.hack//G.U. Trilogy

I had high hopes for GU trilogy. The games were loads of fun and the game story line was one of the best since SIGN and the first quartet. I was a tad skeptical that they would be able to capture the dynamic of the GU story in a one 90 minute film and boy was my skepticism right. In short .hack//GU Trilogy is made for those who have played the games and not for those who haven't. If you watched Roots but haven't played GU I would suggest not watching this movie.

The story is of ... course based on the GU trilogy of games for the PS2, the immediate sequel to .hack//Roots. And this film is supposed to be a film adaption, or so I thought. In reality GU trilogy is an expensive and choppy recap and abridgment of the GU Story, made entirely for those who have played the games. Unlike most, I understand the difficult task of adapting medium into film, so naturally I wasn't expecting a 100% loyal adaption, but I was expecting that this film would make sense to a person who has never played GU. It doesn't, it's like watching ".hack//GU abridged" only with out the humor and jokes of the Abridge series that litter YouTube today. It was appalling how quickly and pathetically this story jumps from one scene to another, no exposition is conveyed, no character development is conveyed, nothing, it's as I've said a million times by now, an over the top and over expensive recap of the GU. It was as bad as the writing in Blade of the Immortal.

The music score which was amazing in the games was all but dropped from the film. I barley heard any of the great themes from the games by Chikayo Fukuda. Tomoyo Mitani the vocalist did provide some nice vocal tracks of course, but they pale in comparison to her tracks in the games. The music is far and few between and silence is used way over the top.

The Japanese acting in this was beyond dreadful. Expressions and grunts were over emphasized and frankly the English dub track in the games is much more pleasing than in this. As this has no dub I had to rely on the fansubs and my own imagination to hear the voice cast I liked. The only plus to the Japanese acting in this case was that Endrance didn't sound like the tormented artist like he did in the English dub of the game. Most of the time you hear overly dramatic grunts and sighs and yells.

The 3D graphics are however rather good. They look much like the cut scenes in the game and the action is spectacular almost to the level of Advent Children. However there were several bad facial renderings and really silly expressions. The director did allow the camera to move, when I was fearing the action would static and uninteresting. The action scenes are great and they would be perfect for an AMV.

Overall GU is just plain horrible. It was made for those who have played the games, and one 90 minute film simply would not do it justice. CC had a great opportunity to make and interesting movie based on the games. Instead they made it into a long and expensive recap. They should have made three 2 1/2 hour movies to fully tell the story in depth, and to even make it remotely interesting. If you are thinking of watching this, don't waste your 90 minutes you'll be horribly lost and confused. Play the games instead.

This review may contain spoilers. Please do NOT read it if you are going to watch this movie.

Well, first of all, I didn't play the .hack games, but since I got interested in the story I read the GU+ manga. Therefore I will be comparing the movie and the manga. So let's see what the movie offers us.

Story:
The story presented in G.U. Trilogy is incomplete and full of leaks. There is a strong focus on the relationship between Atoli and Haseo which becomes annoying pretty fast. In contrast to this it is hardly explained what Epitaph Users are and who have got the Morgana Factors. ... Also the movie is missing the Net Crisis and the reason of Ovan killing other player (collecting the 8 Morgana Factors for Aura's rebirth).

Art:
Well, this is of course amazing. But sometimes some really strange facial expressions were shown, some full of exaggeration. I espially liked Yata's appearance who doesn't look as lame as in the manga, lol.

Sound:
Yes, this is the part where I've got to seperate. On the first hand we've got some awesome OST which I really love and enjoy listening to them while I'm drawing. Therefore it's a pity that the only melody I could remember being used in the movie several times is Liar's Smile.
On the second hand we've got the voice actors. They DID their job. Aber the text itself was awful. I've got to mention here that Haseo is screaming half of the movie. I mean - 2 or 3 times are okay, but everytime something bad or dramatic happens? Pathetic.

Character:
Too bad the only character who are really shown are Haseo, Ovan and Atoli. It even takes time during watching to recognize the names of the GU project's members. And though Haseo kept fighting for her all the time, you only see Shino dieing in the cathedral.
Another aspect I didn't like (there is plenty of them..) was that the movie didn't show the relationship between the World and real persons sitting at their computer. My boyfriend who I watched this movie with told me that he couldn't take this all for serious knowing it's just a MMO.
Atoli is shown more annoying than in the manga, but I guess it's her role. And Haseo.. since he was screaming and screaming and fell down to the ground because of his despair.. no, I didn't like him either.

Enjoyment:
Actually I only can enjoy it if you:
1. like clichés, because the movie is full of it
2. REALLY are interested in the story of .hack, but here again the story isn't very thrilling
3. can laugh about all the things I have criticized because that's what my boyfriend and me did after a while.

Overall:
All in all, I would definitely NOT recommend this movie. Though I don't think the manga is great or special, I believe that the movie even more horrible.

Please, don't watch this, especially if you have never played the games. The games' plot is amazing, but this movie proceeds to ruin it in every way possible. Do yourself a favor and play the game.

There are scenes in a different and weird order, and others were brutally skipped or ruined. There are some cute additions, but they aren't enough to justify watching it.

It also randomly forgets to explain important plot points, while instead trying to create a love story between Atoli and Haseo, which ultimately means nothing to the viewer because they never showed their friendship moments in the first movie.

It's one thing to try and adapt a game into a movie. It's got challenges, things to cut, and you really sacrifice a lot in the transition. We have a different beast here, trying to adapt 3 ENTIRE GAMES INTO A SINGLE 90-MINUTE MOVIE.

I played the games back in the day, and I have the plot fresh in my mind. You can easily make a movie out of each game, honestly. The problem with the material is the illogical emotions displayed. The game asks from the player suspension of disbelief to a high degree, and it isn't that big of a problem since you do ... get to slowly enjoy the characters and world. I could get invested after two hours, but this is a movie that expects you to believe everything thrown at you in less than that with 3 games of plot.

It doesn't work, it's impossible for it to work. Putting myself in the shoes of a newcomer, this is the most incomprehensible movie ever. Motives, twists, arcs, and terrible editing. Movie vs. audience. Sadly, it's not even a summary. Served more as a cutscene compilation from disjointed moments of every game, with original scenes that make no sense, with or without the context.

The only thing I like, is the animation. Stylish CG animation that doesn't care about realism, but on the flow. The big fights, with some unintentionally funny, and exaggerated expressions that could work in a well-written work. I'm sad that that's the only good aspect, and some people seem to hate that too.

2/10. Excellent stock footage to make edits, and music videos for the series.