"The World" is an online multiplayer RPG taking the world by storm. One player, a Wavemaster (magician) named Tsukasa, gets stuck in The World, unable to quit back to the real world - and all the while players are falling into mysterious comas. There is obviously something rotten in The World, but it will take a whole team of players to sort it out, and the problems may reach deeper than they think.
Released as part of Bandai's massive .hack multimedia campaign, .hack//SIGN comes from Bee Train, the studio behind Noir, and features many of the same hallmarks with blaring (although excellent) Yuki Kajiura music drowning out fairly cryptic dialogue. If this is to your taste, there's a lot to like about .hack//SIGN, with an intriguing cast of characters and some particularly good background artwork. but be prepared for a lot of talking.
Released by Bandai in Region 1 and UK Region 2, and by Madman in Region 4. The original Region 1 release came in several special editions including soundtrack CDs, which are unfortunately not available separately, and the last disc's special edition came with an extra bonus episode - I believe this is available in the recently released .hack//SIGN Collection.
[Entry by Andrew Hollingbury]
Pai, the last of a race of three-eye immortals known as Sanjiyan Unkara, desires to become human. She has been sent to Yakumo by his late father to obtain an artifact called the Ningun No Zou or Statue of Humanity which is needed to accomplish this. Unfortunately, one of her demon friends is let loose and Yakumo is mortally wounded in the resulting chaos. To save Yakumo she pulls his soul into her, turning him into a Wu (an undead-like immortal). To become human again, Yakumo must help Pai become human. Unfortunately there are others who want the Ningun No Zou, the immortality of being Wu, or Pai herself. Complicating matters is that Pai has a totally different personality when her third eye manifests.
The North American DVD release by Geneon combines the two OVAs Immortal and Legend of the Divine Demon. 3x3 Eyes is available in Australia from Madman.
Parental Advisory: The Immortal OVA has several violent gorish scenes - Yakumo gets badly beaten several times and his hand is chopped off. His girlfriend is used as a hostage during which she is painfully attacked from the inside by a demon. Legend of the Divine Demon is far less gory, though there is the death of Yakumo's mentor, a blind Tibetan priest.
[Entry by Bruce Grubb]
A series based around a female aerobatic team within the Japanese Air Self Defense Force, made up of misfits including a gambling addict, an airhead, a pilot with a major chip stuck on her shoulder and another that is always at war with her. Oh yes, and one rookie airplane and mecha nut with whom both of the latter two pilots are besotted with. Available from ADV Films in North America and Madman in Australia.
[Entry by Chika]
