.hack//Roots, Vol. 3 Reviews

TaN is no more, Ovan is missing, and the Twilight Brigade is in disarray. As a result of their illegal activities, TaN has been forced to disband, the leaders of the guild prohibited from accessing the game. However, the mysterious disappearance of Ovan has left little time for the Twilight Brigade to rejoice. And as rumor concerning his possible location and motives spread dissent through the ranks, the Brigade finds itself facing its final days together. Yet as turmoil brews amongst the members of the Twilight Brigade, Ovan lies trapped in suspended animation; his fate in the hands of Yata and Pi, the reincarnation of the former TaN leaders. Meanwhile, the bizarre appearance of the player Tri-Edge will shatter the lives of Haseo and everyone else in The World. Genre: Action, drama, sci-fi. Production by Bee Train, Director Koichi Mashimo, and Music by Yuki Kaijura. Original character design by Yoshiyuki Sadamoto.

As the cyber-adventure .hack//Roots reaches its mid-point, the sinister TaN Guild has been forcibly disbanded and the members' accounts terminated, but ominous events continue to shake the world of Game. Shino, Tabby, Sakisaka, and Haseo feel lost when Ovan fails to return from his search for the Key of the Twilight. They don't know that Ovan has been captured by a mysterious group that seeks to extract data hidden in his PC body. But these threats pale before the appearance of Tri-Edge, a maniacal "PK" (Player Killer) whose attacks destroy avatars--and render players unconscious in the real world. Can Haseo stand up to such a deadly foe? The imaginative work of director Koichi Mashimo and his artists make .hack//Roots a stand-out: when Shino is attacked by Tri-Edge, her avatar seems to bleed data in a striking visual. As a group of small-time PKs attack Haseo, the music shifts from the Queen of the Night's aria in The Magic Flute to a Japanese pop tune via a harpsichord bridge. (Rated 13 and older: violence) --Charles Solomon MPN: 22242 - UPC: 669198222429