.hack SAO having alittle crossover?

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Falions
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Re: .hack SAO having alittle crossover?

Post by Falions »

Adhemas wrote:@Falions
I think Reki got better at writing over the years which is why I clearly prefer AW over SAO, but yeah.
I read the SAO LNs as well and it didn't really got better. My favorite part was actually Mother's Rosario which was (probably not coincidentally) the only part with Asuna as main character and no harem pandering. The new arc Alicization is just as bad as the former stuff: tons of females fascinated by the main character, over powered protags (especially the main heroine, who loves Kirito as well), evil female side characters with big titts and all male characters aside of the main character are either evil, dying, unimportant or hot for one of the females who, of course, has only eyes for Kirito, even in his vegetable state. And the main villain is a crazy male psychopath who wants the main heroine again, just like with Alfheim Online or GGO.
I have to admit that the other trapped-in-a-game series aren't much better either. It's almost always about an overly perfect hero and tons of cute and loyal girls. I just hope that .hack's main plot will never pander to those fanbases. Maybe some spin-offs here and there to attract attention, but not the main thing. .hack was always very progressive and unusual. SIGN alone thematised more human problems or characteristics than most of the other anime I've seen in all those years together.
I agree completely. SIGN got down every character so perfectly that any follow-up animes like it weren't needed. Literally every character has a realistic and believable reason for using The World for escapism. Lots of symbolism too! Like how Tsukasa's guardian (and by that extent Morganna) was like a stand-in for his anxieties (which had a perfect explanation through glances into his real life trauma) and how they would both hurt people around him when he didn't mean to, and how even after taming it people are still scared of him because it's like a facade of normality.

@Xu Yuan
I am really worried about the future of it all too, if New World is any indication. One thing I also really liked about SIGN was its abundance of female characters as you pointed out, but how every single one of them was a developed, mature human being who all received proper treatment. It was even better when the big twist came out that Tsukasa was a girl in real life, because it further pushed that fact of well-written female characters. It was very Gainax-like in its execution, as is most of SIGN. It was like the Evangelion of MMO anime before there was any MMO anime to critique!
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Re: .hack SAO having alittle crossover?

Post by Adhemas »

I am really worried about the future of it all too, if New World is any indication.
Same here. I am trying not to judge anything yet though since I want to play the game first or know the full story. LINK looked too much like a battle shounen to me as well but on the one hand it is more of a big extra for all long time .hack fans who want to replay and relive their favorite .hack stories again (Tokio is basically some archetypical .hack hard core fan) and on the other hand the game did introduce a bunch of pretty good characters. Flügel is probably one of my favorite .hack characters by now (and we wouldn't have Bullet without LINK) + we got more infos about Joutaro Amagi and other mysteries in the game.
So it depends on what exactly NU will and wants to be - maybe the story actually wants to reflect on nowadays anime fanbases by being about a game (I mean the game in the game) that attracts the mainstream through cute, girly game characters. The crossover with SAO would fit to that. I think we can only be sure whom the new .hack is pandering to if we know the full story and the real life part behind the game the characters play. .hack was always about society and the difference between the in-game characters and the actual persons who control them. I think I would even like this cliche moe anime trope of the new World/NU if the .hack game was aware of its cliché'd meaning and used this to give us some kind of commentary about real people preferring and fleeing into fictive worlds that are all just about cute and/or sexy girls, nice colors and carefree and superficial entertainment in form of an anime game.

Well that's of course just some random assumption of mine but I wanted to explain why the look doesn't necessarily mean everything in .hack. I hope I am right but we can just wait and see how the plot of NU slowly unfolds for now. What's giving me a bit of hope are the two real life maincharacters(?) that were shown on one of the cover pics. Those two are not only females (so no otakulike maincharacter or some generic pairing or anything) but their character designs look nothing like the in-game girls. They look nice, but normal. Nothing fancy about them and no weird hair styles or colors or anything else - which is giving me hope that they'll just be normal humans with more or less normal lives and problems and that NU won't just be about the moe game.
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Re: .hack SAO having alittle crossover?

Post by Lindz »

Adhemas wrote:Saw it too. I actually like it. Many .hack fans hate SAO for obvious reasons but I think it would be fun seeing those worlds getting combined and .hack will get more popularity that way. There are probably many SAO and VR fans who aren't familiar with .hack but who would enjoy it as well if they knew more about it.
I know almost nothing about SAO so I dun get the animosity between fans of one or the other. I'm cool with a non-canon crossover/promo/whatever between 'em but the whole "pair high profile property with lower profile one to boost its popularity" like... does that ever worked?
Wronger then this o.o?

Image
Xu Yuan wrote:However I do appreciate one of its producers coming forth and expressing their interest in another dot hack. A subtle nod of appreciation towards the series that they... well ripped off completely and made more "palatable" for the viewing public. I appreciate the gesture and it may get more people to recognize what dot hack is through this crossover idea.
Wasn't SAO a novel series made by someone unrelated to Bamco? I dun think its fair ta say this Bamco producer ripped off anything, just a dude who works on one or more of the hundreds of games they make.
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Re: .hack SAO having alittle crossover?

Post by Kaori »

Almost everybody here wrote:We hate SAO!
Where have I seen this hatred and negativity before?........
Oh, that's right:

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Re: .hack SAO having alittle crossover?

Post by Avatar_Crim »

Kaori wrote:
Almost everybody here wrote:We hate SAO! second part of each season
fixed it for you.
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Re: .hack SAO having alittle crossover?

Post by Falions »

Kaori wrote:
Almost everybody here wrote:We hate SAO!
Where have I seen this hatred and negativity before?........
Oh, that's right:

Godwin's Law. Every time.
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Re: .hack SAO having alittle crossover?

Post by Kaori »

Falions wrote:
Kaori wrote:
Almost everybody here wrote:We hate SAO!
Where have I seen this hatred and negativity before?........
Oh, that's right:

Godwin's Law. Every time.
I know, I know, it was the least offensive thing I could think of, Besides, you guys ought to be glad that .hack is in the limelight again instead of just bashing another series with minimal similarities, so lets all just be happy, okay?

Image
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Re: .hack SAO having alittle crossover?

Post by Falions »

Kaori wrote:
Falions wrote:
Kaori wrote:
Almost everybody here wrote:We hate SAO!
Where have I seen this hatred and negativity before?........
Oh, that's right:

Godwin's Law. Every time.
I know, I know, it was the least offensive thing I could think of, Besides, you guys ought to be glad that .hack is in the limelight again instead of just bashing another series with minimal similarities, so lets all just be happy, okay?

Image
I would rather it remain in obscurity than be in the limelight on the coat tails of SAO, honestly.
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Re: .hack SAO having alittle crossover?

Post by Vallen »

I will just say this:

The .hack community is actually very tame by comparison to other fandoms. The popular shonen communities (DBZ, Naruto, OP, etc..) are near cancerous in their stupidity and aggressiveness. Hell, even the SAO community is vocal. Then we have other anime, like Fate/Stay Night, the community of that franchise is collectively the most opinionated people of Earth coming together.

Maybe it's because .hack is relatively niche, or maybe due to the nature and age of the franchise the .hack fans are all a bit older/mature, but my point is that we're a bunch of little angels by comparison to other "anime fans" out there.

I am downright tired and embarrassed of what the anime community has become over the last 15 years. This is a private hobby that I don't talk to anyone but my close friends about, not because I'm ashamed of it, but because the fandom has created a very nasty collective view of themselves, and I don't want to be associated with them if other people realize that I like anime. There are very few online forums I participate in, simply because I don't have the desire or time to deal with immature little kids - so I consider it a blessing that the .hack community is what it is.
Yes, it's niche. Yes, it's not very active. But I will take a hundred normal people that I can enjoy talking with over the giant army of weebs that are still in middle school.
Last edited by Vallen on Thu Mar 17, 2016 1:24 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: .hack SAO having alittle crossover?

Post by Adhemas »

Yeah, this.
The only good combinations are anime that are serious, without pandering or much action and which are not popular either. If an anime is either attracting the otaku crowd or (if not) is too popular among people who usually aren't too much into anime you can be sure that every discussion turns to shi- well, bad, no matter how decent the show actually is. It's a common internet phenomenon that popular things attract childish fans on the one hand and blatant haters and shitposters on the other hand. Sometimes to the point where I am missing the old internet I knew 15 years ago, before the masses invaded everything and before the internet became a way to profile yourself and fight for personal opinions and tastes.

On the one hand .hack really needs some small influx of new fans, especially since there are probably enough older anime fans out there nowadays but on the other hand I hope it will never long for attention too much. Typical anime fans would make the discussions about interpretations, symbolism or just the plot itself impossible. It usually gets especially bad as soon as an anime contains either hints of different pairings or power levels. Just abandon every bit of hope if you see an increasing number of shipper- or power level fans in your fanbase. Those are usually younger people who do nothing but self-insert and won't stop destroying the community if "their" character doesn't get the girl or the power they want him to own. I am happy that .hack always did its best to avoid these kind of fanbases. Most of these people dropped SIGN at the point when the series refused to show an action scene (like at the end of episode 2 or the missing Skeith battle) for the sake of more plot or interaction and after that they usually never picked up anything .hack related again.
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Re: .hack SAO having alittle crossover?

Post by Vallen »

Adhemas wrote:On the one hand .hack really needs some small influx of new fans, especially since there are probably enough older anime fans out there nowadays but on the other hand I hope it will never long for attention too much.
I think there are enough .hack fans out there. We on this thread are the minority. I find that most people over 20 don't go on to threads that much. Some do, obviously, but the majority of people at this stage (around 20 and up) are busy with education, debt, work, building careers, and so on.

Those people could be .hack fans just like us (watched the show and played the ps2 games) - but they simply aren't on forums. Others became inactive over the years. Dothackers used to be much more lively. I think fans "are there", they're just not on forums lol.

If the .hack franchise were to be properly revived, a proper anime and a follow up game with sufficient marketing, fans would come back. A fan is a fan, just because he's busy does not mean that person dislikes the franchise. So I'm positive fans would return, discuss, and buy the new series. Of course some newer fans would be introduced, but I believe the nature of .hack will not attract that shonen demographic (unless they drastically change the series to appeal to them).
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Re: .hack SAO having alittle crossover?

Post by Falions »

Yeah, I agree. We're able to have actual discussions whilst other anime discussions boils down to "X IS BEST GIRL."
I talk about this a lot with friends too, the fact that I both love and hate that .hack isn't so popular because we have 0 annoying fans compared to other franchises.

Consider this: my favourite video game since 2008 has been Persona 4. It holds such a dear place in my heart because I was 12 when I first played it, and I've always adored it, but as I grew older and entered the world of social media I began to realize not everyone appreciated it like I do. While I still love it to bits I can't help but feel like it's been tainted by all those people arguing over who's hotter than who, if Chie and Yukiko are lesbians, if Naoto is trans, and so on. It's just all this inane screaming and arguing and discussing things that don't mean anything in face of the game itself.
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Re: .hack SAO having alittle crossover?

Post by Vallen »

Falions wrote:Consider this: my favourite video game since 2008 has been Persona 4. It holds such a dear place in my heart because I was 12 when I first played it, and I've always adored it, but as I grew older and entered the world of social media I began to realize not everyone appreciated it like I do. While I still love it to bits I can't help but feel like it's been tainted by all those people arguing over who's hotter than who, if Chie and Yukiko are lesbians, if Naoto is trans, and so on. It's just all this inane screaming and arguing and discussing things that don't mean anything in face of the game itself.
The rule I live by is if you like something, do not talk with other people about it, because they'll ruin it for you.

I love Persona 3 - I played all 3 version of it, and own all the artbooks (some from Japan), and bought the game like 6+ times (digital re-releases).
And guess what, beyond the Wikis and YouTube OST's - I don't read about it online. People will ruin it for you LOL.
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Re: .hack SAO having alittle crossover?

Post by Falions »

Vallen wrote:
Falions wrote:Consider this: my favourite video game since 2008 has been Persona 4. It holds such a dear place in my heart because I was 12 when I first played it, and I've always adored it, but as I grew older and entered the world of social media I began to realize not everyone appreciated it like I do. While I still love it to bits I can't help but feel like it's been tainted by all those people arguing over who's hotter than who, if Chie and Yukiko are lesbians, if Naoto is trans, and so on. It's just all this inane screaming and arguing and discussing things that don't mean anything in face of the game itself.
The rule I live by is if you like something, do not talk with other people about it, because they'll ruin it for you.

I love Persona 3 - I played all 3 version of it, and own all the artbooks (some from Japan), and bought the game like 6+ times (digital re-releases).
And guess what, beyond the Wikis and YouTube OST's - I don't read about it online. People will ruin it for you LOL.
Trust, me I try not to. But on sites like Tumblr it's hard to avoid all the crap.
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Re: .hack SAO having alittle crossover?

Post by Lindz »

Falions wrote:I would rather it remain in obscurity than be in the limelight on the coat tails of SAO, honestly.
Seems like a strange statement to me cause hasn't that already happened? People are talking more about the .hack part of this news than the SAO part.

People sure are getting worked up over what amounts to a very minor 2 week long mobile game cameo/crossover. .hack's already had Sgt. Frog, Ridge Racer, Solatorobo, Tales of Graces f, Project X Zone, Little Tail Story, and Project X Zone 2 cameo/crossovers an none of 'em drug it down. News & memory of these things faded into relative obscurity as will this latest thing. So why fuss? This is just the latest, an not the last, in a 10+ year long line of collabs it'll be involved in.
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Re: .hack SAO having alittle crossover?

Post by Falions »

Lindz wrote:
Falions wrote:I would rather it remain in obscurity than be in the limelight on the coat tails of SAO, honestly.
Seems like a strange statement to me cause hasn't that already happened? People are talking more about the .hack part of this news than the SAO part.

People sure are getting worked up over what amounts to a very minor 2 week long mobile game cameo/crossover. .hack's already had Sgt. Frog, Ridge Racer, Solatorobo, Tales of Graces f, Project X Zone, Little Tail Story, and Project X Zone 2 cameo/crossovers an none of 'em drug it down. News & memory of these things faded into relative obscurity as will this latest thing. So why fuss? This is just the latest, an not the last, in a 10+ year long line of collabs it'll be involved in.
The difference is that none of those are something like SAO that is essentially the watered down moe .hack. Don't get me wrong; I love .hack representation in games like Tales or Project X-Zone, just not in something like SAO that just stole the spotlight from .hack.
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Re: .hack SAO having alittle crossover?

Post by Adhemas »

I don't think SAO stole .hack's spotlight, the genres are just too different. SAO doesn't even deal with bugs, hacking or anything else - it doesn't have this obscure online feeling .hack has. A.I.s even appear but they never touch the philosopical aspect of it like they did in .hack//AI Buster for example.
The results would be probably the same if SAO and SIGN aired at the same time. The game setting in SAO is more of a way to allure modern viewers who are usually gamers as well, the first arc of SAO could as well be just some full fantasy and there would be no real difference which is why I think that the similarities with .hack are just superficial. .hack's essence are the up- and downsides the internet and games have - it couldn't exist without the technical aspect and mindset of the users behind it. SAO doesn't even care about the real life/online life disparity, characters just look the same as they do in real life unless, of course, the plot needs them to have a different look to pull twists like the one with Kirito's sister. It doesn't even make sense. People flee or enjoy the VR because they want to take a break from their real life which is why we're all using some anime avatars here and post with different names or even lie about or change our gender.
SAO is popular because it panders the masses of anime fans, people watch it for the harem antics, moe girls and Kirito and most of the fans are probably pretty young whereas most younger fans tend to hate SIGN and call it the most boring anime in existence. I love anime and manga but there is no way of denying that the fanbase for those types of media is probably one of the most annoying and aggressive ones out there, at least regarding fictional works. The good thing is that .hack is too niche to pander them so it won't ever be like SAO so I think that the SAO event won't change anything either since the SAO masses won't start .hack because of it. Or maybe they will try, but they will drop it as soon as they realise Tsukasa's real gender or notice too many adult characters or the lack of action and all the other things about .hack masses don't like.
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Re: .hack SAO having alittle crossover?

Post by (Phantom) Thief »

I feel these belong here for a reference. Also if anyone ever has the time I'm sure a translation would be appreciated. (Oh hey look its Atoli)

New World



The World R1 & The World R:2



Unknown Revision

http://www.youtube.com/embed/ZIpa2DbcYys

Backup Links
[*]Alternative(Twilight Hero Kite & New World Player): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0_hJvA3ZICI ,
[*]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2t7KAUEMoVU
[*]Alternative (Kite & Black Rose) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ok5_YYz9Rck
[*]Alternative (Haseo & Atoli) : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g1kY4Utlc4E
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Re: .hack SAO having alittle crossover?

Post by Jamull »

I wish I had taken a Japanese class in college >.<
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Re: .hack SAO having alittle crossover?

Post by TheKrempist »

Jamull wrote:I wish I had taken a Japanese class in college >.<

I regret taking Japanese in college. **** I minored in it and I guess its still not the worst thing to know it a bit, but AI is already almost to the point of not ever needing to learn any language. So don't feel bad, soo you can easily translate any game or media with your smartphone or just like an earbud or something. It is very close to extremely superior levels to any human translator. (i.e infinite kanji/vocab knowledge etc etc)

My advice? Don't waste your time unless you are truly in love with the language itself and even then it would be much easier to learn once this emerging tech matures. Because with it, you can learn while you play the games that you would have been learning for in the first place.

Cheers to the near future my friend. ;)
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