.hack//Roots

After the termination of the incredibly popular virtual reality MMORPG "The World," a new version of the game—The World R:2—is brought online. On his first day in the game, newcomer Haseo thinks he has made some friends to quest with. However, as if mocking his sentiments, they kill his character just for fun. Luckily, he is saved by a mysterious, one-armed player named Ovan who offers to show him around The World.

Alongside Ovan and his cleric friend Shino, Haseo enjoys a wonderful first year in the game. But this peaceful life is shattered when Shino's character is killed by a familiar figure notoriously known as Tri-Edge, whose victims have all fallen into comas in the real world. In a fit of rage, Haseo vows to find the elusive Tri-Edge and kill him.

Taking place during Haseo's first year in The World, .hack//Roots explores the friendships Haseo built in the game before Tri-Edge ripped them away.

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

Haseo Main

Sakurai, Takahiro Japanese

Ovan Main

Touchi, Hiroki Japanese

Shino Main

Nazuka, Kaori Japanese

Tabby Main

Toyoguchi, Megumi Japanese

Phyllo Main

Takiguchi, Junpei Japanese

Azure Kite Supporting

Aida, Sayaka Japanese

Asta Supporting

Honna, Youko Japanese

Silabus Supporting

Sakaguchi, Daisuke Japanese

Kuhn Supporting

Miki, Shinichiro Japanese

Silver Knight Supporting

Chiba, Isshin Japanese

Mashimo, Kouichi Producer, Director, Storyboard, Sound Supervisor

Uchiyama, Daisuke Producer

Azuma, Fukashi Producer

Morimoto, Kouji Producer

Reviews

Aug 6, 2008

ShadowBlazer3000

Recommended

.hack//Roots is a fine sequel that's kind of bashed because of the plug-in-nature relationship to the .hack//G.U. And it's sad it's kind of bashed, because Roots was a really good installment in the .hack// Series. My favorite has and probably will always be SIGN but I found roots to be very enjoyable at the least.

In terms of the story it struck a fine balance of keeping in the nature of .hack in general with out going over the SAME OLD STORY. While it re-introduced the story of the mystic "Key of the Twilight" as explored in .hack//SIGN and it's ... sequel quartet. Bringing in all new characters, giving the classic 'The World' a make over with all new classes was the change needed. Of course the story of the .hackers was great and so was the story and drama of Tsukasa in .hack//SIGN and that was good for those, but it was time for a change.

.hack//Roots goes back to the darker more somber story line after it's campy epilogue-like predecessor .hack//Legend of the Twilight (aka .hack//DUSK) which was refreshing change. I can't say I liked Legend straying so far from it's roots (heh no pun intended) of it's predecessor of SIGN, though it's certainly understandable why. But again I felt it was far better to keep on the darker side of the story line, which is why SIGN captivated me in the first place.

The story dwells much more into the dark human psyche of our personal demons, and can show every character has a purpose for playing "The World" that to me is the darker end of why people like to play games for hours on end. (namely me). Like with SIGN I felt captivated and relatable to every character. I was able to care about them on such personal levels. It's amazing to see the changes all the characters go through, as the series progresses, which made them much more dynamic foil characters. I recall in SIGN the only one who really changed was Tsukasa. So it was a new direction that worked.

You'll notice a big difference between Haseo and Tsukasa, which is something I found worked well. Again if you are going to do a sequel you have to make it original, otherwise you just get Pokemon all over again. I thought the idea of Haseo's power-binge to avenge the the PKing of Shino was a brilliant concept, and added to sympathy for his character or otherwise maybe more antagonizing concepts. Haseo's journey into the black abyss of PKKing actually really contributes to the GU storyline.

The overall storytelling didn't stay as strong as SIGN. It started off pretty typically, with the set up and the world-of-the-play but soon dissolved into a pretty weak middle, and picked up slightly at the end. The middle episodes that don't involve Haseo feel much like cheap fillers that simply aren't that needed. It could have stood to be a little shorter in length even though it stands at 26 episodes. That's not to say the entire middle is weak, there are some great episodes in the middle such as "The Forest of Pain" arc, and Haseo's ever growing into the "Terror of Death." Other than that, episodes that show attempts by Tabby and others to form a Medic Union or any episode that features Tabby alone, pretty much fall right away.

As I mentioned earlier Roots is a plug-in story to .hack//G.U. for the PS2, so in the end you will want to play the games to continue the story line. (or you can read the novels). Again it's kind of sad Roots takes a lot of flak for that, because I think it's a clever and very unique way to extend a story line. SIGN in some ways was like that as it all lead into .hack//Infection.

Music, was fair. I mean no disrespect to Ali Project I am coming to like their work quite a bit, but it was a strange direction and style compared to Kajiura's score for SIGN. I was taken aback by it, but it has grown on me enough that I find it okay but still not good as I've come to expect when Mashimo is the director. It's almost deceptive at first because one of the first after-theme piece you hear is very well composed and orchestrated, but after that it's pretty dull, inattentive, and flat. You will also hear a few pieces that sound eerily similar to works by Danny Elfman which doesn't help the case of the music get any better. It's also at times poorly place and orchestrated. Ali Project has provided a good original score, this I know with Avenger, but Roots is considerably dull in comparison to SIGN's musical score. On the otherhand Kajiura's opening theme with FictionJunction YUUKA is a really unique theme, much different than Obsession almost more like a melancholy and "searching for" or "yearning for" theme.

In the end ROOTS is good but not great. The introduction of more action and more tension helped the story but still I think SIGN will have the stronger storyline. I can't speak for all fans because some might hate it, others might love it, or some will find it in-between. Absolutely there are aspects about it that could have been better. Not likely Roots will go down as the greatest chapter of .hack especially with it's relationship to GU which by the way is a rather fun game for the story experience.

Reviewer’s Rating: 8

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May 5, 2009

sailorlitakino

Mixed Feelings

OH EM GEE! This has to be one of the most BORING animes ever created EVER! The story moves at -200 miles per hour and their is no ending to it! The problem was NEVER solved! Maybe 3 episodes were interesting but other than that its pretty much staring at still images of boringness.

Story:
A crippled turtle would move faster than this story did. 26 episodes of boringness. It wouldn't have been as bad if it were cut down to about 12 episodes (which could have been easily done) and if there had been an ENDING!

Art:
The art for the most part was pretty good. After a ... while though the colors get too old and not very interesting.

Sound:
ALI Project did a great job with this and the opening theme was outstanding but all of the background music sounded the same. :\

Character:
Most of the characters aren't developed (if developed at all) besides the main character, Haseo. And he's not even developed that much.

Enjoyment:
I forced myself to finish tihs seriesbut never again will I watch this anime. I hated watching it and couldn't wait for it to be over with.

Overall:
Don't waste your time with this.

Reviewer’s Rating: 5

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Nov 21, 2008

alienninjasaiyan

Not Recommended

.hack//Roots is a 26-episode anime created by. It is based on the worldwide hit game, .hack. That said, though, the anime falls flat on its face, because of far too many factors that should been taken care of.

The storyline is so weak, the viewer often feels as if he's watching a documentary of something. There's no connectivity in the episodes, and the fractal appearance of the whole series will put everyone (except the most devoted .hack otaku) off. The story doesn't have heads or tails; it just plods on, like an excrutiating torture session.

The character design's very weak as well. Though the lead ... character, Haseo, is created well, flaws in his conceptualization leave him with a schizophrenic character set. Shino and O-van, the other two lead characters, are far better in their conception. O-van, particularly, is a great character, sort of like Hatake Kakashi in Naruto or like Urahara Kisuke in Bleach. Besides these two exceptions, everyone else is useless as characters. Tabby is too smarmy, Sakisaka too vacillatory, Ender too non-violent, and Filo too plodding.

The one high point of the show is the music, produced by Ali Project. The OP (Silly-go-Round by FictionJunction YUUKA) and ED (Boukoku Kakusei Catharsis by Ali Project) are awesome, to say the least, and the INs never fail to enthrall either. IMO, do look out for God Diva; it's a superlative track. Silly-Go-Round, thanks to its catchy tune structure and fine alterations between the violin and modern instruments such as the guitar or drums, makes for a great listen.

Sadly, the music is the only thing we reviewer otaku can rave about. The idea behind the characters is good, and as in the case of Tryedge, almost exquisite. But there is no clarity, no Ichigo-esque madness, no Naruto-style idealism in this story. One misses the clear objective reality of Bleach or Ghost in the Shell (or maybe even the earlier .hack iterations?). There is virtually no action, no drama, no flesh and blood; in short, there's no juice to this baby.

Who do I recommend it to? No one. This anime (as much as it pains me to say it) is simply unwatchable. Don't watch it at all, except maybe the first episode and towards the end. The rest will simply bore you, and make you regret the time you spent downloading the episode. .hack//Roots is a total failure for me.

Reviewer’s Rating: 4

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