Was just thinking about acquiring the complete series of "DotHack" for my modest (read: almost nonexistent) anime library. Anyone have any opinion on it? Is it worth getting, will I need to read up on back story or get the games? Will I ever find out if Goku's soul bomb will charge in time to beat Freeza in the next exciting episode of DRAGON BALL Z? Does it actually have a proper plot?
Ooookay, this is always a fun question to answer.
.hack takes place a few decades into the future (or at least it did when it was written). There is a globally-popular MMO called "The World" that all the characters play. On the surface, it's a story about these players and what they get up to online. But "The World" is deeper than that: there are parts of the game that do not seem to follow the normal rules, and characters who get up to some strange activities. What's clear is that the game is hiding something sinister. Very little of the series takes place "offline", pretty much everything of import happens while players are playing the game. Furthermore, each installment usually stars a brand-new cast, with older characters occasionally making cameos.
The series is centered around the games. Those are where the main plotlines lie, and where the series storytelling is at its best, IMO. The first set of games (.hack//Infection, .hack//Mutation, .hack//Outbreak, and .hack//Quarantine) form the core of the "classic" storyline and have good characters and story, but very repetitive gameplay. It's fun enough, but it can get old after a while. The second set (.hack//GU, Volumes 1-3) is
much improved on almost every count, and personally I count it as the peak of the series as far as the story goes. All of these games are on the PS2, if you're interested.
The two anime, .hack//SIGN and .hack//ROOTS, are prequels to the first and second sets of games, respectively. SIGN is amazing (very light on action, mostly dialogue, but it's good dialogue, good character development, and
Yuki Kajiura writing the music). ROOTS is less so, but still decent.
But the point is that neither anime series fully resolves its plotline, as it leads directly into the games. (Well, SIGN sort of does, in that its main character gets closure, but the story continues without them.) There's a few anime movies that take place in the future of the series after the third game (which is not available in English), but they are more side stories than anything else.
The various novels and manga are either alternate (and non-canon) retellings or miscellaneous side stories. It's perfectly possible to enjoy the series without ever touching them: they just flesh out The World a bit more and show some alternate perspectives.
SO, my advice if you're looking to get into the series is to either get either set of games, which, as I said, contain the heart of the plot, or watch .hack//SIGN to get a taste of it, but know going in that it's going to leave questions unanswered, as it's a prequel. You can jump in at either set of games and enjoy what's going on, but the whole universe and plot only really comes together if you've read/watched/played everything.