catches them and makes them actually care about it and its characters. Not recommended to: People who like action and violence, and lots of it, people who are looking for traditional Western stories, or people who dislike stories that develop slowly.
Rating: - Dot Hack
.hack//SIGN is really a love-hate series. You pretty much either love it or hate it. I have to say I'm pretty much on the 'love' side.One thing about .hack is that the pacing is *VERY* slow. Extremely slow. That fact tends to annoy alot of people. What was 30 min. in real life feels like less than 5 min. in the episode. I'm exaggerating, but even from a .hack lover, it's true. .hack//SIGN revolves around a boy (or possibly a girl) called Tsukasa. He is in a virtual reality game played by millions called 'The World.' Problems begin to arise when he is unable to log out of the World. Things that are theoretically impossible in the World are possible around him. He is able to retain his senses of touch, smell, taste, etc. Now you must wonder 'Who cares? Who cares if he can still retain his sense of touch, smell, etc.?' The reason it's a big deal is because it is a VIRTUAL REALITY GAME. You are supposed to be UNABLE to reatain those senses. However, he can feel pain and stuff there which makes everyone wonder.... .hack is *VERY* mysterious and can be very confusing at times (I've argued with friends over several points in it. ^^U). You see alot of things in it that make you question and go 'Who's that? What do they do? Why are they here?' A key point in .hack's composition is the music. The music is insanely awesome. I am NOT exaggerating. Yuki Kajura did a *VERY* good job on the music. The music fits .hack completely and is very well composed. It has a sort of mysterious, yet enchanting and alluring feel to it which fits .hack perfectly.
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