Enter The World in the new OVA series, ‘.Hack//Quantum’
FUNimation’s recent DVD and Blu-ray release of .Hack//Quantum is not for the uninitiated. The three-part OVA series throws the viewer right into the middle of “The World,” without too much explanation about what’s going on and who’s who. This immediacy is greatly appreciated for experts in the .Hack universe, but for newbies, the three episodes will prove confusing.
Tobias, Mary and Sakuya are the main characters, three females with a love for the adventure they find in The World, a mega role-playing game that features fantastical landscapes and deceptive villains. They are so enamored of The World that it completely takes over their lives, and eventually it becomes impossible to escape.
Their guiding light through the alternate reality is a mysterious creature known as the Hermit, which looks like a kitty-cat samurai. In “Walking Party,” “Wired Prisoner” and “The World-end Pallbearer,” Tobias, Mary and Sakuya need to survive before the darkness pervades and any chance of reentering the real world is an impossibility. Along the way, Mary falls under a spell and can’t wake up from her dreamlike trance.
The animation in .Hack//Quantum is the show’s strongest suit. The dreamlike atmosphere of The World is always thrilling to behold, and the creators smartly set most of the action within the contours of the game. The weak parts come with the characterization and plot. Tobias, Mary and Sakuya don’t progress throughout the three episodes; they are a bunch of characters running from here to there, trying to outlast the pending doom. Much of their exposition (and the details on what exactly The World entails) are missing from the OVA series, mostly because they are covered in previous .Hack incarnations.
Still, .Hack//Quantum works nicely because it serves as an effective allegory of the world of anime. These characters are stand-ins for us, the viewing public. As they get lost in The World, we get lost in the world of .Hack. To fully appreciate this metaphor, audience members should probably begin with the origins of the franchise, and then slowly work their way into the Quantum series. By having a background on these characters and their plight, it will make the viewing experience that much richer. This is not the type of anime show to jump into and start exploring; it does need some subtext to fully enjoy.
As we all know, anime theme songs are either hit or miss. I’m a big fan of chaos;HEAd’s “super special” theme, and it’s hard not to fall in love with .Hack//Quantum’s song as well. With vocals by Yûka Nanri and music by Takumi Ozawa, the ending theme is a nice capstone to the three-part OVA series.
There’s enough to like in .Hack//Quantum to continue exploring The World. We’re only given little over an hour to experience this role-playing game, so repeat visits and further investigation is warranted.
By John Soltes / Publisher / John@HollywoodSoapbox.com
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.Hack//Quantum: Complete OVA Series
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On DVD and Blu-ray from FUNimation Entertainment
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Rated: TV 14
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3 episodes, 30 minutes per episode
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Rating:
