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Watch out for Spoilers!
Background
.hack starts in a fictional 2005, introducing a computer virus called Pluto's Kiss as the cause of a massive Internet shutdown.[12] The results are described as catastrophic:[13] traffic lights shut down, planes collide in midair, and the United States' nuclear missiles are nearly launched. As a consequence, cyberspace is subjected to severe restrictions. The virus affects all operating systems except for one, Altimit OS, the only operating system immune to all computer viruses.[13]
Two years later free access to the networks recovers, bringing with it the release of The World: the first online game since Pluto's Kiss, developed for Altimit OS.[12] The World is portrayed as a fantasy setting wherein player characters can be different classes, adventure by themselves to go searching through dungeons, or join with others and form parties; fight monsters and level up, collect new items and participate in special events.[4] At the center of each server is a Root Town, which contain shops, a save point, and the Chaos Gate that players use to travel between servers in the game.[15]
Harald Hoerwick is introduced as the creator of The World. He secretly designed the game as a virtual womb in order to create the ultimate artificial intelligence (AI), by receiving emotional and psychological data from the players. His motivation is revealed to be the death of Emma Wielant, a German poet whom he was in love with; the AI, who was named Aura, would serve as the "daughter" they never had.[16] Harald left the gathering of the required data for Aura's development at the care of the core system of The World itself, an omnipresent AI called Morganna Mode Gone.[13] The storyline of .hack//Sign, set in early 2010,[12] revolves around the premise of Morganna attempting to stall the growth of Aura indefinitely, after realizing that she will lose her purpose once Aura is complete.
Plot
.hack//Sign follows the story about Tsukasa being mind-trapped into the game. Despite being a "fantasy quest type adventure", it does not rely on action sequences.[11][4] Instead, the show is driven by mystery, slowly revealing its secrets to the viewer while paying much attention to the individual characters.[8] Questions like what happened to Tsukasa in the real world, who he really is and why he is unable to log out are driving points of the story.[11]
Soon after the beginning of the series Tsukasa is led to a hidden area. There he meets Morganna, depicted as a voice without physical appearance, and Aura, who appears as a young girl clad entirely in white, floating asleep above a bed. The storyline introduces Morganna as an ally, but her real intentions are unknown at this point.
As the story progresses many characters are introduced, some who want to help, some who have ulterior motives. Then more questions arise as to "what is happening in the game itself, who are these various characters, what are their true goals and what will happen to Tsukasa".[11] All the while he is seen struggling with his increasingly dire situation as well as his own social and emotional shortcomings. Tsukasa isolates himself, but eventually he begins to get closer to other players, and builds strong relationships with some of them. The most important is that which is born between him and Subaru, a kind and thoughtful female Heavy Axeman.[17][11]
In the meantime, the anime follows the quest for the Key of the Twilight (黄昏の鍵, Tasogare no Kagi?), a legendary item rumored to have the ability to bypass the system in The World.[9] Some characters want the Key to gain the power this supposedly confers. Others believe the item will provide Tsukasa with a way to log out. Despite the reasons for seeking it, everyone agrees that it is related to Tsukasa in some way, as he is also a factor bypassing the system in the game. His body being in a coma in the real world adds a sense of urgency to the quest.
Near the end of the series Tsukasa's real-life identity takes a more central place in the storyline, particularly in relation to his growing bond with Subaru.[18][19] The series shows his fear and insecurity as he confesses to her that he is probably a girl in the real world.[20][19] It is also at this point when Tsukasa is told Morganna's plan by a highly skilled hacker called Helba. Morganna conceived the plan to link Aura to a character who could corrupt her with negative emotional data, placing her in a state where she would never awaken. The chosen character was Tsukasa, as his mind was filled with distressful memories of his real life.[19] Helba also suggests that when Aura is able to awaken, "the Key of the Twilight will take form".[21]
The story reaches its climax when Tsukasa confronts Morganna. Then the viewer sees him declaring that he is no longer afraid of her or of reality, and will log out because there is someone he wants to see.[22] This statement triggers Aura's awakening, allowing Tsukasa to log out. The last scenes feature an emotional encounter between Tsukasa's real-life self, finally shown to be a girl, and the real-life player behind Subaru.
Characters
Tsukasa (司, Tsukasa?) is a Wavemaster and the main character. At the start of the series, he is seen waking up to find himself in a dungeon in The World, but he has no idea why he is there or who he is. Not much time passes until Tsukasa discovers he is trapped in the game, unable to log out. He is initially depicted as a cynical loner who tends to avoid others as much as possible, but his character development shows how he grows to realize there are people who care about him.
Voiced by: Mitsuki Saiga (Japanese), Brianne Siddall (English)
Subaru (昴, Subaru?) is a female Heavy Axeman introduced as the leader of the Crimson Knights, a player organization designed to fight injustice in The World. At times she is the only character preventing the Crimson Knights from running wild; she knows that they must restrain from abusing their power. She eventually joins in the search of a way to help Tsukasa, and builds a strong relationship with him.
Voiced by: Kaori Nazuka (Japanese), Kim Mai Guest (English)
Mimiru (ミミル, Mimiru?) is a Heavy Blade, described on Helba Gate as a tough-it-out-through-anything, devil-may-care fighter who is poor at planning things out and following through on them.[1] She is the first player to meet Tsukasa, and later forms a bond with him and vows to protect him. She usually hangs out with Bear, trying to solve the mystery of Tsukasa's inability to log out.
Voiced by: Megumi Toyoguchi (Japanese), Amanda Winn-Lee (English)
Bear (ベア, Bea?) is an older player of the game and plays a Blademaster. He appears as cool and collected, always willing to help out newbies, giving off an experienced air. He also conducts research in the real world on Tsukasa in the attempt to try to figure out who he really is; he is in fact the first character who discovers Tsukasa's real life identity. Bear is usually seen hanging out with Mimiru and BT. In an interview, Kōichi Mashimo acknowledged similarities between Bear's design and Mel Gibson in his role as William Wallace.[2]
Voiced by: Kazuhiro Nakata (Japanese), Paul Mercier (English)
BT is a Wavemaster, considered by Helba Gate as a plotting and scheming character who forms friendships just to achieve a goal.[1] She rarely ventures out to fight monsters, but she appears to be good with both offensive and defensive magic.[1] BT teams up with Crim to find the Key of the Twilight, a rumored powerful rare item. Her quest leads her to the upside down dungeon, where she discovers the AI Harald.
Voiced by: Akiko Hiramatsu (Japanese), Donna Rawlins (English)
Sora (楚良, Sora?) is a Twin Blade player killer who enjoys hunting players down, especially attractive female ones, and demanding their Member Addresses in exchange for their lives. He sees Tsukasa as the strongest link to the Key of the Twilight, and starts to work with BT in the quest for the item. He also helps BT and the others to contact Helba. In the English dub Sora is given lines in leet-speak, a feature not present in the original Japanese version.
Voiced by: Hiroshi Yanaka (Japanese), Dave Wittenberg (English)
Silver Knight (銀漢, Ginkan?) is second-in-command of the Crimson Knights. As described by Frank Ellis he possesses a strong sense of justice (becoming overzealous at times),[3] but is extremely naïve, leading him to end up as more of a tool to be used by whoever is in control.[4] He is extremely overprotective of Subaru. Silver Knight's PC is an edited version of the standard Crimson Knight design.
Voiced by: Isshin Chiba (Japanese), Douglas Rye (English)
Crim (クリム, Kurimu?) is a powerful Long Arm, friend of Subaru who founded the Crimson Knights organization with her, but afterwards left it as he found it did not match his personality. Amiable, easygoing and sociable; he prefers to keep the real world and the game separate. Crim's stated goal when playing is simply to have fun,[5] although he never turns down a chance to help somebody in need.
Voiced by: Shinichiro Miki (Japanese), Lex Lang (English)
