The general consensus of Hack//Sign is that the story's boring, there is almost no action and it doesn't make fast progress. While some of these points are quite true, the story is one of character development and interaction. The viewer learn more about every side character through their interaction with the rest of the cast, their surroundings and gradually helps move the plot. The plot is one of clashing and matching personalities, driven by mysteries.
.Hack//Sign, The story:
+ It's detailed
- It does feel slow at times
Then, we have the art, fun scenery's and great character designs do give you the feel of an online game world that was actually thought out (see the games .hack//IMOQ and .hack//Frägment). The animation however, is quite sloppy and the characters themselves aren't drawn very detailed.
+ The art does create the illusion of an actual MMORPG
+ Great and original character designs
Then we have the Sound, if there was an option to give it more then a ten out of ten, then I would choose it. The compositions by Yuki Kajiura, are in my opinion, what lifts the anime up from a meagre 7 to a 10. With an enormous array of songs and tunes, Yuki adds depth to the art and the story, giving it time when the characters need time and hypes the viewer when it's going down.
+ Yuki Kajiura's music is truly a work of art
The characters of .Hack//Sign are gamers, and thus some try to act online like someone they aren't. Some take their offline situations into the game and some try to forget them instead.
Complex emotions and double personalities are just some of the things you can find here.
+ Character actually have character progress without it being important to the main storyline
