.hack//The Movie: Sekai no Mukou ni

I normally don't write reviews for things but after watching this I definitely needed to vent.

Pros.

So first, it's not the worst thing I've ever seen I guess? The aesthetic was interesting in that it used two different styles for real and game worlds. The animation on the faces was fluid and detailed, especially on Kite.

There were also a few fun moments when Sora starts playing the game and learns the controls.

Cons.

... So now the bad stuff.

The biggest issue is that this movie feels incredibly far removed from the rest of the series. Sure, there's the callback character designs to Kite, Balmung and Orca, Aura's in it and they play the "note" twice, but there isn't much tying this entry to the rest of the franchise.

Everyone seems to have forgotten the events of G.U. and the original games despite the incidents making headline news at the time.

No one recognized the Kite model (which is kind of hinted at to maybe actually be Kite, since it's male despite having a female playe, premade, and named Kite but that doesn't go anywhere).

They don't even seem to be playing the same game anymore (I know it's a different version of the World technically, but R2 kept a lot of the same classes and some of the areas from the first version). The big finale is an airship battle that looks like a cutscene from Final Fantasy XII.

This movie basically tried to turn .hack// into a slice of life, shoujo story that kind involves MMORPGs, which theoretically could be good, but it's not even done well here.

What made the .hack// series good was always how the various anime and games explored the reasons people played games, whether it's to escape from reality, make friends, kill time, etc. No other franchise ever looks at gaming and "gamers" the way .hack// did or has since and that made it unique for me.

There is none of that here in this movie though. It feels as if someone unfamiliar with the franchise took a couple recognizable parts from earlier entires, threw them haphazardly into a safe, feel good plot. It's just lacking in all the key areas.

This will be a short review. The main point I'd like to make is that this .hack movie has an intriguing package but in the end is unsatisfactory.

Story: I won't spoil anything but I want to say that the story is intriguing in the beginning, while the actual cause of the problems in The World this time to me is disappointing.

Art: Good, even if I'm not a big fan of this type of CG in movie animations, landscapes and characters (real and in The World) are well done.

Sound: Fair, nothing special, just OK.

Character: Good, personalities are well characterized and I've empathized with the protagonists.

Enjoyment: Fair, ... the plot is engaging, the rhythm is well paced and the fights exciting, except for the "last mission" maybe.

Overall: I think it's a fair movie, you can watch it if bored on a rainy night but the .hack series has better anime.

Take this "review" with caution, english is not my mother language so i feel i can't make a proper review, take this like a bunch of opinions of a friend of yours.
So, long story short, i think this is more enjoyable if you aren't a fan of the series, paradoxically if you are a fan of the .hack// series i think this will leave you with a bittersweet aftertaste. The story is basically about friendship and take place after years of all the main series (Sign, G.U, tasogare, ecc) we know, so aside the avatar's design of the main heroine and some events mentioned ... this is totally unrelated to other series.

The cgi is actually good when they are in "The World", at the same time is pretty bad when the story take place in the real world.
The first half was pretty boring in my opinion, it focus a lot on the build up of the story(which is good) but taking place 70% of the time in the real world, so basically bad cgi. The second half have a lot of action and good coreography, but at the same time lacks something.

For the sound repart: i've seen the movie in japanese with english subtitle (yes,i understand english very well, but can't make a proper speech) and the voice actors weren't really good, in particular the voice actress of the main heroine was very annoying every time she screams. Honorable mention for the soundtrack, as always the hack series doesn't disappoint.

Overall for me is a 5/10, good ideas here and there but with bland realization, this movie has its ups and downs but still enjoyable.