I've been a fan of the .hack franchise for quite a long time. I came to it through .hack//Sign in high school and followed it into the games, exploring the other animes as they came out. So when I heard the announcement for .hack//Quantum I was very excited, but after the initial character design shots I was skeptical. Female characters of both Kite and Balmung, to me, screams unnecessary and pandering to fanboys; and adding a character whose literally Blackrose with a different hairstyle really annoyed me as it seemed extremely pointless and lazy. However I eventually downloaded them and sat down one evening to
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pound it out, and I'm pleased to say my skepticism was misplaced. Despite the strange choice in characters .hack//Quantum stands out as a very strong addition to the franchise, on the level of both Sign and Roots.
For more in depth analysis, continue reading below. To see an overview simply skip to the end.
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Story:
The story begins with our three main characters (Asuma/Sakuya (female Kite), Iori/Tobias (female Balmung), and Eri/Mary (different Blackrose)) who are questing in a rather high level dungeon and, through Sakuya's foolishness, cause the death of several guild members who were partaking in a boss fight. After that they retire for the night and we are treated to a bit of exposition where we learn that our three protagonists, and probably the whole of Japan if not the world, has a microchip implanted inside them (that can only lead to good things, right?). After that Sakuya logs in to meet a strange character named Hermit, who appears to be our token cat character for this installment, and through the bounty on her head the two are thrown into a series of events that leads them, as well as Tobias and Mary, into a strange area known as the Pariah Folder. It's here that they can experience the same pain that their avatars do and when Eri is PKed by a random attacker she is sent into a coma in real life. It's then that Sakuya and Tobias decide that they'll do whatever it takes to get their friend back, and they might just have some help along the way.
Characters:
With only 3 episodes, and with a decent amount of story to tell, there isn't as much character development as in the two high points of the franchise (Sign and Roots), but there's still several bright spots to be found when watching. Though I initially thought the main character Sakuya was rather annoying, after witnessing her friend getting PKed and put into a coma she truly grows up a bit more and becomes a more likeable character. Hermit is another bright spot in the show, introduced as the mysterious cat person he carries the most secrets of the show, rivaled only by one other character. Hermit's mysterious yet playful and childish personality make him one of the most enjoyable characters in the show. It's unfortunate that Tobias doesn't get as much screentime as her foolish friend Sakuya, but as the more mature and reliable of the two we don't get to see her as much, still she does make a decent appearance and is a nice presence in the finale episode. Mary, unfortunately, gets little screentime outside the first episode what with her being PKed at the end of it. There is one other character who I did not hear named, a mysterious character with a young girl for an avatar (the best character design in the show, by far), who is referred to as 'Shamrock' according to MAL (the leader of the guild Sakuya got killed). She possesses a skill longtime fans of the series will know right away and, it's highly possible she is Pi's avatar in this version of The World (especially since she's done by the same voice actress)
Art & Sound:
It's tempting to simply write 'amazing' and knock off early when talking about the art, but that is the best way to describe the art. As it is an OVA, and much shorter than most other .hack anime, there's a lot of quality in the art; to the point where it is probably the best animated and best flowing of all the others. For only having 3 episodes there's a surprising amount of action, kicking pretty much right from the get go, and it's here that you can really tell that they've brought the A game. The sound is perhaps the weakest area of the anime (though that isn't saying much), since there's not much time to create memorable scores or background music. However it still manages to piece together a very suitable soundtrack, as well as including several sounds from other parts of the franchise for long time fans.
Enjoyment:
While initially skeptical going into the series, the 3 episode OVA has proven to be another strong addition to the .hack franchise. With all the Easter Eggs thrown in for longtime fans of the series, paired with the great artwork, it was hard not to like .hack//Quantum.
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So overall was .hack//Quantum a worthy addition of such a good franchise? With only 3 episodes to tell it's story it feels as if there are a few bits left out (especially if this is your first foray into the .hack series), but overall it stands on it's own. Being set a few decades into the future gives it far more of a pass regarding the coma aspect than other installments to the series, and the technology used is actually something that might happen one day in our lifetimes. So to those wondering if this is the best place to jump into .hack, I would quickly tell you to check out both Sign and Roots before venturing here but it isn't a horrible jumping on point, you will be confused regarding several things though (such as what Data Drain actually is). But to fans of the series who have not yet watched .hack//Quantum, or to those skeptical about it's moe-esque appearance, don't let that fool you. Underneath lies a well told story, some interesting characters and the best animation you've ever seen in a .hack anime. Fans of the series, do yourself a favour and watch this as soon as you can.
Alternative Titles
Japanese: .hack//Quantum
Information
Type:
OVA
Episodes:
3
Status:
Finished Airing
Aired:
Jan 28, 2011 to Apr 7, 2011
Licensors:
Funimation
Studios:
Kinema Citrus
Source:
Original
Theme:
Video Game
Duration:
26 min. per ep.
Rating:
PG-13 - Teens 13 or older
Statistics
Ranked:
#36922
2
based on the top anime page. Please note that 'Not yet aired' and 'R18+' titles are excluded.
Popularity:
#3486
Members:
40,980
Favorites:
71
Available AtResourcesStreaming Platforms | Reviews
Filtered Results: 9 / 10
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Your Feelings Categories Jul 25, 2011
I've been a fan of the .hack franchise for quite a long time. I came to it through .hack//Sign in high school and followed it into the games, exploring the other animes as they came out. So when I heard the announcement for .hack//Quantum I was very excited, but after the initial character design shots I was skeptical. Female characters of both Kite and Balmung, to me, screams unnecessary and pandering to fanboys; and adding a character whose literally Blackrose with a different hairstyle really annoyed me as it seemed extremely pointless and lazy. However I eventually downloaded them and sat down one evening to
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Apr 10, 2012
The existence of .Hack//Quantum immediately brings up the question: How many damn times will Namco Bandai rehash the same story in the same franchise?
STORY: Once upon a time, there was a video game company that made a really popular online game called The World (Though in the real world, the game that is housed within the game has a very questionable popularity, as in does anyone really care for .hack anymore?), the game was an incredibly flawed game where hacking is the only way to do any cool shit, and strange phenomenons that cause people in real life fall unconscious into a coma like state, ... Mar 12, 2013
Having followed .hack since the days of .hack//SIGN it's pretty safe to say I'm quite the fan of the franchise. I've seen every anime installment out there and I was actually excited for this. While mixed feelings of Kinmea Citrus taking over from longtime.hack// animation house Bee Train I was wondering how a new studio would take a new anime and I can say it's a fun and entertaining watch sure to be accessible to newcomers but may be a bit of a turn off for longtime watchers for my self.
Animation and art wise Quantum was certainly sporting production values lacking from some previous installments ... Feb 4, 2017
A complete newbie to .hack in all it's forms I went into this with no expectations aside from a few recommendations from friends after finishing up Log Horizon some time ago. I will also say this is my first ever real OVA experience which makes me a bit jarred by the necessities of storytelling in that medium.
I will say overall I enjoyed Quantum, a fun little, if dramatic and heartfelt journey that may not have left me with any real impression of whether or not I wish to continue with the franchise as a whole but certainly leaving me with a lot of enjoyment for ... May 17, 2011
This feels like a general Re/Introduction To the World of .hack (anime wise). If you've not seen .hack and This is a really nice and straight to the point welcome to The World, but it's not quite the same as the older stuff. People who have seen .hack before, while the general plot of coma is here, it's a motive, different take, and a different way of seeing "the World" Half the time you're In Real Life. It's quite balanced in it's approach, it's not as...light and...comedy(?) filled as Legends of the Twilight Bracelet and not...overly emotion as SIGN or GU. I'm Actually temped to
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May 10, 2015
I saw this on Netflix and watched out of pure curiosity since I've seen some of .hack//SIGN. It's a solid OVA with likable and funny characters and should be watched by any fan of the series. I think that five episodes would have sufficed for this story because even though it was and OVA, they built a good story from the first episode and the two episodes afterwards felt rushed towards a somewhat incomplete ending.
Feb 15, 2012
I never watched much .hack,
but now I'm quite interested in the series. This series took me into the journey of the regular "what if games were real?", but it had the touches of characters that were able to draw soft spots, (brilliant character designs). The emotions portrayed by the plot, were oddly relatable as the voice acting (japanese) was very well done. I would say, however, I enjoyed the action scenes the most, as they were well choreographed and the stayed very close to the "video game" motif. Aug 19, 2016
As a viewer who has never actually seen most of the .hack// series I decided to view .hack//Quantum as a way to get me interested in the rest of the series. In short, I would say that yes I am interested in the rest of the series. And I would definitely recommend to a friend who was interested in seeing new anime or in watching the rest of the series itself like me.
However, as many other reviews for this anime have stated .hack//Quantum does not seem to stand up to the rest of the series as a whole and I might recommend for a viewer ... May 30, 2017
.hack//Quantum is an great example of a show that is fantastic on the surface level but is held back by poor, and at times nonsensical and confusing, storytelling.
A summary of the opening episode is this: Three high school girls are playing a generically named anime cliche, "The World". They see a guild get taken out by a really OP boss monster and the stupid lovable main character girl picks up some unnamed item. They log off. The MC girl logs back in alone the next day to find that, for some reason, she is being hunted by a gang of nameless videogame mercs. While ... |