Watched .hack//SIGN 16-20 last night. Brain is still bleeding, too much confusing dialogues. But no seriously, it was good.
One of the most interesting thoughts in those episodes probably was the Scarlet Knight affair. It’s really interesting to watch how the different players all have their own idea of what The World is to them – is it clearly separated from the real world, even if you can meet people online but also offline, where do you draw the line when it comes to relationships et cetera. Seeing how B.T. was rejected and hurt by Kurimu’s view on separating his ‘life’ inside and outside the game, it’s no wonder she allies herself with Ginkan and Sora.
But back to that Scarlet Knight thing: If The World represents a utopian world/state, it’s easy to see that it isn’t working with every character playing the game for their own reasons. Some of them play it as a serious simulation of life, with all the consequences this might have. I got the impression that most players go online just to have fun. If everyone played according to the rules, the Scarlet Knights’ job would be easy. But especially with what happened to Tsukasa, this is nothing but a nice dream. Subaru knows she can’t play according to her own rules if she wants to protect Tsukasa, thus she decides to dissolve the Scarlet Knights Legion. It brought a nice change in Subaru’s characterization as now she’s no longer the fragile but loyal princess (even if dissolving the Scarlet Knights was so typical of her showing how responsible she acts in every situation).
As always, I’m eager to know how the story continues. (More clues on how The World ‘works’? Will we ever get to see an admin? Who’s that ‘broken’ man? And what the heck is happening to Tsukasa? Is he disappearing??? Argh, cliffhanger >_<) For the moment there's so much Rahxephon and Witch Hunter Robin to catch up, though...