SIGN//off.

[heart havok]

i must say, i completely loved .hack//SIGN upon my first viewing of it. but what most intrigued me, was the IRL sequences... they were so sudden and attentuating that every time one was shown, i almost froze in my seat to take it all in. the values of black and white (with various shades of gray)... the enigmatic atmosphere... the sudden contrast of tone and setting... this is what got me hooked.



[spoilers ahead]

upon viewing, i certainly couldn't imagine how they would end the series .hack//SIGN... and i must say, i was certainly looking forward to how they'd chose to do so - though i also didn't want it to end. [fortunately it does keep going in a sense]. the end blew me away though... the sudden crescendo in the last few episodes takes an enormous climb into character developement, and we find our characters faced with an allpowerful enemy; Skeith. and what can they do? nothing... and as i watch on my DivX player, the ending time is coming near... not near enough time for a battle... what are they going to do?

Helba is left with one choice... "i'll have to delete this field." and the episode 'turns off' into blackness. how perfectly fitting... and we find ourselves on the edge of our seats, staring at the credits rolling over a -now- black and white (with various shades of gray) animated image of a familiar handicapped acquaintance rolling down the sidewalk. [be sure you let all the credits roll]




[/end spoilers]






well, what were your thoughts on the ending? i thought it was most fitting. and though there indeed were times thruout the series where i would've prefered it to touch more indepth and thought provoking or sentimental issues - or further elaborate on emotions and sentiment between characters - the ending made the series up there in my "Class A - Anime" slot along with the likes of Cowboy Bebop, Boogiepop Phantom, Serial Experiments Lain, Vision of Escaflowne, FLCL, Kare Kano, Eva, + Now and Then Here and There.

so i know some people despise the series because of its lack of action orient. but for those who care to... what were your thoughts on the ending?







ps... i'm ------- pissed .hack//Dusk is all childish and stupid... or is that supposed to mean "comedic"? -_-

[Mav]

.hack//DUSK gets more serious by episode seven...though it still has lots of silly moments.

I really liked .hack//SIGN, but it left way too many unanswered questions, so I don't really think I could judge it on its own. Hopefully the other parts of .hack will fill in the missing pieces...

[Andy00]

I adored the ending. I found it sweet, and it brought closure to certain characters.

Particularly (Spoilers)
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Tsukasa, and how Tsukasa's life was turned around in the real world. Before, an abused child with gender issues, now with friends/loved ones and even new family.
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End Spoilers


For those who want _more_ closure, well, you'll have to wait for .hack//Another Story.
:)

[Andy00]

I'm still waiting to see how DUSK turns out. My primary complaint is they just can't make up their minds on the tone.

[Fatal Outlaw]

well i totally LOVED the ending of .hack//SIGN, i loved how

SPOILERS







the real world turned to color when Tsukasa met Subaru IRL, a signal that real life isnt harsh for tsukasa :)






as for .hack//DUSK, im waiting until i play at least after the second game. i heard from various people that it was great though...

[MrQ]

im reluctant to watch .hack//dusk because i hear it gives away stuff from .hack//infection

[heart havok]

well if .hack//Dusk does get the more serious undertones that .hack//SIGN introduced us to so well, i'll definitely be happy with it. just as long as the "comedy" doesn't jump in and ruin good moments.

none the less, this is a discussion on .hack//SIGN and particularly its ending.

#1: i hate when the story and ending are spelled out for the audience and sharpened and resharpened... too much closure is obnoxious, way too often, and uninteresting.

however, many people say they felt they were left with "unanswered questions"... this, i don't personally get, because i didn't feel i had any questions left unanswered - considering, everything they touched in .hack//SIGN was touched on. sure, they introduce a few many other things such as Skeith, Morgana, and others... but this is surely going to carry on thru the following games and perhaps Dusk as well.

however, as .hack//SIGN's story concerns mostly the 'awakening' of Tsukasa and Aura... there's no need to waste time on topics that don't come into further play until later events. thus, i think .hack//SIGN wrapped things up quite nicely... especially with its introductions of new concepts and images thru the last few episodes and the abruptness of its "cut to:" ending.

for me, things are far more interesting when left to be figured out by the audience. i don't want to be thought of as some android who needs to be spoon fed my stories.. i want stories [especially in film or anime] to inspire and instigate thinking and contemplation.

.hack//SIGN did this QUITE well... in my opinion.

especially because many Wired friends and i used to always talk about concepts like being stuck in the online world and the such. very interesting indeed.

besides... i love deterioration. and a breaking down MMORPG is quite interesting enough for me. especially when it crosses conscious planes =)