AnimeVision

18 - Declaration
Subaru has discovered that the Crimson Knights have been withholding information & not passing on messages that have been left for her, leading to something of a crisis of confidence in the Knights - they seem to be developing delusions of grandeur and are looking to take on system admin roles despite Subaru's frequent reminders that they are just players. She turns to Crim for advice about how to handle the situation. Meanwhile, Tsukasa's mysterious benefactor seems to think that Tsukasa's been having a bit too much freedom of late, and needs reigned in again...

19 - Recollection
Subaru's having to adjust to life after the Crimson Knights. Her main problem is that all that administering has left her a lowly level 1 character - without her status to protect her she's now got to learn to fight like any other character. The episode flicks between Subaru's early days in The World (her first meeting with Crim & the formation of the Crimson Knights) and her current attempts to cope with life without the protection of the Knights.

This is my second viewing of .hack//SIGN and I have to admit I really didn't realise how slowly the story progresses the first time around. I do now... ^^;

At any rate, Tsukasa's pushed into the background here, with only a few cameo appearances and 1 ominous visit to his hiding place to remind us who the show is really supposed to be about. Meanwhile, we get 1 episode dealing with BT's relationships with those in the game & 2 more dealing the Subaru's past, present, and disintegrating relationship with the Crimson Knights. Guess what goes along with all this examination of relationships? Yup - characters standing around talking and not doing very much. That suits me fine - it's part of the charm of .hack - but a lot of people don't, so although I'm probably preaching to the converted by now, be advised.

The BT episode kind of washed over me - I don't have any real sympathy for the character & her somewhat back-stabbing ways, so her problems didn't hugely interest me. Subaru, however, is a different matter, and events with the Silver Knight & the rest of the Crimson Knights have been rumbling on for a while now, so it was good to see them come to a head. Also good to see Subaru wasn't afraid to sacrifice her own position for what she saw as essential principles, and the glimpses into the past & her first few days in the world were good viewing.

Overall, then, pretty much more of what I've come to expect from .hack//SIGN. Works for me, may not work for everyone, but IMO still a worthwhile show to watch.