.hack//G.U. Returner

Before i start my review i would like to point out i have actually never played the game and in my personal opinion you don't need to have played the game to understand what the series is about.

Story:
The story is a nice character meet-up episode ,it's like those special episodes or scenes that come after the anime's end showing us what happened after. It's nothing too big or special but it is highly needed as leaving us in the dark would make us wonder what happened and even drive some people to hate the series.

Art:
It has the typical art,nothing extremely nice but it's not bad ... either,I was thinking of giving it an 8 but the battle scene was pretty well done so im giving it a 9.

Sound:
I'm not that fond of anime soundtracks i usually just love/hate the opening/ending and ignore the rest but this is where .hack differs,it's music is just astounding and specially "Dwindled Bible" I'm giving it a 10 for music due to it being very well made and brings sparks of emotion into the scene.

Character:
We get to see alot of the old faces we didn't see in Trilogy ,I don't want to spoil out who we see so ill just say its nice to see alot of the characters returning.There is also some character development betwean Haseo and what seems to be almost all the girls around him.

Enjoyment:
I loved this episode it's amazing but im only giving it a 9 because im not a big fan of the short stuff,one 25 min OVA episode isn't enouth to please me completely :P

Overall:
A good episode,we get to see a little bit of action ,character development and the likes. A nice watch for most and a must for .hack fans

Well so I finished .hack//ROOTS some while ago and that was a huge waste of time
Then I read somewhere that .hack//G.U. Returner was somewhat like Roots so I watched this in hopes of an answer to end of Roots (as I have never played any of the games)
And I found myself bored to tears again through another .hack anime

Story:
I had no idea what was going on through most of it :\

Art:
The art was amazing! So crystal clear and amazing!

... Sound:
Really good quality sound

Character:
I knew most of the characters from .hack and then there were a few I didnt know but was able to figure out who they were pretty easily

Enjoyment:
I was bored to tears

Overall:
If you want an anime that you are bored to tears in then this is for you

This review is coming from the point of a view of a person who has played only a bit of .Hack//Infection but has seen all the .Hack animes in chronological order. And I can honestly say I regret watching this anime with no knowledge of the game...what a mess...

Story: 8 - Very Good

The story is very simple and a good wrapping up of the anime and the video games. After our heroes have finished their journey they receive a message from Ovan inviting them to a festival. Even with my lack of knowledge from the game I can somewhat understand that something happened to Ovan ... in past events and this was an important event for Haseo and the new game characters we are introduced to. As events develop we are introduced to emotions which are well grasped in nostalgia. Overall I'd say it does a pretty good job as it gives us enough to guess what happened in the game but leaves many holes unanswered which make anime only viewers crave for the video games plot.

Art: 7 - Good

For an OVA the quality is lower than the considered 'Standard Quality'. Many scenes were drawn rather poorly. The colors were appropriate and the movements were OK but that's about where it goes.

Sound: 6 - Fair

The sound set the correct mood for the events but were not memorable in any way.

Character: 6 - Fair


The characters were the downfall of this OVA. They just popped up, we have no idea who they are. More or less we can guess how the characters get along with each other via the interactions but it's not enough to scream: "I love this character!" or make them memorable. Then again that's not the point of this OVA anyways as we are supposed to know them already so slash that comment.

Enjoyment: 6 - Fair


Many of the scenes were boring and throughout most of it my head hurt and all I could think of was that I wanted it to end already. The random monster that appeared was very confusing and felt more like a desperate attempt from the producers part failing in an epic way. The OVA would had been just fine with the characters exchanging conversations and recalling nostalgic feelings or simply getting back to date with their buddies. Like the rest of Roots the OVA would had been just fine without the random Ovan thing as he had always been a cliche unlikable character who somehow was supposed to be Haseo's "seme".


Overall: 6 - Fair

This OVA is simply a mess full of unwanted spoilers and one of the many OVA's that ruin the main plots ending. I warn you if you have no knowledge of the game don't watch it. It's a waste of time but if you're like me and simply enjoy finishing all the animes of a franchise go ahead but be warned this will give you a huge headache. And I repeat none of what I said is relevant for the fans that have played the video games.