.hack//SIGN

One of the best animes I have ever had the gift of watching. Character design is superb,great musical score, and the voice acting is up in line with Cowboy Bebop, Alexander(Reign the Conquerer), etc. The games are great. Hopefully it will become a long running series like the Mobile Suit Gundam series.

Willam, the copies of the game you found were probably the American versions released legally.

Just a few months ago I saw this show for the first time.I heard everyone talking about it so I watched it.After watching one episode of this show I fell in love with it.I think it's one of the BEST ANIME shows ever! I got one of my friends to watch it one night and now she watches it all the time.Even though It only 30 minutes long it seems longer and really good.Most of the time Stuff that you wouldn't expect happen!It is very cool!I recommend this show to all Anime lovers!

When I first watched this series on Cartoon Network in 2003, I only got to see the first episode and I have to say this series was amazing. I really want to collect this series, and I did. When I bought the first 2 volumes on DVD in 2004. They were the best, I know it's hard for Tsukasa to logout because there was no player to control him. I believe that Tsukasa is immortal and he cannot be defeated. Another thing I liked about the show is the music and songs. I think the best song in this series is,"The World".And of course,"The key of the Twilight" My favorite characters in this show are:Subaru,BT,and Crim. I did like the other episodes after buying the next 2 volumes on DVD, and of course the final volumes. But before watching them, I watched the other volumes over all the way through. It was really cool watching them all the way through before the new volumes. The series also features the voices of:Amanda Winn Lee,Dave Wittenberg,Donna Rawlins,Kim Mai Guest,Mary Elizabeth McGlynn,Paul Mercier,(famous for Onimusha 3),Valerie Arem,Bob Papenbrook,Brianne Siddall, Crispin Freeman, Debra Rogers,Doug Rye,Kirk Thornton,Lani Minella,Lex Lang ,Mona Marshall,Sandy Fox,and Wendee Lee. So in closing, after the series,play the video game. It's the best.

.hack//Sign is not boring or confusing. If you have seen Evangelion, which is created by some of the same people, you can see how the "confusion" is actually an important story device called Mystery.

As the other comments eluded to, this series is one in a multi-format anime/manga/game series. Hack sign is only the second part in the series. So the claim that the ending resolves nothing, first realize that this series was never intended to "stand alone", but to complement the other parts. Second, please refer to the other animes done by these people: Evangelion and Ghost in the Shell, both have inconclusive endings, like it or not. If you can't stand a complex plot; you prefer simple, predictable plots; then this show is not for you.

As to the boring part. The show may be slow moving, especially the episode where Mimiru waits for Tsukasa in Dun Lorielag, but if you are paying attention fully, you notice how well written the show is. It is portraying the sometimes tediousness of online gaming, but more importantly, showing how Tsukasa is living on a completely different timeframe from other players. This serves to give the viewers some insight into how Tsukasa must be feeling, and how the other "normal" players must be exerting themselves trying to befriend him. .Hack//Sign is a beautiful story. With well drawn characters and backgrounds, and well written music. The characters and dialogue are complex, as well as the story. I recommend everybody buy/watch this anime, as well as .hack//liminality and also play the games. They are all fun and each are a part in a larger puzzle. This whole series has quite an original concept. It certainly is not boring or confusing.

Before I start, let me point out that the only exposure I've had to the.hack universe is through this series. So if I'm just not getting something that is somehow enhanced by the games or other series, I apologize.

Anyway, this is really a pretty good show. Not great, but good. Good characters, great animation and music, and an inventive and creative plot. The only real beefs I have with this show are the length and the confusion. During the series, I accepted the fact that things may seem a little confusing, and I'd just have to stick with it. I expected that things would be tied up at the end, maybe not completely, but at least enough to justify watching all these (mostly pointless) episodes. Unfortunately, I don't feel that they really explained what happened. It kind of left me hanging. I understand the story goes on, but I would have preferred a little more closure.

As for the length, the series contains far too little content to fill nearly thirty episodes. Its kind of an anti-FLCL, if you know what I mean. They could have easily wrapped it up in 13, if not fewer. It just seemed to drag on and on, talking a lot without really saying anything. Of course, sometimes it was nice to just sit back and enjoy the beautiful animation and music. They were something of a saving grace.

So in the end, I'd recommend .hack//sign. Despite its length, it managed to keep my interest throughout, and that's always a good thing.