Customer Reviews

.hack//G.U.+ Volume 1 (v. 1)

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Reading volume 1 of .hack//G.U.+ reminded me of the first Gankutsuou volume (also reviewed on Amazon by myself). Like with the Gankutsuou manga, the .hack//G.U. story from the game was changed simply to fit it into a short manga series, and the changes didn't do anything good. The story is being fast-forwarded and isn't working very well without the filler additions that fleshed out the characters in the games, and the changes made so far have took away from my enjoyment rather than added to it.

The changes are really quite silly. For example, in the games story Ovan called Haseo to an old meeting point and told him Tri-Edge would appear at the church where Shino was attacked. In the manga Ovan met Haseo at the church and shut the door AFTER Tri-Edge had appeared, which made it pretty obvious that there was some connection between Ovan and Tri-Edge. Simplifying a story is never a good thing to do.

Haseo, the main character, comes across as pathetic rather than cool in the manga thanks to the artists cute(ish) drawing style and his lack of "Terror of Death" armour. And, instead of the endless stream of c***ish verbal comebacks he had in the games, in the manga he doesn't throw those comments about that much, instead being more passive and, for want of a better word, emo. This is quite a big flaw when Haseo's anti-hero personality is what pulled most fans of the games in.

The art is hit and miss. For the most part it looks quite nice, yet the artist seems to struggle when it comes to drawing breasts (huge flaw, I know) and lacks the ability to make panels flow from into each other. Action sequences aren't clear and I often found myself trying to figure out what was being shown in the smaller panels. There's also the small matter of the characters not quite looking right to fans of the games...or, at the very least, me.

All in all, I don't think this manga is one that will please fans of the games, and I also don't think it'll impress people who haven't played the games. It isn't going to be a very popular series if the quality doesn't improve in the volumes that remain. I can't pass jusgement just yet but, going on the first volume, this is going to be a 6-7/10 series.

Volume 1 rating: 7/10

Normally, I shy away from manga/graphic novels because they they just don't hold up to other media - particularly establishing and presenting a full context. As a longstanding fan of the .Hack franchise and the game trilogy starting with .hack: G.U., Vol. 1: Rebirth in particular, I saw G.U.+ and decided to give it a chance.

.Hack is famous for having deep, convoluted plots and interesting characters, and this holds true both for the games and for the manga. The artwork for the characters and scenes changed - this is something I was prepared for and willing to forgive. However, the characters and story were also significantly altered, this is something that set me firmly against the G.U. Trilogy movie and also angered me about this manga series. In and of itself, it's not strictly bad, so people who are fans of .Hack but have never played the games will probably have no problems.

However, if you are familiar with the games, know that nobody is spared from alterations that often don't make sense or weaken the character; you might not boil with livid rage at your beloved characters being butchered, but you're probably not going to smile at most of the changes.

If you don't own either, I'd recommend the game trilogy whole-heartedly. The artwork is smooth, sharp, and gorgeous for the PS2, the sound and music is breathtaking - this is the best work I've heard from Chikayo Fukuda - and the progression and immersion will suck you in and have you playing happily for hours. The manga was disappointing and nothing I haven't seen better before.

I found it interesting an addition to the game and anime series that started off with Haseo entering the world. The art work was excellent, you could see Haseos iritation drawn into his facial expressions. You meet new characters like Atoli, and get a better understanding of where things are going. They also give you revelations of certain characters that even I did not expect. It's worth picking up and checking it out, I totally enjoyed it, waiting for the second book. By the way there will only be 3 books out with each having four chapters in it. ^_^

First things first. As I'm from Brazil, I have to say it's pretty much of a struggle to have access to anything surrounding the wide .hack world. Even so, I managed to somehow lay my hands on every single game, DVD, novel and manga refering to the project so far. Having said that, you might understand a little bit about my point of view on the .hack//G.U. + manga.
At first I really thought it would be one of those adaptations where the main idea is kept and the rest is just summarized. However, what I could see was that the storyline and art concept of the characters were rather modified. This is due to the fact that this manga was created before the G.U. games were totally concluded. Therefore, some fans might find this new G.U. background weird and too fast paced. But I say it's fine.
Of course we would like to see Haseo fighting Kuhn at the Arena, or Haseo's second and third form, but the adaptation is able to sustain itself without some of these elements. It's interesting to see how the plot goes without some of the game elements and characters, and it definetely broadens your perspective on the .hack Conglomerate.
Having said all of that, I can say that my effort to get it was worth it.