Fans of Isekai how anime Sword Art Online And That time I was reincarnated as a Slime might miss out on one of the best works the genre has ever seen, a series that predates the isekai boom by many years: .Hack//Sign. While quite different from most isekai, .Hack//Sign still fits the genre's definition and has a much more engaging story than either of them.
.Hack//Sign (pronounced “Dot Hack Sign”) is a 2002 anime series that focuses on Tsukasa, a young player of a Virtual Reality MMORPG called “The World,” who somehow gets trapped inside the game, unable to log out and return to the real world. The basic premise certainly sounds very similar to Sword Art Online, but while Sword Art Online reveals the circumstances that have trapped the player pretty quickly, .Hack//Sign is ultimately a mystery series, attempting to answer the question of how Tsukasa’s situation was even possible, and it leads down a dangerous rabbit hole regarding the true purpose of “The World.”
.Hack//Sign focuses on mystery which makes it different from other Isekai
This series is concerned with the how and why, unlike most Isekai series.
In your standard isekai series, the main character is whisked away to another world (usually one heavily inspired by video game logic for no apparent reason) in the first episode, and very little attention is paid to how such a thing happens. In a series like That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime, it's simply taken for granted that this sort of thing happens, or at least in the anime so far. The characters rarely look back or think about the lives they once lived, which I always find unrealistic. Rimuru doesn't really have ANYONE in his old life that he cares about or misses? No mother, no father, no siblings?
.Hack//Sign solves this problem by having Tsukasa suffer from amnesia, not being able to remember much about his life before being brought into “The World,” and the brief scenes we see seem to indicate that Tsukasa has had a pretty bad life to begin with. Initially, Tsukasa is happy to be in this new world where he wields incredible power, and resists any attempts by the other characters to investigate his past or his situation in general. However, Tsukasa is being used and abused here just as much as he was abused in the real world, and he slowly realizes that.
Because .Hack//Sign is set in a real MMORPG and other players can log out and return to the real world, it automatically brings the previous world's problems to the forefront. Tsukasa has no choice but to uncover the mystery of how he got here, and he soon realizes that when there is a question of how, there is also a question of why.. Tsukasa isn't some legendary figure here to save the day and gain admiration; in fact, he's a lonely kid with few friends, and those around him find his newfound power terrifying. Tsukasa may have power, but ultimately, he's just a pawn in a much larger scheme.
.Hack// There is a larger story told through games, manga and anime
One cannot talk about .Hack// without acknowledging its revolutionary nature at the time, as the anime was merely the centerpiece of a larger multimedia series. Unlike most other series, .Hack// has a video game, light novel, and manga that follows the anime, and they all come together to tell a greater story. While the games and light novels/manga are extremely hard to find these days, .Hack//Sign can be enjoyed entirely on its own, though it is greatly enhanced when taken as part of the larger story of this strange MMORPG. The little tidbits learned in these other series can add more nuance and context to .Hack//Sign's story.
The .Hack// series continued into a second generation, known as GU, and there have been various revival attempts over the years, but none have truly achieved the impact and quality of the original anime series. .Hack//Sign is ultimately the most enduring achievement the series has produced, and it deserves to be remembered for much more. This series really paved the way for the isekai genre boom, although you would never know it since it's so different from the usual isekai series.
.Hack// Proves Isekai Can Be Deeper Than Most
Modern Isekai is too focused on wish fulfillment
The focus on mystery and exploration of the world the series takes place in automatically sets .Hack//Sign apart from the usual isekai, but it also proves that isekai can be so much better. In many ways, this sub-genre of anime and manga has become nothing more than wish fulfillment, with bland protagonists who act as the audience and are capable of anything and everything, loved by everyone, and completely invincible.. While Rimuru has a bit more personality than that, That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime is a perfect example, as Rimuru's power is nearly limitless, and even divine beings befriend him.
In short, there is one thing that has always bothered me about modern isekai series. Isekai doesn't have to be about simple wish fulfillment, putting people who feel weak and isolated into the role of a strong and beloved character. They can tell stories in any genre imaginable, be it tragedy, mystery, or romance. Their protagonists can be more than just blank pages for viewers to figure out for themselves, and their struggles can be compelling to watch for their own sake..
.Hack//Sign is an example of how the isekai genre can really thrive, if allowed. But if there's a change in the way isekai series like Sword Art Online And That time I was reincarnated as a Slime works, which will only happen if fans demand more complex storytelling and stop believing in the cheap wish fulfillment that so many series simply provide.
