.hack (2002)
Plot.
Where to Watch.
Cast & Crew.
Kazuhiro Nakata
Bear (voice)
Akiko Hiramatsu
BT (voice)
Junko Minagawa
Shugo (voice)
Mai Nakahara
Rena (voice)
Kim Mai Guest
Subaru
Yuki Matsuoka
Mireille (voice)
Koichi Mashimo
Original Story / Director / Storyboard Artist / Sound Director
Yuki Kaida
Ouka (voice)
Kazunori Ito
Original Story / Series Composition / Original Story
Ayako Kawasumi
Hotaru (voice)
Brianne Brozey
Tsukasa
Yoshiyuki Sadamoto
Original Story / Character Designer
Yasunori Masutani
Sanjuro (voice)
Soichiro Hoshi
Reki (voice)
Yuki Kajiura
Original Music Composer / Theme Song Performance / Original Music Composer
Masami Kikuchi
Komiyan III (voice)
Sakiko Tamagawa
Kamui (voice)
Takahiro Sakurai
Haseo (voice)
Megumi Toyoguchi
Tabby (voice) / Tabby (voice) / Mimiru (voice)
Junpei Takiguchi
Phyllo (voice)
Sanae Kobayashi
Pi (voice)
Kaori Nazuka
Shino (voice) / Subaru (voice) / Shino (voice)
Hiroki Touchi
Ovan (voice)
Ryotaro Okiayu
Sakisaka (voice)
Yoshimi Umino
Art Direction
Hiroshi Morioka
Storyboard Artist / Director
Shinya Kawatsura
Storyboard Artist / Director
Yuuki Arie
Storyboard Artist / Director
Koji Sawai
Storyboard Artist / Director / Series Director
Shunsuke Tada
Storyboard Artist
Katsuaki Kamata
Director of Photography
Masahiro Murakami
Special Effects
Shigeki Takagi
Director
Seiji Morita
Editor
Chieko Takayama
Editor
Yukie Oikawa
Editor
Daisuke Uchiyama
Supervising Producer
Kazunori Takagi
Producer
Kouji Morimoto
Producer
Ryouji Maru
Producer
Kuninori Egawa
Producer
Chiaki Ishikawa
Theme Song Performance
Toru Nakano
Sound Director
Satoshi Oosawa
Animation Director / Character Designer
Yuko Iwaoka
Key Animation / Animation Director / Character Designer
Yukiko Ban
Key Animation / Character Designer / Animation Director
Tatsuya Oka
Mechanical Designer / Key Animation / Animation Director
Minako Shiba
Character Designer
Makiko Kojima
Color Designer
Kenji Teraoka
Mechanical Designer
Tomoaki Kado
Key Animation / Animation Director
Kyoko Kotani
Key Animation
Kenichi Umemoto
Key Animation
Sadatoshi Matsuzaka
Key Animation
Kazuyuki Ikai
Key Animation
Akio Shimotsukasa
Key Animation
Yuichi Akimoto
Key Animation
Masaru Yoshioka
Key Animation
Kaori Nakamura
Key Animation
Tomoyuki Ohshita
Key Animation
Takato Nakajima
Key Animation
Shinya Kokaji
Key Animation
Akinori Fudesaka
Key Animation
Kenji Yokoyama
Key Animation
Kaname Watabe
Key Animation
Kunihiko Kimura
Key Animation
Tsutomu Kikuchi
Key Animation
Koji Haneda
Key Animation
Miho Azuma
Key Animation
Naoki Kusumoto
Key Animation
Keita Hagio
Key Animation
Wakako Yoshida
Key Animation
Ryoutarou Akao
Key Animation
Saori Kasai
Key Animation
Sachiko Mori
Key Animation
Hiroyuki Okaji
Key Animation
Takaaki Chiba
Key Animation
Mika Shirota
Key Animation
Hiroyuki Takahashi
Key Animation
Daisuke Kusakari
Key Animation
Akiko Nakano
Key Animation
Keiji Tani
Key Animation
Satomi Kitahara
Key Animation
Akihiko Mamashita
Key Animation
Daisuke Nakamura
Key Animation
Shinichi Iimura
Key Animation
Taeko Oda
Key Animation
Yukiko Akiyama
Key Animation
Mariko Aikawa
Key Animation
Ryuji Tsuzuku
Key Animation
Kazuko Matsumura
Key Animation
Tomoaki Ohta
Key Animation
Makiko Yamazaki
Key Animation
Mamoru Hoshino
Key Animation
Kazuyuki Takayama
Key Animation
Toshinori Watanabe
Key Animation
Tomoaki Chishima
Key Animation
Osamu Kurosawa
Key Animation
Satoko Miyachi
Key Animation
Rie Maehara
Key Animation
Tomoyo Hosokawa
Key Animation
Kazuhiko Ishii
Key Animation
Shinmei Saito
Key Animation
Akihito Aoki
Key Animation
Yuichiro Miyake
Key Animation
Masahiro Takahashi
Key Animation
Keiichi Ishida
Key Animation
Yudai Suzuki
Key Animation
Takashi Iwao
Key Animation
Satoshi Honda
Key Animation
Keiko Hayashi
Key Animation
Kosuke Kawatsura
Key Animation
Atsuko Takahashi
Key Animation
Yoshiyuki Tomita
Key Animation
Yuji Shigekuni
Key Animation
Koji Nagasawa
Key Animation
Naomi Yoshida
Key Animation
Kazuhiro Ota
Key Animation
Shinji Abe
Key Animation
Mihoko Nomura
Key Animation
Yoshitsugu Hatano
Key Animation
Motoki Yagi
Key Animation
Takahiro Kuroishi
Key Animation
Yuuji Yanase
Key Animation
Seishirou Katou
Key Animation
Yuki Chika
Key Animation
Takao Ozone
Key Animation
Michiko Yokote
Writer
Kouhei Urasawa
Writer
Akemi Omode
Writer
Nobuyuki Hiyama
Balmung (voice) / Balmung of the Azure Sky (voice)
Mitsuki Saiga
Tsukasa (voice) / An Shouji (voice)
Takumi Yamazaki
Yata (voice) / Yata (voice) / Harald Hoerwick (voice)
Maaya Sakamoto
Aura / Morti (voice) / Aura (voice)
Hiroshi Yanaka
Sora (voice)
Mitsuyo Kondo
Grunty (voice)
Media.
Details.
Release DateApril 4, 2002
StatusEnded
Seasons3
Episodes64
Running Time25m
Content RatingTV-14
Genres
Last updated:
This TV Show Is About.
Wiki.
.hack//Sign (stylized as .hack//SIGN) is a Japanese anime television series directed by Kōichi Mashimo, and produced by studio Bee Train and Bandai Visual, that makes up one of the four original storylines for the .hack franchise. Twenty-six original episodes aired in 2002 on television and three additional bonus ones were released on DVD as original video animation. The series features each characters designed by Yoshiyuki Sadamoto, and written by Kazunori Itō. The score was composed by Yuki Kajiura, marking her second collaboration with Mashimo.
The series is influenced by psychological and sociological subjects, such as anxiety, escapism and interpersonal relationships. The series focuses on a Wavemaster (magic user) named Tsukasa, a player character in a virtual reality massively multiplayer online role-playing game called The World. He wakes up to find himself in a dungeon in The World, but he suffers from short-term memory loss as he wonders where he is and how he got there. The situation gets worse when he discovers he is trapped in the game and cannot log out. From then on, along with other players, Tsukasa embarks on a quest to find the truth behind his abnormal situation.
The series premiered in Japan on TV Tokyo from April 4 to September 25, 2002. It was broadcast across East Asia, Southeast Asia, South Asia and Latin America, by the anime television network, Animax, and across the United States, Nigeria, Canada and United Kingdom, by Cartoon Network, YTV and AnimeCentral (English and Japanese) respectively. It was distributed across North America by Bandai.
The storyline moves at a leisurely pace, and has multiple layers—the viewer is often fed false information and red herrings, potentially leading to confusion until the true nature of events is unveiled towards the end of the series. It relies on character development and has few action scenes; most of the time character interaction is presented in the form of dialogue. English language reception to the series has been generally positive, but some of these sources have negatively criticised the series as a result of its slow pacing and character-driven storyline.