 End of the line for The World in this incarnation. A sizeable chunk of me is saying "Thank God"...
24 - Net Slum
The gang enter Net Slum, Helba's 'safehouse' and a repository for
fragments of lost data - including a few copies of Tsukasa, it seems.
Something else to give Tsukasa reason to doubt his real identity...
Helba's also waiting for them, along with some explanations about
what's been going on - in particular why Tsukasa can't log out and the
nature of his connection with Aura. Bear & Crim figure out that
Subaru's the key to Tsukasa's recovery - but it seems they're not the
only ones to have figured it, as she's attacked by one of Morganna's
creatures. Meanwhile, Sora's getting involved with things he doesn't
understand when he enters Morganna's realm...
25 - Catastrophe
Morganna's not taking her loss well, and Net Slum's no longer the place
of safety that it once was, so the gang return to The World proper. BT
splits from the group, allegedly to stock up on healing supplies, but
has a run in with Sora on the way. Following on from his investigations
into Tsukasa's real-world background & a hunch on why he can't log
out, Bear has a surprising proposal for Tsukasa, while Sora continues
to make life as difficult for the group as he can, and Macha finally
chooses to stand on Tsukasa's side of the battle - but it seems it's
all for nothing as Tsukasa, Subaru & Mimiru disappear during
another attack...
26 - Return
Tsukasa find himself in a barren wasteland, without Subaru and Mimiru,
who also find themselves alone similar places - and they're places that
aren't quite what they seem. Back at the cathedral, Bear and co try to
figure out where they've disappeared to, reaching the conclusion that
if Helba can create private areas for her own use, the enemy can too...
Meanwhile, Tsukasa & co learn that the area they're in is designed
to ruin their resolve & destroy their relationships - once they
discover that, they're quickly moved to Aura's place, where Morganna is
waiting. On this occasion, it seems she's lost any power she once had
over Tsukasa, but she's not prepared to give up without a fight...
15 - Evidence
Recap episode, shunted to the end of the running order on account of
its lack of useful or original information. I have to admit that, while
I did briefly skip through it back in .hack's fansub days, I didn't bother to look at it this time around.
27 - Intermezzo
Skip back to around the mid-point of the series, as Bear & Mimiru
take time to join an event... Mimiru has a particular reason for
joining this event, as she tells Bear of a similar event a few years
ago, and a peculiar Player Character she met then...
28 - Unison
'Treat for the Fans' time, as characters from the .hack games & SIGN
TV series gather in one show for a celebration get-together, to
commemorate having survived the worst that The World could throw at
them. No story, just fun...
Quite a lot on this disc, including the 2 special episodes that were
reserved for the Special Edition release in R1, so no complaining on
that point. I can complain about the rest of the show, though. First
time around (back in its fansub days), .hack//SIGN managed to
get by on its style & killer soundtrack. This second time around,
I've found myself wondering where the initial appeal of the show has
gone, and noticing that a lot of things are hinted at through the
course of the show & never resolved later - and there's nothing
worse than dangling plot threads.
Individually, .hack has some good episodes - on this disc, Intermezzo
in particular is good fun to watch (Mimiru's previous character design
is just too cute), but taken as a whole there's definitely something
missing in the plot department.
Overall, then, good the first time around on account of its style,
but sadly lacking in replay value due to a distinct lack of substance.
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