.hack//Legend of the Twilight - The Complete Collectionby Sheena McNeilReviews may contain information that could be considered 'spoilers'. Readers should proceed at their own risk. Publisher
Credits Grade: 7 This is volumes 1-3 compiled in one book (complete with extras and ads from when it was a serial). Twins Shugo and Rena won a contest to play as legendary avatars Kite and Black Rose. They quickly become friends with a rare hunter, a strong werewolf, and a sweet American girl trying to learn Japanese. Shugo has an encounter with Aura (The World's internal creator for lack of better description), who gives him a bracelet and charges him as a new hero. They meet a vagrant AI, Aura's daughter, and together they fight the system administrators and the knights to reach the core of The World and return Zefie to her mother.I wasn't too keen on this just from flipping through. The art is very child-oriented (ala, Digimon or some such with big eyes, round faces, and easy, repetitive, soft designs) and there didn't appear to be much going on other than talking. However, I remember being intrigued by .Hack//SIGN a few years ago and decided to check out this manga. It helps if you have a little understanding of MMORPGs, but it's not necessary since Shugo is a total noob and several things are explained for his sake. And chances are, most kids that this series is marketed to will have experience with some kind of RPG game (as even here in the US various anime-spawned card games are still going strong). Mainly these three volumes rely on humor and friendship to keep things moving. There's a few skirmishes with administrators or knights which is mainly there to impose fear of deletion (the only thing truly scary in this fantasy world), and a few even briefer battles with monsters. That being said I rather enjoyed this little romp through The World. The situations are toned down to actually fit the age of the characters (unlike many manga where 10-14 year-olds save the real world) which makes them real, believable, and in many ways touching. Not all of the characters are children either, and all ages work well together and can have fun being their alternate identity without ties negative or positive to who they really are. This is especially true of one classmate who is rather ridiculous in this game anyway, but becomes the brunt of humor due to his perverseness towards Rena and the marring of his beauty by Shugo. I don't really care for Zefie. She's insulting, spoiled (runs to Shugo after being mean to Rena and then taunts Rena), and often drawn in a rough way. In the end we see she has a good heart and she likes to help her friends, she's just hard to swallow. My favorite is easily the werewolf — she's strong, beautiful, sexy, and likes to mess with Shugo by being in her wolf form. She's the oldest in the group this story follows allowing her to be helpful but also just relax and go with the flow. Overall, it's definitely not as deep as .Hack//SIGN (or depressing) which is a good thing, but it also lacks some substance as there's really nothing holding it together expect friendship and humor. The end just kind of stops, which is a tad frustrating as you want to see what happens next or get some explanation from Aura more so that what is implied in her brief moments with Shugo and Zefie — but it also seems right; they succeeded and life goes on with everyone better for this journey. It's worth the read though if you just want something light and fun, especially since buying it this way is almost like getting one volume free! Written: November 25, 2009
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