Rating: 
Summary: The Rabbit Hole Deepens
Review: What seems to be Earth's largest and most popular online role-playing game community continues to be unbalanced by Tsukasa, a player trapped in "The World," which is accessed with the use of a headset with goggles. Strange alliances form: B.T. wavers between her friends Mimiru and Bear, to work with the deadly player-killer Sora, who is also working with the law-enforcing Crimson Knights, who are acting without the knowledge of their leader, Lady Subaru, to separate Tsukasa from his monster/guardian and capture him. Confused? You will be if this is your first ".hack" DVD. You cannot start this in mid-series. The plot, which moves slowly and is filled with philosophizing and conversation, requires a good knowledge of computers, online communities and gaming, and an open mind. This episode also showcases .hack's double-edged sword, character development, which is both it's best aspect and its worst. All the main characters continue to be fleshed out: the Crimson Knights' squad leader as a frustrated but obedient soldier; Lady Subaru as a curious woman, with waning leadership skills; Crim, as a truly good-intentioned heavy swordsman, as well as the continuing growth of Mimiru and Bear. However, they introduce a first time player named A-20, who attaches herself to Mimiru, and like Tsukasa, is awkward with meeting people. Mimiru takes her to a dungeon event to boost her experience points, etcetera. This is the last you will see of A-20. Why bring her into the series? Just a few more of these character-types will show up in .hack: barely introduced players with no major impact on the plot other than in the episode they appear in. Again, my displeasure with the way the series ends and the plot and character holes it leaves may all be wrong, depending on how and if they continue and finish this series. As it ends, you are left with more questions (although many are answered) than closure by the time you roll through the credits of the 26th and final episode, in what I'm hoping is only the first season. If there is more to follow, .hack can be great. If there isn't, what a letdown of an ending. Tremendous art, great, but sometimes overwhelming and overused music, and awesome vocal performances on both sides (Japanese and English). Put on the subtitles and watch in Japanese for a deeper, more confusing philosophical take, and watch in English for a more Cartoon Network, user-friendly perspective. Recommended with the hope that another season or series continues where this one leaves off.
Rating: 
Summary: Enrapturing and inspiring.
Review: When people think anime, they think violence, curse words, sometimes nudity, and sometimes even worse things. Dot Hack Sign, however, is a step above all of them. The Dot Hack Sign story is fantastic, and considering that Dot Hack Sign relies wholly upon its story to keep its viewers interested, that's saying quite a lot. People who have become hooked on anime for its violence, action, destruction, and adult content should avoid Dot Hack Sign. There is very, very little action in the series (I've seen all of it, so I know), and it is liable to bore people who are more interested in flashy animation. Dot Hack Sign's story, however, is enthralling. The characters are developed so well, and the story executed so wonderfully, that you find yourself actually caring about what goes on. After watching all of the series, I even found myself caught up in it for several days afterward. It is that sort of story that endears itself to you, so that you'll never forget it. As mentioned before, the story progresses slowly, but you can easily get caught up into it and don't notice. Normal 25-minute episodes seem to stretch for an hour, which is only a bad thing if you have to go to the bathroom. The story spans itself across all of the episodes, and there aren't any "breather" episodes that provide a pause in the story (instead, the writers cleverly wrote an episode or two like that into the story). This provides a very solid story, though you're in trouble if you miss an episode. Overall, this is my favorite anime series out of all that I have seen (and I have seen many), and that is not to disparage anime. In fact, I can safely say that this is my most favorite series of any genre, anime or otherwise. Recommended to: People who love character development and long, elaborate, and great stories. People who want a great story that catches them and makes them actually care about it and its characters. Not recommended to: People who like action and violence, and lots of it, people who are looking for traditional Western stories, or people who dislike stories that develop slowly.
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