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[otakuAera]

I'm interested in the .hack// manga series, but where do I start?

I've heard of
~.hack//
~.hack//GU
And there are probably others, but I've seen so many series that start with ".hack//" that I don't know where to start.

Could anyone please tell me how many there are and in what order they go in?

Thanks!
~Aera

[Voxshop]

Well, the order of the order of the .hack mangas are generally like this:

.hack//XXXX -> .hack//DUSK (or maybe .hack//Legend of the twilight) -> .hack//Alcor + .hack//GnU + .hack//G.U.+ -> .hack//LINK

[otakuAera]

So, it goes like this:

1) .hack//DUSK (aka .hack//Legend of the Twilight)
2) .hack//Alcor
3) .hack//GnU (does the "GnU" stand for something?)
4) .hack//G.U.
5) .hack//LINK

(I'm weird ... I have to say stuff in my own words before I get it ... >.< )

Thanks so much!

[Ariolander]

You should give the novelizations a shot. AI Buster 1 is one of my favs and Another Birth is awesome if you have even passing familiarity with the PS2 game series.

[mystikdreamer]

.hack//A.I Buster is the 'first' in the series. There's actually 2 novels, and the second one ties alot of the different series in together. You'll be able to understand who everyone is, especially in the .hack//Legend of Twilight Manga.
It's fine to not read them, but you get more enjoyment out of the series by knowing it all. Theres a TV show as well that comes 'before' the video games and .hack//Twilight

[myopius]

Edit: I'm sorry, I really thought that you were done with this thread. I'll just post my questions some other place.

(This information left here so I can potentially paste it elsewhere when I find time to ask elsewhere)
I've always been interested in the .hack// story since I'm very interested the theme of virtual reality (for example, one of my favorite manga right now is Amatsuki, which is probably--I say probably because what's really going on is completely unclear--set in a virtual world) but I saw about 4-5 episodes of a .hack/// anime a while back and I didn't like it much.

I don't remember which .hack// it was, but it started with two people who knew each other from somewhere, a guy and a girl I believe, signing into the virtual world. I think the girl already knew a lot about it, so she showed him the ropes, explaining to him all this stuff about levels and stuff that sounded like it came out of an RPG. They met a few other people and did stuff like went on a quest into a dungeon and fought some monsters and then later on there was a race across a body of water or something. The characters didn't seem very deep or anything.

It all seemed like they were just doing generic RPG things, but I personally was bored by it since it was all just typical RPG quests and random entertaining content. Even if they decided that "dying" in the game means "dying" in the real world I still wouldn't be interested at all. And even if they had some special information hidden deep within the virtual world which would provide access to something which has relevance in the "real world," it would still depend completely on what the relevance of the real world thing is. In other words, if the virtual world is just something to slow down the characters from getting to the actual "important" plot which is set in the real world, that would be a waste of time from my perspective.

So I'm wondering, is there anything meaningful in the .hack// series outside of plots which only have relevance within the virtual world itself? Or are these series pretty much all these within the virtual worlds which force people to complete quests/etc. for the sake of having an obstacle? That's what would make or break the series for me... If somebody could tell me if I'm right or wrong about the .hack// story, that would be very cool.

[otakuAera]

Since the question's pretty much been answered, can I hijack this topic?

XP Be my guest!

Although if there is anyone that can provide a complete and accurate list of the .hack series in chronological order (I guess that would include novels, TV shows, manga, games, etc), that would be greatly appreciated.

For example, I have compiled a list myself for CLAMP works that make any appearance in their Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicle, as a "recommended order of reading them":
1) RG Veda - 1989
2) Tokyo Babylon - 1991
3) X aka X/1999 - 1992
4) Magic Knight Rayearth - 2001
5) Cardcaptor Sakura - 1996
6) Chobits - 2001
7) xxxHolic - 2003
Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicle - 2003

Something like that ... just because I like having these kinds of lists ... *geek*

[Liddokun]

(Optional read)
.HACK//AI Buster is a nice novel it tells the story in the point of view of Albiero and his encounter with a prototype AI that hints at an incomplete/primitive self-aware sentient AI named Lycoris. Note the story takes place in the early days of The World. I won't say anything more as not to spoil the novel. Also tells the story of  how the Descendants of Fiana (Balmung and Orca) was formed.

.HACK//AI Buster 2 it's a collection of .hack related short stories. I can't say anything more than that.

If you are new to the series I would recommend watching the anime .hack//Sign (the DVD box sets are out) as it gives you an introduction into "The World". It probably won't make too much sense for you at first but as you watch the anime it becomes more clear.

The 4 .Hack//games (Infection, Mutation, Outbreak, Quarantine) also tells more about the story in the world from the eyes of Kite and Blackrose and the events surrounding the second morganna incident.

The side series called .hack//UDEDEN (Udedensetsu) or Legend of the Twilight Bracelet tells a side story of 2 young kids who inherited the characters of Kite and Blackrose of the .hackers fame. Many of the original dot hackers have either retired or stopped playing the game or have moved on.

If you preordered .hack//GU limited edition there's a special disk included called "The End of the World" DVD it recaps all the events that happened in the previous 4 .hack//Games and how the original "The World" was destroyed and how "The World R:2" is developed by CC Corp in a diary format from the point of view of Jun Bansoya (a developer of The World).

The Hack//Roots (anime) tells the backstory of Haseo when he first started playing The World R:2. It tells the story of the people Haseo met in The World R:2 and how he became a greatly feared PKK.

After that, there's the 3 .hack//GU games that tells the story from the point of view of Haseo a very rude and angst ridden PKK (Player Killer Killer). The story focuses on themes like friendship and growing up. Haseo is a well known PKK known as the "Terror of Death". The events here summarizes the 3rd morgana incident.

The latest .hack manga is called .hack//Link (recently released) it tells of a new character that started playing a new version of The World. Some of the old characters will return such as Kite and Haseo altho probably at a reduced capacity since the new manga has a new main character.

[kkarp1]

i didnt really like the .hack manga but ive only read book 3 for legend of twilight though