About the Movie: The popular fantasy-adventure concludes as the world of the game grows increasingly unstable. Aided by Subaru and his friends, Tsubasa challenges the vengeful and omnipresent Morganna for mastery of the cyber-realm. As Tsubasa rediscovers his true identity and the role he was destined to play, he reopens the links between the game and reality. He awakens the slumbering Aura and escapes from the game in an emotionally satisfying finale. The alienated Wave Master has learned to love, but Director Koichi Mashimo avoids bathos by underplaying his transformation. Although the story ends with "Return," the disc includes two bonus episodes. "Intermezzo" offers a long flashback of Mimiru and Bear when they were novices at the game; scenes from earlier episodes have been re-edited to recap the main story in "Evidence." Handsomely designed, well animated, and skillfully directed, .hack//Sign stands out as an example of how to turn a game into a series that can stand on its own merits. (Rated 13 and older: violence) --Charles Solomon
