AnimeVision

It's the return of the grumpiest lead in an anime series this year. Yes, Tsukasa, I mean you. Just as well the rest of the cast in .hack//SIGN are more likeable...

So after volume 1's introduction to The World and Tsukasa's predicament, where does volume 2 take us?

Encounter
First real meeting between Tsukasa & Subaru, who seems to be taking an unusual interest in him. Tsukasa's still under the control of the Scarlet Knights, but with a little help from Sora, of all people, Tsukasa's soon a free PC again. Mimiru's efforts to talk to him come to nothing, however, and he's soon back in his hiding place again.

Reason
Mimiru's still a bit miffed at Tsukasa's attitude towards her - to the point where she's about to give up on her desire to help him. It's at this point that she meets A-20, a new player eager to try one of the more advanced quests in The World, and who needs a lot of help to get the job done. Cue Mimiru, who initially isn't interested but is dragged in by a few well-placed insults...

Promise
After her adventure with A-20, Mimiru has a renewed determination to help Tsukasa, and messages him to meet her. He takes his time in deciding whether to come or not, leaving Mimiru as the subject of some speculation on The World's BBS while she maintains her vigil. BT, meanwhile, has discussions with Subaru and Krim about searching for the "Key of the Twilight", an item which may have something to do with Tuskasa's inability to log out.

Epitaph
Investigations into the Key of the Twilight continue. Tsukasa, meanwhile, has agreed to look after another player's Grunty while she's away for a few days - no sooner has she left than the grunty comes down with a potentially fatal illness.

Compensation
Some more details on real-word Bear here, as the episode opens with him meeting with his son. The episode focuses mainly on Bear as he tries to come to grips with his own attitude towards Tsukasa and whether he can really be of use to him.

So overall, there's a lot of conversation & character development spread over the 5 episodes here, with the main plot shifted almost to the background. The Key of the Twilight provides a hook to the main story so we don't forget what's going on, but Tsukasa takes much less of a role than he did in the first batch of episodes.

To me, that's no bad thing - he's one of the most annoying characters of recent time & I'm still at a loss as to why Bear & Mimiru are so determined to get close to him. Go figure. Still, they're the characters that make the show enjoyable.

Perhaps the most important aspect of .hack to bear in mind is that there's a lot of talking going on. If you're looking for wall-to-wall action, this is not the show for you, as you need to pay attention to what's going on & what's being said to be able to properly follow the story. If that doesn't bother you, there's a good show to be enjoyed here. Even though these episodes are mostly filler, it's worth watching for the interactions between the characters & the glimpses you get at their motivations. For my money, it's well worth watching.