This surely was an interesting episode. But at the same time, I really wonder where this show is going. It’s going to run out of characters if this keeps continuing. Still, if the anime doesn’t fall during the next episode, we could be in for an extremely awesome second half of the show.
This episode featured a perfect buildup once more. It starts out really slow, only to whack the player down with some amazing scenes during the second half.
Ovan’s case keeps getting stranger. Last episode, we see the lock on his arm being broken, and something came out of it. This episode, it appears that he just disappeared into thin air after this, without leaving any trace. Naobi and Ender meanwhile continue to analyze the data he left behind. And their PC’s… I’m sure that I’ve seen those bodies somewhere before. I’m almost certain that they already appeared on the show, but when?
Shino also was just awesome. At the beginning of the episode, she keeps getting closer to Haseo. The two of them exchange phones. These were some very nice scenes. Later, the guy called Tri-Edge gives her a call, and tells her to come to the cathedral, after which she gets data-drained by him. Still, she looked awefully relieved when she got the mesage. Could it be that she thought that Tri-Edge was actually Ovan? But that can’t be, as Tri-Edge already was around before Ovan got captured. The look she also had on her face when she saw Haseo at that time was awesome. And not to mention the fact that we get to see our first scene of the outside world. It took awfully long, but it was worth it.
Also, after the previous episode, I think I knew about Tabby’s feeling a bit, though right now, I realize I was wrong. She actually wanted to be with Shino, though Haseo kept her away from her. She didn’t dare to interfere with the two of them, as she was too afraid to lose them both, so she decided to give them some subtle messages. Well, that plan backfired when Shino got data-drained. The then realized that Haseo went straight after Shino when he heard about where she was going. Something Tabby was not able to.
I’m also wondering what’s up with Tri-Edge. For the first time in the series, he actually does something, which involves travelling through the world, and fixing bugs at certain places. But why did he attack Shino?
So, what’s happened with each of the characters:
Goad: Left, because Ovan was his raison d’être. At least, in the game.
B-Set: Left, because Ovan was the person who made her keep playing.
Tawaraya: Left, account suspended.
Ender: Account suspended, returned in a new PC.
Naobi: Account suspended, returned in a new PC.
Shino: Data-drained.
Ovan: Vanished into thin air.
Tabby: About to leave, because Shino was her raison d’être.
Sakisaka: Left, because the game reminded him too much of the Twillight Brigade.
Phyllo: Stays.
Haseo: Stays.
Overall, .Hack//Roots keeps getting better and better. I’m really curious how the anime will continue after this. The second half will probably be totally awesome.
This episode confirms my suspicion that there is some link between Shino and Aura. I think it was last episode she said she wasn’t going to run away like Aura did and now this episode she ends up getting data drained in the Cathedral of all places. I wonder what the connection might be.
I’m also starting to think the dangers in the game this time are from hackers. Naobi and Ender definitely seem to be hackers, and they don’t seem to care who they hurt to get whatever it is they want. It’s pretty apparent that they’ve damaged Ovan already, he’s probably in a coma thanks to them. I also think they’re going to steal Ovan’s character and Haseo will have to fight it. Ovan told Haseo to get strong so many times after all..
I loved how Haseo just totally kicked that group of PKers asses. Served them right after they did it to him when he was a newbie. The best part was when Haseo ducked out of the way so one of them ended up attacking one of his party members. 😉
There might indeed be some kind of link between Shino and Aura. When she spoke about Aura, she indeed talked about her as if it was common knowledge. I’m still wondering who the main antagonist will be. It’ll either be Naobi or Tri Edge. We still don’t know whether Tri Edge will give Naobi difficulties as well. Though when you think in terms of background given to each character, I’d put my money on Naobi.