An Explanation of .hack//sign

A world unlike any other, created by a God unlike any other. The thing is, this God is a virtual deity comprised of a group of system administrators in the real world. People from the mysterious ALTIMIT Corporation--an acronym for a term, which has not yet been revealed. This game, The World was created in 2007 (speaking in past tense about the future--how illogical could you get?), based off of a working prototype appropriately titled The Fragment.

Now, The Fragment was a work-in-progress, and the game's developers eventually intended to create The World, but they wanted to see whether the targeted demographic would be receptive to a product should it hit the shelves--this vital information would save them months of work and perspiration. Whereas if the developers had not done this, they would have wasted years of their lives creating an unwanted product.

Still with me? Okay . . .

There gathered several key players, whose lives and priorities were redefined following the release of the game. No doubt these key players began to alienate themselves from human contact, gradually preferring online intimacy to physical intimacy. We don't know the earthly identities of these players--at least, not by the end of episode one. But the secrets that these characters keep will shock, thrill and enthrall you.

This ensemble--you should get to know them. Tsukasa, Mimiru, Bear, BT, Subaru (a female), Crim (a former member of the Crimson Knights, this game's enforcers of law, order and fair play), and Sora (a character so mysterious, even her purpose in this entire scheme is concealed from us--but this character is nonetheless important). There is a limited amount of action in this animated series--which is this program's strongpoint. We are riveted to the characters.

Is this show essentially, then, one lengthy character piece? Far from it. The characters propel the plot and the mystery, all the while also being the perpetrators of the cycle of intelligence. Both figuratively and literally. They motivate us to think.

Questions/comments. You know where to send 'em. eaabrooks@hotmail.com. If you didn't know before, now you do.

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