LogFAQs > #932376174

.hack//G.U.+
Story Tatsuya Hamazaki
Art Yuzuka Morita


I definitely rotated that pic but WHATEVER it's a live update.

I know pretty much nothing about GU, up to and including who Haseo is. I think this is where Atoli comes from though, and I had her once in Mercs and she did an absolutely terrible job but seemed nice. I think this is a relatively recent purchase, and I don't think I've read it before now. Let's roll. According to the end notes, this is a slightly different retelling of regular G.U., which actually came out before the games for whatever reason.

Some PK's do a PK, and then Haseo saves a Wave Master (Atoli?) from being their next victim. He is the legendary PKK, who kills PKs and then they can never come back. Somehow. Haseo is your vanilla edgy cool loner type so far. Player Killing is a relatively recently development in The World (....wasn't that a thing in the older ones though?) and then PKKs came along to kill the PKs and for some reason Sakaki thinks it's their fault that The World is grittier and less friendly. He yells at Haseo and Atoli whines about people's feelings, but he gets a cryptic email and blows them off to go do a thing.

Haseo goes to Hidden Forbidden Holy Ground because everything that happens in this franchise happens there. There he finds Tri-Edge, Ovan, and/or Shino, which he's been looking for. We have a cryptic backstory-related conversation that even Haseo has trouble understanding, but as best I can figure, Shino and Ovan disappeared and Haseo became edgy, and also Atoli looks like Shino. Tri-Edge is a person, who killed Shino in the game, causing her to go into a coma IRL. Ovan is going to be the mysterious mentor/anti-hero/rival type I guess. He peaces out and Tri-Edge shows up, looking like an eeeeeevil version of Kite or Shugo. Despite an outburst of righteous fury, Haseo ain't doing so hot in the ensuing fight.

Never ye mind though, it's time to flashback. Okay flashback over. It looks like maybe Ovan used to be a PKK?

Haseo wakes up and some important half-naked lady I feel like I should recognize identifies Tri-Edge as Azure Flame Kite, and says that he data drained Haseo. Then she and her fellow game admin, Tattoo Man, somehow teleported him to the system area Serpent of Lore. They want to have a chat about AFK before he creates more Lost Ones, but Haseo is not having any of it after they covered up the Shino incident.

Haseo storms off to go be edgy somewhere else, but gets an encouraging lecture from Atoli about feelings and people and connections. Flashback: Haseo/Shino/Ovan/are there other people in the Twilight Brigade? are looking for the Key of Twilight. Haseo goes back to Pi the Bikini Admin and Yata the Tattoo Admin because

Atoli is petitioning to end PKing. The surviving bit villains from the opening scene are bored. Haseo needs to get stronger, and goes back to HBHG, where the sign of Tri-Edge zots him to a, uh, Lost Ground. Hey, it's Bordeaux, the head PK person we killed in the opening! She has some kinda power up from somebody, and is looking for revenge and a ticket back by killing Haseo. Her attacks hurt for real oh no! She's about to finish Haseo off when the save is made by some dude, who blows her away. He gives us more exposition on how AIDA possess people. He's Kuhn, who's in GU along with the two admins I guess. Epitaph Users like him (and Haseo, apparently) are needed to fight the AIDA.

Now we come to you live from an arena, where defeated champ Alkaid (hey that's probably where somebody got the idea when I asked B8 to name my character in FE!) is using her rematch clause against Endrance, who is cool enough to have an Epitaph AND AIDA. He name drops Mia and then Alkaid is defeated by the work of an enemy stand Avatar. Only Epitaph Users can see the Avatars of other Epitaph Users. This dude's looks a bit like a Persona version of Mia. He identifies Haseo and scoffs at his weakness.

Haseo has challenged Endrance to a fight, despite being the clear underdog who stands to die in real life. Ovan has Atoli tell Haseo to become stronger to save Shino. Endrance OHKO's Haseo, but he gets better and awakens to his persona Avatar, Skeith.

My rating: 6/10
Might be an interesting spin with some of the callbacks to the original, but I didn't really like any of the characters so it's hard to get invested. Bit too 90s edgy right out of the gate.

Discussion: How do you feel about gritty reboots?
Hint for next: A well known mangaka, but we have a few titles to go before we get to what he's actually known for.

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Radiant wings as the skies rejoice, arise, and illuminate the morn.