MovieChat Forums > .hack//SIGN (2003) Discussion > hmm...not sure about this series

hmm...not sure about this series

posted 20 years ago by jaydub331
12 replies | jump to latest

ok flame me if you want, but i'm giving this anime series a chance. i started watching it and i'm about eight episodes in. first off, the concept i think is brilliant. but i think where it kind of annoys me is that fact that i feel these characters are playing in "the world" like 24/7. i mean don't they have lives? like they make tsukasa seem like such a big friggin' deal. what about paying their mortgage, or their job, or getting into school in the REAL WORLD etc.? i'm sorry that there's so much politics between scarlet knights, tsukasa, his monster/guardian, but why don't these characters worry too much about their lives outside "the world"? i just don't get it. maybe it's just the execution, it'd be a lot more effective, at least in my opinion, if they show as much of what happens outside as they do in "the world" or maybe if the characters said something like, "oh well, too bad about that, but i gotta do my homework and go grocery shopping for mom, bye." i'll watch more but it just bothers me. what do you guys think?

[–] 20 years ago

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[–] Swashbucklist 20 years ago

Anime Japanese art, and this anime is a Japanese TV show. In Japan, education is absolutely paramount, and people use animanga[my term for anime&manga] for escapism. The fact that the characters rarely refer to the real world suggests that they're putting their concerns aside and living temporarily with more fun concerns.

.hack//sign may also stand as a metaphor of realtime escapism to the Japanese audience (just a thought).

"Kenka suru hi de mashumaru."

"It's the CLIMAX!!"

[–] jaydub331 20 years ago

i suppose you're right, but with every other anime series i've seen everything makes sense within the context of the story. with the matrix trilogy (off topic comparison), they blend in the real world with the matrix. i just don't see why they don't do it with this. and you said "living temporarily" but it feels more like they're in the "the world" all the time, as if that's the only thing they care about. imo, if they're going to make it go in the direction of "the world" affecting the real world, they should do it earlier in the series so then that WOULD make sense that the characters really care about what's going in "the world". don't get me wrong, i understand what you're saying about escapism. the problem is that i can't buy it with this series, meaning that it just plain doesn't work for me. but thanks for your input.

[–] Swashbucklist 20 years ago

You're welcom!

"We don't have to win. We just have to make sure we don't lose."

"It's the CLLIMAX!!"

[–] tsukasa1987 20 years ago

they do worry about the outside world. kurimu (crim) is always on a business trip when he's talking to BT and sometimes to Subaru. Bear talks about his job a little. Mimiru talks about why she has to log out and so does everyone else. They also show Subaru in her wheelchair crying on the computer screen.

[–] jaydub331 20 years ago

hmm...i think it's the fact that they don't SHOW that side that bothers me. i mean even if bear talks about his job, that conversation still takes place in "the world." i'd rather see him in the real world doing his everyday thing and be like "oh...now i gotta hop back in the game world, see you real world people". that's just me though.

[–] 20 years ago

[deleted]

[–] mlloyd-3 20 years ago

Well, there's another series out called .hack//Legend of the Twilight Bracelet, and there is more interaction in the real world. A little childish in my opinion, but not a bad series.

"If you wish to taste the ground, feel free to attack me." ~ Kenshin Himura

[–] heavyarmscustom 19 years ago

The only problem i see in this show is that the actor that plays Tsukasa and Elk is a girl. It just seems wrong since Tsukasa in "the World" is a boy and the character Elk, from the game is a boy. It would have seemed not as wierd if the makers would have had a seperate actor for Tsukasa in "The World" and for the real Tsukasa. This is just a kids perspective so you don't have to listen to what i have to say.

[–] Paladin356 19 years ago

I remember this series was pretty dark. It doesnt take place 24/7 however, there are certain times where characters will be logged off, or have to step away from their computer. For example, Mimiru had to go away, and her character just stood VERY still. When i say very, i mean no movement whatsoever. There was real world interaction as well. And, in my opinion, it was done in a very clever way. *Spoiler Warning* Besides the part at the end of the series where Subaru and Tsukasa meet in the real world, there were scenes about Tsukasa's Doctor. This was done all in a silent fashion as well. The character's lips would move, and then the screen would change to the dialogue. The picture was a bit disoriented as I recall. I thought it made the scene dark. I think the series tried to emphasize on the fact that its based in an online game. Project .hack is basically an imitation of an online RPG, and this is seen throughout the Manga, Video games, and .hack//Legend of the Twilight. Though, Twilight has a lighter tone to it, and takes place in both worlds.

[–] TissuePaper13 19 years ago

The only problem i see in this show is that the actor that plays Tsukasa and Elk is a girl

Many female voice actors play males, for example Bart, Chibi Goku/Goten. And If you've seen the DBZ episodes Frieza is also played by a girl, and looks like one and somehow is a guy.

[–] AkirQueen 19 years ago

In the Japanese version, Tsukasa and Elk were voiced by a girl as well (same voice actress, too)