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Feature Presentation:
Wow, this is a new .hack series. The timeline is shifted four years after the incident from the .hack//SIGN series with Tsukasa & the rest of the gang as well the .hack games with Kite & Black Rose. You might not get a total sense of the story without watching the firsts eries or playing the games as this series have many reference on those events, but if you haven't, it's still easy to fellow up. However, you won't see any of the characters, as they have stopped playing the game, except for a few. Yup, Balmung & Mireille returns in this series. This is where our heroes comes in, Shugo & his twin sister Rena. By fate, both of them won a contest & the prize is a limited edition character reflecting the legendary Kite & Black Rose, in Chibi form! They are so cute. It's the first time playing "The World" & as they explore, for some reason, they seem to noticed that things always happen around them, but they think it's all in the fun playing the game. You get to meet a new character, Ohka! Oh, she is hot! She is powerful as she is sexy. I love the last episode ending, which is really sweet. A note that this is totally different then any other .hack series or game release. This is actually fun to watch, filled with laugher, cute & lucky moments. Not to mention, the music is really very nice, some is even exciting, others make you want to go & play some RPG! Even the main theme is catchy!
Video:
Bandai Entertainment did a very great job. I found no problem, the image are clear & the color looks perfect. To top things off, the series is feature on Widescreen format. If you got a Widescreen TV, you're going to enjoy this even more. Each episodes are separated into 5 parts: the introduction, part A, part B, the preview & the ending for the next episode! The last episode playing on this volume have an extra ending with an translated English version credit! The episodes are on different tracks, so when moving to the next episode, there will be a small loading time. I do note that you can skip all those warnings & logos when you first load the DVD by just pressing the "Menu" button on your remote control.
Dubbing: English:
The dubbing is so cool. The cast is picked very well & you might even noticed some of the voices from other Anime features. I'm surprise to find out who done the voice of Rena! It really brings out her charm. It's about 85% of the original Japanese.
Audio 01: English 2.0:
No problem found.
Audio 02: Japanese 2.0:
No problem found.
Subtitle:
Bandai Entertainment have selected a great font, very easy to read. They use green for the introduction & ending themes, the rest is yellow & white for Japanese signs & text. There are two tracks of subtitling. One track is for the sign subtitling & the other one is for the Japanese dialogue. Oh, you might even noticed that for the introduction & ending theme, both the original Japanese lyrics (white) & the English translation lyrics (green) are both displayed.
Menu Option:
The menu is also in widescreen format, but if got just a regular full screen TV, it will display in that format with no problem. It's pretty simple, just lots of hexagone spinning around with the introduction clip playing in them. There is the "Play All", "Episodes", "Setup" & "Extras". The menu background music is one of the music from the series, as well as the other section.
DVD Extras:
You get the non-credit opening & ending, along with a very small art gallery with color design drawing of Shugo, Rena & Mireille. There is also a little linear note about the stories mention, "The Old Man Who Made The Flowers Blooms" in EPS 02 & "The Story Of Tanabata" in EPS 04. It's very cool to know some of the Japanese legends & stories.
Packaging:
The package actually fellows the same design as the .hack//SIGN packaging, except it's very colorful. On the cover, you see Shugo & Rena, with Mireille chasing after them. It's good not to have that "Platinum Series" logo anymore. In the back, there is a same design of hexagone with screenshots in them. The insert have the same picture as the cover. It also have a list of the cast & staff. Inside the insert is just a mini-poster of Shugo & Rena. On the DVD disc itself, it's the same image as the cover with the title of the series is left out of the silver of the DVD. I still hate the cheap cases that Bandai Entertainment used.
PC Viewing:
Watching it on the PC is the same as watching it on the TV. Very clean, no problem at all, very little pixel (little squares popping in & out), both normal mode & full screen mode. The sound is just great. Since the episodes are on different tracks, there will be a small loading time when you move on to the next episode. Like on your regular DVD player, you can skip the warnings & logos when you load the disc, just use the "menu" option to go to the menu screen.
Overall DVD Rating:
If you have watch the .hack//SIGN series or even play the game featuring Kite & Black Rose, I'm sure you will love this one. Not only it's the continuation of the mystery of the "The World", but there is alot more fun, laugher & even some cute & lovable moments added in! Or, at least, see Ohka in action, she is hot & sexy!
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