".hack//SIGN" - Episode 01 : Role Play - Talkback (Spoilers) [Archive]

Killtacular

02-01-2003, 03:12 PM

So far, I like .hack//sign, though I can understand why other people wouldn't. But that's simply because people wouldn't understand the way the cartoon behaves.

The people in The World behave much like any player on an MMORPG. Some will ham it up, some will be silent, and some will be jackasses. Tsukasa fits the role of "jackass newbie" perfectly.. insulting people, teleporting away from them, ignoring the game's rules, attacking NPC characters..

I wonder if there will be simulations of lag and disconnections in this show too. Hehe.

Widescreen is a plus. No pipes is a plus.

uhhuhioi

02-01-2003, 03:12 PM

First commercial break and I have to say this shows looks like it is going to be great. I like the style of the animation and absoluty love the almost tribal music. This might make me check out the game.

It's right on the tip of my mind, but what other voices has the actor for the main character done?

Killtacular

02-01-2003, 03:14 PM

That one Crimson Knight sounds like Kevin Conroy(Batman). But I guess it's Lex Lang. I'm not sure. That'd be crazy if it WERE Conroy though.

Infinity Blade

02-01-2003, 03:16 PM

My thoughts are basically like Matt's. And as someone who's just a fan of RPGs in general, this show is pretty fun. ^^ The only disadvantage is you feel like you're starting off in the middle of something without much information of what's going on... but it's still good, overall. The dub seems good, too.

AbsolutionBot

02-01-2003, 03:17 PM

I like the show so far. The music is something that stuck out in my mind (in a good way).

Achika

02-01-2003, 03:26 PM

Boring....

Killtacular

02-01-2003, 03:27 PM

I don't know about it being BORING, but I do think they could do without a couple of unimportant scenes. But the slow pace isn't too slow. It's more like Inuyasha pace.

Bandai also shortened the ED too. No episode previews either. Boo, Bandai.

Behonkiss

02-01-2003, 03:27 PM

Well, while I liked it(I think), I have three words to sum up how much I UNDERSTAND it.

What.

The.

Hell.

Outlander00

02-01-2003, 03:28 PM

I've never experienced the show before this, so this was my intro to the series (I've read stuff about it on here and on dothack.com)...

So after seeing the first episode, I'll have to say... Its cool! :) Im deffinately going to watch it regularly...

Jude Santos

02-01-2003, 03:28 PM

i like the dub ^_^

as expected, no edits in the actual content, here are some little things though, theres static in the background during the flashback scenes, and the next episode preview was skipped (which is just composed of 9 pictures in a 3 x 3 matrix). the ending animation on the broadcast version was a collage of different scenes made by Bandai (i do prefer the original ED animation).

overall, pretty good, too bad the next ep preview was skipped

edit: eye-catches was skipped as well

Achika

02-01-2003, 03:29 PM

Originally posted by Matt Wilson
I don't know about it being BORING, but I do think they could do without a couple of unimportant scenes. But the slow pace isn't too slow. It's more like Inuyasha pace.

Bandai also shortened the ED too. No episode previews either. Boo, Bandai.

Felt like a whole lot of nothing if you ask me. And the total widescreen is distracting though I may get used to it. ... If I keep watching.

AbsolutionBot

02-01-2003, 03:29 PM

I liked the ending ^ ^

hardway35

02-01-2003, 03:30 PM

Pretty good for a first ep. It makes me want to check out the vid game.
2 questions; one did they edit out him crushing a bug, and two the place were the police were at, was that the Crimson Knight in real life?

Ben

02-01-2003, 03:31 PM

This could be good, but it could get boring real fast. I hope they use the context of The World to actually say something other than "Whoa, I can't log out, isn't that CRAZY WEIRD." Tron had a point, even if it was a cliched one, so I hope they at least try to give it some meaning. I like the first episode; the music is excellent and I think I like it being louder than the dialogue. The only thing that really bugged me were the VAs. Tsukasa sounds like he read over his script once and then recorded it, and the big tough jerk guy whose name I forget sounds like he didn't even read it once. Liked Mimoru mostly, although she got a little melodramatically whiney during her speech about manners. The crimson knight was good. Overall, enjoyed it. Good music, good animation, good story setup. We'll see where it goes from here!

Jude Santos

02-01-2003, 03:32 PM

one did they edit out him crushing a bug,

no

as for your other question...all i can say is keep watching. i suggest everyone who has seen the entire series to NOT answer the question.

Andrew

02-01-2003, 03:33 PM

Rude players, hacked characters, GM's, exploiting...they sure seem to have gotten MMORPGs down pat.

I think I'm going to like this series.

Killtacular

02-01-2003, 03:33 PM

Let me sum it up, from my interpretation.

The World is a VR MMORPG. You play it by wearing headset and goggles, so you're fully in the game. Tsukasa was just playing online like normal, when he happened upon a chest, that apparently caused a huge glitch in the game, due to that cat person (who is a hacked character of some sort).

It caused his body in the real world to fall into a coma, while his mind was trapped inside the game, with no way to logout because his real body is not connected to the headset.

The first episode consists of him wandering around trying to figure out what happened to him.

He is ignoring other people because he, like most people his age, act that way online.. teleporting away from conversations and trying to attack helpful NPCs.

The only thing I don't get is that weird orange beast. I'm guessing there are rings that cast spells, and that beast is powered by an absorption ring of some kind, but I'm probably entirely wrong.

Behonkiss

02-01-2003, 03:34 PM

BIG FAT EDIT: Well, the above posts answered most things while I typed the first post. I have one question left: How does the main character keep teleporting like that? Is it a feature of the World or something?

Oh, and I like the series.

Iridium

02-01-2003, 03:35 PM

Originally posted by Achika
Felt like a whole lot of nothing if you ask me.

That's the impression I got after watching the entire series. It's not that I don't enjoy slow, contemplative shows, but this one seemed to lack substance. They also cut down on what I considered the high point of the show, the music (namely cutting off See-Saw's Yasashii Yoake, and downmixing Key of the Twilight so that it was difficult to hear.)

RedBoot

02-01-2003, 03:35 PM

The only part that really confused me was the last scene (as Hardway mentioned).

Anyway, it was certainly interesting...I'll definetly keep watching it. Some of the scenes seemed a little random, such as the scene with Tsukasa riding the animal thing (Grunty? I think that's the US name). While that scene was pretty funny, I don't know why it was in there...

As for the dub, I'm pretty sure Tsukasa's VA is the same one who did Jim on Outlaw Star...I think he did Al in Gundam 0080 too. He also does Tommy on Digimon Frontier, but that's not a Toonami show.

Chibi Kageboshi

02-01-2003, 03:35 PM

I liked it although i dont really understand it.

Killtacular

02-01-2003, 03:36 PM

By the way, you think widescreen is DISTRACTING? You think being able to see the entire picture instead of cutting off important parts, or instead of stretching the image so it looks horribly thin and grainy, is DISTRACTING?

Jude Santos

02-01-2003, 03:37 PM

behonkiss: it gets answered. and you dont die in real life if you get killed in the game. its just a ga,e after all

Tea

02-01-2003, 03:37 PM

I've already watched the whole series and a few of the episodes of .hack//DUSK, but I'll do a talkback anyway. :D

About the dubbed voices.. I'm not a sub-only elitest so I thought they were great. Bear, Subaru, Krim all sound like they did. As well as that blonde lady (whose name escapes me...). Mimiru isn't as high pitched but I'm glad she isn't. Tsukasa sounds the same with the exception of his name said "Suu-kasa" instead of "Tus-ka-sa", which is probably the proper way to say it in English anyway I guess. I also like Crimson Knights better than Scarlet Knights so good choice there. In fact, I prefer watching it dubbed so I can concentrate on the animation and music more. My opinion though. :)

Anyone else notice that it was all in wide-screen? Cool. Music was wonderful, too. Anyone expecting an action show should not get their hopes up since I think this is more of a drama, but those who like MMORPGs should enjoy it anyway. Good episode. (6/6) [Useless notes: Why did Mimiru say "later" when she originally said in english "byebye"? Interesting anyway. I miss the opening but whatever, the clip show ending song is good enough.]

Sandro

02-01-2003, 03:38 PM

....so I didn't miss the first episode? I felt like I did. I mean, next to nothing happened aside from the the character introductions. I felt completely lost. I'll give the show a chance but I'm really not into the whole MMORPG thing.

Jude Santos

02-01-2003, 03:39 PM

As well as that blonde lady (whose name escapes me...).

its BT.

by the way guys, you're supposed to be confused ;)

JetMaster5

02-01-2003, 03:39 PM

Can anyone give me a summary of today's episode? I totally forgot today was Feb. 1. Thanks.

RedBoot

02-01-2003, 03:40 PM

by the way guys, you're supposed to be confused

I suppose so. If anything, it's certainly making me look forward to next week's episode.

Ben

02-01-2003, 03:41 PM

Originally posted by Matt Wilson
By the way, you think widescreen is DISTRACTING? You think being able to see the entire picture instead of cutting off important parts, or instead of stretching the image so it looks horribly thin and grainy, is DISTRACTING?

On TV I can understand why some would find it distracting. With something made for television it's more like being lazy and not drawing the top and the bottom than just "showing the whole picture." I'm not saying CN should've aired it Pan & Scan, I'm saying they should have made it full screen.

EDIT: Unless there's some point to it other than just "looking cool." But something I doubt it.

Animation Otaku

02-01-2003, 03:42 PM

I enjoyed it. Like already said they got the MMORPG part down. Chick with not much clothing are always good. It seems cool and suspenseful, especially the part at the end. Good god now I'm going to be wrapped in suspense till 3:00 next week.

Midou Ban

02-01-2003, 03:42 PM

So, so very confusing.

*Head Explodes*

but I like it...I hope they explain a little more in the next episode. Was the person at the end Tsukasa if it was I thought he was a boy and the person at the end was wearing a skirt. Of course i'm probably wrong.

Jude Santos

02-01-2003, 03:42 PM

Can anyone give me a summary of today's episode? I totally forgot today was Feb. 1. Thanks.

ep 1 summary in a nutshell:
Tsukasa (the main character) wakes up, he doesnt remember what happned, he discovered he cant log out, he wanders around, opens a chest and gets the Rune of the Twilight (more on ep. 2), fights Ginkan (the Crimson Knight) a weird monster shows up and kills Ginkan's character (in the game, NOT in real life).

along the way, they introduce almost all the characters

Killtacular

02-01-2003, 03:44 PM

On TV I can understand why some would find it distracting. With something made for television it's more like being lazy and not drawing the top and the bottom than just "showing the whole picture." I'm not saying CN should've aired it Pan & Scan, I'm saying they should have made it full screen.

Don't watch season 2 of Justice League, then.

And I have a feeling they made it widescreen because of.. I dunno.. WIDESCREEN TVS? And the rise of widescreen HDTV as well. In the future, pan and scan won't be an option.

JetMaster5

02-01-2003, 03:44 PM

Originally posted by Fatal
ep 1 summary in a nutshell:
Tsukasa (the main character) wakes up, he doesnt remember what happned, he discovered he cant log out, he wanders around, opens a chest and gets the Rune of the Twilight (more on ep. 2), fights Ginkan (the Crimson Knight) a weird monster shows up and kills Ginkan's character (in the game, NOT in real life).

along the way, they introduce almost all the characters

Wow, that's pretty short. Thanks.

Ben

02-01-2003, 03:45 PM

Originally posted by Matt Wilson
Don't watch season 2 of Justice League, then.

Too late. :)

Jude Santos

02-01-2003, 03:46 PM

heres a tip, starting episode 2, the show becomes ALL DIALOGUE. so pay CLOSE attention or you'll be confused

Killtacular

02-01-2003, 03:46 PM

What I mean is, season 2 of Justice League is in widescreen.

Roman Legion

02-01-2003, 03:47 PM

The good news... it could have been much worse. No edits! Yay!

I'll miss the intro, but I can live without it. However, even though I was expecting them to mess with the ending, I was disappointed that they shortened it that much, thus cutting away from the music at a really awkward point. There was also no reason for them to mess with the next episode preview the way they did. In the original, they showed nine screens with their own individual clips, for no longer than they played the full-screen clips in their place... odd.

On to the dubbing quality...

Tsukasa's voice wasn't too bad, and there's a good chance he'll improve in later episodes. The voices of Bear and BT (the two characters seen immediately after Tsukasa tosses an item into the spring) were fantastically on their mark -- far better than I could ever have hoped. Subaru wasn't terrible, either.

However, Mimiru's voice made me want to gag... bleeegh, that was nasty. She comes accross as a very different character this way, IMO. Ginkan's voice (the red-eyed knight with the horns on his helment) was equally bad. I reeeally hope they improve, but if they're this bad to begin with, I dunno. =X

One other thing I found irritating was they way the music volume kept fading in and out every time a character spoke. If they were going to tone it down, they should at least have kept it constant.

I also wasn't too thrilled with the choice of words in the script... they could have made things a lot more clear and eloquent. But, in most cases, it wasn't too far off, so this is more a concern for newcomers to the series than anything else.

All in all, there's plenty of room for improvement, but I'll definitely keep watching to see how it shapes up.

--Romey

Vagrantbudoka

02-01-2003, 03:48 PM

Why didn't he steal the sword? I liked it though, when I first started watching it though I thought I came in on ep 2 or 3. Hm, oh well.

The Man in Black

02-01-2003, 03:52 PM

Originally posted by uhhuhioi
First commercial break and I have to say this shows looks like it is going to be great. I like the style of the animation and absoluty love the almost tribal music. This might make me check out the game.

It's right on the tip of my mind, but what other voices has the actor for the main character done?

someone from digimon?

JeffTMBG

02-01-2003, 03:52 PM

Well, I figure I should make my first appearance outside of the Adult Swim forum for this show :moon2:. As a pretty big RPG nut, I thought this was an excellent show. The art and music are top-notch, and the dubbing is decent. My only gripe is the decision to air it on Saturdays only, as I really don't feel like waiting 26 weeks just to get the whole story, and I'd like to see this all before playing the game which comes out in a few weeks. I could see where some people who are used to non-stop action would find this boring, but I thought it was extremely interesting.

Wilco911

02-01-2003, 03:52 PM

Originally posted by Vagrantbudoka
Why didn't he steal the sword? I liked it though, when I first started watching it though I thought I came in on ep 2 or 3. Hm, oh well.

Because he's not using the correct character class to wield swords, probably. ;)

Obi

02-01-2003, 03:53 PM

Originally posted by Duelist Goku
someone from digimon?

Jim from OLS is one...and the VA sounds like that little kid with the big, doofy orange hat in Digimon Frontier's dub, too.

The Man in Black

02-01-2003, 03:54 PM

So much for the origininal intro
What's with the bug?
How was it only 19 minutes long?

raykremer

02-01-2003, 03:56 PM

I saw this fansubbed a while back (can't remember if I saw just ep 1 or ep 1 and 2...) and my reaction now is the same. I'm intrigued. Of course it's impossible to judge the series from the first episode, but what I've seen so far is certainly quite well done.

Here's some light reading:
http://www.animeondvd.com/press/conventions/ax2002/hack.php
http://www.animeondvd.com/press/bandai/bandai030.php
http://www.animeondvd.com/specials/hack/index.htm

If I like this show as much as I think I'm going to, I'm also going to have to buy a PS2 sometime so I can get the game and the OAV anime.

Tea

02-01-2003, 03:56 PM

Originally posted by Fatal
its BT.

Oooh yeah. Thanks. :D

God, I hate her. Evil little so and so and so. I should of remembered her name since they did base a whole episode on it...

Originally posted by Duelist Goku

What's with the bug?

Even after watching the whole series I still don't know. It even shows up in .hack//DUSK...

Jude Santos

02-01-2003, 03:57 PM

So much for the origininal What's with the bug?
How was it only 19 minutes long?

its 22 mins plus the OP and ED (1 min 30 sec each)

hyprlynx

02-01-2003, 03:57 PM

Well having seen it in English now, I like the choice for the some of the dub actors, I'm glad they gave Tsukasa a voice that sounded like a boy's voice, it would have been weird to hear a deep sounding male voice coming out of his mouth. (Like they did with Yuki in Fruits Basket.. but that's for another forum.)

I miss the opening and ending music. The music for the opening is just incredible. I think they could have kept one of them at least especially since the episode ended at 3:24pm. I know that they have to have X minutes of commercials in the show but ending that early surely met the requirement. :(

One question tho, isn't Cn re-running the episodes in the evening for those who missed the 3pm showing and don't have a vcr to tape it?

Sir Gatts

02-01-2003, 03:57 PM

This is looking to become a good series. It appears that the theme of this series so far would be probably best understood by those who are into net role playing games, however it also appears that this first episode was an attempt to introduce those who remain unaware surrounding this theme to this theme.

I would expect future episodes at this point to build to the plot as to why our main character can not log out and suffers an mental loss. Somehow I don't expect these answers to present themselves anytime soon.

William C. Maune

02-01-2003, 03:59 PM

[indent]Not bad! It looks pretty good, as for the actual content, other than the basics (as Matt explained) I'm fairly confused. But, I think we are supposed to be at this poing.
[indent]Woo hoo! Widescreen! There may be black bars at the top and bottom of the screen, but there is more to filming (whether it be animated or live-action) than just filling up the space provided. Framing, composition and etc. are also important. With widescreen you can obtain a different look, feel and etc. for a series.

Jude Santos

02-01-2003, 03:59 PM

One question tho, isn't Cn re-running the episodes in the evening for those who missed the 3pm showing and don't have a vcr to tape it?

i dont think so...the schedule says it'll air ep. 5 when the timeslot moves to midnight in 3/1

Artemis

02-01-2003, 04:02 PM

Well it was certainly nice seeing this show on the TV instead of the computer. I enjoyed the first episode, it's one of my favorites.

The dub is pretty good. I liked Tsukasa's voice, Bear and BT were great too. So was Ginkan and Subaru. Mimiru is going to await more judging, though. I felt her voice might make the character come off as annoying, especially when she gave that speech about Net etiquette. Mimiru's one of my favorite characters so I'd hate for tons of "I hate Mimiru" posts starting to come up because of her voice.

Cutting the next episode preview is BAD, because I liked the style of next episode previews .hack//SIGN had. Hopefully it'll be restored by next week, otherwise I'd be mad.

Shortened ED was to be expected since they do that on Toonami. Too bad because the song's really good and so is the ED animation. Oh well.

I also didn't like them toning down the music so it was barely audible under the voices, but one of the complaints the series got was the music was so loud you couldn't hear the dialogue so I guess Bandai thought they were doing the fans a favor. They went too low if you ask me. It was not a perfect balance. The voices are now way too louder than the music.

Toonami's presentation of .hack//SIGN was great. So, all in all, the experience was good. Great addition to Toonami.

pabcool

02-01-2003, 04:04 PM

My thoughts...

".hack//SIGN: Role Play"

The Toonami OP... Well, it's a step up from all the atrocities they've been making. And the removal of the pipes was interesting. As for the show itself, I was a bit confused, but not as confused as you all make it sound like. The music was fantastic as well as the SFX, and widescreen was a great treat. The show itself, although a little slow at times, is very pleasant and I came out really happy. Second best show on Toonami, IMO. (Behind Zoids: Chaotic Century)

I give "Role Play" an A-.

Masamune2052

02-01-2003, 04:05 PM

Well after seeing the first episode I think this is a really cool anime series, perfect for reviving Toonami. The animations is clear and clean, the OST is very smooth and relates well to the series, and the anamrohpic widescreen showing was a nice touch. I really hope I get to see more of this series because it looks very cool. ^^v

sl4

02-01-2003, 04:06 PM

This show was great. I can't wait for next week's episode. When is this coming out on DVD? Or is it already out? I haven't seen it anywhere, so I'm guessing not yet. :\

Roman Legion

02-01-2003, 04:10 PM

Originally posted by superloud4
This show was great. I can't wait for next week's episode. When is this coming out on DVD? Or is it already out? I haven't seen it anywhere, so I'm guessing not yet. :\ The first volume is due later this month, or sometime in March I think. It's possible that it's been pushed back, as I haven't been able to find any listings for it on Amazon. I've been doing a lot of searching, but if anyone else has any recent info, I'd like to hear it too. ;-)

--Romey

Jude Santos

02-01-2003, 04:10 PM

I also didn't like them toning down the music so it was barely audible under the voices, but one of the complaints the series got was the music was so loud you couldn't hear the dialogue so I guess Bandai thought they were doing the fans a favor. They went too low if you ask me. It was not a perfect balance. The voices are now way too louder than the music.

i thought it was just me...anyhow, i didnt have any problems with the sound and songs, i heard it perfectly, i was in bliss when i heard Key of the Twilight play :)

MJC

02-01-2003, 04:16 PM

I found it very confusing. ^^;

It seemed cool, but I just couldn't get into the plot...because I didn't really know what it was.

RedBoot

02-01-2003, 04:18 PM

As for the DVDs, the first volume comes out on 3/4, but it's the special edition. It costs around $65, but there's lots of extras with it (CD, Shirt, Box, PS2 Demo, Grunty Plushie).

The regular edition (DVD only) comes out on 3/18. I don't know why they didn't just release both on the same day...

EightOh

02-01-2003, 04:18 PM

One episode in and I'm definitely sticking around for more. It looks very nice, the dub is solid, and the music is great. I think the widescreen is a plus, not a minus, though obviously people have different tastes. It's a really promising start, and if what everyone else is saying is correct, it'll only get better.

Evil Dr. Reef

02-01-2003, 04:22 PM

When is this coming out on DVD? Or is it already out? I haven't seen it anywhere, so I'm guessing not yet. :\
The super-giga-mega-hyper DVD edition, with all the extra goodies (seen here (http://www.animenation.com/av-2216.html) ) is coming out on March 4th. The regular DVD is scheduled for a March 18th release. So if you want to see the series as soon as possible, be prepared to shell out around $60 for it. :rolleyes:

EDIT: RedBoot beat me to it. Anyway, here are my thoughts on the first ep:

The background music for the ep was a little... odd. It was really fast paced, even when nothing was happening. Like towards the begining, when Tsukasa and Mimiru are just talking, there's some throbbing techno playing in the background. It seems out-of-place.
I think that the dub for this is pretty good, so far. The only voice I have a problem with is the captain of the Crimson Knights.
I really like the character designs for the show. Yoshiyuki Sadamoto did the designs (and manga) for Evangelion, and he did a great job with these ones too.

Any other thoughts, and I'll post them later.

DarkMaster

02-01-2003, 04:33 PM

Bandai usually improves it's VAing later. I don't know why. Maybe because the first episode is always introduction. Some VA's just have problems the first couple of times till they get used to it. :)

Djm912

02-01-2003, 04:47 PM

Well, if it was supposed to be confusing, I missed out. I felt like I caught on pretty quickly. I love the pace of the show. And the music is what's going to keep bringing me back. I'll try to keep watchin.

kaine23

02-01-2003, 04:49 PM

Very cool episode.
*Goes back to his fansubs of eps 2-4*

JTurner954

02-01-2003, 04:52 PM

Well, I taped the episode and watched it. From what I got from it, it looks like it's going into something further then what was shown and this was just merely a setup for future episodes. Thus I didn't find it at all confusing.

I never played an online RPG, I'm not a fan of RPG's (with exceptions like Legend of Zelda but that can be discussed in the video game forum), and this show doesn't make me want to explore the internet and play these online RPG's (though I can understand how someone would be interested in this gameplay).

Nevertheless, I will keep watching since I am interested in seeing how this story develops. I'll give the episode a B+ because of this and the fact that I really like the various music and how it affects the tone of the episode.

One question though: When will the next episode air?

Masamune2052

02-01-2003, 05:15 PM

Feb. 08 3:00 p.m. Guardian

Feb. 15 3:00 p.m. Folklore

Feb. 22 3:00 p.m. Wanted

March 01 12:00 a.m. Captured

Moonbay

02-01-2003, 05:18 PM

WAH! I missed it! How could I let this happen?? :p I have never seen it, but I've heard it's great. Will I really be that confused next time I catch it?

Masamune2052

02-01-2003, 05:20 PM

Just so I can say something, I related to this show really well because I do play an online MMORPG (or whatever its called) named Legend of Mir (http://www.legendofmir.net) and I found myself chuckling at times whenever that one guy start saying 'I'm here to help newbies like you' or something like that and the Knights or whatever reminded something along the lines of GMs. So yah, I'm kind of hooked.

BTY, when was this series originally released in Japan? It looks fairly new.

Roman Legion

02-01-2003, 05:22 PM

Originally posted by Moonbay
WAH! I missed it! How could I let this happen?? :p I have never seen it, but I've heard it's great. Will I really be that confused next time I catch it? Maybe, maybe not... The worst thing is that you won't understand the deeper reaching implications that this has towards the end of the series, but hopefully the first episode will re-air by then...

--Romey

Roman Legion

02-01-2003, 05:27 PM

Originally posted by Masamune2052
Just so I can say something, I related to this show really well because I do play an online MMORPG (or whatever its called) named Legend of Mir (http://www.legendofmir.net) and I found myself chuckling at times whenever that one guy start saying 'I'm here to help newbies like you' or something like that and the Knights or whatever reminded something along the lines of GMs. So yah, I'm kind of hooked.Yeah, it's got the game elements down pretty well. Gotta love the more subtle touches too, like the bad pathfinding of the puchiguso / grunty things and the thing at the spring where Tsukasa drops an item. :D
BTY, when was this series originally released in Japan? It looks fairly new.It's from just last year, so yeah... it's pretty new. ;-)

--Romey

NovaSaber

02-01-2003, 05:29 PM

The next episode will air the same time next week.

I liked it. It started off confusing, but by the end of the episode I was following it just fine.

That ocarina Tsukasa had was what he was using to teleport, right? (I guess Mimiru has one too, then.)

The scene where Tsukasa threw something in the spring and the blue thing came out asking if he dropped a golden axe or a silver axe was taken almost directly from Dark Wizard. (Does anybody else remember that game?)

kaine23

02-01-2003, 05:30 PM

So when's the .Hack PS2 game come out now?

GreenLegend Ran

02-01-2003, 05:36 PM

Great show though it was a bit confusing but i got it for the most part.

Roman Legion

02-01-2003, 05:40 PM

Originally posted by NovaSaber
That ocarina Tsukasa had was what he was using to teleport, right? (I guess Mimiru has one too, then.)I was never entirely clear on the usage of the Sprite Ocarina / Ocarina Spirits, but as I currently understand it, they're used to teleport back to a game field's chaos gate. From the chaos gates (the spinny portal things), you can switch fields, hop servers, log out, etc. without the need for the ocarina thing. I'll have to pay more attention to that next time I watch.
The scene where Tsukasa threw something in the spring and the blue thing came out asking if he dropped a golden axe or a silver axe was taken almost directly from Dark Wizard. (Does anybody else remember that game?) There's stuff like that in a lot of RPG's... The first one I thought of was Link to the Past, where you can toss items into certain springs, and a fairy appears and asks you what it was you dropped.
Originally posted by kaine23
So when's the .Hack PS2 game come out now?Almost definitely sometime this month.

EDIT: Amazon has the first volume of the .hack//SIGN Limited Edition Box Set listed for March 4th, but I still can't find the game listing... So, it's possible that the game gets pushed back to March. We'll see...

--Romey

Arxane

02-01-2003, 05:41 PM

The premiere of ".hack//SIGN" on Cartoon Network was exactly what I expected.

The editing of the opening and ending is standard for Toonami now, so I was expecting it. Luckily the actual content survived. And boy, it's the content that everyone should focus on. I'm seeing people saying they're confused but they'll go on...all I can say is that have fun. This series is very different from past Toonami shows, so don't expect, say, "Zoids".

As for the dub, I'm satisfied with it. The voices were about what I remembered them from the original: monotonous and near-bored (seriously, that's how the Japanese voices sounded to me). The only VA I'm fearing is Amanada Winn Lee as Mirimu. She sounds...different, that's all. Hopefully, she won't overact like she's been known to. Other than her, however, the VAs did a fine job.

So get ready, people. You've just stepped into the enormous multimedia entertainment that is ".hack//SIGN". The anime series is merely an introduction to the game, and let's not forget the OVAs and the graphic novels (which may or may not be licensed). Are you ready to journey into the World?

'kay. :D

Botman

02-01-2003, 05:55 PM

Oh my god...I missed it too...wasn't there supposed to be an encore performance tonight???

DEAR GOD HELP ME!!!!!

Edit: NOOOOOOO!!!!!!! IT'S REBOOT SEASON 4 ALL OVER AGAIN!!! I HATE MYSELF!!!!

Parallax

02-01-2003, 05:56 PM

I liked it. The animation was crisp and clean, and the widescreen was a plus. The music was also very good, matching the series feel. The voices were also excelent. Though confusing, after watching it again it didn't seem all confusing. 5 Stars.

JeffTMBG

02-01-2003, 05:57 PM

Originally posted by kaine23
So when's the .Hack PS2 game come out now?

February 14.

Roman Legion

02-01-2003, 06:00 PM

Originally posted by Twage
This could be good, but it could get boring real fast. I hope they use the context of The World to actually say something other than "Whoa, I can't log out, isn't that CRAZY WEIRD."Minor Spoiler... so minor, you can probably read this with no regrets afterward, but I'm putting it in a spoiler box anyway for those who'd rather not hear.

As the series progresses, they actually start to downplay the fact that Tsukasa can't log out for a while. His plight is still a concern, but quite a few characters could care less about what happens to him, which gets annoying... Then again, in a real MMORPG, there probably would be people with that attitude. There are also more pressing concerns for some...

JohnCrichton

02-01-2003, 06:17 PM

Loved it.

Short on action, but long on a new world that I wanna know more about and I thought the voice acting was perfect for the characters.

Really sorry to hear that the action won't be picking up tho.

Something about the feel of this anime and picking it in the first place gives me the strong feeling that Toonami is on the road to becoming the king again.....

Ben

02-01-2003, 06:21 PM

Originally posted by Matt Wilson
And I have a feeling they made it widescreen because of.. I dunno.. WIDESCREEN TVS? And the rise of widescreen HDTV as well. In the future, pan and scan won't be an option.

Right, but that's the future. For now the vast, vast, vast majority still has normal-screen televisions. It's unnecessary to rush ahead like this, in my opinion.

What I mean is, season 2 of Justice League is in widescreen.

I know.

Ultra8

02-01-2003, 06:55 PM

:D :D :D :D :D
It was perfect to the original version.(I'm not counting op/ed because I expect that from Toonami)
It was fun seeing the dub with the bgmusic,and it was nice not having to read what they are saying for a change.
I can't wait for the next episode.
The only downside was the original didn't have any previews for the next episode, so the dub has no previews.
:rolleyes: Oh well.
(Runs to go rewatch the episode and dig out his own subs)

ohmrbill

02-01-2003, 07:00 PM

Since there seems to be some confusion, I'll list the important plot points revealed in this episode for anyone who thinks they may have missed something (add on if I forget anything):

* Tsukasa can't remember what happened.

* Tsukasa can't log out, and there is no computer in front of him that he can turn off (in other words, he's completely stuck).

* He feels actual physical pain from being hit in the game.

* The Crimson Knights (the mods) are looking for information on a player-character that looks like a cat. Tsukasa was apparently seen with him (although he doesn't seem to remember it very well).

* A weird monster that isn't supposed to be in the game helped Tsukasa by "killing" one of the knights that was after him.

Everything else, you're supposed to be confused about, so don't worry. Obviously, they'll explain more in coming episodes (and raise some more questions, as well :p ).

Cyber E.

02-01-2003, 07:09 PM

I gotta admit that is series is alittle more than what I expected. The series is more of an adventure anime than a Action-packed one such as Dragonball Z and that is okay if the plot were just alittle better. The constant use of music would usually annoy me but almost anything I heard was just great.

It is just the first episode so maybe I shouldn't say the story is bad but hopefully it will progress more along the way (I hear alot about it being extremely slow in the begining than starts to move on later in the series, hope it isn't true)

All in all it is better than I thought it would be.

Mecha Washu

02-01-2003, 07:11 PM

I am very curious to see more viewer reactions to .hack//sign once the series progresses further.

I've watched all 26 episodes fansubbed, and I can say with confidence that if your a DBZ fanboy expecting long, draw out action-scenes, .hack//sign is not the show for you.

It's very important to pay close attention to each character's dialog, and to also take note of the scenes which you see occur in the real world. This is the type of show where not all character's will be given flashy introductions, and the only way you'll learn some character's names is simply by hearing another character addressing them.

So in short, if you don't have the attention span for a dialog heavy anime, I would suggest sitting this one out. Otherwise, if you enjoy a show which at times will make you think, and also puzzle you, then .hack//sign is the show for you!

Discloner

02-01-2003, 07:15 PM

I liked it alot!

Sure it was confusing, but what everyone already said it's supposed to be...I sure more will be explained.

I liked the music no matter what anyone says...it was fitting to the things that were occuring IMO.

I also liked the widescreen, I could see everything and I think it made the show look a bit more professional. I can understand how people wouldn't like this show though...it is rather confusing, probubly enough so to annoy some people who don't have the patience to stick around and find out what's going on.

I can't wait till next episode! :D

JohnCrichton

02-01-2003, 07:16 PM

Okay will there be some action and RPG-esque boss battles at all?

I don't mind not being fed mad DBZ action. I love Serial Experiments: Lain.... but in a show about Online RPG's, I would like to se some engaging fights.

Sacos

02-01-2003, 07:21 PM

I just thought that I should explain the whole scene where Tsukasa throws an item into the water and the creature comes out of the pond. In the video game you can throw items into ponds and depending on the weather the item can either be enhanced or degraded. I got a demo disk of the game at EB and it introduced a lot of the elements of The World so I wasn't very confused. It was interesting to hear them mentioning characterss from the game though, like Orca.

Mecha Washu

02-01-2003, 07:25 PM

Originally posted by JohnCrichton
Okay will there be some action and RPG-esque boss battles at all?

I don't mind not being fed mad DBZ action. I love Serial Experiments: Lain.... but in a show about Online RPG's, I would like to se some engaging fights.

Most fights in the show are very quick. I won't spoil anything about the later episodes, but I can't recall any action-scenes lasting for over 5 minutes. Thats not to say the battles themselves don't last longer, but your not going to see Tsukasa going super sajin, or doing anything which remotely resembles any type of "powering up".

As a result of their being less fights though, the ones that do happen feel very freshing, and never feel stale or overdone.

Oh, and if you loved Lain, you will LOVE .hack//sign. Infact, I would say that .hack//sign is the closest thing out there compared to Lain.

Swag Jenkins

02-01-2003, 07:53 PM

Well I was about to watch the first episode when my test scores came in, and I had to turn off the T.V. to talk about it! :mad: Oh well, I'll try to see the second episode next Saturday, even though I missed the first. It can't be that confusing.

Kosh

02-01-2003, 07:54 PM

I didn't quite know what to expect of .hack//SIGN... I knew enough to know about the connections between the anime, video game, and manga, and that MMORPGs were involved.... not to mention that a friend of mine was nuts about it... but I purposefully kept myself in the dark (for the most part) about the series so that I wouldn't wind up spoiling the experience.

After seeing it, I can instantly see the appeal and will definitely be tuning in again. Despite Toonami having had numerous great series since, I don't think a first episode had me this intrigued since Gundam Wing's premiere way back in 2000. While it would have been nice to see it debut on the daily block, if the series is only twenty-six episodes this is a nice way to give it a sense of longevity.

A thirty-second narrative at the beginning, explaining about the MMORPG aspect of the show, would have been welcomed, but as it would have lessened the drama of Tsukasa's confusion, I can see why there wasn't one. Intriguing world.

I really have no complaints with the show and thought the dub was rather well-done-- of course, having not seen the subbed version, I'm judging the dub purely as a dub.

My wallet will definitely be taking a hit next month with the DVD-gift set, but that's the price one pays... ;)

For someone who's kind of drifted away from broadcast anime, this was a treat. It's got me looking more forward to the game, too.

Obi

02-01-2003, 07:58 PM

Originally posted by SSJ Gohan 64
Well I was about to watch the first episode when my test scores came in, and I had to turn off the T.V. to talk about it! :mad: Oh well, I'll try to see the second episode next Saturday, even though I missed the first. It can't be that confusing.

Trust me, read a detailed episode summary of the first episode before seeing the second. I personally haven't seen anything beyond the first episode yet, but that was confusing enough, and if what I've read is true, do yourself a favor and read up on the first episode.

HaWick

02-01-2003, 08:13 PM

I got to admit that i'm impressed. I have seen all the episodes in fansubbed and it's great. when i heard the news that their going to air it on CARTOON NETWORK on saturday, i was like, "they better not ruin it!" and i thought the dubbed is going to be a little bit off. but i really do like the dubbed. Some part is kinda different but the VAs did their very best. i like Tsukasa's VA, he did a good job, a little like the japanese VA. i like mimiru's too. And Subaru's is good too. so i'm okay with the first ep. They didn't do any edits too!! yea!!

Mishvee

02-01-2003, 08:20 PM

After watching the first episode, I'm looking forward to seeing what happens. I'm a big RPG fan and having spent a lot of time on MUDs and MUSHs (no MMORPGs, though), I can definitely say that they got all the aspects of an online fantasy world right. It's a great change from what I've been seeing on Toonami before. It looks like this is going to be a character-based show, rather than action-based, and I welcome it!

BTW, does anyone remember if tapping a chest to open it is solely from Square games or does this happen in other RPGs as well? That question popped into my head when Tsukasa opened that chest.

Mackenzie Rainelle

02-01-2003, 08:33 PM

::just now watched her tape of the episode:: This is gonna be one of those headtrippy animes, I can tell a'ready. @_@

AinaMacil

02-01-2003, 08:50 PM

Ack! I missed it! Well, fortunately it seems from reading this thread I've been able to pick up on a few things:

A kid is trapped in a MMORPG.

Said kid can't remember what's going on.

He's an enemy of the mods because he was seen with someone they're looking for.

He can feel pain from when he's attacked.

Anything else major i failed to pick up on? Too bad. Today of all days, I have to be gone and forget to tape it. :mad:

lostrune

02-01-2003, 09:12 PM

Here are a couple opposing views:

PRO (http://groups.google.com/groups?selm=ni7t8.38679%24cN1.2007%40news01.bloor.is.net.cable.rogers.com) vs. CON (http://groups.google.com/groups?selm=lrL89.76508%248o4.10412%40afrodite.telenet-ops.be)

Heh, the Con is pretty funny. :D

KingKoopa

02-01-2003, 09:16 PM

I missed it as well. Then again, thank God for high-speed internet. It's helped me out with Inuyasha various times, and has come to my aid yet again.

It was pretty good. It was slow-paced, which I expected, but it wasn't enough to turn me away from the show. The widescreen was good, not bad, IMO. I can't comment on the dub, because this was a fansub. Now, the show itself was pretty cool. The characters themselves are interesting enough, but the main character is the only one who really appeals to me at all. I enjoyed the scene where he threw the thing into the pond and attacked the fairy that came out, mainly because it reminded me of those stupid fairies that you had to talk to in Link to the Past. I wouldn't consider myself a big RPG fanatic, but Diablo II has taught me some.

I will buy the DVD SE. I'm interested in the show, and want the soundtrack. I'll probably wear the shirt as well.

Chris Sanders MSX

02-01-2003, 09:24 PM

Wow. 6 pages too late. Well coincidentally I saw it while at work. The lady I was working for let me watch TV.

Anyway I liked it. It made me want to go play PSO. The show should progress good enough but it's not for people with short attention spans. Looks like I'll have another reason to wake up on Saturday's besides Filmore and TMNT.

I still taped it so I'll probaly watch it again and give a more detail explanation as to why I liked it so much.

thedigitalsin

02-01-2003, 09:43 PM

For those interested, here are the dub credits:

Dub Studio: PCB Productions (http://www.pcbproductions.com/)

Tsukasa: Brianne Siddall (Jim Hawkins, Outlaw Star)
Mimiru: Amanda Winn Lee (Rei Ayanami, Neon Genesis Evangelion)
Bear: Paul Mercier
Subaru: Kim Mai Guest (Mei Ling, Metal Gear Solid and MGS2: Sons of Liberty)
Silver Knight: Doug Rye (John Clark, Rainbow 6: Rogue Spear)
BT: Donna Rawlins
Sora: Dave Wittenberg (Lee Samson, Cowboy Bebop: The Movie)
Morganna: Valerie Arem
Crim: Lex Lang (Goemon, Lupin III TV series currently airing on Adult Swim; also to appear in the .hack OAVs)
A-20: Sandy Fox (Mayuki, Hand Maid May)

Jude Santos

02-01-2003, 10:35 PM

it was page 4 when i left now its on page 6! i wonder how long the thread at AnimeNation now...

anyhow, the game actually comes out 2/11, not the 14th

randomguy

02-01-2003, 10:47 PM

Well, color me pleasantly surprised. I tuned into this expecting a cheap video game tie-in and got something substantially more. The dub is solid, but the music is excellent, and the art and animation are gorgeous and full of technique. There's a lot of very interesting elements to the plot, and I was really enjoying how trippy it was... a nice change of pace. Although I doubt it ends up being as much of a headtrip as Serial Experiments Lain was, it looks like it could be similiarly interesting and also head into some weird, unexplored territory. As a videogamer, I was amused by many of the MMORPG-inspired touches. Overall, real cool, real exciting, and real neat. Gives me flashbacks to Toonami's golden age (Big O, Outlaw Star, Tenchi Muyo, Gundam Wing... I'm sure ya'll remember).

And I was really impressed with Toonami's presentation as well. They're really treating this show with respect. Yeah, the old intro is gone, but we still got a classy, hi-quality replacement, and, thank God, no pipes. And best of all, it's in widescreen, which amazes me. Plus, unlike many shows (in which widescreen is little more than a gimmick), it was extremely well used in .hack//sign- the whole aspect ratio was usually used, and there were some shots with real interesting composition. I'll definitely check out next week.

Jude Santos

02-01-2003, 10:51 PM

I can't wait for the next episode.
The only downside was the original didn't have any previews for the next episode, so the dub has no previews.
Oh well.
(Runs to go rewatch the episode and dig out his own subs)

actually, the original had next EP previews.

my guess on why it was cut is maybe the next EP preview was connected to the ED animation which was cut, so thats what probably happened

Discloner

02-01-2003, 10:59 PM

Well....I've already given a quick opinion of what I think here.

Now I have a whole editorial about what I think here (http://animationinsider.net/forums/index.php?act=ST&f=9&t=296) !! :D

InsaneZero

02-01-2003, 11:56 PM

The dub was okay, the removal of the pipes is a surprising change, and even though I've watched this episode thirty-seven times, I still enjoy it.

I have two comments: One, don't ask what a .hacker is, for if you are a true .hack fan, then you should know.

Two: They took out the preview! And the ending credits looks and sounds really weird, even though it's the same song.

Chibi Kageboshi

02-02-2003, 12:06 AM

when the characters "die" online do they just come back or do they have to be remade or what?

Roman Legion

02-02-2003, 12:10 AM

Originally posted by Chibi Kageboshi
when the characters "die" online do they just come back or do they have to be remade or what? As far as the game goes, it's just like what one would expect. You have to start over from your last save and log back in. However, you log back in at whatever your start position happens to be. So it saves stats, not location.

--Romey

Spike04

02-02-2003, 12:31 AM

I used to look forward to Adult Swim on Saturdays, but now that's gone. Now I have .hack//sign.

This show is great, even though I can't judge the whole thing by the first episodes, if the other episodes are at all reminiscent of this one then I will love this series. I love the music, the style, and the overall atmosphere of .hack//sign.

purplehairedwonder

02-02-2003, 12:54 AM

Wow, that was really cool. I was really confused while watching, but after this thread, I think I get it a little better. The music was really cool, so that's a plus. And in widescreen to boot. I don't really mind either, so whatever. And no pipes :) I can't wait for next week's episode, to find out more :) Suspenseful :D

.hack//Tsukasa

02-02-2003, 03:04 AM

ok did i skim over an explanation? i have seen all of .hack//sign 9 times over. the first 3 ova and the first 3 of lotb. i have played the DEMO of the game.

now when you say "And no pipes" what exactly are you guys refering to. all i noticed cut was the awsome opening(they should have played obsession in the tonami opening)the dot hack was brought to you by the following sponcers and the kick arse nextEP manny view thing and the killer credits.

Discloner

02-02-2003, 03:10 AM

Originally posted by .hack//Tsukasa
ok did i skim over an explanation? i have seen all of .hack//sign 9 times over. the first 3 ova and the first 3 of lotb. i have played the DEMO of the game.

now when you say "And no pipes" what exactly are you guys refering to. all i noticed cut was the awsome opening(they should have played obsession in the tonami opening)the dot hack was brought to you by the following sponcers and the kick arse nextEP manny view thing and the killer credits.

The pipes people have been reffering to is the titles of all the shows on Toonami for a while. Most Toonami shows have their own WS made openings...then it shows the title of the shows on a pipe and with wires and pipes around it, all in grey and kind of bland. When we say there were no pipes, we mean the pipe- title sequence wasn't used for this series, instead it had it's own title card...which is something people have been asking for quite some time now.

Morac

02-02-2003, 03:30 AM

Rather than repeat what others have said I'll just say I liked it.

I played Ultima Online (the original graphic MMORPG) when it first came out over 5 years ago up until 2001 (was even a councelor [aka smurf] for a while) so it makes it easier to understand MMORPG aspect of the show.

At least watching .Hack//SIGN is only 30 minutes a week (instead of 80+ hours for an online gaming addiction :))

Disco Pete

02-02-2003, 04:47 AM

I must say I'm impressed. Definately looks like a thinker.

As a musician, I was really impressed with the music. Very good!

Will Sturnick

02-02-2003, 09:47 AM

.hack//SIGN: 91%

1. Role Play

I liked it. It was a little confusing, but I look forward to next week. And the removal of the pipes was a long time coming. I'm interested to see how the plot will develop. I wish they's play "Obssession" since they have enough time too.

Wilco911

02-02-2003, 01:07 PM

Personally, .hack reminds me of Sierra's old MMORPG 'The Realm'(which if I remember correctly is older than UO). Towards the end of it's life people were hacking it to change their character apperences, too. Nothing like turning their characters into cats, but they'd make their characters so big you could only see their legs, or so small they were only 1 pixel by 1 pixel.

Poser Wannabe

02-02-2003, 01:54 PM

I really liked the first episode of .Hack//Sign. I played Everquest for close to 3 years so I really identified with the show. It was very confusing, and the whole time I was wondering if this was the first episode or not, lol. I can’t wait for the next episode. ^_^

I loved the music and the animation. The VA was pretty good, but I can't wait for the DVD so I can watch it with subtitles. :)

But I have a question though, I was planning to pick up the video game on 2/14. I believe it's called .Hack: Infection (?). I remember reading that the four games take place after the TV series, so should I wait and see the entire TV series before buying the game? Anyone happen to know?

Artimus Gigan

02-02-2003, 01:58 PM

It needed an hour premiere, one half hour only sets it up, music was good though.

ohmrbill

02-02-2003, 02:15 PM

Link1130

02-02-2003, 02:34 PM

I've already seen the series with fansubs and my opnion is pretty much like everybody elses' opinions who've seen the series so....

Just read the thread :D

Toonami's run will be the second time I've seen the series so now I'm going back and noticing these things that while make no since the first time you see it but do once you know just what's going on (an example would be the last scene in the real world).

Zach Logan

02-02-2003, 02:44 PM

Still havnt seen it >.<

WAITING....

Jude Santos

02-02-2003, 04:33 PM

But I have a question though, I was planning to pick up the video game on 2/14. I believe it's called .Hack: Infection (?). I remember reading that the four games take place after the TV series, so should I wait and see the entire TV series before buying the game? Anyone happen to know?

you can play the game while watching the tv series, the game (i think the first 2 games) came out while the .hack//SIGN was playing on tv in japan so i say its fine. naturally, it will spoil what happens (the very first scene in the game is directly after the end of .hack//SIGN), but they dont spoil the important parts (ie. what happens to the characters).

for additional information, here's the english and original titles for the games:

vol. 1 - .hack//INFECTION (original title: .hack//INFECTION EXPANSION)
vol. 2 - .hack//MUTATION (original title: .hack//MALIGNANT MUTATION)
vol. 3 - .hack//OUTBREAK (original title: .hack//EROSION POLLUTION)
vol. 4 - .hack//QUARANTINE (original title: .hack//ABSOLUTE ENCIRCLEMENT)

mutantmagnet

02-02-2003, 05:18 PM

For future referrence if you miss an episode you can read these indepth synopsis at:

http://home.mchsi.com/~landale77/hack/

If you have serious questions that haven't been answered try going to .hack for dummies (there is a link to it in the above website I mentioned.)

In my estimation of this show it's bordering on crap if you it can't appeal to you. The pacing is slow and plodding. We get a surface look at four characters (one of which is a complete ass) and very little in substance. It jumps into the middle of a story so a person gets lost right from the start ( I seriously felt like I may have missed a prior episode despite knowing for a fact this was the first episode[it's that misleading]) There were scenes inserted that didn't really belong or could've been added later (the main character riding the cow like VA (Virtual Animal) or the brief introduction of the two characters by the oasis.)

Basically this show's pilot breaks almost every convention for American viewership except for how a pilot always looks like crap. If the next episode follows through with this pattern it will step firmly into the realm of crap and lose viewers who don't like waiting forever for it to start.

I personally liked the pilot because scenarios like this appeal to me. Reminds me of two books I read. One was called Kilobyte and it was ok. The other was more entertaining but I can't remember its name right now.

Anyway I see a lot of potential in this storyline and hope it unfolds in some of the ways I imagine the writers could go with it and in ways I didn't imagine.

Some scenes dragged, most notably the dialogues between Tsukasa and Mimiru.

Somethings were subtly nice (noteably the discussion about the World and the game itself between Subaru and Ginkan.)

At first I thought it was wasted space but their discussion about the moralties of players underscores Tsukasa's behavior. Mimiru's getting on her soapbox on manners and etiquette hammered in this point later on for anyone who may have missed the point the first time around.

I found it interesting that Tsukasa simply couldn't get out and it would've bugged me if he didn't simply try going to the admins to resolve the issue but being true to his assholish self he decides he wants to stay in fantasy land.

[SPOILER]It will be interesting to see if he changes his mind later on or in comparison to what his former self was like, before the coma that made him forget how he got to the location with the treasure chest.

It's interesting because it engages my mind but for someone who doesn't find MMORPGs or a theme revolving around living in Reality vs Virtual Reality appealing this first episode bites.

Poser Wannabe

02-02-2003, 05:34 PM

Originally posted by Fatal
you can play the game while watching the tv series, the game (i think the first 2 games) came out while the .hack//SIGN was playing on tv in japan so i say its fine. naturally, it will spoil what happens (the very first scene in the game is directly after the end of .hack//SIGN), but they dont spoil the important parts (ie. what happens to the characters).

for additional information, here's the english and original titles for the games:

vol. 1 - .hack//INFECTION (original title: .hack//INFECTION EXPANSION)
vol. 2 - .hack//MUTATION (original title: .hack//MALIGNANT MUTATION)
vol. 3 - .hack//OUTBREAK (original title: .hack//EROSION POLLUTION)
vol. 4 - .hack//QUARANTINE (original title: .hack//ABSOLUTE ENCIRCLEMENT) Thanks for the answer, exactly what I was looking for. :D

lostrune

02-02-2003, 06:01 PM

Originally posted by Poser Wannabe
Thanks for the answer, exactly what I was looking for. :D
I'm glad ya guys really like the first episode.
Because it goes downhill from here... or so I've heard. :D
(Doesn't necessarily mean it's bad though; just that it's the best ep of the bunch. Guess we'll just see how true.)

Roman Legion

02-02-2003, 06:41 PM

Originally posted by mutantmagnet
In my estimation of this show it's bordering on crap if you it can't appeal to you.Umm... huh?
The pacing is slow and plodding. We get a surface look at four characters (one of which is a complete ass) and very little in substance.First you're saying it pretty much sucked...
Basically this show's pilot breaks almost every convention for American viewership except for how a pilot always looks like crap.Then you're saying it breaks from convention, and that it's a good thing?
If the next episode follows through with this pattern it will step firmly into the realm of crap and lose viewers who don't like waiting forever for it to start.Heh... Personally, this was among my favorite episodes. I thought it worked well even apart from the rest of the series. Also, having seen the entire show, I think I'd have liked it better if the entire thing stuck to the initial tangent... but that's me.
I personally liked the pilot because scenarios like this appeal to me. Reminds me of two books I read. One was called Kilobyte and it was ok. The other was more entertaining but I can't remember its name right now.So it was slow, plodding, and bordering on crap, but you liked it? Pardon me for being completely baffled.
It's interesting because it engages my mind but for someone who doesn't find MMORPGs or a theme revolving around living in Reality vs Virtual Reality appealing this first episode bites. So it was slow, plodding, bordering on crap, you liked it, it engages your mind, but it ultimately bites? Hwa?

You sound deeply conflicted. Can you expand on all this any further?

--Romey

Roman Legion

02-02-2003, 06:48 PM

Originally posted by lostrune
I'm glad ya guys really like the first episode. Because it goes downhill from here... or so I've heard. :D (Doesn't necessarily mean it's bad though; just that it's the best ep of the bunch. Guess we'll just see how true.)It all depends on what you expect from this show. In my own humble opinion, I thought it built up well for the first few episodes, then it began to sag a bit... then it built up again around episode 9, then it began to sag a bit... then it built up at episode 12, then it began to sag a bit... You get the idea. Overall, I enjoyed it, so that's all that matters to me, even if I wish a few things were handled differently.

--Romey

j32885

02-02-2003, 08:20 PM

I thought it was pretty good. Interesting how a RPG allows you to enter this virtual computer world. It like the widescreen feel, I hope Toonami does more shows like this in the future. :)

:( I almost didn't get to see it do to the fact, that my parents were glue to the TV all yesterday, because of the Space Shuttle Columbia Disaster. Lucky I had my VCR set for .hack//SIGN before the disaster happen. I finally got to watch it this morning. :D I give the pilot episode an overall 4 & 1/2 Stars. :cool:

mutantmagnet

02-02-2003, 09:06 PM

Originally posted by Romey

You sound deeply conflicted. Can you expand on all this any further?

--Romey

I'm not conflicted at all. Read over what I said I was very explicit in my wording. To help you along I was making points from the stance of people who may have watched a show of this type for the first time without being familiar with anime and/or MMORPGs while making points about my own pov.

The show has problems which I can ignore which others might not.

Roman Legion

02-02-2003, 09:55 PM

Originally posted by mutantmagnet
I'm not conflicted at all. Read over what I said I was very explicit in my wording. To help you along I was making points from the stance of people who may have watched a show of this type for the first time without being familiar with anime and/or MMORPGs while making points about my own pov.Still wasn't terribly clear, but oh well...
The show has problems which I can ignore which others might not.It's waaay too early for diagnosing "problems" with the show or making judgements about the pacing, no matter what POV a person might have. Most anime series I've seen don't jump into the main plot much deeper or further than this in their first episodes, so I don't see why this should be pointed out as if it were a special case. If people aren't willing to give something until at least the second episode, then no amount of explaining is going to help them. ;-)

--Romey

Conekiller

02-02-2003, 11:00 PM

I saw this epiosode mothns ago at my anime club and I was baffled. about halfway thru I got the gist of what was goin on, but was still confused (it didn't help that they didn't tell us that they were gonna spring a brand new show on us or givng us the basic premise either)

now, a few months later and a little education (thank you Newtype USA) I understnad , mostly) what's goin on and I enjoyed it .

on a side not I enjoyed that they lowered the music levels, I noiced that too when I watched it subbed.

A

VashTS

02-03-2003, 09:29 AM

I thought that it was a pretty good episode, myself. I'm not really sure what's going on or where it's going to go, but that's been the case with a lot of the anime that I've seen and they've turned out to be very interesting. Even my wife really liked it, and she's not into the whole MMORPG thing at all. It was nice to see the show in widescreen as well. The only part that I don't like is having to wait a week to see the next episode, especially after the last scene . . .

wrenchien

02-03-2003, 10:38 AM

i, see.

i assume that is a robe he wears.. yes?

ha hah ah hah

Conekiller

02-03-2003, 12:00 PM

I loved the :retun from commercial" bunmper they used, which was just a bunch of shots of tsukasa teleporting away, that was funny.

BTW they didn't NAME Tsukasa in this one did they?

Michael

02-03-2003, 02:23 PM

great epsiode, i cant wait to see more of it :)

Conekiller

02-03-2003, 05:00 PM

Anyone know where I can find some nice, cclear pics of .hack (not necesarilly just the show) most of the sites I've found have very little in regards to official art, instead just some screen shots.
anyone?

Poser Wannabe

02-03-2003, 05:39 PM

Originally posted by Conekiller
BTW they didn't NAME Tsukasa in this one did they? They did in the preview before the show. But inside the episode itself I don't think they did, but I could be wrong. :)

Tea

02-03-2003, 07:29 PM

Originally posted by Conekiller
Anyone know where I can find some nice, cclear pics of .hack (not necesarilly just the show) most of the sites I've found have very little in regards to official art, instead just some screen shots.
anyone?

*looks around* Muu.. well you're in luck I did collect a few .hack sites a while back. Take your pick.

http://www.hack.channel.or.jp/ official Japanese .hack site.
http://www.tv-tokyo.co.jp/hack_sign/ Official Japanese .hack//SIGN site.
http://www.tv-tokyo.co.jp/anime/hack_udeden/ Official Japanese .hack//DUSK (or LEGEND.. whichever.) site.
http://www.dothack.com/ Official English .hack site.
http://www.blackwings.net/hack/index.php English all-around fansite. Beware of spoilers though...

I don't think there's any big spoilers on the official sites (because if you were running an official site the thing you shouldn't do would be to spoil it, right?? I hope.) so there ya go. :)

Conekiller

02-03-2003, 10:47 PM

Originally posted by Moonglo
*looks around* Muu.. well you're in luck I did collect a few .hack sites a while back. Take your pick.

http://www.hack.channel.or.jp/ official Japanese .hack site.
http://www.tv-tokyo.co.jp/hack_sign/ Official Japanese .hack//SIGN site.
http://www.tv-tokyo.co.jp/anime/hack_udeden/ Official Japanese .hack//DUSK (or LEGEND.. whichever.) site.
http://www.dothack.com/ Official English .hack site.
http://www.blackwings.net/hack/index.php English all-around fansite. Beware of spoilers though...

I don't think there's any big spoilers on the official sites (because if you were running an official site the thing you shouldn't do would be to spoil it, right?? I hope.) so there ya go. :)

I've been to most fo those, but not really what I was lookin for. more like the pics that were used in the .hackers wallpapers. stuff likte that. or at least larger verisons of the character model images that are found on the official sites. but thanks anyway

.hack//Tsukasa

02-04-2003, 04:45 AM

you frogot
http://www.cyberconnect2.jp/hack/
the offical game site jp. tons of spoilers images and junk there.

Sakura

02-05-2003, 12:28 AM

Yay! .hack ... dubbed. XD
Uhm, I don't Cartoon Network or anything, and I've seen the whole series on DVD... (what sucks is that the subtitles were really bad. Heh.) Erm, are there any small voice clips of them? I'd like to hear their voices.. ^^

serenitymoon

02-05-2003, 08:28 PM

I liked the episode, I can't wait till next week. I don't get what's exactly going on, but my interest is peaked to watch more... and maybe research the game a bit...

.hack//Tsukasa

02-06-2003, 04:01 PM

"Uhm, I don't Cartoon Network or anything, and I've seen the whole series on DVD... (what sucks is that the subtitles were really bad. Heh.) Erm, are there any small voice clips of them? I'd like to hear their voices.. ^^"

the offical DVDs have better subs. anyways the voices are ok but not ideal Dubbing. imo they are all off. except for the well item guy. oh and maho maho sounds the same ^_^

Spike04

02-07-2003, 12:06 PM

WOOHOO!!
It's almost Saturday! I can't wait! :D

The Man in Black

02-07-2003, 07:21 PM

http://www.cartoonnetwork.com/tools/img/pixel.gif

Parallax

02-07-2003, 07:47 PM

Hey Duelist_Goku, what were you trying to post since it seems to have messed up?

The Man in Black

02-07-2003, 08:09 PM

Originally posted by ssjgogeta4
Hey Duelist_Goku, what were you trying to post since it seems to have messed up?

The .hack//SIGN pic on toonami.com

PowerZord

02-07-2003, 08:27 PM

it wasn;t so bad this ep. i need to see the series again so i can understand it a little better

StrangerAtaru

02-10-2003, 12:08 AM

FINALLY! I finally got around to seeing the first episode of this show tonight, and while I do find this show interesting, it hasn't really peaked my interest like the rest of you. No, it is not that the show is too verbal and dialouge based, because I don't mind a bit of conversation. (heck, Lain was one of my favorite anime I saw last year) Actually, this show is weird in that it feels more like an RPG in itself than an anime. It just has taken me back that this show is something that would feel cool playing, but is just awkward watching in an anime form. (sort of like if you are watching a friend play in the middle of a game and you have no idea of what came before, neither do you think you will see what comes after) But it is still something I will continue to watch: the characters seem interesting, we have some cool "mystery" elements, and of course the music is some of the best I have heard in an anime in a whille. But, not saying this in a bad way, it just seems right now like a fusion of "Lain" and, believe it or not, "Yu-Gi-Oh". (but luckily, this is better already than that poor excuse for an anime)