If you enjoyed the video please leave a like, subscribe, and tell me what you like/dislike about either series! If we reach 500 subs by the end of the year I will do a .hack//GU Speedrun!
correction, sao did not come out in 2009, thats just the light novels, it started as written for a contest around the time .hack was first starting out with its anime before its games, then it became a web novel series, and it was a big hit in japan even then, to the point later after the popularity of accel world, they decided to get reki to turn it into light novels and later an anime adaption and video games. in reality .hack and sao came into existence around the same time, just .hack was in the works a year earlier. sao focuses more about being a romance between kirito and asuna and their experience between multiple vr worlds and exploring the risks of virtual reality and trying to bridge the gap between reality and virtual reality, alicization was written years in advance in the web novels long before the light novels. unital ring is the first ever new arc in sao.
also what do you mean using 'delving into artificial intelligence' as a plus for .hack over sao? alice is literally an artificial intelligence, but unlike the ones in .hack, she has a human soul. the people of underworld in sao alicization/war of underworld are descendants of data clones of the creators of underworld, they literally cloned themselves, mind and all, into the virtual world and had them have families and descendants, all to make a digital human society with set laws and restrictions, all to build an ai from the ground up with a human soul for military projects(alice), literally using system called the soul translator that studies someone's soul, or 'fluctlight'. literally a ton of this stuff you're claiming .hack does better, sao does too but does it in a better way to where it comes across easier to people. sao is deep too, especially the light novels, which the anime is a stripped down version of without the character povs and added context to things.
Before I watch: To me, Sword Art captured the AESTHETIC of an MMO and .hack captured the experience of playing one. Sword Art aesthetics kind of match up with anime in general. Swords, Magic/Physical abilities and ESPECIALLY with the characters taking on the faces of real people. Where as .hack looks deeper into why people play MMOs in the first place and how technology that connects people around the world affects the UNwired life the players live
@KeyToDarkness right like how much of the culture and lifestyle they handled so accurately, even down to the message boards which still exist even in similar forms such as Reddit
@@KeyToDarkness another thing I thought of while playing IMOQ was the news articles. How alot of topics they were covering relate to things we talk about to this day as well. clearly I have a bias as well LMAO - elder
Lol yeah I made sure to disclaim my bias before anything just in case. It adds to the immersion of the setting and expands on things that we don’t typically see in game
Sword Art Online came out in 2002 as a Novel series.Mother Rosaria Story arc was in the final story arc of season 2, and I agree that the main reason why SAO is popular is the anime adaptation.
I don't think the issue is that SAO is just more popular it's that Bandai has been abandoning their original IPs for licensed anime games for a while now, and it's not just .hack fans that are angry at them for abandoning their franchise. This is honestly a trend that's been going on with a lot of other AAA publishers as well and I think it just comes down to these companies are chasing the money more than they care about the art. I think at best from Bandai we'll eventually get a remaster of IMOQ, maybe for the 25th anniversary in 2027, and CC2 will probably do a spiritual successor through their self publishing like they've done for their more niche Little Tail Bronx series with Fuga Melodies of Steel. BTW Fuga hasn't been subtle with .hack like references, they're literally advertising these games with .hack's A in C major tone and glitches, so I definitely get the feeling this is what they're planning on doing. Honestly that'd be the best thing that could happen as the successor would be completely under CC2's control and they could probably turn .hack and Little Tail Bronx into their Trails and Ys like series going forward.
@@KeyToDarkness Well if you haven't checked out the Little Tail Bronx series, Tail Concerto, Solatorobo, and Fuga, I recommend it. There's been hints throughout the latter two games that both .hack and LTB might be connected to each other in some way. Though the lore Solatorobo established does contradict .hack's at the moment. I wouldn't be surprised if they retcon it with Fuga though as I can see them using that connection to cross promote both series going forward. I'm also hoping CC2 can convince Bandai to let them remake Tail Concerto, Solatorobo, and .hack IMOQ someday. The former two would be really easy to remake by comparison to the latter, so I can see those happening first. Fuga 1's true ending also kind of teased something for Solatorobo, so I'm hoping that means they're going to at least try and remake that game. IMOQ would be harder to remake, but not by too much IMO. Bandai could also give it to a remaster developer like the one that remastered Baten Kaitos and we could get a fairly decent remaster as well. I'm hoping they keep the English dub though if that's the case. I would also like parody mode to be restored as well even if the jokes might go over western audiences heads as that was the reason they didn't include it originally.
I think .//Hack is more philosophical about the means of going online and some of dangers and is a bit digestible than a series like Lain Serial Experiments. Where as Sword Art Online follows the typical iseikai journey of a fantasy/sci-fi that will appeal to a wider audience than .//Hack.
Hard disagree with that. They don't really mesh just because they are themed on MMOs. One is a very anime story, while the other is a story in the anime format. I'll clarify and say not because of the themes, but because it's not that typical a story you see now. One is more for general audiences and the other is trying to bring contemplation.
So oddly enough it wouldn't be entirely impossible. Because SAO doesn't touch much on the past and even takes place later than .hack at 2020 they don't really contradict each other and it isn't like the tech is even all that incompatible either. Some events could even have happened simultaneously.
@@4akrosslastname764 They don't use the same tech or hardware. How would two different games become one? That doesn't even make sense on a practical level, omitting the fantasy. It would contradict how each game is setup and operates individually. Now for themes, they are not remotely the same. One didn't prioritize action and the other is your standard anime. Then the animation comes into question because SAO has fancy effects, but less detailed when it comes to characters and G.U. anime was about par. I think people relate the MMO similarity and don't think beyond that. It would have to be the most shoe-horned setup that just feels forced in the end. Nothing wrong with them being their own thing. .Hack// has had longevity with it's fans since the 2000s. Nothing wrong with that.
I enjoy both franchises because they offer two different adventures related to VRMMORPGs. I don't think Dothack would've taken off as much as SAO did if it replaced SAO's height period because the cultures of both shows are different. Just as much as the games themselves are different. As said in the video, Dothack is more about philosophical questions. Not that SAO doesn't have it's own philosophical elements, but SAO is more centralized on a specific character, following a certain plot. Segments of Dothack are similarly centralized, but there is always a larger picture being painted. And so, there's more decentralized world building surrounding certain themes and the games/concept of 'The World.' Not to mention that the alternate reality of Dothack's modern world is slightly more different than the Earth presented in SAO. In Log Horizon, I'm not sure if it's even known why the heck Players got inside of their game world as their player characters. And this big mystery is part of Log Horizon's charm. There are multiple theories (or maybe confirmations?) about the world, whether it's another planet, inside a database, or whatever else. But when you think about how Log Horizon PRESENTS itself, it's clearly different to Dothack or SAO. Similarly, the way Dothack and SAO present themselves very different reflect on how both franchises are internally very different.
It’s good to have perspective from all these different franchises and see how they build their worlds and themes. Each one has their own merit and I hope that with this video more people can look at both series and find value in them
So im one of them weirdos that likes both series and they kinda compliment each other. Biggest thing I see is .hack as a game is a premium product while SAO games are hella cash grabs with a HUGE lack in production quality in music, voice acting and gameplay feel. Bamco loves being cheap lol
I choose hack haseo, kinda cool to me, while Sao is very good but we already know the story, hack I half watch the anime because will spoil the story of hack game.
@@jacktony3531 .hack’s story is all interconnection Witt many branching paths that come back to each other. SAO looks like a show that people can just have a good sit down and have some mindless fun with :)
From what I've seen, the difference between .hack// and Sword Art Online fans is that even after 2 decades the .hack// crowd are still rabid for new content while the SAO inclined tend to forget the names of the characters if a new piece of artwork isn't released every 6 months. Staying power is what it boils down to, and I just don't think SAO competes with .hack//. Not to say I am not a SAO fan today, but I already liked riding this boat back in the early 2000's when it was called .hack//INFECTION.
Makes more money, certainly. Lower effort to make however I disagree. Animation is really difficult and takes a lot of time to even get a minute of an episode done. While I’ve never drawn any cells before I have played with frames of an animation while working on some of my other projects and for a minutes worth of video sometimes it would take me a couple of hours to put together
Oh if you are referring to the games than my statement applies here as well! For games like the two PSP titles for SAO and .hack you would be right as Link has more animation variety and presentation than the SAO title. It really depends on the game and the engine and code they are working with that determines whether something would be lower effort to make. And even then it would also depend on other aspects like art direction and the cinematography, especially when it comes to games on newer hardware :)
@KeyToDarkness Yeah but my main thought on why Sao games are lower effort seeing as graphics vary from game to game and quality relys on a variety of factors is just that Sao isn't an original property where they have to come up with their own ideas plot wise seeing as Reki usually writes the script to
Let’s define originality: What makes something original? An idea that no one has other thought of? Or a transformational outcome that has shaped something else into a unique creation? To the first I will say that it is really hard to come up with original ideas as a lot of topics, ideas, and visions usually have a prior piece of creation. Most of the time we take inspiration for our creations by the things that leave an impact on us. Link from the Legend of Zelda in OOT to creative designs from things like Peter Pan with the green tunic and a fairy accompanied by Link. And yet he is considered an original character because he is vastly different than Peter Pan as a individual. Even .hack took inspiration from SAO with the design of Haseo’s 5th form as he is wielding a long sword while wearing Kiritos Black Jacket but the other aspects of the design like the AIDA tattoos on his stomach and the design of the Ouroboros Sword make it an original design. We are all time taking inspiration from other sources to make our work better, and sometimes it doesn’t work out when we do. In SAO’s case they have original content in its general design that has obvious .hack inspiration and that’s ok. We all benefit it in the end :)
I can't remember how soon after, but I remember buying the .hack//SIGN OST back in high-school alongside Macross Plus OST. The combination of the simple animation, theme, tone and atmopsphere from music made it so memorable. It translated perfectly with the games, though it wasn't quite as dense because it's a RPG with action, yet character moments and Cubia was perfect. I liked G.U. slightly less and it's sad that they haven't been able to get it off the ground again. I don't think the two need to collab just to bring relevance to .hack//. Their aims are very different and the The World is a different beast. They have different audiences for a reason unless one likes all isekai, but sometimes if a series isn't profitable doesn't make it a bad thing. It just means it can't be milked to death like SAO. For a series to start in the 2000s and still have some presence that is majorly positive during it's time, I think many IP can only hope to manage that.
There are a lot of issues that kept .hack from succeeding and I think if CC2 were given a chance and plenty of time they probably could make a product that people can enjoy!
I watched season 1 of Sword Art Online and dropped it because of the second half. Then, I ended up seeing my brother watching the second half of season 2 and the movie and I even found it interesting, but I wasn't that interested anymore. During the quarantine, I saw the trailer for .hack G.U. on Steam and it caught my attention because of the design and the OST, besides bringing back my PS2 nostalgia. I loved the game but I couldn't watch the .hack animes, they are very slow and I think they would work better with half the episodes and better animation.
If you enjoyed the video please leave a like, subscribe, and tell me what you like/dislike about either series! If we reach 500 subs by the end of the year I will do a .hack//GU Speedrun!
correction, sao did not come out in 2009, thats just the light novels, it started as written for a contest around the time .hack was first starting out with its anime before its games, then it became a web novel series, and it was a big hit in japan even then, to the point later after the popularity of accel world, they decided to get reki to turn it into light novels and later an anime adaption and video games. in reality .hack and sao came into existence around the same time, just .hack was in the works a year earlier. sao focuses more about being a romance between kirito and asuna and their experience between multiple vr worlds and exploring the risks of virtual reality and trying to bridge the gap between reality and virtual reality, alicization was written years in advance in the web novels long before the light novels. unital ring is the first ever new arc in sao.
also what do you mean using 'delving into artificial intelligence' as a plus for .hack over sao? alice is literally an artificial intelligence, but unlike the ones in .hack, she has a human soul. the people of underworld in sao alicization/war of underworld are descendants of data clones of the creators of underworld, they literally cloned themselves, mind and all, into the virtual world and had them have families and descendants, all to make a digital human society with set laws and restrictions, all to build an ai from the ground up with a human soul for military projects(alice), literally using system called the soul translator that studies someone's soul, or 'fluctlight'. literally a ton of this stuff you're claiming .hack does better, sao does too but does it in a better way to where it comes across easier to people. sao is deep too, especially the light novels, which the anime is a stripped down version of without the character povs and added context to things.
Before I watch:
To me, Sword Art captured the AESTHETIC of an MMO and .hack captured the experience of playing one.
Sword Art aesthetics kind of match up with anime in general. Swords, Magic/Physical abilities and ESPECIALLY with the characters taking on the faces of real people. Where as .hack looks deeper into why people play MMOs in the first place and how technology that connects people around the world affects the UNwired life the players live
And some of the things that happen in both series (minus to fantastical parts) have been achieved in our modern day. VR headsets, VR Games, MMOs 😂
@KeyToDarkness right like how much of the culture and lifestyle they handled so accurately, even down to the message boards which still exist even in similar forms such as Reddit
It’s amazing how many things GU predicted that came true. How well they accurately predicted tech and how people interact online
@@KeyToDarkness another thing I thought of while playing IMOQ was the news articles. How alot of topics they were covering relate to things we talk about to this day as well.
clearly I have a bias as well LMAO
- elder
Lol yeah I made sure to disclaim my bias before anything just in case.
It adds to the immersion of the setting and expands on things that we don’t typically see in game
Sword Art Online came out in 2002 as a Novel series.Mother Rosaria Story arc was in the final story arc of season 2, and I agree that the main reason why SAO is popular is the anime adaptation.
@@bacd-nn2lg I didn’t realize it was a web novel before the light novel! :)
I don't think the issue is that SAO is just more popular it's that Bandai has been abandoning their original IPs for licensed anime games for a while now, and it's not just .hack fans that are angry at them for abandoning their franchise. This is honestly a trend that's been going on with a lot of other AAA publishers as well and I think it just comes down to these companies are chasing the money more than they care about the art.
I think at best from Bandai we'll eventually get a remaster of IMOQ, maybe for the 25th anniversary in 2027, and CC2 will probably do a spiritual successor through their self publishing like they've done for their more niche Little Tail Bronx series with Fuga Melodies of Steel. BTW Fuga hasn't been subtle with .hack like references, they're literally advertising these games with .hack's A in C major tone and glitches, so I definitely get the feeling this is what they're planning on doing.
Honestly that'd be the best thing that could happen as the successor would be completely under CC2's control and they could probably turn .hack and Little Tail Bronx into their Trails and Ys like series going forward.
I would take anything .hack at this point
@@KeyToDarkness Well if you haven't checked out the Little Tail Bronx series, Tail Concerto, Solatorobo, and Fuga, I recommend it. There's been hints throughout the latter two games that both .hack and LTB might be connected to each other in some way.
Though the lore Solatorobo established does contradict .hack's at the moment. I wouldn't be surprised if they retcon it with Fuga though as I can see them using that connection to cross promote both series going forward.
I'm also hoping CC2 can convince Bandai to let them remake Tail Concerto, Solatorobo, and .hack IMOQ someday. The former two would be really easy to remake by comparison to the latter, so I can see those happening first. Fuga 1's true ending also kind of teased something for Solatorobo, so I'm hoping that means they're going to at least try and remake that game.
IMOQ would be harder to remake, but not by too much IMO. Bandai could also give it to a remaster developer like the one that remastered Baten Kaitos and we could get a fairly decent remaster as well. I'm hoping they keep the English dub though if that's the case. I would also like parody mode to be restored as well even if the jokes might go over western audiences heads as that was the reason they didn't include it originally.
I’ll have to check them out! Thanks for the recommendation
@@KeyToDarkness You're welcome. CC2's other original games Silent Bomber and Asura's Wrath are also worth checking out as well.
I’ll keep those titles in mind!
I think .//Hack is more philosophical about the means of going online and some of dangers and is a bit digestible than a series like Lain Serial Experiments. Where as Sword Art Online follows the typical iseikai journey of a fantasy/sci-fi that will appeal to a wider audience than .//Hack.
That is the truth! Both series have their own merits that people find enjoyment in whether it be the themes or how they present the concepts! :)
At this point... we just need them to crossover forever. Gives the old fans a reason to buy SAO stuff lol. Just canonize it.
Yes!
Hard disagree with that. They don't really mesh just because they are themed on MMOs. One is a very anime story, while the other is a story in the anime format. I'll clarify and say not because of the themes, but because it's not that typical a story you see now. One is more for general audiences and the other is trying to bring contemplation.
So oddly enough it wouldn't be entirely impossible. Because SAO doesn't touch much on the past and even takes place later than .hack at 2020 they don't really contradict each other and it isn't like the tech is even all that incompatible either. Some events could even have happened simultaneously.
@@4akrosslastname764 They don't use the same tech or hardware. How would two different games become one? That doesn't even make sense on a practical level, omitting the fantasy. It would contradict how each game is setup and operates individually. Now for themes, they are not remotely the same. One didn't prioritize action and the other is your standard anime. Then the animation comes into question because SAO has fancy effects, but less detailed when it comes to characters and G.U. anime was about par.
I think people relate the MMO similarity and don't think beyond that. It would have to be the most shoe-horned setup that just feels forced in the end. Nothing wrong with them being their own thing. .Hack// has had longevity with it's fans since the 2000s. Nothing wrong with that.
I enjoy both franchises because they offer two different adventures related to VRMMORPGs.
I don't think Dothack would've taken off as much as SAO did if it replaced SAO's height period because the cultures of both shows are different. Just as much as the games themselves are different.
As said in the video, Dothack is more about philosophical questions. Not that SAO doesn't have it's own philosophical elements, but SAO is more centralized on a specific character, following a certain plot. Segments of Dothack are similarly centralized, but there is always a larger picture being painted. And so, there's more decentralized world building surrounding certain themes and the games/concept of 'The World.' Not to mention that the alternate reality of Dothack's modern world is slightly more different than the Earth presented in SAO.
In Log Horizon, I'm not sure if it's even known why the heck Players got inside of their game world as their player characters. And this big mystery is part of Log Horizon's charm. There are multiple theories (or maybe confirmations?) about the world, whether it's another planet, inside a database, or whatever else. But when you think about how Log Horizon PRESENTS itself, it's clearly different to Dothack or SAO. Similarly, the way Dothack and SAO present themselves very different reflect on how both franchises are internally very different.
It’s good to have perspective from all these different franchises and see how they build their worlds and themes. Each one has their own merit and I hope that with this video more people can look at both series and find value in them
So im one of them weirdos that likes both series and they kinda compliment each other. Biggest thing I see is .hack as a game is a premium product while SAO games are hella cash grabs with a HUGE lack in production quality in music, voice acting and gameplay feel. Bamco loves being cheap lol
Nothing weird about liking both! Both series have their merits and disappointments
I choose hack haseo, kinda cool to me, while Sao is very good but we already know the story, hack I half watch the anime because will spoil the story of hack game.
@@jacktony3531 .hack’s story is all interconnection Witt many branching paths that come back to each other. SAO looks like a show that people can just have a good sit down and have some mindless fun with :)
From what I've seen, the difference between .hack// and Sword Art Online fans is that even after 2 decades the .hack// crowd are still rabid for new content while the SAO inclined tend to forget the names of the characters if a new piece of artwork isn't released every 6 months. Staying power is what it boils down to, and I just don't think SAO competes with .hack//.
Not to say I am not a SAO fan today, but I already liked riding this boat back in the early 2000's when it was called .hack//INFECTION.
We are still waiting on a new boat to sail to a new .hack
Cause it makes more money and is lower effort to make
Makes more money, certainly. Lower effort to make however I disagree. Animation is really difficult and takes a lot of time to even get a minute of an episode done. While I’ve never drawn any cells before I have played with frames of an animation while working on some of my other projects and for a minutes worth of video sometimes it would take me a couple of hours to put together
@KeyToDarkness I'm talking about the games, Bandai don't animate Sao, that's A1 pictures.
Oh if you are referring to the games than my statement applies here as well!
For games like the two PSP titles for SAO and .hack you would be right as Link has more animation variety and presentation than the SAO title.
It really depends on the game and the engine and code they are working with that determines whether something would be lower effort to make. And even then it would also depend on other aspects like art direction and the cinematography, especially when it comes to games on newer hardware :)
@KeyToDarkness Yeah but my main thought on why Sao games are lower effort seeing as graphics vary from game to game and quality relys on a variety of factors is just that Sao isn't an original property where they have to come up with their own ideas plot wise seeing as Reki usually writes the script to
Let’s define originality: What makes something original? An idea that no one has other thought of? Or a transformational outcome that has shaped something else into a unique creation?
To the first I will say that it is really hard to come up with original ideas as a lot of topics, ideas, and visions usually have a prior piece of creation. Most of the time we take inspiration for our creations by the things that leave an impact on us.
Link from the Legend of Zelda in OOT to creative designs from things like Peter Pan with the green tunic and a fairy accompanied by Link. And yet he is considered an original character because he is vastly different than Peter Pan as a individual.
Even .hack took inspiration from SAO with the design of Haseo’s 5th form as he is wielding a long sword while wearing Kiritos Black Jacket but the other aspects of the design like the AIDA tattoos on his stomach and the design of the Ouroboros Sword make it an original design.
We are all time taking inspiration from other sources to make our work better, and sometimes it doesn’t work out when we do. In SAO’s case they have original content in its general design that has obvious .hack inspiration and that’s ok. We all benefit it in the end :)
I can't remember how soon after, but I remember buying the .hack//SIGN OST back in high-school alongside Macross Plus OST. The combination of the simple animation, theme, tone and atmopsphere from music made it so memorable. It translated perfectly with the games, though it wasn't quite as dense because it's a RPG with action, yet character moments and Cubia was perfect. I liked G.U. slightly less and it's sad that they haven't been able to get it off the ground again.
I don't think the two need to collab just to bring relevance to .hack//. Their aims are very different and the The World is a different beast. They have different audiences for a reason unless one likes all isekai, but sometimes if a series isn't profitable doesn't make it a bad thing. It just means it can't be milked to death like SAO. For a series to start in the 2000s and still have some presence that is majorly positive during it's time, I think many IP can only hope to manage that.
There are a lot of issues that kept .hack from succeeding and I think if CC2 were given a chance and plenty of time they probably could make a product that people can enjoy!
I watched season 1 of Sword Art Online and dropped it because of the second half. Then, I ended up seeing my brother watching the second half of season 2 and the movie and I even found it interesting, but I wasn't that interested anymore. During the quarantine, I saw the trailer for .hack G.U. on Steam and it caught my attention because of the design and the OST, besides bringing back my PS2 nostalgia. I loved the game but I couldn't watch the .hack animes, they are very slow and I think they would work better with half the episodes and better animation.
GU was my introduction into .hack and it was the OST that kept me playing! :)