In the future, "The World" is the best selling online game ever. Players from across the globe can meet up, trade items and go on quests into strange lands.

Enter Tsukasa, a boy who quickly discovers that he is unable to logout of "The World" and that the Crimson Knights (a group of players that help moderate "The World") want to ask him some questions about an illegally modified player he was seen with (a cat). When he happens across a mysterious item, he hears a voice saying, "As long as we walk together, I shall protect you." The Silver Knight, a high up in the Crimson Knights, corners Tsukasa, but a strange golden monster appears, and defeats him.

Bear and Mimiru, two players Tsukasa has met are concerned about him, but he ignores them. Tsukasa keeps trying to log out, but the Crimson knights block him at every gate. The cat player leads Tsukasa to a secret place with a mysterious sleeping girl. Bear and Mimiru contact Tsukasa, voicing their concerns and telling him that the silver knight was harmed in the real world when he was defeated. Tsukasa doesn't care, and when they pursue him, the golden guardian shows up and attacks, but Tsukasa cannot control it.

The Silver Knight returns and a shifty player named Sora allies with the Crimson Knights. He asks Lady Subaru (a leader of the Knights) about the Key of the Twilight, a hidden item that can break the rules of "The World". Tsukasa's contact with the sleeping girl evokes strange memories within him (memories of his real world persona?). Mimiru and Bear call Subaru and the Silver Knight, asking if they can get Tsukasa's player info. They vacillate, saying they will do what they can, but for now they can only restrict his access.

Rumors about Tsukasa are rampant. Subaru is bothered when she finds that he has been online for ten days straight. In the secret place, a voice evokes more memories in Tsukasa, leading him to believe that the voice is his mother. Sora suggests that Subaru create a bounty on Tsukasa as an event in order to capture him. Bear Does some searching offline and finds a girl in an unexplained coma. He and Mimiru ask Tsukasa if he's a girl in real life, but he denies it. When some hunters are demolished at the hands of Tsukasa's guardian, Subaru approves the wanted notice for Tsukasa.

Crim, a former member of the Crimson Knights, returns to "The World" and briefly meets Tsukasa. BT, Bear's partner, asks for Sora's cooperation on a plan to lure out Tsukasa. They spread rumors of another player with a golden guardian, which will draw Tsukasa out into an ambush of Crimson Knights. Bear and Mimiru learn of this, but are too late to warn Tsukasa. Despite the power of the golden guardian, Tsukasa is beaten and captured by Crim, Silver Knight, and nearly a hundred Crimson Knights.

THE GOOD:

1) Visuals: .hack is a colorful setting filled with exotic locales and the gorgeous character designs of Yoshiyuki Sadamoto (Nadia, Evangelion). The art is crisp and the animation smooth and clean. Many of the standard budget saving techniques are absent from .hack (except flashbacks... everyone loves flashbacks!), which is indicative of a high production value.

2) Music: The soundtrack to .hack features haunting yet energetic songs by the talented Yuki Kajiura. If the music sounds familiar, it may be because you have heard Kajiura's other work, that being the majority of the music for Noir and Eat-man.

3) The World and its inhabitants: The presentation of "The World" as an online RPG is fantastic. Not only does "The World" make sense from a gaming perspective, but many of the characters of .hack are patterned after common player types you would find in a real online RPG.

THE BAD:

Tsukasa: I didn't like Shinji from Evangelion; he was whiny who got on my nerves time and time again, and I don't like Tsukasa either. Tsukasa is far too much like Shinji, both in looks (thanks to Sadamoto's character design) and demeanor. He's a selfish and petulant, who wants nothing more than to be left alone in his own little "world" (pun intended). Not only does he begin to enjoy being trapped in "The World," but now he has a nigh-invincible crutch with which to enact his childish mischief. He is unmotivated, depressing and seems ill suited to propel the plot forward. Thankfully, the other characters of .hack have more than enough screen time to drown out Tsukasa's overwhelming angst.

OVERALL:

Shinji-clones aside, .hack is a stunning second wave in Bandai's .hack multimedia blitz. I highly recommend it. If you like the music of Noir or Eat-man, you definitely may want to consider the Limited edition volume 1, which includes a soundtrack, PS2 game demo, grunty plush doll, postcards and a .hack t-shirt.