.hack//SIGN is a 26 episode anime that revolves around a WaveMaster named Tsukasa who becomes mysteriously trapped in The World, and also about a group of players who wish to find a mysterious item called the Key of the Twilight. Two OVA episodes were created with one about a player named Mimika and the other occuring in Net Slum a few months after the events of the .hack//Games.
Setting
SIGN takes place almost entirely in The World, with scenes that take place in the real world being shown colorless and with a grainy effect.
Story
The story beings when a mysterious player wakes up in a dungeon and finds a golden chest in front of him. That player is Tsukasa. He has no memory as to how he got into "The World" or the past. In that same area, he finds a player named Mimiru, a Heavy Blade with a real attitude problem with Tsukasa. Frustrated with Mimiru, Tsukasa leaves the dungeon using a Sprite Ocarina, leaving Mimiru to keep the chest. As Tsukasa walks around Dun Loireag, he is spotted by the Crimson Knights. Silver Knight, the leader of the pact, warns Tsukasa that he is under watch after he is spotted by a 'cat-player character'. Tsukasa leaves the town without using a Chaos Gate (which is an illegal act in The World). After Tsukasa finds out he can't log out of 'The World', everyone goes suspicious on him (Bear even went to the hospital where he may be). Tsukasa wants to find the Key of the Twilight, and so does everyone else in the game and with the help of Tsukasa, it will be an adventure they wont forget.
Release
The show aired throughout 2002 in Japan and 2003 (on Cartoon Network) in the United States.
Bandai had four total releases of .hack//SIGN in the United States. A Limited Edition set was released, with each DVD having an extra pack-in; a non-limited version was released at the same time, the first disc being available in March 2003. In 2004 a "Complete Collection" was released but it did not include Unison. Another complete collection labeled as "Anime Legends" was released in August 2006 containing the aditional episodes in Unison.
Episodes
- Role Play
- Guardian
- Folklore
- Wanted
- Captured
- Encounter
- Reason
- Promise
- Epitaph
- Compensation
- Party
- Entanglement
- Twilight Eye
- Castle
- Evidence
- Depth
- Conflict
- Declaration
- Recollection
- Tempest
- Despair
- Phantom
- The Eve
- Net Slum
- Catastrophe
- Return
- Intermezzo
- Unison
Areas
This is a list of areas visited by the characters of SIGN.
- Δ Hidden Forbidden Holy Ground
- Θ Bitter Fantasy Mirror World
Cast
| Role | English VA | Japanese VA |
|---|---|---|
| Tsukasa | Brianne Siddal | Mitsuki Saiga |
| Mimiru | Amanda Winn Lee | Megumi Toyoguchi |
| Bear | Paul Mercier | Kazuhiro Nakata |
| BT | Donna Rawlins | Akiko Hiramatsu |
| Subaru | Kim Mai Guest | Kaori Nazuka |
| Silver Knight | Doug Rye | Isshin Chiba |
| Sora | Dave Wittenberg | Hiroshi Yanaka |
| Crim | Lex Lang | Shinichiro Miki |
| Morganna | Valerie Arem | Rie Tanaka |
| AI Harald | Crispin Freeman | Takumi Yamazaki |
| A-20 | Sandy Fox | Atsuko Enomoto |
| Balmung | Crispin Freeman | Nobuyuki Hiyama |
| Kaochin | Brianne Siddal | |
| Mimika | Masako Katsuki |
Trivia
- When all six U.S. DVDs of SIGN are lined up numerically, the letters on the spines spell out "LOGOUT".