7.5/10 +Cute characters doing cute things; cozy vibes +Beautiful artwork that fleshes out game world -Poor balance between game world and “real” world -Lack of stakes and fleshed out characters make story hard to follow Very different from its anime counterpart, .hack//Legend of twilight is a simple story about making friends and having fun playing a video game. The characters are all unique enough and the beautiful artwork fleshes out the game world nicely. While cute characters doing cute things isn’t necessarily a problem, there has to be a central conflict driving the plot. Without our heroes having something at stake, our story is simply a chain of events. .hack’s problemis just that: there is no consequences for MCs Shugo and Rena going on their quest. No background into their lives (why are they playing the game?), plus lack of any major conflict (there’s no consequences for them to stop playing), and you’ve got a recipe for a dull fantasy.

It’s hard not to recommend .hack, as there’s a lot of potential here for a fantasy epic. Yet without solid character work to back it up, it's a muddled joyride. If not for its uncomfortable sexual tones, the anime stands as the better version of this story.