Mini Review of .hack//xxxx Manga

I found this unfinished post in this blog's (Anime Meta (Anime Archives)) drafts list. The post's last updated date is listed as Friday, January 3, 2014. Yep, this has been sitting on my drafts list for practically forever already. It's definitely time I got 'round to publishing this.

Besides, like I mentioned in my other blogs, I have a lot of unfinished posts stored on the drafts pages of my numerous blogs (particularly Tumblr and Google Blogger). I'm now trying to finish all these articles, so I can publish them already and decrease the number of my drafts.

This is a review of the .hack//xxxx manga (#ad) by Hiroshi Matsuyama. This manga is an adaptation of the .hack games with some changes.

This review isn't complete though since I wasn't able to finish reading said graphic novel. Maybe when I get more time I'll be able to get back to reading this comic and actually finishing it.

Anyway, this review is in no particular order, and parts of it is in a stream-of-consciousness format of sorts.

Title

The manga's title is weird, but interesting in its own way. What does .hack//xxxx mean? Guess I'll find out as I continue reading through this manga.

Beginning

The beginning of the story came across as confusing and hard to understand. If you read the manga's summary, if you're familiar with the .hack series, or if you've read a bit about this online or something, then you'll already know that it's about this online game called The World.

This is how the story begins, but I still found it confusing. Right away, we get introduced to some characters, but we have no idea who they are.

This comes across as rather abrupt. We get some characters introduced to us readers, but we can't really care about them because we don't know who they are or why they're showing up.

There's an air of mystery, but it's just annoying for those who don't know anything because it's like when are we going to get to the explanation? I mean, this is all well and good for those who know about this game already, but what about for those who don't?

Overall, I felt frustrated. The first few pages were so confusing since I was new to the manga and series, so I had no idea what was going on. We basically got a bunch of characters along with their names, but nothing made sense.

Chapter 1

In the first chapter of the .hack//xxxx manga, we see Kite, Orca, and Yasuhiko. We also get a flashback of sorts. As if this story wasn't already confusing enough as it was.

So Orca gets a bracelet. But it's all so fast-paced. It's not really interesting because you don't know what's going on. Everything is happening so fast.

We don't even get much of an intro about this, which isn't helpful at all for people who didn't get to play the .hack// game. This makes it all the more confusing.

How Does This Game Work?

I find the concept of playing an online game fascinating and interesting, but I'd like more information about this such as in terms of:

• how does this game work?
• what's the world about?
• what are the different classes?
• what about the magic system? How does it work?
• is this like a virtual reality game or something else?

For instance, we find out that Kite is apparently a beginner. But what class is he? Does he start as some knight? Does he get to choose? What about Orca? Did he evolve or level up or something? How did he get so good?

Since the characters are inside the game, did they design their game characters and weapons, or did they have to choose from a selection of pre-made characters and weapons? Do they look the same in-game as they do in the real world?

It's interesting to note that the faces of Kite and Yasuhiko weren't shown in the real world. Kite was looking down, so his hair was covering his face while Yasuhiko's image was cut.

It's still confusing though. I mean, how did they get out of the game? If they die in the game, does that mean they leave and end up back in the real world? It seemed so abrupt. Like, how did Kite survive that? And who was that girl?

It does make me more curious about this game. What is it, really? Who made it? How come it isn't just a game? I mean, what made it like this, so that it was more than just a game? Is there an actual story explanation, or is it like this is only because of the plot or premise of the story?

More Info About Yasuhiko

I wonder how Kite and Yasuhiko know each other. Yasuhiko appears to be older than Kite, or is this just because of what his character looks like in the game? I also want to know what happened to Yasuhiko. In the real world, how did they explain how he suddenly got sick and fell in a coma?

Interesting Plot

Needless to say, the whole flashback sequence could have gone much better. It could have been done much better too, so it was less confusing and annoying. Nonetheless, I decided to continue reading the story though it was getting rather frustrating.

Thankfully, things started becoming a bit more clearer, not to mention more interesting. The plot is interesting. I like fantasy. And am curious how the magic in this world works.

The Mystery Deepens

There's a summary in one part, but it doesn't really help much. Still, it's good that it's available.

There's something about an illegal program, but not much info yet. New characters show up, but we still don't really know them all that well at all. I still have no idea who they really are.

Kite apparently knows that the guy who showed up is a twin blade user like him, but how does he know that?

Confusing Flashback

Looks like I spoke too soon. Just when I thought things were finally becoming clearer, things became confusing all over again.

It should be easy to tell if we're in a flashback or not. The manga attempts to explain how BlackRose and Kite met, but it basically seriously failed, so it ended up explaining nothing at all.

This just made things even more confusing for readers. Ugh.

More Information About BlackRose

I thought BlackRose was pretty cool. This includes her name itself and her sword. The huge sword reminded me of Haru Glory's Ten Commandments.

Haru is the main character of this anime and manga series by Hiro Mashima called Rave (also known as Rave Master and The Groove Adventure Rave).

Ten Commandments is the name of Haru's sword. It's huge and can transform into 10 different forms, hence the name.

Actually, as far as I can recall at the moment, it seems that if a form of media (like a book or movie) features a huge weapon, it's usually a guy who'd be wielding said weapon. So I found it especially refreshing to see BlackRose with a big sword. Because women should be able to wield those kinds of weapons too, right?

Anyway, we soon find out that BlackRose apparently has a little brother that she wants to save. We get more info about her past as well as about her brother suffering the same fate as Orca. This is interesting and all, but I also found myself wondering what about Mistral? What's her story?

Also, what's up with that scene between BlackRose and Aura? Said scene went nowhere. What's the use of that scene?

More Questions About the .hack//xxxx Manga

• Why didn't Lios throw Kite out of the game if he was causing them problems?
• Why didn't he confiscate the illegal program?
• Why didn't Kite explain that the bracelet was just given to him? Actually, it was originally given to Orca, so why didn't he say that?
• Why did Lios just leave without doing anything else?
• Why didn't he do something about the illegal program sooner?
• How come he's attempting to delete Kite's character now and not before?

Kite's Friends

How come Kite suddenly started hanging out with Cubia and Balmung? What about his friends, Mistral and BlackRose? What happened to them? Did he just throw them away? How could he do that?

Conclusion

Overall, I found the .hack//xxxx manga pretty interesting, but also quite confusing.

Your Thoughts and Opinions

So what about you? What do you think about this? Feel free and welcome to share your thoughts and opinions by leaving a comment or by answering the poll below.


*Notes:
- Pic is from Amazon.com; link shown above
- Text was added to pic using Canva

What Happened to Kurt, Reina, and Kite's Friends in Hunter X Hunter?

Full post title: some thoughts / analysis / discussion about some of the characters in the Chimera Ant arc of Hunter x Hunter, particularly Kurt, Reina, and Kite’s friends.

Kurt and Reina are these 2 kids from NGL (Neo-Green Life autonomous region). You know what happens to them?

(*Warning for possible spoilers from the Hunter x Hunter 2011 anime (#ad) and manga series by Yoshihiro Togashi)

They die. No, they don’t just die. They also get eaten. By the Chimera Ant Queen. But, before that, we were introduced to them first. We saw these 2 little kids and how close they were and how they lived a simple, peaceful life with their mother.

We saw how Kurt tried to protect his little sister, Reina, and how he tried to keep her safe. And then they die. Just like that. I know, I know. They had to die because it serves to show just how much of a threat the Chimera Ants are.

And, naturally, the children had to be introduced for a bit before they get killed and eaten to make it hurt even more for us, the audience / viewers, when they finally die. It’s meant to tug at our heartstrings.

When we first saw those 2, I just knew that something was going to happen to them. And I didn’t want to care about them because I knew they were gonna croak it anyway. Of course, it’s hard not to when you see them.

They were living such a nice life. They were so innocent, and they hadn’t done anything wrong. Then they just die. And, man, how is that fair, right? Where’s the justice in that? And they’re so young. Too young to die. Sigh.

Honestly, I even thought that Kite’s friends (Spinner Clow, Monta Yuras, Lin Koshi, Stick Dinner, Banana Kavaro, and Podungo Lapoy) would die (if not all of them, then, at the very least, one or some of them).

I mean, we spent all that time being introduced to each and every one of them and being told their names and none of them died. I was pretty much expecting them to die sooner or later and was very much surprised when that didn’t happen at all.

TBH, I kind of wish that one or all of them had died instead of Kite. When they didn’t die, I had to wonder why. Like, what was that all about?

Why were we even introduced to them? Because it wasn’t like they really did much of anything at all. I thought they were being introduced just so they could be killed off later on like with what happened to Kurt and Reina.

But, then again, considering how I care more about Kite than these people, maybe that’s why they didn’t die. I mean, I only saw Kurt and Reina for a short while, but I didn’t want those 2 to die.

I wish those 2 didn’t have to die. Kite’s friends had more appearances, but none of them were all that memorable.

We got their names and everything, but I could hardly tell them apart or match the name to the proper face. If they’d died or suddenly disappeared, it wouldn’t have mattered much.

It’s different with Kite though. I didn’t want him to die. I found him interesting, and I really wish that he’d been able to escape from Neferpitou. Sigh. Maybe that’s why he died, huh? LOL.

So, what do you think about all this? Feel free to share your thoughts and opinions by leaving a comment below.

*Notes:
- Pic is from Amazon.com; link shown above
- This was previously published on my Soyuz Mir Tumblr blog on September 22, 2015 at 11:06:25pm

Hunter X Hunter: Does Senritsu Know Where Kurapika Is?

The full title of this article is: "Does Senritsu / Melody know where Kurapika Kurta / Kuruta (#ad) is during the Hunters Association 13th Chairman Election arc?"

(*Warning for possible spoilers from the Hunter x Hunter 2011 anime and manga series by Yoshihiro Togashi)

Kurapika is nowhere to be found during said arc, which is really something to wonder about. Even Leorio Paradinight wonders where his friend is.

But is there really no one who knows anything about Kurapika’s current whereabouts? What about Senritsu? Doesn’t she know anything?

During the Hunters Association 13th Chairman Election arc, Gon Freecss is heavily injured thanks to what happened in the previous arc with the Chimera Ants. Many of his friends show up to visit him and try to help him in any way that they can.

Kurapika is notable for not showing up to see Gon even though he should have been one of the first ones there since he’s one of Gon’s dearest friends. Leorio tries to contact the blond, but he doesn’t get a response.

But you know who else was around during this arc? Senritsu. We see her with Leorio and the others. I have to wonder if Leorio talked to her and asked her about Kurapika’s whereabouts. He should have, right?

Because, if anyone would know where Kurapika is, it would be Senritsu, right? Both of them work for the Nostrad / Nostrade family, so, shouldn’t that mean that Senritsu would know Kurapika's location and what he’s up to?

Or, what, did she resign from her job? Or did Kurapika resign from his job? Did they part ways? What happened?

How come no one is asking these questions? Did Leorio even try to ask Senritsu about this? He totally should have since he even entrusted Kurapika to her, remember?

When they parted ways in York Shin City, we saw Leorio and Senritsu talking with the former asking the latter to take care of and watch over his friend and with the latter commenting on the former’s soothing heartbeat.

Does Senritsu know where Kurapika is or not? If she does, then why isn’t she saying anything about his whereabouts? If she doesn’t, then how come she doesn’t know if they work together?

So, what do you think about this? Feel free to share your thoughts and opinions by leaving a comment below.

*Notes:
- Pic is from Amazon.com; link shown above
- This was previously published on my Soyuz Mir Tumblr blog on 16 September 2015 at 11:03 pm