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.hack//CELL #1
.hack//CELL Volume 1
"Hack//CELL Volume 1".
204 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2006
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
January 2, 2016
I found this to be an engaging but annoying read. There are occasional awkward wordings that make it clear the book was translated a bit too closely, but my main issues are with the world of "The World," the game in which the characters spend most of their time. Despite multiple references to in-game avatars fussing with their hair, it seems unlikely that such a thing would be either possible, necessary, or something a player would actually have their avatar do during a fight. The non-linear story is somewhat hard to follow, and I dislike the gaslighting of the reader wherein multiple realities, or layers of reality, are presented, and conflict with each other. However, I must admit that at this point, I should have expected a story in which "people are trapped in the game world and can't remember the real world" from the .hack franchise. The blurb on the back tells the story in a more comprehensible manner than the 200 pages inside.
January 14, 2022
This book is a mess. Between the grammatical errors, hypocrisy and completely unrelatable characters it's just not great.
I feel no connection to anyone whatsoever and the entire story is a big convoluted mess even when I technically understand what's going on.
The violence is so over the top ridiculous at points it loses any credibility it had to whatever point it was trying to make in the first place. It's hard to take it so seriously when it's a video game character.
Midori isn't easily likable to me. Adamas has one personality trait. And then you have characters like Bordeaux who just straight up suck. Haseo is just thrown in here because he could be.
Definitely not a favourite on my end.
I feel no connection to anyone whatsoever and the entire story is a big convoluted mess even when I technically understand what's going on.
The violence is so over the top ridiculous at points it loses any credibility it had to whatever point it was trying to make in the first place. It's hard to take it so seriously when it's a video game character.
Midori isn't easily likable to me. Adamas has one personality trait. And then you have characters like Bordeaux who just straight up suck. Haseo is just thrown in here because he could be.
Definitely not a favourite on my end.
July 30, 2026
The parts inside The World are pretty good, but most of the real-world material is much harder to get through. The hospital scenes repeat the same conversations and fears over and over. They worked the first few times, but the book never develops Midori’s anxiety beyond that. It also becomes too obvious that something is different about her, so the hospital mystery never fully sold me.
Midori is still a great character, and I think her being a Vagrant AI is a cool idea. Unfortunately, Adamas feels like a Walmart version of Elk. His relationship with Midori is basically Elk and Mia done worse. He is too much of a pushover, barely speaks up when he notices strange things, and waits until the end to say anything important. Their relationship is underdeveloped, and he never even feels like the secretive protector the story apparently wants him to be.
Bordeaux is another issue. How many times do I need to hear about her? The second phase of .hack tries way too hard to make her seem badass and evil, but it never works for me. She mostly feels like an average edgy person online who occasionally gets infected with AIDA and becomes even more edgy. She is not that scary or interesting.
Midori’s interactions with Gaspard, Haseo, and Silabus are much better, though, and they help make the sections inside The World more enjoyable.
This is a difficult side story to recommend whether you are new to .hack or already familiar with it. New readers will probably feel lost, while longtime fans are getting the same old .hack ideas dressed in a new outfit. Not every scene outside The World is bad, but most of that material is repetitive and boring.
The translation also has a surprising number of grammar mistakes, misspellings, and awkward sentences. They do not completely ruin the story, but they are distracting. I have read a lot of .hack material and do not remember seeing this many obvious errors before.
Overall, this is completely skippable unless you are a huge Roots fan or someone determined to read, watch, and play everything connected to .hack. It also does not help that finding Volume 2 is basically impossible.
Midori is still a great character, and I think her being a Vagrant AI is a cool idea. Unfortunately, Adamas feels like a Walmart version of Elk. His relationship with Midori is basically Elk and Mia done worse. He is too much of a pushover, barely speaks up when he notices strange things, and waits until the end to say anything important. Their relationship is underdeveloped, and he never even feels like the secretive protector the story apparently wants him to be.
Bordeaux is another issue. How many times do I need to hear about her? The second phase of .hack tries way too hard to make her seem badass and evil, but it never works for me. She mostly feels like an average edgy person online who occasionally gets infected with AIDA and becomes even more edgy. She is not that scary or interesting.
Midori’s interactions with Gaspard, Haseo, and Silabus are much better, though, and they help make the sections inside The World more enjoyable.
This is a difficult side story to recommend whether you are new to .hack or already familiar with it. New readers will probably feel lost, while longtime fans are getting the same old .hack ideas dressed in a new outfit. Not every scene outside The World is bad, but most of that material is repetitive and boring.
The translation also has a surprising number of grammar mistakes, misspellings, and awkward sentences. They do not completely ruin the story, but they are distracting. I have read a lot of .hack material and do not remember seeing this many obvious errors before.
Overall, this is completely skippable unless you are a huge Roots fan or someone determined to read, watch, and play everything connected to .hack. It also does not help that finding Volume 2 is basically impossible.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 4, 2023
Re-read in 2023
Starting off - I would've given the book 4/5 but there were a few errors in grammar and general words. Unless I was absolutely sure what the meaning was, it would've thrown the story in a different tense.
The story revolves around "her" that becomes Midori and Midori Shimomura. The former being a PC in The World and the latter being a high school student in Japan.
Midori (PC) defines her existance as a "professional victim" for PKs and Midori is struggling with a unknown disease that causes her fainting spells and is sounding like something very similar to symptoms of multiple sclerosis (MS.) Both characters have to come to terms with how things are effecting their lives and decide if it is worth the struggle to continue or just collapse into nothingness.
Nothing really memorable happens, even the moment where mainstream characters like Haseo or Silabus show up it feels like they are just there to move it along. This style is akin to the shorter manga like .hack//Alcor, which focused on a side character (Nanase) wanting to become stronger and independent within the game. Recommended if you like to read fanfictions or just want something you can knock out in like 2 days or less.
---- Actually going to read Volume 2 sometime...
Starting off - I would've given the book 4/5 but there were a few errors in grammar and general words. Unless I was absolutely sure what the meaning was, it would've thrown the story in a different tense.
The story revolves around "her" that becomes Midori and Midori Shimomura. The former being a PC in The World and the latter being a high school student in Japan.
Midori (PC) defines her existance as a "professional victim" for PKs and Midori is struggling with a unknown disease that causes her fainting spells and is sounding like something very similar to symptoms of multiple sclerosis (MS.) Both characters have to come to terms with how things are effecting their lives and decide if it is worth the struggle to continue or just collapse into nothingness.
Nothing really memorable happens, even the moment where mainstream characters like Haseo or Silabus show up it feels like they are just there to move it along. This style is akin to the shorter manga like .hack//Alcor, which focused on a side character (Nanase) wanting to become stronger and independent within the game. Recommended if you like to read fanfictions or just want something you can knock out in like 2 days or less.
---- Actually going to read Volume 2 sometime...
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews