.hack: Legend of the Twilight

    (Tokyopop, 2003-2004)
™ and © Tokyopop
Reads left to right

I’m not a fan of the .hack anime, maybe because it’s just sort of a blah take on the much-overused “trapped inside a virtual-reality game” plot where the characters wandered around bummed out for the most part.

It’s usually the other way around, but the manga is better, though it’s clear from the story and art that it’s supposed to skew more towards girls. In this retelling, it’s a pair of sisters who get trapped in “The World” and it’s a lot more fun watching them exploring their new environment with a sense of joy and wonder.

They take the time to actually have fun, even if that means dress-up scenes, first kisses, super-deformity, and goofy comedy involving mascot animals. (Lord of the Rings it’s not.) While it’s undeniably slight and silly, it’s enjoyable and a way of getting the target audience into role-playing games in general and epic fantasy in particular.

— S.A. Bennett
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