''.hack'' (pronounced "Dot Hack") is a Japanese multimedia franchise that encompasses two projects: Project .hack and .hack Conglomerate. They were primarily created and developed by

CyberConnect2 is a Japanese video game development studio mostly known for its work on the ''.hack'' series, along with a series of fighting games based on the ''Naruto'' franchise. They are also known for creating the ''Little Tail Bronx'' series (e.g. ''T ...

, and published by

Bandai Namco Entertainment is a Japanese multinational video game video game publisher, publisher headquartered in Minato-ku, Tokyo. Its international branches, Bandai Namco Entertainment America and Bandai Namco Entertainment Europe, are respectively headquartered in ...

. The series features an alternative history setting in the rise of the new millennium regarding the technological rise of a new version of the internet following a major global computer network disaster in the year 2005, and the mysterious events regarding the wildly popular fictional

massively multiplayer online role-playing game A massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) is a video game that combines aspects of a role-playing video game and a massively multiplayer online game. As in role-playing games (RPGs), the player assumes the role of a Player charac ...

''The World''. The series mainly comprises

anime is Traditional animation, hand-drawn and computer animation, computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside of Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, in Japan and in Japane ...

and

video game Video games, also known as computer games, are electronic games that involves interaction with a user interface or input device such as a joystick, controller, keyboard, or motion sensing device to generate visual feedback. This fee ...

titles which have been subsequently adapted into

manga Manga (Japanese: 漫画 ) are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long prehistory in earlier Japanese art. The term ''manga'' is u ...

novels A novel is a relatively long work of narrative fiction, typically written in prose and published as a book. The present English word for a long work of prose fiction derives from the for "new", "news", or "short story of something new", itself ...

, and other related media.

Project .hack

Project .hack was the first project of the ''.hack'' series. It launched in 2002 with the

series '' .hack//Sign'' in April 2002 and the

PlayStation 2 The PlayStation 2 (PS2) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Sony Computer Entertainment. It was first released in Japan on 4 March 2000, in North America on 26 October 2000, in Europe on 24 November 2000, and in Australia on 3 ...

game '' .hack//Infection'' in June 2002. Project developers included Koichi Mashimo (

Bee Train , commonly referred to simply as Bee Train, is a Japanese animation studio founded by Kōichi Mashimo in 1997. Since their involvement with '' Noir'', '' .hack//Sign'', and ''Madlax'' (among other series) they have a strong following in the yuri f ...

Kazunori Itō is a Japanese anime screenwriter and artist who is well known for his work in the ''.hack'' franchise and his writing for the 1995 ''Ghost in the Shell'' movie. Itō supervised the writing for the novel, '' .hack//Another Birth'' which was writ ...

(Catfish) and

Yoshiyuki Sadamoto is a Japanese character designer, manga artist, and one of the founding members of the Gainax anime studio. Personal life Before Gainax was founded under the official name (it was originally called Daicon Film), Yoshiyuki served as animator o ...

(

Gainax Gainax Co., Ltd. (stylized as GAINAX; ja, 株式会社ガイナックス, Hepburn romanization, Hepburn: ) is a Japanese anime studio famous for productions such as ''Neon Genesis Evangelion'', ''Royal Space Force: The Wings of Honnêamise, Roya ...

). Since then, Project .hack has spanned television, video games, manga and novels. It centers mainly on the events and affairs of the prime installment of ''The World''. The franchise began internationally when Bandai announced .hack//Infection, which was released in 2003 and .hack//Sign got an English dub, which was released on

Cartoon Network Cartoon Network (often abbreviated as CN) is an American cable television channel owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. It is a part of The Cartoon Network, Inc., a division that also has the broadcasting and production activities of Boomerang, Car ...

in the same year.

Games

* ''

.hack ''.hack'' (pronounced "Dot Hack") is a Japanese multimedia franchise that encompasses two projects: Project .hack and .hack Conglomerate. They were primarily created and developed by CyberConnect2, and published by Bandai Namco Entertainment. ...

'', a series of four

games that follow the story of the .hackers,

Kite A kite is a tethered heavier than air flight, heavier-than-air or lighter-than-air craft with wing surfaces that react against the air to create Lift (force), lift and Drag (physics), drag forces. A kite consists of wings, tethers and anchors. ...

and BlackRose, and their attempts to find out what caused the sudden coma of Kite's friend, Orca, and BlackRose's brother, Kazu. The volumes included ''.hack//Infection'', ''.hack//Mutation'', ''.hack//Outbreak'' and ''.hack//Quarantine''. * '' .hack//frägment'', the first ''.hack''

Massively multiplayer online game A massively multiplayer online game (MMOG or more commonly MMO) is an online video game with a large number of players, often hundreds or thousands, on the same server. MMOs usually feature a huge, persistent world, persistent open world, alt ...

(online role-playing game). It was released only in Japan, the online servers began from November 23, 2005 and ended on January 18, 2007. * ''.hack//Enemy'', a

collectible card game A collectible card game (CCG), also called a trading card game (TCG) among other names, is a type of card game that mixes strategy game, strategic deck building elements with features of trading cards, introduced with ''Magic: The Gathering'' in ...

created by

Decipher Inc. Decipher, Inc. is an American gaming company based in Norfolk, Virginia, US. They began with three puzzles called "Decipher" then moved on to party games and '' Pente'' sets, but since 1994 produced collectible card and role-playing games. Their ...

based on the ''.hack'' series. It was discontinued after running five separate expansions between 2003 and 2005.

Anime

*'' .hack//Sign'' is an

television series directed by

Kōichi Mashimo (born June 21, 1952) is a Japanese anime animation director, director and the founder of the animation movie studio, studio Bee Train. Since the creation of the studio, Mashimo directed or otherwise participated in a large number of the studio's ...

and produced by studio

and

Bandai Visual was a Japanese anime, film production, and distribution enterprise, established by Bandai and a subsidiary of Bandai Namco Holdings. They focused mainly in international distribution of anime properties in North America. Most of the anime and ...

. It consists of twenty six original episodes and three additional ones, released on DVD as

original video animation , abbreviated as OVA and sometimes as OAV (original animation video), are Japanese animated films and series made specially for release in home video formats without prior showings on television or in theaters, though the first part of an OVA s ...

s. The series focuses on a Wavemaster (magic user) named Tsukasa, a

player character A player character (also known as a playable character or PC) is a fictional character in a video game or tabletop role-playing game whose actions are controlled by a player rather than the rules of the game. The characters that are not control ...

of the

virtual reality Virtual reality (VR) is a simulated experience that employs pose tracking and 3D near-eye displays to give the user an immersive feel of a virtual world. Applications of virtual reality include entertainment (particularly video games), educ ...

game. He wakes up to find himself in a dungeon in ''The World'', but he suffers amnesia as he wonders where he is and how he got there. The situation gets worse when he discovers he cannot log out and is trapped in the game. Tsukasa embarks with other players on a quest to find the truth behind the abnormal situation. The series is influenced by psychological and sociological subjects, such as

anxiety Anxiety is an emotion which is characterized by an unpleasant state of inner turmoil and includes feelings of dread over anticipated events. Anxiety is different than fear in that the former is defined as the anticipation of a future threat wh ...

escapism Escapism is mental diversion from unpleasant or boring aspects of daily life, typically through activities involving imagination or entertainment. Escapism may be used to occupy one's self away from persistent feelings of depression or genera ...

and

interpersonal relationship The concept of interpersonal relationship involves social associations, connections, or affiliations between two or more people. Interpersonal relationships vary in their degree of intimacy or self-disclosure, but also in their duration, in t ...

s. The series premiered in Japan on

TV Tokyo JOTX-DTV (channel 7), branded as and known colloquially as , is a television station headquartered in the Sumitomo Fudosan Roppongi Grand Tower in Roppongi, Minato, Tokyo, Japan, owned and operated by the subsidiary of listed certified b ...

between April 4, 2002 and September 25, 2002. It was later broadcast across East Asia, Southeast Asia, South Asia, and Latin America by the anime television network,

Animax , stylized as ANIMAX, is a Japanese animation satellite television network, dedicated to broadcasting anime programming. The channel also dubbed other cartoons in Japanese language. A subsidiary of Sony Pictures Entertainment Japan, it is headq ...

; and across the United States, Nigeria, Canada, and United Kingdom by

, YTV, and

AnimeCentral Anime Central was a British television channel owned by CSC Media Group. The channel launched on 13 September 2007. It was first announced on 5 August 2007, though its license first appeared on the Ofcom website in January (initially named "Toon ...

(English and Japanese) respectively. It is distributed across North America by

Bandai Entertainment was a Japanese anime, film production, and distribution enterprise, established by Bandai and a subsidiary of Bandai Namco Holdings. They focused mainly in international distribution of anime properties in North America. Most of the anime and f ...

. *'' .hack//Legend of the Twilight'' is a

miniseries A miniseries or mini-series is a television series that tells a story in a predetermined, limited number of episodes. "Limited series" is another more recent US term which is sometimes used interchangeably. , the popularity of miniseries format h ...

adaption of the

series written by Tatsuya Hamazaki and drawn by Rei Izumi. The series was directed by Koichi Mashimo and

Koji Sawai is a Japanese anime director and artist. Biography Kōji Sawai was born on September 14, 1955, in Tokyo Japan. While attending Toyo University, Sawai had ambitions to become a manga artist and would later join Tatsunoko Productions as an artist ...

, and produced by Bee Train. Set in a fictional

MMORPG A massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) is a video game that combines aspects of a role-playing video game and a massively multiplayer online game. As in role-playing games (RPGs), the player assumes the role of a Player charac ...

, '', The World'', the series focuses on twins Rena and Shugo, who receive chibi

avatar Avatar (, ; ), is a concept within Hinduism that in Sanskrit literally means "descent". It signifies the material appearance or incarnation of a powerful deity, goddess or spirit on Earth. The relative verb to "alight, to make one's appearanc ...

s in the design of the legendary .hackers known as

and BlackRose. After Shugo is given the Twilight Bracelet by a mysterious girl, the two embark on a quest to find Aura and unravel the mystery of the Twilight Bracelet. The anime series features many of the same characters as the manga version, but with an alternative storyline. It was localized as ''.hack//Dusk'', among other names, in fan translations prior to the official English release. *'' .hack//Liminality'' is a set of four

DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kin ...

OVA , abbreviated as OVA and sometimes as OAV (original animation video), are Japanese animated films and series made specially for release in home video formats without prior showings on television or in theaters, though the first part of an OVA s ...

s included with the ''.hack'' video game series for the

. ''Liminality'' is focused on the real world as opposed to the games'

'', The World''. Separated into four volumes; each volume was released with its corresponding game. The initial episode is 45 minutes long and each subsequent episode is 30 minutes long. The video series was directed by Koichi Mashimo, written by

with music by

Yuki Kajiura Yuki, Yūki or Yuuki may refer to: Places * Yuki, Hiroshima (Jinseki), a town in Jinseki District, Hiroshima, Japan * Yuki, Hiroshima (Saeki), a town in Saeki District, Hiroshima, Japan * Yūki, Ibaraki, a city on Honshu island in Japan * Yuki, ...

. Primary animation production was handled by Mashimo's studio

which collaborated for the four games as well as handled major production on ''.hack//Sign''. ''Liminality'' follows the story of Mai Minase, Yuki Aihara, Kyoko Tohno, and ex-CyberConnect employee Junichiro Tokuoka as they attempt to find out why players are falling into comas when playing in ''The World''. *'' .hack//Gift'', a self-deprecating, tongue-in-cheek, OVA that was created as a "gift" for those who had bought and completed all four ''.hack'' video games. It was released under Project .hack. In Japan, it was available when the Data Flag on the memory card file in '' .hack//Quarantine'' was present, whereas the American version included ''Gift'' on the fourth ''Liminality'' DVD. It is predominantly a comedy that makes fun of everything that developed throughout the series, even the franchise's own shortcomings. Character designs are deliberately simplistic.

Novels

*''.hack//AI buster'', a

novel A novel is a relatively long work of narrative fiction, typically written in prose and published as a book. The present English word for a long work of prose fiction derives from the for "new", "news", or "short story of something new", itsel ...

released under Project .hack, in 2002. It tells the story of

Albireo Albireo is a double star designated Beta Cygni (β Cygni, abbreviated Beta Cyg, β Cyg). The International Astronomical Union uses the name "Albireo" specifically for the brightest star in the system. Although designated ' beta', ...

and a prototype of the ultimate AI, Lycoris, and of how

Orca The orca or killer whale (''Orcinus orca'') is a toothed whale belonging to the oceanic dolphin family, of which it is the largest member. It is the only Extant taxon, extant species in the genus ''Orcinus'' and is recognizable by its black ...

and

Balmung In Norse mythology, Gram (Old Norse ''Gramr'', meaning "Wrath"), also known as Balmung or Nothung, is the sword that Sigurd used to kill the dragon Fafnir. It is primarily used by the Völsungs in the ''Volsunga Saga''. However, it is also ...

defeated "The One Sin" and became the Descendants of Fianna. *''.hack//AI buster 2'', a collection of stories released under Project .hack. It involves the characters of ''AI Buster'' and ''Legend of the Twilight Bracelet'': ".hack//2nd Character", ".hack//Wotan's Spear", ".hack//Kamui", ".hack//Rumor" and ".hack//Firefly". "Rumor" was previously released with the Rena Special Pack in Japan. *''.hack//Another Birth'', a novel series released under Project .hack. It retells the story of the ''.hack'' video games from BlackRose's point of view. *''.hack//Zero'', a novel series released under Project .hack. It tells the story of a Long Arm named Carl, of what happened to Sora after he was trapped in ''The World'' by Morganna, and of Tsukasa's real life after being able to log out from ''The World''. *''.hack//Epitaph of Twilight'', a novel series telling the story of Harald Hoerwick's niece, Lara Hoerwick, who finds herself trapped in an early version of ''The World''.

Manga

*'' .hack//Legend of the Twilight'', a

series released under Project .hack. It tells the story of two player characters Shugo and Rena, as they win a mysterious contest that earns them chibi character models of the legendary .hackers Kite & BlackRose.

.hack Conglomerate

.hack Conglomerate is the current project of .hack by CyberConnect2 and various other companies and successor to Project .hack. The companies include

Victor Entertainment , also known as in Japan, is a subsidiary of JVCKenwood that produces and distributes music, movies and other entertainment products such as anime and television shows in Japan. It is known as JVC Entertainment in countries where Sony Music Ent ...

Nippon Cultural Broadcasting is a Japanese radio station in Tokyo which broadcasts to the Kanto area. It is one of the two flagship radio stations of National Radio Network (NRN) (the other station is ) and is a member of the Fujisankei Communications Group. History The ...

, Bandai,

, and

Kadokawa Shoten , formerly , is a Japanese publisher and division of Kadokawa Future Publishing based in Tokyo, Japan. It became an internal division of Kadokawa Corporation on October 1, 2013. Kadokawa publishes manga, light novels, manga anthology magazines su ...

. It encompasses a series of three PlayStation 2 games called ''.hack//G.U.'', an anime series called ''.hack//Roots'', prose, and manga. .hack Conglomerate focuses on times and installments after the original ''The World'' MMORPG.

Games

*'' .hack//G.U.'' is a series of three video games (Vol. 1 ''Rebirth'', Vol. 2 ''Reminisce'', and Vol. 3 ''Redemption'') released for the .hack Conglomerate project. Taking place in the installment of ''The World R:2'' in the year 2017, the series focuses on the player Haseo's search for a cure after his friend was attacked by a player known as Tri-edge, which led to his eventual involvement with Project G.U, and the mysterious anomalies called AIDA that plague ''The World R:2''. A remastered collection was released on November 3, 2017 for the PlayStation 4 and PC that included all three previous volumes and added a new 4th volume called ''Reconnection''. *'' .hack//Link'', a PSP game released under the .hack Conglomerate project. It was claimed to be the last game in the series; the game centers on a youth named Tokio in the year 2020, who is given a free copy of ''The World R:X'' by the popular but mysterious new classmate Saika Amagi. Contains unplayable characters from .hack and ''.hack//G.U.'' video games. *'' .hack//Versus'', a PS3 game released under the .hack Conglomerate project. The game is the first .hack fighter game, which is bundled with the film .hack//The Movie. *''.hack//Guilty Dragon'', a card-based mobile game for Android and iOS, it was exclusive for Japan. Its services began from October 15, 2012 and ended on March 23, 2016. *''.hack//G.U. The Card Battle'' is a trading card game similar to that of ''.hack//Enemy'' released under the .hack Conglomerate project. Unlike .hack//Enemy, the game was made by the original creators of ''.hack//G.U.''. There are two sets of rules, one based on the mini game in the G.U. series, ''Crimson VS'', and the one specifically designed for the trading card game. This game won the

Origins Award The Origins Awards are American awards for outstanding work in the game industry. They are presented by the Academy of Adventure Gaming Arts and Design at the Origins Game Fair on an annual basis for the previous year, so (for example) the 1979 aw ...

for Best Trading Card Game of 2003. *''New World Vol. 1: Maiden of Silver Tears'', an Android & iOS game released under the .hack Conglomerate project. it was a Japanese exclusive mobile game, it served as a reboot to the franchise. Services began on January 8, 2016 and ended on December 20, 2016.

Anime

* '' .hack//Roots'' is an anime series released under the .hack Conglomerate project. It follows Haseo and his joining (and subsequent exploits with) the Twilight Brigade guild. It also shows his rise to power and how he becomes known as "The Terror of Death". Towards the end of the series we see the start of ''.hack.//G.U''. This series is the last in the .hack anime series to be licensed by Bandai Entertainment. *''.hack//G.U. Trilogy'', a CGI movie adaptation of the ''.hack//G.U.'' video games released under the .hack Conglomerate project. *''.hack//G.U. Returner'', a short follow up OVA and the conclusion to .hack//Roots released under the .hack Conglomerate project. It tells the story about the characters of ''.hack//G.U.'' in one last adventure. *'' .hack//Quantum'', a three part OVA series from

Kinema Citrus is a Japanese animation studio, founded on March 3, 2008, by former Production I.G and Bones members and based in Suginami, Tokyo. Its business directors are Muneki Ogasawara, Yuichiro Matsuka and Masaki Tachibana. Notable works include '' Tokyo ...

and the first in the anime series of .hack to be licensed by

Funimation Crunchyroll, LLC, previously known as Funimation from 1994 to 2022, is an American entertainment company owned by Japanese conglomerate Sony as a joint venture between Sony Pictures and Sony Music Entertainment Japan's Aniplex that specializes ...

. *'' .hack//The Movie'', a CGI movie, announced on August 23, 2011. On January 21, 2012, it was launched in theaters throughout Japan. The movie takes place in the year 2024, where a reboot of ''The World'' under the name ''FORCE:ERA'' is released to a new generation of players. *''Thanatos Report'', OVA in ''.hack//Versus'' unlocked after finishing Story Mode.

Novels

*''.hack//Cell'', a novel series released under the .hack Conglomerate project, written by Ryo Suzukaze. ''.hack//CELL'' takes place at the same time as ''.hack//Roots''. The main premise of the story covers the happenings that Midori and Adamas witness and experience in The World R:2, an extremely popular

that is a new version of the original game, , The World. Midori meets numerous characters from ''.hack//Roots'' (most notably Haseo) and ''.hack//G.U.'' (such as Silabus and Gaspard). The main plot centers around Midori selling herself out to would-be PKers, and some real-world events that center around the girl who also bears the name Midori (Midori Shimomura) who is in a coma. It is later revealed that Midori is a sentient PC, a result of the "virtual cell" that was taken from Midori Shimomura's blood. After Midori Shimomura awakens from her coma, she enters The World R:2 with a PC identical to Midori.

Tokyopop Tokyopop (styled TOKYOPOP; formerly known as Mixx Entertainment) is an American distributor, licensor and publisher of anime, manga, manhwa and Western manga-style works. The German publishing division produces German translations of licensed J ...

has obtained the rights to ''.hack//CELL'' and was released on March 2, 2010. *''.hack//G.U.'', a novel series adaptation of the three ''.hack//G.U.'' Video games released under the .hack Conglomerate project. *''.hack//bullet'', a web novel that follows Flugel after the events of .hack//Link.

Manga

*''.hack//4koma'', a yonkoma manga series most of the 4-Koma is filled with gags and parodies centring mostly around the main characters of the original ''.hack'' video game series and the ''.hack//G.U.'' video games series. *''.hack//Alcor'', a manga series released under the .hack Conglomerate project. It focuses on a girl called Nanase, who appears to be quite fond of Silabus, as well as Alkaid during her days as empress of the Demon Palace. *''.hack//GnU'', a humorous manga series released under the .hack Conglomerate project. It revolves around a male Blade Brandier called Raid and the seventh division of the Moon Tree guild. *''.hack//G.U.+'', a manga adaptation series loosely based on the three ''.hack//G.U.'' video games, released under the .hack Conglomerate project. *''.hack//XXXX'' (read as "X-Fourth"), a manga adaptation series released under the .hack Conglomerate project. The manga is loosely based on the four original ''.hack'' video games. *'' .hack//Link'', manga series released under the .hack Conglomerate project. It occurs three years after the end of ''.hack//G.U.'' in a new version of ''The World'' called ''The World R:X''. It focuses on a player named Tokio and a mysterious exchange student named Saika.

Other appearances

A few characters from the franchise appear in the

Nintendo 3DS The is a handheld game console produced by Nintendo. It was announced in March 2010 and unveiled at E3 2010 as the successor to the Nintendo DS. The system features backward compatibility with Nintendo DS video games. As an eighth-generatio ...

games ''

Project X Zone (pronounced as "Project Cross Zone") is a crossover tactical role-playing game for the Nintendo 3DS developed by Monolith Soft with assistance from Capcom and Red Entertainment and published by Namco Bandai Games. The game is a follow up to the ...

'' and ''

Project X Zone 2 ''Project X Zone 2'' is a crossover tactical role-playing game for the Nintendo 3DS developed by Monolith Soft and published by Bandai Namco Entertainment. Despite the game being the sequel to ''Project X Zone'', the plot is a homage to the event ...

''.

References

Bandai Namco Entertainment franchises

Hack Hack may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Games * ''Hack'' (Unix video game), a 1984 roguelike video game * ''.hack'' (video game series), a series of video games by the multimedia franchise ''.hack'' Music * ''Hack'' (album), a 199 ...

Fictional computers Massively multiplayer online role-playing games in fiction Artificial intelligence in fiction Sentient objects in fiction 2001 introductions

Project .hack

Games

Anime

Novels

Manga

.hack Conglomerate

Games

Anime

Novels

Manga

Other appearances

References

External links