In the year 2007, an online role-playing game titled "The World" is released worldwide. Players connect to The World via their computer and they utilize a variety of virtual reality technology to create an online personality and play as that character. Within a short period of time, The World ends up selling over 20 million units worldwide. It ultimately becomes the single most successful game released in history.

       .hack//sign focuses on the experiences of Tsukasa, a player within The World. Tsukasa awakens in The World and discovers that he has the ability to harm other players in real life (players whom he hurts end up with anything from a minor headache to a long-term coma). Tsukasa also discovers that he is able to touch, smell, taste and hear everything within The World. In addition, Tsukasa remembers nothing from before he awoke within The World and unlike other players, Tsukasa cannot log out of The World. However, he also gains a Guardian with immense power. Tsukasa then befriends Mimiru who was shocked to discover his condition. She and Bear try to help but Tsukasa ends up attracting the attention of the Scarlet Knights, the moderators of The World. After Tsukasa's Guardian struck down the Scarlet Knight’s second-in- command and several other players, Tsubaru, the leader of the Scarlet Knights, though hesitant at first, calls for the capture of Tsukasa. However, as they go deeper into the mystery surrounding Tsukasa's problem, things become more complicated as the problem sprouts from the very core of The World.

Characters

        Tsukasa - Tsukasa is the main character in .hack//sign. Unlike the other players, Tsukasa is unable to log out of The World (a 3D RPG game) and he could not reset his computer to get out of the game. As the result of this, Tsukasa becomes a part of The World and is able to feel the ‘virtual’ pain conflicted upon him. Tsukasa rarely fights because if he loses, he’ll die. Despite Tsukasa's apparent weakness when it comes to pain, he has apparently received protection from a "Guardian". The Guardian is incredibly powerful and seems to appear whenever Tsukasa is threatened. Perhaps due to Tsukasa's own status in The World, his Guardian performs unusual damage to those that it attacks. Rather than simply having the player's character die, the player himself actually receives injury in the real world. Sometimes the injury is as light as a temporary headache or memory loss. But at other times, players in real life are actually knocked into a coma from being attacked by Tsukasa in The World. Tsukasa appears to have no memory of his past. The World seems to interfere with his personal emotions and memories. However, he appears to have a unique relationship with two characters; Maha (a "cat" player) and Aura (a white girl who's face cannot be identified). Maha usually appears when Tsukasa is near Aura. Aura floats above a bed and never talks to Tsukasa directly. When Tsukasa touches her, he has flashbacks from his past. He also experiences odd dreams/delusions about himself and Aura.

        Mimiru - Mimiru is a Heavy Blade User who roams The World for adventure. She has a lot of difficulty communicating with Tsukasa (whenever he sticks around long enough to talk). Because of their personality differences, they have very awkward moments. Often, with Bear, Mimiru isn't really a bad character, but when angered or provoked, Mimiru can be very loud and annoying. Thanks to Bear's investigation, they find out that in the real world, Tsukasa is a girl.

        Bear- He enjoys assisting newbie characters in The World. He frequently lends his sword to help Mimiru in her adventures. His honour is to act like a big brother, which is why he worries and wants to know more about Tsukasa. He begins to investigate in the real world with BT, on Tsukasa's current strange situation. Bear is the self-described "old man" of the show, he occasionally exasperates Mimiru with his paternalistic attitude. He's a Blade master with a fairly typical character model, or "skin." He's quiet about his profession, but it evidently leaves him with a lot of time to play video games and even to look for clues offline. Bear is old enough to remember playing non-online RPGs before "The World" was invented, and that still influences his thinking. He seems to romanticize gaming, in a wistful, "what-if" fashion and likes to toy with the idea that games have their own reality, even if he's grounded enough to know better. Bear tends to trust people that others might not, but he's usually right in his appraisal of people. Bear and BT share an understanding, although it occasionally seems that they understand different things. In the real world Bear seems to have a son, but they don't always seem to be on the best of terms.

        Tsubaru - Tsubaru is the leader of the Scarlet Knights/Crimson Knights (an organization that helps keep peace and order in The World). Therefore she has some authority in The World, but she is not a moderator or a system administrator. She is a gentle character and rarely fights, hence her experience level is very low. She is often the voice of reason and peace, a character that wants all to be happy. She spends a lot of time in The World, most likely because in the real world, she is disabled and has to spend her life in a wheelchair.

        Maha - Maha is perhaps even more mysterious than Aura. Her lips move when she speaks, but no sound comes out. Even though we never see or hear exactly what she is saying, Tsukasa seems to understand her. Throughout the series, it's almost as if Maha is teasing or taunting Tsukasa. In some cases, she behaves like a mime; she uses props and various objects to explain something in a visual way. Like Aura, Maha's intentions or reasons for existence are not clearly apparent. Initially (and even later on in the anime), the Scarlet Knights went looking for Maha. Maha is an oddity in The World because of her cat-like appearance. Maha is often seen with Tsukasa, therefore making the Scarlet Knights chase Tsukasa for information on Maha. In the end, it is revealed that Morugana created Maha so she could destroy Tsukasa and his friends.

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