.Hack: //Legend of the Twilight, Vol. 1 [Paperback]

Rei Idumi (Author), Tatsuya Hamazaki (Author)

Book Description

Series: Hack | Publication Date: September 9, 2003

Welcome to The World, the most advanced online game ever created. In The World you can be anyone you want to be, act out your adventure fantasies and through teamwork and determination, you can even become a hero. 14-year-old twins Shugo and Rena just won a contest that let's them play as legendary.hackers avatars "Kite" and "Black Rose" and now they're ready to take on anything...or so they think. When a high level monster attacks the Level 1 players as soon as they start, the game's administrators know something is wrong in The World. The monster defeats Shugo, but before he get's a permanent "Game Over," the mysterious Aura appears and gives him the Twilight Bracelet, a powerful artifact that's the only thing capable of defeating the new monsters. Now Shugo and Rena's real adventure begins as they set forth to solve the mystery of "Twilight" and save The World.

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

.hack is a highly successfull franchise that has spawned numerous manga, video games and anime features! 100% Authentic Manga Format. Anime Also available. As seen on Cartoon Network. Story by TATSUYA HAMAZAKI.

From the Inside Flap

While established fans of .hack will probably be the immediate audience for the manga, it speaks worlds about the talent and creative team that the first volume of the series is so easy to get into.. .hack accomplishes the rarest of goals: It capitalizes on a successful property while building its own indentity. It's fun, fast-paced and a welcome addition to the growing hit saga. -- Troy Brownfield, Newtype USA

It's usually the other way around, but the [.hack] manga is better, though it's clear from the story and art that it's supposed to skew more towards girls... While it's undeniably slight and silly, it's enjoyable and a way of getting the target audience into role-playing games in general and epic fantasy in particular. -- S.A. Bennett, Comic Buyer's Guide

Product Details

• Paperback: 192 pages
• Publisher: TokyoPop; 1st edition (September 9, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1591824141
• ISBN-13: 978-1591824145
• Product Dimensions: 7.5 x 5 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (30 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,389,957 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

29 of 30 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The Missing Piece, September 17, 2003

By 

Marc Ruby™ "The Noh Hare™" (Warren, MI USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)   

This review is from: .Hack: //Legend of the Twilight, Vol. 1 (Paperback)

Few .hack fans in the US are aware that the missing piece of the .hack universe is a manga series that has been available in Japan, but until now has not been translated into English. I've impatiently awaited their appearance and snapped this up as soon as I saw it was available.

The series is set after the events in the game. Shugo and Rena, a pair of 14-year-old novices to The World win limited edition avatars - the 'dot hacker' set that Blackrose and Kite made famous. No sooner do they start adventuring than it becomes clear that these are more than costumes. Then a visit from Aura provides Shugo with Kite's bracelet, and they quickly draw the attention of other familiar players. These include Balmung, Helga, and even Orca. All wondering if history is trying to repeat itself.

Gradually, the pair make new friends and start playing in the virtual world. This first volume serves more to build the settings than to detail any hair-raising adventures. Most of their experiences seem to arise out of the interference of Balmung, who is now a system administrator. They are being tested to find out if they are more than simple players - a strange fate seems to dog their steps. But for now, the mood is mostly silly.

To be honest, I found the manga a bit disappointing. Both the TV series and the OVA set are fairly intelligent stories - as much about the players and both their lives as they are about gaming in a virtual fantasy. The game itself is fairly straightforward, suitable for a wide range of ages. The manga, however, seem tuned to the younger end of the spectrum. The characters are depicted more as children than young adults. Their behavior is in much the same vain.

It is probably unfair to expect all the parts of .hack to be written for the same audience, but the manga are shallower than I would have ever expected. Of course, the prevailing mood can change at any time, but so far the most dramatic moments seem to arise out of Shugu's defenses of Rena's virtual honor. And his outrage when she isn't all that thrilled with his efforts.

Still, if you are a .hack junky you are going to want to have this. And it is neither expensive or offensive. Just another piece of .trivia .

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars its ok., November 10, 2005

A Kid's Review

This review is from: .Hack: //Legend of the Twilight, Vol. 1 (Paperback)

I got no. 1,2,3 from the library.And on the front it says national best seller now yould you say that this manga dosent deserve that title.i mean like in every 30 pages they have a picture of rien or raien or how ever you spell her name!!naked with like a sword or hands covering her(>>>) O_O.and if its not her its some other girl.its a good fantasy and has good art though.
if you like hack try zatch bell or naruto!!!! ^_^

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Welcome to the World!, June 11, 2005

By 

Michael Valdivielso (Alexandria, VA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: .Hack: //Legend of the Twilight, Vol. 1 (Paperback)

Shugo and Rena just won a contest that lets them play as two legendary players, Kite and Black Rose, and now they're ready to take on the world. But when strange things start to happen, as in a high level monster attacking low level players, the administrators know something is going on. Now the real adventure will begin.
The first volume is kind of slow, mostly dealing with the players and their interaction. So far the story seems driven by the characters, with suggestions that there are things happening in the background. A mystery is about to unfold but not in this volume - this starts dealing with the characters first - building the foundation of the future story.