.hack//Sign

A young wavemaster, only known by the alias of Tsukasa, wakes up in an MMORPG called The World, with slight amnesia. He does not know what he has previously done before he woke up. In The World, the Crimson Knights suspects him of being a hacker, as he was seen accompanying a tweaked character in the form of a cat. Unable to log out from the game, he wanders around looking for answers, avoiding the knights and other players he meets along the way.

As Tsukasa explores The World, he stumbles upon a magical item that takes the form of a "guardian," which promises him protection from all harm. Subaru, the leader of the Crimson Knights, along with several other players who became acquainted with Tsukasa, set out to investigate why Tsukasa is unable to log out, and attempt to get to the bottom of the problem before it gets out of hand.

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

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Background

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Related Anime

Sequel:	.hack//Tasogare no Udewa Densetsu, .hack//Roots, .hack//Intermezzo, .hack//Unison
Alternative setting:	.hack//Liminality
Side story:	.hack//Gift
Other:	.hack//Quantum, .hack//The Movie: Sekai no Mukou ni

More characters

Characters & Voice Actors

Tsukasa

Main

Saiga, Mitsuki
Japanese

Subaru

Main

Nazuka, Kaori
Japanese

Mimiru

Main

Toyoguchi, Megumi
Japanese

Bear

Main

Nakata, Kazuhiro
Japanese

Balmung

Supporting

Hiyama, Nobuyuki
Japanese

Sora

Supporting

Yanaka, Hiroshi
Japanese

Crim

Supporting

Miki, Shinichiro
Japanese

Aura

Supporting

Sakamoto, Maaya
Japanese

Macha

Supporting

Helba

Supporting

Touma, Yumi
Japanese

More staff

Staff

Sasaki, Shirou

Producer

Nozaki, Keiichi

Producer

Uchiyama, Daisuke

Producer

Maru, Ryouji

Producer, Production Manager

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Opening Theme

"Obsession" by See-Saw

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Ending Theme

"Yasashii Yoake (優しい夜明け)" by See-Saw

Reviews

Mar 5, 2024

LemonadeSamurai

Recommended

I'm going to be honest. This is a masterpiece and you need to see it. Ignore the score it has and watch it. It needs way more love for how compelling it is

First off let's start with the opening. The opening intro is incredibly well done and alluring. One of the best anime openings of the 2000s.

The characters? There aren't many but they're heavily developed as the story unfolds and they all have a story to tell.

The setting is an MMORPG called The World where a young boy named Tsubasa is suddenly teleported to. He didn't go there willingly and he has no ...

Open

Gift

Jan 21, 2024

GeneralSexy

Mixed Feelings

I'm not sure how to feel about this one. At first glance it's about an mmo full of combat and exploration and.....it has none of that. At all. You see 4 monsters in the show total. Apparently one of the most popular mmo's of all time in universe with millions of players. You'll see about 57 people in the background over the entire show. But the main characters will bump into each other constantly as if guided by some other-wordly force (not even getting into the fact of the entire main cast living in the exact same city, what a HUGE coincidence). And with a ... soundtrack that is odd at some times, very good at others but usually ill-fitting of what's usually going on

And yet, despite all that, it had me hooked. I wanted to know more about the breadcrumbs of plot it would give us, about the characters, their motives, their personality, both in and out of the game. Hack will spend most of it's time having the cast meet up in pairs of 2 and slowly (and I mean really slowly) get to know each other. Sometimes they'll be deep discussions, sometimes they'll talk about current topics, but most of the time it will be about nothing at all. Just like how we would in real life. It doesn't make for the most interesting viewing experience but it does build up these characters, love them or hate them you'll get to know them pretty well. But not as well as you'd like, because just as this show finally picks up it's pace and decides it's time to finally actually have a plot and reveal it's hand about "The World" and what's really going on?

The show ends

One of the most abrupt ends ever to end a show as the entire cast is lazily force logged out of the game right at the final battle and.....that's it . I felt like I was just sucker punched in the gut. All the build-up of getting to know this cast, finally seeing them put their differences aside for a greater cause, and it's all for nothing. You'll get a brief 20 second shot of Tsukasas's fate which is actually very sweet, but I feel as if we were robbed of a lot more. All of these characters we had grew to love or hate are cruelly ripped away from us via an abrupt fade to black. Did Subaru finally come to terms with the real world and the difficulties it brings? Did Silver Knight find his purpose without Subaru and the Crimson Knights? Did BT find that connection she was deeply missing in her heart? Who the hell were Helba and Balmung? AND WHAT ABOUT EVERYTHING WITH SORA AT THE LAST 2 MINUTES? And many more questions

Unfortunately it seems that 70% of the questions you have won't be answered, because we won't see 2/3 of this cast ever again, outside of a few cameo's in the Hack IMOQ videogames and the short 20 minute OVA which is a final farewell send-off not just for the characters of Hack sign, but for everyone in this series. That includes the characters of 2 short novels, 4 videogames and 2 anime shows. So I've got a ways to go before I can comment on if that ones a worthy send-off or not, but as of right now I just feel let down

For a story that tries to tell a message of how important it is not to lose yourself in videogames and escape the real world but to instead embrace it, we never get to see anyone outside of it, except for a few brief flickering shots, it will merely tell us how certain characters have met in real life, but it will never expand upon it or show us. And I really wanted more of that. Their motivations and desires in real life were what drove them in the game. Silver Knight and his desire for justice, Bt and her desire to be loved, Bear and his desire to protect others, Mimiru and her desire for friendship and so much more. And that really breaks my heart, because despite all of it's shortcomings and weak budget this show had that something special that pulled so many people back when it first aired that wasn't just a fluke, as it's pulled me in even now all these years later.

My brain says 6/10
My heart says 8/10
I'll settle on a final score of 7/10

Open

Gift

Dec 21, 2023

TheWiseChampion

Not Recommended

I don't often write reviews as I like to just enjoy and appreciate what I'm watching, but this anime was a complete waste of time. Not to sound immature but with the fantasy RPG setting, the massive franchise it spawned, and the flashy upbeat opening, I thought this was gonna be some grand, action-packed epic adventure. It was not. It's 26 episodes of everyone just moping and talking. Not that talking's bad, but where did any of these conversations go? Absolutely nowhere. I don't care about any of these characters. They're so dull and flat. The main character whose name I never remember even while ...

Open

Gift

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.hack//Sign

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Characters & Voice Actors

Tsukasa

Subaru

Mimiru

Bear

Balmung

Sora

Crim

Aura

Macha

Helba

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.hack//Sign

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Information

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Available At

Resources

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Synopsis

Background

Visit MALxJapan MALxJapan -More than just anime-

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Staff

Opening Theme

Ending Theme

Reviews

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