Average Rating: 
Rating:  - Great series, looks like a great Box Set
I have seen the entire series and it is one of my favorites, ranking right up there with EVA and Cowboy Bebop. It's very easy to give too much of the story away, but basically pretend you are playing a MMORPG one day, and you go to logout, but can't. That's the start of the story for Tsukasa. However it develops a great deal from there and is never boring, a downfall of many series. I couldn't wait to see the next episode, and I had to limit myself to watching one a day to keep myself from blowing through it in a weekend. The storyline overall is serious and dramatic, but not excessively. There is no sappy high school lovestory to suffer through, no horribly shallow characters. If you liked Lain, EVA, and Cowboy Bebop, I think you will like this one to. Subaru is by far my favorite character, while all the others are well done and fit in their roles nicely. The animation is very good. The music gets it's own paragraph. It's simply outstanding. I often found myself ignoring the dialogue just to listen to amazing songs like "Fake Wings". That soundtrack included with this set will not just be a filler I promise you. I don't do many reviews but I felt I just had to for this one. Many people probably haven't heard of this one yet and aren't sure if they would like it. This is an outstanding series and this box set looks like a great deal.
Rating:  - .hack Feeds Gamers and Otakus Alike!
I heard of .hack from Cartoon Network, pre-debut and got very excited. An anime that takes place in an MMORPG (mass multiplayer online role playing game)? This sounds like a really great idea! I was further pleased to find it had a real twist to it, and not just staged within the game. Tsukasa, our 'hero', can't log out of the game for some reason, and has lost his body to the game. The World, the game everyone's playing in this anime, is a beautiful world displayed with fantastic artwork. It's however not enough to have the visual effect however. The music, done by someone Yuki Kajiura, someone ive never heard of before but rivals Yoko Kanno herself, is fantastic and makes the soundtrack alone worth holding back on getting that last DVD of Cowboy Bebop. The only reason i can't give it 5 stars is because the character build so far doesn't seem to be going very far. That doesn't mean it's not an amazing series, cause it is! I think it just needs a bit more time. Perhaps by the 3rd dvd things will heat up. The package comes with a box for all your .hack dvds, a soundtrack with 19 tracks, 2 postcards, one sheet of stickers, a Grunty doll (coolest stuffed animal ive ever seen), a .hack t-shirt (XL) and the DVD with the first 5 episodes dubbed OR subbed. Not bad at all if you ask me. The dvd, soundtrack, and t-shirt should be worth over $(...) as it is, so there's no questioning the value, and believe me I've checked: Amazon(.com) has it the cheapest. Places like discountanimedvd have it marked for at least 53. Take away shipping as well cause you can get it free here, and you're saving around $(...) by buying it through amazon.(com) Not bad if you ask me. I cant wait to see more.
Rating:  - Awesome packaging, slow story
First, I'll admit, .hack//SIGN is getting some of the best limited edition treatment I've ever seen. This box and its load of extras is sure to be highly coveted by anime fans and DVD collectors. In particular, I think the soundtrack is a great extra, as .hack has excellent music. Now the bad news... Unfortunately, these episodes failed to hook me on the series. I haven't seen the whole series yet, so I don't know if the pace of the story improves later on; but right now it seems a bit tedious. It's also possible that the series is a little less accessible to people who don't play online RPG games. I've ventured into online RPGs only briefly, and found the format not to my liking. Though I've heard from people who do play them regularly, that the interactions in .hack//SIGN are fairly typical of that genre. So far, the series seems heavy on the dialogue, and the characters spend a lot of time wandering around the game world conversing, theorizing, spreading rumors, etc... It's obvious that some pains are being taken to set up a mystery that will (hopefully) define the plot as the series progresses. Though, unfortunately, it currently lacks the sense of intrigue that makes mystery so exciting. On the positive note, I agree with everyone who praised the character design and animation quality. It is excellent, and it makes .hack good entertainment, even if it's not the most accessible story. If you're weighing whether or not to purchase this series, I'll admit, it is tempting--especially for the limited edition extras. However, not knowing how well it develops, there are enough caveats here that you may want to spend your anime budget elswhere. Personally, I would recommend Serial Experiments Lain, if you want something computer/internet themed; or Berserk if you want serious fantasy with strong intrigue.
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