Okay, well, this anime is kind of awful.
Chronologically, this isn't even the first in the .hack// timeline, because Bandai keeps tacking shit onto this franchise. Anyway, it's basically about what would happen if Shinji Ikari played video games. Tsukasa, the main character, wakes up in The World, the first Virtual Reality MMORPG since some supervirus stomped all over the internet. He can't remember how he got there or who he is, and soon discovers that he can't even log out of the damn game. After running into some douchebags who want to jump his ass for supposedly hacking, he acquires some wacky ass jello bullshit that flies around and kicks peoples asses for him. From there, Tsukasa and his friends attempt to figure out the reason as to why he can't log out, and end up unraveling the dark secrets about what The World really is.
Sound cool? I thought so too. As it turns out, Bee Train pulled a fast one and replaced all the cool aspects of playing an MMORPG (like bitchin' ass spells, gunblades, implying other player's parents are really the same gender, etc.) with half-assed attempts at exploring the concepts of escapism, and how interpersonal relationships affect us as humans. Now, I consider myself a sophisticated member of society. I have no problem with slow paced, character driven shows, but if I'm going to be watching a show that's 85 percent dialogue, I'm expecting a lot more in terms of plot and character development than what I was given. They even managed to fuck up the lesbian undertones by making one of them a cripple. Come on, Bee Train, cripple porn? I never thought you'd sink that low.
The art is fantastic. Beautifully painted backgrounds, imaginative character designs (although that's to be expected, considering they were done by Yoshiyuki Sadamoto) and for the most part top notch animation come together to make the anime really stand out. Plot aside, if you really dig artsy shit, you'll be able to appreciate the detail that went into the show.
The sound is great too. The soundtrack has a way of both perfectly fitting and amplifying the tone of the scene, and the voice acting is pretty awesome as well.
As for the characters, they start off as your typical bunch of anime cliches but then the metric fuckton of dialogue hits and character development starts to make its way through. Tsukasa starts off as a stoic jerkass who develops into Shinji Ikari: Part Deux, Mimiru is the happy-go-lucky only-sane-one (especially considering the dysfunction junction that is the rest of the cast) who plays the game for fun, Bear is the cool old guy/big damn hero/Shepard, BT is the condescending information broker (who hates lettuce, remember that), the Silver Knight is the cliche shounen hero that FIGHTS FOR JUSTICE who, through character development, stops being so bombastic and douchey and starts being a more approachable big damn hero, Subaru is the shrinking violet/woman in charge with a twist, Crim is the ridiculously over-the-top large ham with unrealistic hair and an unnervingly large sense of honor, Helba is the hacker, Sora is the lovable jerkass who assaults women in-game, etc. Most of them seem to take more pleasure in standing around talking to each other about their real lives than in actually playing the game, though. I guess that's the point, seeing as the anime is all about interpersonal relationships, but it certainly does bog down the dialogue with a lot of useless information. And implications about lesbian cripples. Ugh.
Overall, if you like boring shit, you'll love .hack//SIGN.
