The episode begins with the members of TaN discussing for a bit, then we switch back to Haseo, who’s busy levelling. These are also the only fights that happen in this episode. It makes me glad to see that this series didn’t focus on the fights after all. Anyway, after killing a bunch of monsters, he walks into three suspicious-looking PC’s, probably after an easy PK. Then we switch to the members of the Twillight Brigade. Shino and Ovan have a little talk with each other, with Ovan being as mysterious as ever.
Back to Haseo, it seems someone has been spreading rumours about him being the legendary Haseo, with superpowers and super-items. The three PC’s from before were begging him to join their party. Haseo tries to flee, but runs into some other guys who heard about him. These, however, are a bunch of PK-ers, only after his money and items. Haseo gets saved by Tawaraya, the big merchant from TaN. Tawaraya, interested in Haseo’s bond with Ovan, is stunned when he founds out that Haseo knows absolutely nothing. He goes back to TaN, and wonders why Ovan was so interested in this kid.
Haseo, meanwhile, gets bothered by Tabby. She’s the only character in the show I have problems with. In combination with other characters, she works pretty well, but her artwork SO does NOT fit with the others. It’s really another art style she’s drawn in. She also was the biggest reason why I feared that .Hack//Roots might be going into the wrong direction. Anyway, she gives Haseo a special card, which makes you able to join a certain guild, in this case, the Twillight Brigade. The two spend a bit of time together, Tabby keeps bothering him, and Haseo decides to lose her the quick and easy way: by logging out.
I’ve noticed before, but now I know for sure: the episodes of .Hack//Roots all start out a bit of mediocre, but as the episode progresses, the scenes become better and better by the minute, and the scenes at the beginning of the episode all get their meaning. The result is awesome, and this episode was no exception. We now get our first taste of supernatural events on the show, and finally it becomes clear why Ovan was so interested in Haseo. For some reason, the screen gets a weird tint, all PC’s and NPC’s disappear, and all Haseo’s able to see is Ovan, who’s walking a distance away from him. Haseo tries to follow him, but the screen turns normal again, and he bumps into Tawaraya. Tawaraya soon understands what happened to him, and finally understands why Ovan was so interested in Haseo. He gives him a special card as well. It also now becomes clear why TaN’s so interested in Ovan. A lot of pieces fall into place this way.
Shino, meanwhile sees where she went wrong, and goes back to Haseo. This time, not to convince him, but just to be with him. That’s what I really liked: two characters, just sitting next to each other, saying just nothing. A lot more anime should attempt this. Haseo leaves, but Shino made a big impression on him. The rest of the episode, we see Haseo thinking about which guild to choose. The result is predictable, but the way the decision is made totally makes up for it. After all, it took Haseo three episodes to make a good decision. Each side was explored, he knew the advantages and disadvantages, and he made a choice. You don’t usually see this in anime either.
Overall, this was another brilliant episode. Haseo’s in the guild now, but I like the way it happened. I wonder what he’ll be doing next.
