Characters of the .hack franchise

Promotional illustration for .hack//Link featuring most of the series' leads as seen in the bottom from left to right: Kite, Tokio and Haseo, Tsukasa. In the middle row: BlackRose, Tsukasa and Subaru. In the top: Orca, Balmung, Ova, Atoli and Fluegel.

The semi-international franchise Project .hack and .hack Conglomerate, primarily created and developed by CyberConnect2 and published by Bandai, is based in an alternative history setting in the rise of the new millennium regarding the technological rise of a new version of the Internet following a major global computer network disaster in the year 2005, and the mysterious events regarding the wildly popular in-universe MMORPG series The World. The first four games follow a newcomer named Kite who goes on a quest to revive his comatose friend who fell into a coma after his PC was killed by an unknown creature. Bee Train also produced an anime series focused on a player named Tsukasa who has no memories of his real world persona and cannot leave The World for unknown motives. In 2006, CyberConnect2 and Bee Train produced two new series, .hack//GU and .hack//Roots, respectively, that involves a returning player under the name of Haseo who, after the loss of his guild, goes on a quest to find the player killer Tri-Edge who sent his friend Shino into a coma. The latest game by CyberConnect2 is .hack//Link where Tokio Kuryuu, a second year junior-high student who gets transported into The World: RX by a new student named Saika Amagi and timetravels across the previous storylines in order to restore frozen players.

The concept of .hack was conceived by CyberConnect2 with the idea of creating a fictional MMORPG in order to simulate a realistic story. The cast was designed by Yoshiyuki Sadamoto while later installments involved another artist. Critical reception to the cast has been positive for their designs and realistic traits. Meanwhile, the G.U. cast received mixed responses due to Haseo's antiheroic characterization but with praise based on his growth.

Creation and design

Yoshiyuki Sadamoto designed the cast from the first .hack series and remained as a supervisor for the G.U. trilogy

Development for .hack began in early 2000 with the aim of shocking and surprising the player and creating a distinctive product. CyberConnect2's president Hiroshi Matsuyama played a key role in developing the concept for the series. A number of core ideas, including "slaying dragons or being a thief in London" were explored, but these were rejected in favor of an "offline/online game". The developers looked at a number of MMORPGs such as Phantasy Star Online, Ultima Online, and Final Fantasy XI for inspiration, and drew influences from the prior works of character designer Yoshiyuki Sadamoto (Neon Genesis Evangelion) and scenario writer Kazunori Itō (Ghost in the Shell). Matsuyama claimed that despite Sadamoto is not affiliated with gaming, the team were proud of having him design the cast.Basically a person who doesn't usually get involved with games, but we had the great opportunity to work with him. Itō noted that casting the player into the role of a subscriber of The World creates a unique story-telling situation which draws the player deeper into the plot.

Sadamoto's character designs follow the fantasy theme, drawing influence from the sword and sorcery subgenre in particular. Character designs also draw on Celtic imagery: Director Mashimo acknowledged similarities between Bear's design and Mel Gibson in his role as William Wallace, an example of Celtic warrior. All the characters are given distinctive patterns resembling tattoos, the visual representation of a fictional gameplay aspect called Wave.

In contrast to the first .hack series, Sadamoto did not design the characters but instead Seiichiro Hosokawa. While CyberConnect2 designed the characters for .hack//G.U., Sadamoto returned as supervisor. As a result, some aesthetics from Haseo's design featured in the games' original trailers were removed from the finished product. Another major change for these trilogy was how Haseo's characterization written to be more appealing based on how player is distanced from the new protagonist due to the avoidance of reusing the drawing to players again.

Main characters

The World

A list of the main characters from the first version of the massively multiplayer online role-playing game The World:

• Aura (アウラ) is an advanced AI that takes the form of a young girl whose white hair, skin, and garments give her a ghostly appearance. She is created by Harald Hoerwick to be a symbol of his love for his deceased lover as the daughter that could have been. She is the perfect AI, and is the spirit of The World. Since her awakening by Tsukasa, she has been fleeing the clutches of Skeith, as witnessed by Orca and Kite, and several other players as well. She is meant to be the perfect AI that will take in collected player information by Data Draining the current AI control program, Morganna, though Morganna intentionally keeps Aura in her sleep-like state to keep her purpose. After Morganna's plot to keep her asleep by using Tsukasa in .hack//Sign fails, Aura awakens and becomes hunted by Morganna's Phases to prevent her from developing Data Drain. Aura manages to cultivate this power into an installation book, which ends up in the hands of Kite. Aura becomes Data Drained afterward, which causes her to be scattered throughout The World. She manages to communicate with Kite and other players through corrupted e-mails, which leads to the defeat of most of the Phases. During the final battle, Aura is scattered again and merges with Morganna to complete the Ultimate AI. She becomes an omnipresent yet mostly silent force within The World for some time. She eventually sets out to perfect herself by interacting with the World by giving two players, Shugo and Rena, chibi versions of the avatars of Kite and Blackrose in a contest, and giving birth to another AI, Zefie. This helps Shugo reach his goal of becoming a hero. Aura's eventual disappearance causes The World to decline. Consequently, the CC Corp develops Project GU to recreate her. Voiced by: Maaya Sakamoto (Japanese); Lia Sargent (English)
• Albireo (アルビレオ, Arubireo) is the main character of the first volume of the novel .hack//AI buster and a central character in the second volume. Albireo is a powerful Long Arm character class, who mostly keeps to himself as a solo-player. In real life, Albireo is Kazushi Watarai, a system administrator and debugger for CC Corporation. His job is to work out any glitches in the game, as well as delete any system anomalies. He is set to hunt down a Vagrant AI, Lycoris, as part of his job, though he later meets her and befriends her, not knowing her true nature. He helps her regain various pieces of data, along with Hokuto, a newbie player, and when completed, Lycoris realizes that she cannot exist and forces Albireo to delete her. Albireo reappears in .hack//AI buster 2, chasing after Tsukasa, though he soon runs into Macha and is rendered comatose for several months. He is forced to resign from CC Corporation as he is labeled as the one who caused the Twilight Incident. He then meets up with the person behind Hokuto, Haruka Mizuhara, and they begin a relationship and live together.
• Balmung (バルムンク, Barumunku), also referred to as Lord Balmung and "Balmung of the Azure Sky", is a legendary player in The World. He gains his title by defeating an event called the One Sin, which was thought to be unbeatable, with his partner, Orca, causing them to be known as "The Descendants of Fianna." He is a Blademaster, who is given white wings after the event as a reward. He can use them to float and jump higher than other players. Balmung is originally very formal and assertive of his views, following a strict moral code of doing good in The World, leading some to consider him arrogant or rude at times. He truly loves The World and takes playing it very seriously, to the point of investigating disturbances within it personally and refusing to speak with .hackers or associating with them. In .hack//Legend of the Twilight, he's much more carefree and less serious with new players, though still completely business-like with his associates. Voiced by: Nobuyuki Hiyama (Japanese); Crispin Freeman (English) Doug Erholtz (.hack//Infection)
• Bear (ベア, Bea) is a large, burly Blademaster. He wears relatively little clothes, and most of his body and face is covered in blue wave tattoos resembling Celtic woad. Having played computer games for over thirty years, he uses The World to relax and likes to help out new players. He enjoys interacting with Mimiru and BT, having met the BT in person. His real name is Ryo Sakuma (佐久間 亮, Sakuma Ryō), and he is a famous novelist. He enjoys various hobbies, such as reading books by famous authors and going to the theater. He uses The World to interact with his son, with whom he has an estranged relationship. He later becomes the guardian of An Shouji, the player behind Tsukasa, and supports her financially as she attends boarding school. Voiced by: Kazuhiro Nakata (Japanese); Paul Mercier (English)
• BlackRose (ブラックローズ, Burakkurōzu) is a female Heavy Blade who meets Kite in the video game series. BlackRose is just starting on her adventure at the same time as Kite (though this is a fact she attempts to hide when they initially meet). The two clash immediately, but warm up to each other little by little. She reveals that her purpose for joining is to find a cure for the data bug that placed her brother in a coma. BlackRose is a young woman with a tough-as-nails attitude and can be a bit full of herself at times. Luckily, she has Kite alongside her to balance her out and keep her in check. Her real name is Akira Hayami and is a member of the tennis team at her high school. Voiced by: Masumi Asano (Japanese); Wendee Lee (English)
• BT is a Wavemaster featured in .hack//Sign. Her avatar has blonde hair and dresses in light green robes. BT focuses her attention on finding the Key of the Twilight and seems to be the least concerned with Tsukasa's predicament. She meets with Bear and Crim often in The World and in person. The name BT comes from her favorite food, a BLT sandwich, but without the lettuce, which she hates. She is a former model named Machiko in her real life and now makes a career at a dispatch company in the Touhoku region. Voiced by: Akiko Hiramatsu (Japanese); Donna Rawlins (English)
• Crim (クリム, Kurimu) is a Long Arm featured in .hack//Sign. His avatar is a male with spiky blue hair, a red jacket, flared red and yellow pants, and a wave symbol on his chest. Crim plays as a very happy-go-lucky character, easygoing and sociable. He enjoys testing his skills against strong opponents and is always ready to help anybody in need. He founded the Crimson Knights with Subaru, though he eventually leaves. He is very close to Subaru, as he knows that she is handicapped and offers his phone number to her if she feels the need to talk. It is heavily implied that they are in a romantic relationship. He is a business man in his real life and is frequently sent off on business trips to places all around the world. Voiced by: Shinichiro Miki (Japanese); Lex Lang (English)
• Cubia is a monster in The World the 'opposite side' of the mystical "Twilight Bracelet", born during the creation of the bracelet. It constantly attempts to prevent Kite from progressing until it is finally defeated, which results in the destruction of the bracelet. .hack//XXXX features Cubia with a human avatar with a similar bracelet who befriends Kite. Cubia returns in GU as the anti-epitaph, giving it power equal to all eight. It spreads throughout the internet, causing malfunctions all over the world.
• Elk is a shy Wavemaster who only finds comfort in working with Mia. Elk shows a great loyalty to and infinite concern for his odd companion as her mysterious condition slowly worsens throughout the game. He eventually accepts Kite and his companions as they work together. In the next version of The World, Kaoru Ichinose (一ノ瀬薫), the player behind Elk, creates Endrance (エンデュランス) the Temptress. Endrance is cold towards other players, referring to them as "ugly dolls". Endrance is online for most of the day, logging off only to sleep, and interacts with a small cat, which he believes to be the reincarnation of Mia. The cat is actually an AIDA feeding off his emotions by acting as Mia. Haseo eventually destroys the AIDA while fighting Endrance. Endrance falls into a deep depression until he becomes connected to Haseo in a similar format, devoting his life to what he believes he owes. Voiced by: Mitsuki Saiga (Japanese); Brianne Siddall (English)
• Gardenia (ガルデニア, Garudenia) is a quiet Long Arm with a great love for flowers, she takes Kite to fields that have something to do with flowers in the name. Though she appears quite mysterious, she is not truly a part of the conspiracy that the outlaw player Kite is battling. Gardenia is a true romantic even though her personality is a little on the hostile side. She enjoys foreign films. She is also optional, though her recruiting manner is different. To acquire Gardenia, you must read a message board post from her "groupies", and go to their meeting place, where Gardenia will join you in the hopes of keeping her unwanted fans off her back. She resembles the character "Mimika", who Mimiru saw use "Ap Crystal" in the episode "Intermezzo", but, contrary to popular belief, is not one of the three players who controlled Mimika. Voiced by: Yumi Touma (Japanese); Carolyn Hennesy (English)
• Harald Hoerwick (ハロルド・ヒューイック, Harorudo Hyūikku) is the German programmer responsible for creating The World. He meets his unrequited love interest, Emma Wielant, at a seminar for anthroposophy. She dies in a car accident, which leaves Harald grief-stricken to the point where he feels the need to create a tangible expression of his love for Emma. He creates a virtual daughter, Aura, designed to receive data on humanity and its various emotions. His plan goes wrong when the program designed to nurture Aura, Morganna, decides to bend its own programming to stay in existence. Obsessed with completing Aura, he decides to rid himself of his physical body and become part of The World. Morganna traps Harald and restricts him to inaccessible areas, leaving him as "The Broken Man", where he loops dialogue expressing his regrets and the error he made in creating Morganna. He eventually helps Bear and his companions get on the right path to Aura, but Morganna deletes him soon afterward. Remnants in the form of a stone tablet appear to Kite, giving him clues on how to proceed, before being destroyed by Cubia. The next version of The World also features remnants that appear to Haseo. Voiced by: Takumi Yamazaki (Japanese); Crispin Freeman (English)
• Helba (ヘルバ, Heruba) is a professional hacker of extraordinary skills both in and out of The World. She uses an edited Wavemaster with a white dress with purple triangular designs and hides her eyes behind a red visor trimmed with gold. She provides help and information to some of the main characters in the storylines, though she usually works in the background. Helba's name comes from the long lost net-distributed text, the Epitaph of Twilight. She finds files of an unused town and creates a patchwork area which she names Net Slum. It is a sanctuary for Vagrant AI, trash data, and other illegal items. It is suspected that she made a brief real-life appearance in Liminality as Kaoru Asaba, a strange woman who helped Yukichin in the second episode. The info book .hack//analysis, which compiles various information regarding characters and The World, mentions that she is a working single mother of a little girl.
  Voiced by: Yumi Tōma (Japanese); Mary Elizabeth McGlynn (English)
• Kite (カイト, Kaito) is a Twin blade and the main character of the .hack//Games series. He is kind, considerate, and courteous to those he meets in The World; even those who seem a hindrance to his righteous quest to save the coma victims. Kite is the close friend of Yasuhiko, who plays online as Orca, in their school, so Kite joins The World and meets up with Orca. Soon after, Yasuhiko is placed in a coma by Skeith, and Kite receives the Twilight Bracelet from Aura, allowing him to Data Drain. Following leads set by Aura, Kite defeats the various Phases and Cubia, the alternate side of the bracelet, destroying the bracelet. Aura eventually gives him a new bracelet called the Dawn Bracelet. In .hack//G.U., Haseo gets a message from BlackRose, indicating that she and Kite finally meet each other offline and that she has feelings for him. Voiced by: Sayaka Aida (Japanese); Mona Marshall (English)
• Marlo has a rotten personality on the surface. He has a hard time showing gratitude, and rarely says anything positive. He was typically a loner until he joined up with Kite. He seems to like Kite due to Kite tolerating his personality. His class is Blademaster. Voiced by: Nobuyuki Hiyama (Japanese); Robert Martin Klein (English)
• Mia (ミア) is a Blademaster with the appearance of an anthropomorphic cat with purple fur and long rabbit-like ears. She is a truly strange character, made increasingly strange by her ability to see Kite's Bracelet. While she thinks she is a hacker with advanced skills, she is really just an incarnation of the Phase, Macha. She is close to Elk because she unconsciously sees the resemblance to Tsukasa, a friend from the previous incarnation, and she is constantly on the look out for an item called "Aromatic Grass." As Kite defeats each phase, she loses her memory and begins to wander the root towns. As The World becomes more corrupt, she eventually awakens in her full phase form, Macha the Temptress. She is destroyed, and Aura revives her afterward. Mia is captured and killed after the Project G.U. (aka: Project Roots) staff remove the Temptress data from her. The original "Macha" is an AI character created by Morganna to follow Tsukasa and make sure that he never leaves the game. She eventually turns on Morganna and sacrifices herself to save Tsukasa and the others. After Macha was data-drained and killed, her data was reconfigured as Mia, who later meets Elk, a Wavemaster. Voiced by: Minami Takayama (Japanese); Debra Rogers (English) Kari Wahlgren (.hack//Sign)
• Mimiru (ミミル) is a female Heavy Blade who appears in .hack//Sign. Her avatar appears as a teenage girl dressed in an armored bikini top and a short skirt, with large greaves on her legs. The outfit is the same design as BlackRose's, albeit with a different color set and wave design. Mimiru plays as a "tough-it-out-through-anything" player, who is poor at planning and following through on those plans. Nevertheless, she has a big heart with bigger attitude, which is a great asset. She meets Tsukasa and soon becomes one of the few he trusts, eventually befriending him. She also teams up with Bear, whom she refers to as an "old man", and spends considerable time in the series attempting to figure out what Bear's career is in real life. She eventually meets with An Shouji, Tsukasa's real identity, and the two go shopping together in Shimokita. In real life, she is a 15-year-old teenage girl, who is an only child and has few friends. Her father works at a company that manufactures semiconductors. Voiced by: Megumi Toyoguchi (Japanese); Amanda Winn-Lee (English)
• Mistral (ミストラル, Misutoraru) is a Wavemaster who joins Kite's campaign quickly, she is a treasure hunter and a young woman with bright pink hair that is outshined only by her eternally cheerful personality. She is truly an oddity among the friends that Kite makes within the game, as there is little to guess about her. Unlike the others, she plays the game just to play the game. While she has no mysterious role or secretive agenda, although she is very fascinated by the Twilight Bracelet, as she is a treasure hunter, she does jump on the bandwagon that is Kite's crusade. She tends to behave much like how a stereotypical MMORPG "noob" behaves: hopelessly enthusiastic, begging to be given rare treasures, and using many smilies in her messages. Near the end of the game, she goes "off-line" in order to give birth in real life. Voiced by: Atsuko Enomoto (Japanese); Sandy Fox (English)
• Moonstone is the strong silent type to an extreme degree. Usually, Moonstone speaks in one word phrases. When he does speak in a complete sentence, it'll be short. Like Natsume, he is obsessed with increasing the strength of his character, and has a great deal of respect for other strong characters. However, Moonstone does not force anything he desires onto other characters. Always leaving them the option of not participating in his quest for strength. Moonstone's character class is a twin blade. He is also the first character to send you his address though e-mail. Voiced by: Yasunori Masutani (Japanese); Lex Lang (English)
• Morganna Mode Gone (モルガナ・モード・ゴン, Morugana Mōdo Gon) is an AI system created by Harald Hoerwick to oversee the birth of Aura by gathering personality data of the players of The World and allowing herself to be absorbed into Aura. However, Morganna eventually realized that after Aura's birth, she would have no purpose, so she attempts to stall the growth of Aura indefinitely, resulting in many of the events in the .hack series. In .hack//Sign, she imprisoned the character Tsukasa in The World and tried to use his negative emotions to keep Aura from waking, but the plan failed. She is able to bend her programming by succumbing to a paradox, though she eventually breaks her programming and takes on the persona of the Cursed Wave from the Epitaph of Twilight. She exists everywhere in The World with the exception of glitched areas, and when she is damaged, The World becomes corrupted. Morganna fails to keep Aura sealed and tries to kill her with the Eight Phases, her creations which contain part of her data). Morganna is eventually merged with Aura to create the Ultimate AI. Voiced by: Rie Tanaka (Japanese); Valerie Arem (English)
• Natsume (なつめ) is A Twin Blade just like Kite, she is in a constant search for more power and fears that she will never be good enough. Her character model is the same as the lesser known A-20 of .hack//Sign. Despite this, she still has an upbeat nature and is a welcome addition to any team. In real life, she is in the ninth grade, and she plays The World to make herself more confident in the every day trials of life. Like Sanjuro, you must read her weapon-hunt request and help her acquire a rare sword before she will join you. Voiced by: Maaya Sakamoto (Japanese); Lia Sargent (English) Kate Higgins (.hack//G.U. Last Recode)
• Nuke Usagimaru is the host of a battle commentary show where he tries to tackle a powerful monster solo, providing humorous commentary and physical comedy while others watch. Though his shows are often failures, Nuke takes it in stride and is always using his past experiences to improve on future shows. Even in normal situations, Nuke acts in a flashy way; it seems to be an innate part of his personality. His closest friends in the game are Kite, who Nuke sees as the ultimate straight man and his ideal partner, and Rachel, who acts as his editor via e-mail. Nuke's character class is a Long Arm and his dress is something like that of a clown. It is implied that he and Rachel have become somewhat famous by time the events of .hack//G.U. occur. Voiced by: Nobuyuki Hiyama (Japanese); Derek Stephen Prince (English)
• Orca (オルカ, Oruka) is a male Blademaster played by a fourteen-year-old boy named Yasuhiko and is a friend of Kite's. Orca is a high-level Blademaster who is given the title "Orca of the Azure Sea" after beating an event thought to be unbeatable with Balmung. Orca has been known to assist fledgling players of The World in numerous ways, lending his strength to theirs. After having his friend, Kite, join the game, he is given the Book of Twilight by Aura because of his reputation. Orca was originally meant to be the true keeper of the Twilight Bracelet, but he is Data Drained by Skeith, leaving Yasuhiko in a coma until Kite helps complete Aura. Voiced by: Yasunori Masutani (Japanese); Kirk Thornton (English)
• Piros (ぴろし, Piroshi) is a Heavy Axeman and a strange one at that. Piros believes he is the true protagonist of the story and refers to Kite as "he of fair eyes." ("Ii me wo hito shita yo"). His odd speech pattern is not as odd as his character model – Piros appears to have a shrunken head, given the Brobdingnagian proportions of his body. He involves Kite in his misadventures... which are usually the result of his naivety. Although he can be very childish at times, Piros is actually a graphics designer, a programmer, who spends his time playing The World. Voiced by: Masaya Onosaka (Japanese); Daran Norris (English)
• Rachel is greedy and money-obsessed. She is always cooking up a new idea for making money in The World. If there was an option to make a merchant character, that's what Rachel would have been. She drags Kite into helping her with whatever plan she has currently at work, even though her plans usually fail for various reasons. Despite her obsession with money, Rachel doesn't accept anything that is low in quality. Her character class is a Blademaster. Voiced by: Aya Hisakawa (Japanese); Julie Ann Taylor (English)
• Rena Kunisaki (国崎 玲奈, Kunisaki Rena) is a player who wins a special chibi version of BlackRose's avatar in a contest developed by Aura. She originally plays as a female Blademaster named Brigit and becomes bored of The World until she learns of the exploits of Kite and his companions. She starts playing The World with her twin brother, Shugo, who won a version of Kite's avatar, and uses her new character to support him in becoming a hero. The two work to reunite Aura with her daughter, Zefie.Voiced by: Mai Nakahara (Japanese); Allison Keith (English)
• Sanjuro (砂嵐 三十郎) is a heavy blade player in the game, Sanjuro is an American man who loves Japanese films – specifically samurai films and the work of actor Toshirō Mifune and director Akira Kurosawa. Indeed, the only thing Sanjuro may enjoy more than samurai films is telling people about his favorite samurai films. His love may extend past films and may encompass all things samurai, considering that his character model is a samurai and he has a small obsession with collecting katana – kotetsu swords in particular. He is optional, and can only be found if the player reads his message board entry and helps him find a rare weapon. Voiced by: Yasunori Masutani (Japanese); Steven Jay Blum (English)
• Silver Knight (銀漢, Ginkan) is a Blademaster who is the second-in-command of the Crimson Knights under Subaru. His avatar is an edited version of the standard Crimson Knight design, with full chest and back plates added to his armor, horns added to his helmet, and red eyes instead of blue. He possesses a strong sense of justice but is also extremely naive, leading him to end up as more of a tool to be used by whoever is in control. He is extremely overprotective of Subaru, more so than anyone else. Silver Knight also appears in the .hack//Legend of the Twilight anime, where he helps Shugo until his character is deleted by the Cerulean Knights. He makes a third appearance in .hack//Roots, where he offers Haseo his assistance after stating that he has been in a similar situation. Haseo refuses his help. Voiced by: Isshin Chiba (Japanese); Douglas Rye (English)
• Shugo Kunisaki (国崎 秀悟, Kunisaki Shugo) is a player who wins a special chibi version of Kite's avatar in a contest developed by Aura. He originally believes he outgrew video games, but after winning the character along with his twin sister Rena, who won a version of BlackRose's avatar, the two join the game. He lacks planning skills and has difficulty turning down the others' requests of others. Aura gives him a version of Kite's Twilight Bracelet that does not harm humans. Aura's plan is to motivate Shugo by allowing him to be a hero, after meeting and talking to him using another player's character in the past. Voiced by: Junko Minagawa (Japanese); Bryce Papenbrook (English)
• Skeith (スケィス, Sukeisu), known as Skeith, the Terror of Death, is the first of Morganna's phases to be created. He first absorbs Sora using Data Drain and then is sent out to find Aura. His avatar appears as a humanoid seemingly made of rounded rock with floating disjointed appendages and a two-piece ring shaped horn. Skeith carries a red staff, upon which he 'hangs' (similar to cruxificion) his victims prior to Data Draining them. He resides in an amnesiac Sora until Aura is found. Skeith seals Sora within his staff. He drains Orca, which places Yasuhiko into a coma. Kite eventually fights and defeats Skeith. Skeith is recreated with the other Phases as part of CC Corporation's plan to reconstruct Morganna, though the plan backfires. Based on Sora's condition, the corporation gave him the ability to fuse with players. The seven Phases absorb the consciousness of their players and escape into the network. (The seventh, Tarvos, had already been stolen and hidden away halfway through the plan), where they waited for the right person to "connect to". Skeith eventually becomes part of Haseo, a new character created by the player of Sora, whom Skeith Data Drained. Haseo can use Skeith to Data Drain opponents.
• Sora (楚良) is a Twin Blade Player Killer who seeks out attractive female characters and attempts to obtain their personal member addresses. In real life, he is Ryou Misaki, a 10-year-old fourth grader. He interacts with Mimiru, who finds him to be a nuisance, and BT, who exchanges information with Sora and is often on the receiving end of his player killer activities. He searches for interesting activities, which leads him to Tsukasa and the Key of the Twilight, Aura. He eventually comes into contact with Morganna and works with her until he finds her boring. She has Skeith Data Drain and absorb him, causing Misaki to fall into a coma. Skeith uses Sora's body, which is covered in rags and has no recollection of past events, to track down Aura. Sora's body is later absorbed into Skeith's wand until he is freed by Kite. Ryou awakes from his coma after Morganna is destroyed. Ryou later becomes the main protagonist in .hack//G.U. as the creator of the character Haseo. Voiced by: Hiroshi Yanaka (Japanese); Dave Wittenberg (English)
• Subaru (昴) is a female Heavy Axeman with blue-green hair, a puce-colored tattoo on her forehead, and rudimentary wings on her back. She first joins The World hoping to meet people, though she knows nothing of the game and just wanders around for hours. She eventually meets Crim, who teaches her to stand up against other players, and the two form an unofficial player organization designed to bring order, the Crimson Knights. She eventually comes into contact with Tsukasa and forms somewhat of a romantic bond with him. Her real name is Mariko Misono (御園 真理子, Misono Mariko), a paraplegic girl who spends so much time in The World because it is the only place where she can roam freely on her own. At the end of the series, she meets An Shouji, Tsukasa's player, and become friends for real. Voiced by: Kaori Nazuka (Japanese); Kim Mai Guest (English)
• Tsukasa (司) is the protagonist of the .hack//Sign anime series. He is a Wavemaster whose consciousness becomes trapped in The World, while his real body is in a coma. He is a young silver-haired boy clad in grey robes. Morganna poisons Aura with his negative emotions to prevent Aura from awakening. Tsukasa is distant at first, but he eventually connects with Mimiru, Subaru, and Bear. Aura is eventually awakened, allowing Tsukasa to log out. In real life, Tsukasa is a girl named An Shouji (荘司杏, Shōji An). After her mother died, she was raised by her father, who abused her. His abusive behavior also distanced her from her gender: he treated her like a boy, refusing to allow her to use feminine products and basic hygiene products. The story implies that her father is an alcoholic. Why he was abusive was never explained. After awaking from her coma, Ryo Sakuma, the player behind Bear, becomes her legal guardian and allows her to go to a boarding school. She meets with Mariko, Subaru's player, and the two begin a true friendship. Voiced by: Mitsuki Saiga (Japanese); Brianne Siddall (English)
• Wiseman is a Wavemaster with a calm and collective attitude and an excellent perspective on business. He is greedy like Rachel, but shows it indirectly. He lets on a personality that brings people to think that he is always keeping something from them. His real name is Takumi Hino, a ten-year-old boy who enjoys collecting trading cards and playing soccer. Voiced by: Takumi Yamazaki (Japanese); Steven Jay Blum (English)
• Zefie (ゼフィ, Zefi) is a Vagrant AI and Aura's daughter. She is separated from Aura and becomes attached to Shugo when she smells Aura's scent on his bracelet. She always vies for Shugo's affections and is rude to all who try to stop her. She can control The World and avatar appearances however she sees fit. At first, Zefie is selfish, spoiled, and rude, but matures through her interaction with Shugo and Rena.

The World R:2

A List of the Main characters from the second version of "The World"

• Haseo (ハセヲ, Haseo) is an Adept Rogue "Player Killer Killer" and the main protagonist of the .hack//G.U. video game series and the .hack//Roots anime series. He joins the game and he is quickly hunted by player killers until he joins with Ovan of the Twilight Brigade. Ovan eventually disappears, and Shino, Haseo's friend, is placed into a coma by Tri-Edge. Haseo attempts to find power, which leads him to Harald, who gives him power. He eventually tries to face Tri-Edge, though he is completely reset after being data drained. Haseo agrees to assist Yata and Pi, two System Administrators in The World R:2, in their efforts to discover the reason behind recent attacks on players and a sudden increase in AIDA activity. Haseo gains an "Avatar" named Skeith by awakening him, acquiring the ability to call Skeith and wield his abilities. In the real world, Haseo's real name is Ryou Misaki, a social outcast who played as the player killer character Sora in the original series .hack//Games until he was placed into a coma by Skeith and awoke with amnesia. During the development of the game he grows as someone mature who wishes to protect everyone and that enjoys company instead of his cold and lonely self. However, in .hack//LINK, during Tokio's journey in 2017 timeline, it was shown that Haseo declined Shino's invitation to rebuild Twilight Brigade. Voiced by: Takahiro Sakurai (Japanese); Yuri Lowenthal (English) Andrew Francis (.hack//Roots}
• Artificially Intelligent Data Anomaly, shortened to AIDA, is described as a bug or virus, thought to have come from the disappearance of Aura, that defies all system parameters in The World. AIDA afflicts players in the .hack//G.U. series by attacking them and causing them to become insane over time or comatose in the real world. The eight Epitaph Users are partially immune to the effects of the virus and use this advantage to fight it. The bad, viral instances of AIDA are deleted at the end of the game series, though it is stated that good instances exist, who try to exist happily. AIDA may only be stopped by the Epitaph Users' ability to "data drain", an illegal program originally given to Kite by Aura, which CC Corp believes also causes AIDA.
• Alkaid is a female Twin Blade known as "Alkaid, Former Emperor of the Demon Palace." She is part of Icolo's guild, and takes part in the arena battles. She fights with Haseo after an argument, and loses after Haseo uses Skeith to fight for him. She thinks of him as a cheater while leaving. She later teams up with Haseo in order to enter the Holy Palace tournament to see Sirius. While searching for information, she is PKed by an AIDA-infected Bordeaux and placed into a coma until the fight with Cubia. Her real name is Chika Kuramoto, a 16-year-old Japanese girl. She lives in Sapporo, Hokkaido, and is on the library council for her high school. She values reading, and reads both Chinese classics and Western contemporary fiction. In the Japanese version, her name is "Youkou,(揺光 youkou)" the Japanese name for the star Alkaid. Voiced by: Masumi Asano (Japanese); Erin Fitzgerald (English)
• Atoli (アトリ, Atori) is a Harvest Cleric who becomes attached to Haseo. A pacifist, Atoli is part of the guild Moon Tree under Sakaki's command. She harbors feelings for Haseo, which, in the beginning of the G.U. series are reciprocated, and slowly wane after Haseo slanders Sakaki. However, her affections are later rekindled, after Haseo realizes Atoli was suffering from her desire to be recognized by Haseo. Haseo, who was drawn to Atoli because she used a nearly-identical Player Character to Shino, had only been looking for Shino in Atoli. Atoli is later found to be an Epitaph user when she is separated from her Avatar (Innis, the Mirage of Deceit) by AIDA after following Haseo, Kuhn, and Pi to an area inaccessible to regular players, found inside one the Tri-Edge marks. At the end of the .hack//G.U. trilogy, she sees Haseo with Shino at the cathedral because she received an e-mail from Shino herself requesting her presence in the cathedral. After a few words she runs away heartbroken thinking that her relationship with Haseo has ended, but is surprised when she sees Haseo running towards her. Her real name offline is Chigusa Kusaka. Voiced by: Ayako Kawasumi (Japanese); Bridget Hoffman (English)
• Azure Kite, also known as Azure Flame Kite or Kite of the Azure Flame, is a Twin Blade-type character who resembles a corrupted, stitched-together version of Kite. He does not talk, and only breathes loudly and growls. Azure Kite carries two triple-edged blades known as the "Empty Skies" and has access to the Data Drain skill. He can also transform into a floating azure orb of light to travel, and often arrives at areas in this form, surrounded by azure flames. He is an artificial intelligence created by Aura that exists to destroy computer viruses and AIDA. He is mistaken as the "Tri-Edge", which leads to Haseo attempting to fight him. He is scattered by Haseo, and later reforms himself, though he loses an arm to Ovan. He later joins with Haseo after Cubia is defeated. Voiced by: Sayaka Aida (Japanese); Mona Marshall (English)
• Endrance is considered to be one of the most beautiful and mysterious players of all The World. He is Elk of the previous games, but now grown up. He is always with his cat, that he thinks is the reincarnation of Mia. He is an Epitaph-User who controls the avatar Macha "The Temptress". He first dislikes Haseo, but after losing Mia and falling into depression, Haseo asks him for his help making him develop feelings for Haseo. He then decides to help him and says he gives Haseo his heart and soul. He is the Emperor of the Demon Palace in Lumina Cloth and has numerous fans. However, he's extremely cold and only ever shows emotion towards the cat he has on his shoulder. In real life he is a 20-year-old hikikomori. Voiced by: Mitsuki Saiga (Japanese); Liam O'Brien (English)
• Kuhn (クーン, Kūn) is a Steam Gunner and the Epitaph-PC who controls Magus, the Propagation. Kuhn comes in contact with Haseo through the growing AIDA infection that is afflicting The World. Kuhn describes himself as more similar to Haseo than anyone else, despite Haseo's initial hostility towards him. Kuhn is light-hearted and brings laughter to the game players, but possesses the ability to remain calm and has an air of responsibility, especially towards Haseo's control of Skeith. He attempts to flirt with women avatars within the game, which leads to awkward situations. Kuhn's real life persona is Tomonari Kasumi, who controlled the PC "Sieg" in the original version of "The World" as well as the boyfriend of .hack//Liminality protagonist Mai Minase. Kuhn confesses to Haseo that the only serious girlfriend he had was in high school, but she had broken up with him due to his immaturity. Voiced by: Shinichiro Miki (Japanese); Johnny Yong Bosch (English) Louis Chirillo (.hack//Roots)
• Ovan (オーヴァン, Ōvu~an) is a Steam Gunner who leads the Twilight Brigade. He usually never shares any personal things to anyone with the exception of Shino, who knows him in the real world. Ovan's arm is encased in a lock, which leads to others thinking that he is a hacker. Inside the lock is a black hatchet-like weapon in his hand, long black blade coming out of his shoulders. This is revealed to be the AIDA known as Tri-Edge, who has been placing users into comas. Ovan wants to save the first victim of his arm, his little sister, Aina. Ovan seeks to purge the system of AIDA with his Avatar's Rebirth ability, which can only be used after the defeat of Corbenik at the hands of Haseo using the power of Skeith and the other phases. After the Rebirth he falls into a coma but awakens to help Haseo defeat Cubia. He is seen again in the OVA "Returner" where he and Aina are reunited.Voiced by: Hiroki Tochi (Japanese); Jamieson Price (English) Michael Kopsa (.hack//Roots)
• Tri-Edge (トライエッジ, Torai Ejji) is a legendary Player Killer, whose victims, "The Lost Ones", never log back into the game and the players are left comatose. His name comes from the fact that he leaves a triple pronged sign at the location where he defeats his victim. Azure Kite is mistaken for Tri-Edge (due to his triple bladed twin-blades), but it turns out to be AIDA<Tri-Edge>, an AIDA that infects Ovan's character. It forms on his arm, and sometimes takes control over him.
• Phyllo is a character owned by Antares but used to be owned by an old man who helps Haseo in the first episodes of .hack//Roots. His real player died because of cancer, leaving the character to his friend Antares. In Reminisce he leads Haseo to the Great Temple of Caerleon Medb, a Lost Ground containing Lost weapons, weapons that can help destroy AIDA. Voiced by: Junpei Takiguchi (Japanese); Russell Roberts (English)
• Pi is a Tribal Grappler and an Epitaph-PC who controls Tarvos, the Avenger. She is a subordinate of Yata and a member of G.U.; in real life, she is a system engineer for C.C. Corp named Reiko Saeki, the younger sister of Jun Bansyoya, the former leader of Project G.U. She is also the player behind the PKer Ender, a character she uses to garner information as a subordinate of Naobi, one of Yata's alter-egos. Voiced by: Sanae Kobayashi (Japanese); Jessica Strauss (English) Lisa Ann Beley (.hack//Roots)
• Sakubo (朔望, Sakubō) is supposedly a PC played by two people; Saku, who speaks in Kansai-ben, and Bo; a shy and quiet player. Saku is an alternate personality of Bo (albeit the much more forward of the pair), and is obsessed with Endrance. They control the Avatar, Gorre. Voiced by: Megumi Toyoguchi (Japanese); Erin Fitzgerald (English)
• Yata (八咫, Yata) is a Macabre Dancer and the Epitaph-PC who controls Fidchell, the Prophet. He is a system administrator for C.C. Corp assigned to investigate and deal with the AIDA which have appeared in The World R:2 through the organization, G.U.. As a system administrator, Yata prefers to monitor the situation from his headquarters, the Serpent of Lore, and tends not to reveal his motives. His regard for players is questionable at best, though his subordinates Pi and Kuhn tend to act more ethically. Yata's offline counterpart is a 17-year-old teenager, Takumi Hino, and the player who was once behind the Wavemaster Wiseman in the original .hack series. Takumi Hino is also the player behind the PCs Nala and Naobi. Voiced by: Takumi Yamazaki (Japanese); Steven Jay Blum (English) Pual Dobson (.hack//Roots)

The World R:X

A list of the main characters from the new portable version of "The World"

• Tokio Kuryuu (トキオ, Tokio) is a 14-year-old boy who is very fond of games. When Saika first transferred to his class, he was invited to play The World R:X with a special copy that she has and was directly sent to The World itself. Arriving in The World and met Kite, Tokio was partly forced to work for Saika on retrieving the Chrono Core to open the Akashic Record, and partly feeling indebted to Kite who had saved him. Tokio is a Doubleware, a special kind of human that able to use Real Digitilize technology that allows a human to physically enter a virtual space. In 2014, during the Akashic Line's closed beta test, Tokio succeeded in rescuing an NPC to clear an event. For an instant, he was successfully Real Digitalized by Jyotaro Amagi's test program, becoming the only Doubleware to be discovered by the game. Although he did not understand this at the time, this direct contact left a lasting impression on both him and the NPC (Later revealed to be AIKA) since Tokio often dreamed about her. Voiced by: Yūko Sanpei
• Saika Amagi (彩花, Saika) is a transfer student in Tokio's class. She invited Tokio to play The World R:X, claiming that he is the hero she had been looking for. Excellent in both studies and sports, she soon became famous in school. However, this turned out to be an act to make Tokio work for her as her 'slave' on collecting the Chrono Core. It's revealed that she's actually Jyotaro Amagi's cousin who was adopted by the latter as his sister after her mother's death. She received an e-mail sent by Jyotaro (that was actually sent by Geist) that instructed her to find him who is lost in The World and the only way to find him is by collecting the Chrono Cores with the help of the Doubleware, Tokio, and AIKA. Voiced by: Ami Koshimizu
• Toki-grunty (トキ★ランディ) is the grunty that stays in Grand Whale and act as Tokio's guide.
• AIKA is a mysterious girl who appears in Tokio's dream who resembles Saika. Prior knowing her identity, Tokio referred to her as 'Princess.' She made her appearance when Tokio was devastated for unable to prevent Shino's coma and granted him the X-Form, encouraging him to continue fighting for those whom he cherished. She became one of Tokio's guide throughout the game, accompanying him by making herself invisible in other player's eye with only Tokio able to see her. In 2014, AIKA was created as an event NPC in Jyotaro Amagi's online game Akashic Line, subconsciously modeled after his late aunt Ayaka Amagi. In 2014, during the game's closed beta test, Tokio succeeded in rescuing her to clear an event. For an instant, he was successfully Real Digitalized by Amagi's test program, becoming the only Doubleware to be discovered by the game. Although he did not understand this at the time, this direct contact left a lasting impression on both him and the NPC. In 2017, she became fused with benevolent AIDA, retaining the memories of the NPC and the personality of the AIDA, forming a completely new type of AI. Eventually, she was discovered and retrieved by Saika in order to find Jyotaro. In the final battle, AIKA sacrificed herself to purify Aura's data that has been corrupted by virus and disappeared along with her. However, Helba suggested that AIKA might as well still exist somewhere in The World, but unable to show herself for some reason. Voiced by: Ami Koshimizu
• Death Queen Aura, also known as Queen of Demise, is Aura who was infected by virus implanted by Geist within Tokio. When Tokio and Saika reached the end of Akashic Record and met Aura who was imprisoned, the virus within Tokio reacted and infected Aura. Due to the infection, Aura becomes crazed, and tries to ensnare the entire world into her network in order to trap them in a twisted expression of her love for the world. She began creating monsters called Legion that spread throughout The World, corrupting data and beginning the process of Twilight and began to Real Digitilize humanity as proof of her love. Tokio and the Twilight Knights tried to save her from the infection with the vaccine program they have developed. However, they succumb to her power and nearly lost until AIKA interferes, using her power to regain Aura's memories at cost of disappearing with her. She's last seen, presumably within her own mind, in her child form with AIKA holding her hands before disappear. Voiced by: Maaya Sakamoto
• Ayaka Amagi (天城綾香, Amagi Ayaka) was Saika's mother and Jyotaro's aunt who died ten years before the event of the series. Her death was one of Jyotaro's reasons to realise the Immortal Dusk plan.

Schicksal

• Genius (ジーニアス)
• No. 1, Flügel (フリューゲル))
• No. 2, Metronom (メトロノーム)
• No. 3, Cello (チェロ)
• No. 4, Klarinette (クラリネッテ)
• No. 5, Orgel (オルゲル)
• No. 6, Posaune (ポザオネ)
• No. 7, Trommel (トロンメル)
• No. 8, Geist (ガイスト)

Supporting characters

The World

• Mai Minase (水無瀬舞, Minase Mai) is the main protagonist of the first episode of .hack//Liminality and the girlfriend of Tomonari Kasumi, the player behind Sieg and Kuhn. Tomonari introduces her to The World, but they are soon attacked by Skeith. While Mai is able to awaken from her coma, Tomonari does not, leading her to investigate the incident and aid Junichiro Tokuoka to help save The World in the real world while the battle against Cubia is ongoing. Voiced by: Sanae Kobayashi (Japanese); Michelle Ruff (English)
• Yuki Aihara (相原有紀, Aihara Yuki), known as Yuki-chin online, is the main protagonist of the second episode of .hack//Liminality. She is an acquaintance of Sieg (Tomonari Kasumi) and aids Mai Minase, Tomonari's girlfriend, in order to prevent C.C. Corp from destroying The World in order to save the comatose victims of the game. Voiced by: Saeko Chiba (Japanese); Sherry Lynn (English)
• Kyoko Tohno is the main protagonist of the third episode of .hack//Liminality. Voiced by: Aya Hisakawa (Japanese); Jane Lanier (English)
• Alph - Wavemaster
• Mistral is a Wavemaster and one of the original Dothackers. She is the first player to join Kite and BlackRose and is a fun-loving and pleasant, but reliable and dedicated. In real life, she is a married office worker in her late 20s named Mayumi Kurokawa. Voiced by: Atsuko Enomoto (Japanese); Sandy Fox (English)
• Mireille is a Wavemaster who uses the same avatar as Mistral and loves of treasure-hunting. She is a good friend and ally of Rena and Shugo and is knowledgeable of The World. Her true identity is Mirei Kurokawa (黒川深鈴, Kurokawa Mirei), the daughter of Mayumi Kurokawa, who was originally the Wavemaster Mistral and gave the avatar to her daughter. Voiced by: Yuki Matsuoka (Japanese); Sandy Fox (English)
• Hotaru is a Wavemaster who plays on the Japanese servers in hopes of improving her Japanese. She is shy and soft-spoken. She becomes friends with Shugo and Rena and enjoys raising Grunties. It is not confirmed if it is official but in a drama audio it was revealed that Hotaru is a boy. Voiced by: Ayako Kawasumi (Japanese); Carrie Gordon (English)
• Ouka (凰花, Ōka) is Werewolf, a limited edition class offered in the expansion of The World. Her strength is well-known, so she is called "Ouka of the Divine Fist." She is an acquaintance of Mireille. Voiced by: Yuki Kaida (Japanese); Paula Tiso (English)
• Reki (レキ, Reki) is Wavemaster and the assistant of Balmung, after Balmung becomes a System Administrator for C.C. Corp. Reki frequently acts as a proxy for his boss, since Balmung likes to participate in the events that he has planned. In real life, Reki is a history major who couldn't find work in his field, so he joined C.C. Corp; his real name is Satoshi Fujio. Voiced by: Souichiro Hoshi (Japanese); Derek Stephen Prince (English)
• Kamui (神威) is a female Long Arm and Albireo's successor as the System Debug Administrator. She is the leader of the Cobalt Knights and possesses a strong sense of justice as a result of Kazushi Watarai (Albireo)'s sudden resignation from C.C. Corp. Her real name is Saki Shibayama (柴山咲, Shibayama Saki) Voiced by: Sakiko Tamagawa (Japanese); Melodee M. Spevack (English).
• Magi is a Wavemaster and Kamui's assistant. Her real name is Asako Saitou (斎藤麻子, Saitō Asako), an employee of C.C. Corp. Voiced by: Asako Shirakura (Japanese); Amanda Winn Lee (English)
• Hokuto is a Wavemaster and the personal account of player W.B. Yeats. She is an ally of Albireo and witnesses the defeat of the One Sin by Balmung and Orca. Her real name is Haruka Mizuhara, a translator with a strong interest in Celtic literature and poetry.
• Komiyan the Third (コミヤン3世, Komiyan Sansei) is a Blademaster and classmate of Rena and Shugo in real life. They find him obnoxious both in and out of The World. Voiced by: Masami Kikuchi (Japanese); Brian Silva (English)
• Dynamite Headdy (ダイナマイトヘッディー, Dainamaito Heddī) is a weird but cool character from a video game of the same name, he snuck into .hack//Legend of the Twilight Bracelet and wants to see Rena/Blackrose's panties.
• Morti (モルティ, Moruti) is an AI that appears only in the anime version of .hack//Legend of the Twilight Bracelet as an antagonist. Voiced by: Maaya Sakamoto

The World R:2

• Adamas - Blade Brandier
• Aihara, Salvador: a T.V celebrity that holds an online show called "Online Jack" which investigated the case of the Lost Ones and the Doll Syndrome. Despite the true factors the it talked about, it is never known if the show was true or made. This show appears only during the .hack//G.U games in the false internet of the game in the "News Capture" zone. Voiced by: Masashi Ebara (Japanese); Daran Norris (English)
• Aina (Indou, Aina):Ovan's little sister and his first victim. Her character is hidden in the world in area called "The Creators Room" but she escapes from it and becomes a ghost in the world who appears and vanish every second. After the Rebirth she awakens from her coma. When she sees Haseo for the first time she blames him of her brother's coma, but later realizes her mistake and helps Haseo as much as she can. She is reunited with Ovan in the OVA "Returner". She also appears years later in .hack//Quantum with the same character model. Voiced by: Atsuko Enomoto (Japanese); Rachel Hirschfeld (English) Jenny Kwan (.hack//G.U. Last Recode)
• Antares (Ogata, Mikihisa) - Blade Brandier: He is called "The Legendary Emperor" due to his great ability in the arena, until he is defeated by Taihaku he also is the founder of Icolo. He later takes Haseo under his wing, although Haseo never accepts it until the end of the fight with Cubia where he calls him Master. Voiced by: Shinpachi Tsuji (Japanese); Kirk Thornton (English)
• Asta (Hori, Tatsumi) - Edge Punisher: A PK who pairs with IYOTEN to hunt down beginners and kill them. Voiced by: Yoko Honna (Japanese); Sandy Fox (English) Kate Higgins (.hack// G.U. Vol.3) Tabitha St. Germain (.hack//Roots)
• Azure Balmung: Another of Aura's creation like Azure Flame Kite to hunt down anomalities in The World. He looks like Balmung except he looks ruined and without Balmung's original wings (instead he has strange-looking wings). He joins Haseo at the end of the fight with cubia. Voiced by: Nobuyuki Hiyama (Japanese); Crispin Freeman (English)
• Azure Orca: Another of Aura's creation like Azure Flame Kite to hunt down anomalities in The World. He looks exactly like Orca except he looks ruined and doesn't talk at all. He joins Haseo at the end of the fight with Cubia.Voiced by: Yasunori Masutani (Japanese); Kirk Thornton (English)
• Bordeaux (ボルドー, Borudō) (Nina Kircheis) - Blade Brandier: Bordeaux is an established PK and usually parties with Negimaru and Grein. She is also a member of Kestrel and well respected in the PK community. She is obsessed with gaining fame by being the PK that PKed the Terror of Death. In Vol. 2, Bordeaux is infected by an AIDA which gives her greater fighting capabilities. She is a German-Japanese 14-year-old middle-school student named Nina Kircheis in real life. She gives Haseo her member address at the end of the game. Voiced by: Akiko Hiramatsu (Japanese); Mary Elizabeth McGlynn (English) Alison Matthews (.hack//Roots)
• Gabi (がび, Gabi) (Daijirou Washio) - Edge Punisher: Gabi is the Guildmaster of Kestrel and adopts a laissez-faire attitude to running his Guild. Although his Guild is overrun with PKs, he is not a PK himself. He is an old friend of Kuhn's but he does not have a large impact on the plot. Haseo's first encounter with Gabi shows the speed of Gabi's movement, the reason for this is because Gabi's PC is a hacked PC. Voiced by: Kōji Ishii (Japanese); D.C. Douglas (English)
• Gaspard (ガスパー, Gasupaa) (Kouta Maki) - Shadow Warlock: A member of Canard who follows Silabus and assists in helping Newbies. He and Silabus are the only members of Canard at the start of GU. He is in awe of former Canard member Kuhn. He is a 13-year-old middle school student named Maki Kouta in real life. Gaspard's favorite part of The World is the card game feature called Crimson VS., which is not available for the first volume. Gaspard is rather sensitive and clumsy but plays The World for the sole purpose of having fun. Voiced by: Akiko Yajima (Japanese); Dave Wittenberg (English) Richard Ian Cox (.hack//Roots)
• Hiiragi (柊, Hīragi) (Yuki Fumihiko) - Macabre Dancer: Hiiragi is the leader of the Fifth Division of the Moon Tree Guild and appears in Volume 2 of .hack//G.U. One of Sakaki's followers. A 22-year-old closet homosexual named Yuki Fumihiko in real life. Voiced by: Taiki Matsuno (Japanese); Doug Erholtz (English)
• Kaede (楓, Kaede) (Kyouko Kaga) - Blade Brandier: A member of Moon Tree and the leader of the Third Platoon. Kaede is one of the many supporters of Zelkova in his conflict with Sakaki and often opposes Sakaki on his decisions. She is known for her kind and sincere attitude. She gives Haseo her member address in volume 3. Voiced by: Sayaka Ohara (Japanese); Kari Wahlgren (English)
• Matsu (松, Matsu) (Shingo Kudou) - Adept Rogue: A member of Moon Tree and the Leader of the Seventh Platoon. Matsu was once a famous PK but has since grown ashamed of his past and chosen not to fight. He is a supporter of Sakaki. Because of this, he never uses his Edge Punisher form - the form he opted for most when he was a PK. Voiced by: Hiroshi Yanaka (Japanese); Dave Wittenberg (English)
• Natsume (なつめ, Natsume) (Natsume Oguro) - Twin Blade: Former .hacker Natsume from the original games returns in vol. 3, and is now a Chaotic PK with a split personality. She is in search of Tri-Edge (which she believes to be a weapon) and still has an obsession with Kite from seven years ago. Haseo gets her member address after clearing the Chaotic PK side quest. Voiced by: Maaya Sakamoto (Japanese); Lia Sargent (English) Kate Higgins (.hack//G.U. Last Recode)
• Nala (楢, Nara) (Takumi Hino) - Lord Partizan: Nala is the leader of the Fourth Division of the Moon Tree Guild and appears in Volume 2 of .hack//G.U. He holds a neutral position within the Guild and is actually another PC used by Yata. Voiced by: Takumi Yamazaki (Japanese); Steven Jay Blum (English)
• Piros the 3rd (ぴろし３, Piroshi3) (Hiroshi Matsuyama) - Lord Partizan: Piros the 3rd is the same .hacker Piros from the original games. He is the Guildmaster of the coincidentally named Project GU (Graphics Umai meaning "Good at Graphics"; in the English adaption, "Graphics Unbelievable") Guild and works as a Graphics Designer for The World. Piros is also in chase of Tri-Edge along with Haseo, but for his own reasons. Voiced by: Masaya Onosaka (Japanese); Daran Norris (English)
• Sakaki (榊, Sakaki) (Tooru Uike) - Edge Punisher: Leader of the Second Division of Moon Tree, Sakaki is famous throughout The World and commonly associated with Moon Tree. He appears to be part of a sinister plot and because of this, tension has grown between him and Zelkova. He tries to create an ideal world by dominating the minds of people through the eight phases and the internet. Sakaki is a role model of Atoli as she cannot seem to stop talking about him. He is a 10-year-old elementary school student named Uike Tooru in real life. He replaces Yata as leader of GU in vol. 3 for a short period before being killed by Azure Kite and going into a coma. He awakens with no memories of what happened after the rebirth of the internet. Voiced by: Katsuyuki Konishi (Japanese); Crispin Freeman (English)
• Silabus (シラバス, Shirabasu) (Yuuichi Morino) - Blade Brandier: The Guildmaster of Canard at the start of the game, he eventually makes Haseo the Guildmaster. He and Gaspard are the only members of Canard at the start of GU. He is in awe of former Canard member Kuhn. He is a 19-year-old university student named Morino Yuuichi in real life, and started using the internet at the age of 9. Voiced by: Daisuke Sakaguchi (Japanese); Sam Riegel (English) Reece Thompson (.hack//Roots)
• Shino is a Harvest Cleric and friend of Haseo and Ovan, whom the latter Shino is devoted towards. She was a member of the Twilight Brigade, a guild led by Ovan to find the Epitaph of Twilight in The World: R2, and was the one who introduced Haseo to Ovan. When she is mysteriously PKed by Tri-Edge, Haseo's primary motivation to continue playing The World: R2 is in order to save Shino, who has fallen into a coma the real world after her character was PKed. In real life, she is a college student named Shino Nanao who is studying to be a nurse; when she falls comatose, Ryou Misaki visits her in the hospital. Voiced by: Kaori Nazuka (Japanese); Kari Wahlgren (English) Kelly Sheridan (.hack//Roots).
• Sirius (天狼, Tenrō) (Min Myeon-Do) - Tribal Grappler: One of the current members of Icolo, Sirius is known for his arrogance and is generally a dislikeable character. Being a member of Icolo means he is the Emperor of the Holy Palace; above Endrance and below Taihaku. Later on he is infected with AIDA, and goes on to fight Haseo in the arena. It is then revealed that the Orca and Balmung associated with him were mirages created by Atoli's infected Avatar. Voiced by: Isshin Chiba (Japanese); Michael McConnohie (English)
• Sophora (槐, Enjū) - Twin Blade: Sophora is the leader of the Sixth Division of the Moon Tree Guild and appears in Volume 2 of .hack//G.U. Sophora appears to support Sakaki and seems to be the player behind Nanase from .Hack//Alcor. Voiced by: Houko Kuwashima (Japanese); Lia Sargent (English)
• Tabby (タビー, Tabī) (Moe Kubo) - Tribal Grappler: Tabby joined the Twilight Brigade around the same time as Haseo and wanted to help him in his quest to revive Shino. She stopped playing in order to become a nurse at the end of .hack//roots anime, but returns in vol. 3 stating that she will remain online for just the day because she had a test the next day after so she helped out for that one day. She later offers her extended help to him, though it is unknown what became of the "one day". Voiced by: Megumi Toyoguchi (Japanese); Stephanie Sheh (English) Maryke Hendrikse (.hack//Roots)
• Taihaku (太白, Taihaku) (Keisuke Kurokai) - Steam Gunner: Taihaku is the current Guildmaster of Icolo and, therefore, one of the most powerful characters in The World. Being the Guildmaster of Icolo makes him the Emperor of the Sage Palace; above both Endrance and Sirius. Voiced by: Kazuhiro Nakata (Japanese); D.C. Douglas (English) Ross Douglas (.hack//Roots)
• Zelkova (欅, Keyaki) - Flick Reaper Zelkova is the Guild Master of Moon Tree. Despite his appearance of a young child, Zelkova is an expert hacker who created The World R:2's Netslum. He has horns on his head, which people presume he either got from an event, or hacked. It is often assumed that he is the same person or persons as Helba from The World, as they're both expert hackers, lead Net Slum, knows Yata, who used to be Wiseman in the World R:1, and knows far more about the inner workings of the game than others would. Voiced by: Akiko Kimura (Japanese); Wendee Lee (English)

Reception

Jeremy Dunham of IGN was impressed by the game's commitment to preserve the illusion of online and praised the character designs and the inclusion of the Japanese voice track, but criticized the camera manipulation and the game's shortness and lack of difficulty. A Game Informer reviewer praised the way it captures the sense of community that a real MMORPG offers.

In regards to the cast of .hack//Sign a Anime Academy's reviewer, who writes that the anime's depiction of the game-world setting is realistic and accurate. Reviewers appreciated the English voice acting: Lauren Synger from DVD Vision Japan feels that "everyone was very appropriate to their characters", noting that Brianne Sidal did an excellent work capturing Saiga's Tsukasa.

IGN suggested that the storyline of GU could be streamlined by allowing e-mail access within The World. Despite deriding the "filler" story of Rebirth, Sullivan found Reminisce to be much more enjoyable due to its more mature storyline. Mania foud Haseo's skills useless in combat but liked his relationship with the Twilight Brigade as the cast is explored in a personal manner as the premise focuses on players interacting with each other. Both Haseo and Atoli's actors, Takahiro Sakurai and Ayako Kawasumi, were highly praised for their work in the OVA. ANN enjoyed Kawasumi's vocal range of emotions to Atoli but was had mixed thoughts about how Sakurai can make Haseo more likable despite his striking performance.