This was a very enjoyable episode. Even though it was just a filler, it had some great moments. Almost all of the main characters, Haseo, Ovan, Shino, Tri-Edge, Yata, Naobi, Pai, Ender and Savuro are all cast aside, and stay out of the entire episode, in order to make it focus around Tabby, with Phyllo, a new main character called Kuhn and two newbies as side-characters as support.
Tabby’s still struggling with everything that happened, though she does decide to remain in The World. Unlike others. Then, she runs into a couple of newbies, and decides to help them. It’s a shame, however, that Tabby herself is a complete newbie as well, so the three of them end up dying. Phyllo, meanwhile gets visited by what seems like an old friend. I immediately was reminded of Kurim from .Hack//Sign, though Kuhn (the name of the guy) seems a bit more playful than Kurim.
Still, I like Kuhn. He’s pretty funny. Especially when he tried to beat some sense into one of the newbies. (^^;) The two newbies also have their own story, which was pretty interesting to watch. The two of them are brothers, and the youngest one is currently in the middle of studying for his high-school entrance exam. The older one failed that same exam. This made their mother turn a bit desperate, and she now absolutely wants the younger brother to succeed in the exam, which results in lots of studying. The older brother felt sorry for the younger brother, as he didn’t have any free time at all. That’s why he decided to take the younger brother to The World, while their parents were away. In the beginning, the younger brother doesn’t like this. Though Tabby and Kuhn make him glad in the end.
Another thing which made me glad is that finally some moral issues were introduced. Finally, some issues which forced the viewer to think appeared. I’ve been waiting for that. Now that I’ve seen this episode, I indeed realize that that is what .Hack//Roots has been lacking all this time, and why .Hack//Sign always was the better one. If the show can keep this up, I’ll be very happy.
Tabby also revealed something about herself in real life, inspired by the two brothers. It seems that she has an older sister. While Tabby isn’t really great at studying, her sister is really smart. I think that she can relate to the younger brother in a way.
Overall, this may have been a filler, though it does remain a very enjoyable filler. It also finally made me realize the thing which .Hack//Roots has been lacking. If the creators also realized this, the results can become awesome.
Memorable moment: Kuhn chasing the younger brother.
This is one weird series. I don’t find particularly funny, sad or even exciting, but I still watch it. I guess my previous MMORPG experiences keep it somewhat interesting.
Heh, yeah. A series works always better to watch if you have affinity with the subject. It’s about the same with manga being turned into anime, but then a bit more general.