All that said, Liminality was a bit too disjointed and inconsequential for me. The first three episodes mainly serve to introduce each of the three main female cast members, followed by a finale where the crew undertakes a mission against the main threat. Unlike most .hack series', Liminality takes place almost entirely in the real world, as opposed to the game, 'The World.' This is normally a talking point for those who praise Liminality as it is novel, though it removes a bit of context and makes Liminality more of a standard investigative series.
There is a number of things Liminality does quite well, starting with the title. The concept of Liminality can be summarized as the dissonant space that lies between those uninitiated into a ritual and true believers of a ritual's powers. This is actually a really interesting topic, one I wouldn't expect from an anime (much less an OVA of 4 episodes), and gets a decent amount of dialog to explain how it pertains to the story's events. Sound design has always been something I've considered Bee Train quite good at, to which Liminality is not an exception. The cast are all pretty interesting and likeable considering how little time you share with them and visual design benefits from things like Bee Train's eclectic shot pacing and angles as well as attention to detail. I spent at least a minute or two marveling that a phone's antenna poked through a character's hair while she was on the phone, for example.
That said, the flaws in the show are still pretty glaring. Side characters are exceptionally important for an episode only to be never mentioned again, one of the main characters really doesn't provide any usefulness in the final episode to the point one wonders why she even was necessary, very vague romance implications feel more like filler than characterization, and the whole investigative aspect feels lacking, perhaps due to the series' abruptness or because it is not strong enough to stand on its own without supporting lore from other media in the series.
If you're a fan of Bee Train or the .hack series, you might enjoy the ride, though otherwise I can't say I recommend it.
