.hack//SIGN Options

[Shiidou Hikaru]

Dot Hack is another series that I've also been watching recently. An anime based on a video game rather than the other way around. More specifically it's an MMORPG type game where other real-life players can interact with each other online. A teenage player called Tsukasa spends a great deal of his time playing the game simply because his real world life is miserable. In fact every character there has his or her own reason to want to escape real life. However, at one point Tsukasa discovers that he can no longer logout. This game is a futuristic one where a person's own perception interfaces with the game, so when Tsukasa can no longer logout he literally loses all contact with the real world. The other characters are surprisingly diverse and interesting. Many little plots and intrigues are woven around the main theme of finding a mysterious item called "The Key of the Twilight" which supposedly will help Tsukasa return to the real world. The writing is very good and the musical score is excellent. In many ways the music reminds me of Tsubasa Resevoir Chronicles. Anyone that's every played an MMORPG would find relavence in almost all of the concepts of this series. Even the settings are like actual games. Here are a couple of screenshots, one from episode 10 of Dot Hack and one of my FFXI character in the Ghelsba Outpost:

[Shiidou Hikaru]

At last I finally finished last episode of the .hack TV series. The ending did lack a lot of specific details about how some of the characters ended up, so it does seem inconclusive. However, that's usually a sign that I should look for the moral of the story elsewhere. What I did get out of it is that online games are fun to play and socialize with, but they're no replacement for the closeness of real life friendships. It's a little odd for me to relate to because at Tsukasa's age I was playing games like Donkey Kong and Pac-Man, so there wasn't an online world for me to go to and socialize and make friends in. But looking at it from Tsukasa's point of view where the real world was harsh and cruel, it's easy to see how someone in such a state would fare far better growing up online. However, it's a place that we cannot remain in, no one can ever leave the real world forever and sooner or later we must go back. For me, it was very touching to see that Tsukasa was able to make at least one close friend in the real world after having such a miserable childhood.