.hack//SIGN

.hack//SIGN is a 28-episode anime series, animated by studio Bee Train, that makes up one of the four original storylines of the .hack franchise. 26 of these episodes were shown on television, and two additional episodes, Intermezzo and Evidence, are only available on DVD.

The series was initially shown on TV Tokyo between April 3 and September 25, 2002, but has since been adapted for American audiences and shown on Cartoon Network starting February 1, 2003, and has been more recently distributed on DVD by Bandai Entertainment.

.hack//SIGN follows the story of Tsukasa (司) as he struggles to cope with his inner self, his past, and his inability to log out of the MMORPG The World. The storyline is quite slow and layered--the viewer is quite often fed false information and red herrings, making it quite hard to figure out what is going on until it is finally revealed towards the end of the series. Character development is also extremely critical to the series; there are few flat characters, and each of the important characters goes through great change through the story. .hack//SIGN has been commented to be a 'talky' series, both positively and negatively, for a story set in a video game. This is viewed as both a positive and negative aspect: some viewers cannot stand the slow plot and minimal action, while others call .hack//SIGN one of the greatest animes ever for the exact same reason. This controversy has turned .hack//SIGN into a sort of cult anime.

.hack//SIGN is well-known for its unique soundtrack, all of which was composed by the talented Yuki Kajiura of Noir and Aquarian Age fame. Much of the background music was sung by Emily Bindiger and Yuriko Kaida, whilst the opening and ending themes, Obsession and Yasashii Yoake, were done by Kajiura's musical group See-Saw. The music is often considered what makes .hack//SIGN what it is; it is one of the few animes ever made with such a unique soundtrack, with nearly every scene in each episode having some sort of background music.

Contents

1 Characters 2 Songs 3 Episodes 4 External links 4.1 English 4.2 Japanese

Characters

The name in the Japanese name comes first, with the name in the English versions after that.

Tsukasa: The main character of .hack//SIGN. At the start of the series, he wakes up to find himself in a dungeon in The World, except that he has no idea why he is where he is, or for that matter, who he is to begin with. In addition, he finds himself pursued by the Crimson Knights for dealing with an illegally modified character, who he remembers seeing, but does not know when, where, or why. At the start of the series, all he seeks is to be alone, but this simply leads him deeper into trouble. He is given a "Guardian," a barbell-shaped monster that defends him. He is also led by the cat-like Maha to a hidden area, where he meets Morganna (who he intitially believes is his mother) and the unborn Aura.

Mimiru: Mimiru plays her character as a "tough-it-out-through-anything", devil-may-care fighter who is poor at planning things out and following through on them. But, very good with a sword. She's the first player to meet Tsukasa, and later tries to form a bond with him in order to protect him from the outside world.

Bear: An older player of the game, he is a friend of Mimiru and B.T. He is cool and collected, and usually is the one to conduct research in the real world on Tsukasa, to try to figure out who he really is.

B.T.: A Wavemaster in the game. B.T. is the kind of plotting, scheming character that forms friendships just to achieve a goal, only to watch the friendship crumble when the other person finds out that they've been used. She rarely ventures out to fight monsters, but is said to be good with both offensive and defensive magic.

Subaru: Leader of the Crimson Knights, a player organization designed to fight injustice in The World. At times she seems to be the only one preventing the Crimson Knights from running wild; she knows that they must restrain from abusing their power. She eventually joins in the search for Tsukasa, and builds a strong relationship with him. In real life, she is a cripple, which is why she spends so much time in The World; it is the only place where she can roam freely on her own.

Sora: A ruthless player-killer who isn't afraid to backstab people only minutes after allying with them. He switches sides constantly throughout the story. In real life he is a fourth-grade kid who tries to keep cool (and usually succeeds at it).

Ginkan / Silver Knight: Second in command in the Crimson Knights. Has a strong sense of justice (becoming over-zealous at times), but is also extremely naïve, leading him to end up as more of a tool to be used by whoever is in control.

Crim: A friend of Subaru who founded the Crimson Knights organization with her, but afterwards left it. His stated goal when playing the game is simply to have fun, rather than to simply gain levels or better items. He is an extremely good fighter, as good if not better than Sora, and makes it his job to protect Subaru and the others.

Maha: A cat-like NPC who tries to help Tsukasa when he (or she, it isn't quite clear) can, although not always directly.

Harold: The creator of The World. Because he was disappointed in himself for failing as a father in real life, he created Aura, an AI, to serve as his "daughter" in The World, and left Morganna to watch over Aura and help her develop.

Morganna: Initially created as an AI to help Aura develop. Using the Eight Phases, Morganna was supposed to feed information to Aura about the thoughts, feelings, and actions of the players in The World in order to teach her what it means to be human. However, Morganna realized that once Aura was born, she would become useless and powerless. Thus, Morganna linked Tsukasa to Aura, and attempted to push him into utter despair to feed only negative thoughts to Aura, destroying her and allowing Morganna's power to grow unchecked.

Aura: The AI "daughter" of Harold. Becomes directly linked to Tsukasa through the actions of Morganna, to the point where Tsukasa's mood alone dictates her development.

Helba: A genius hacker (or a whole team of them using the same account) who even controls her own hidden fields in The World. Out of both concern for Tsukasa, worry about the state of The World, and simple interest in the outcome, she helps guide the other characters on their quest to save Tsukasa.

Songs

• Opening
  • "Obsession" by See-Saw
• From various episodes
  • "In the Land of Twilight Under the Moon" See-Saw
  • "Epitaph" Yuki Kajiura
• Ending
  • "Yasashii Yoake" by See-Saw

Episodes

1. Role Play
2. Guardian
3. Folklore
4. Wanted
5. Captured
6. Encounter
7. Reason
8. Promise
9. Epitaph
10. Compensation
11. Party
12. Entanglement
13. Twilight Eye
14. Castle
15. Evidence
16. Depth
17. Conflict
18. Declaration
19. Recollection
20. Tempest
21. Despair
22. Phantom
23. The Eve
24. Net Slum
25. Catastrophe
26. Return
27. Intermezzo (OAV)
28. Unison (OAV)

External links

English

• dothack.com (http://www.dothack.com/) - The official American website for the series, as well as other portions of the .hack franchise.
• hack.channel.or.jp (http://www.hack.channel.or.jp/) - The official Japanese website for the series, as well as other portions of the .hack franchise.
• AnimeLuvers (http://www.animeluvers.com/page4.htm) - .hack//SIGN information!
• .hack//SIGN preview (http://home.comcast.net/~bglaser6/hacksign2.avi) - A free (video) preview to introduce prospective viewers to .hack//SIGN.
• AniDB (http://anidb2.ath.cx/perl-bin/animedb.pl?show=anime&aid=24) - The anidb entry.
• .hackers (http://www.blackwings.net/hack/) - Probably the most detailed fansite at this time regarding all aspects of the .hack franchise, including .hack//SIGN.
• topazstorm (http://www.topazstorm.com/) - has sheet music for major themes in .hack//SIGN

Japanese

• TV Tokyo: .hack//SIGN (http://www.tv-tokyo.co.jp/hack_sign/) - The official TV Tokyo website for the series.

de:.hack//Sign fr:.hack//sign ja:.hack//SIGN