Now more than halfway through .hack//SIGN, the average viewer might be a little tired of the constant heavy-handed angst that the series constantly hits us with, so Volume Four grants us a little reprieve. How does it do that? By hitting us with boatloads of angst from the other characters, as the series begins to transition towards its conclusion. Fans of Evangelion should have no problem stomaching the nonstop unhappiness, however. The first episode on the volume focuses on the characters dealing with the dead-ending of their search for the Key of Twilight, while the second concerns BT and her own personal problems. Does this episode signify the removal of the stick she's had up her arse throughout the entire series thus far? That's up to the viewer to decide. This reviewer questions what lettuce ever did to her.

While Tsukasa is being pulled further and further into the game, losing his real self even more, he continues to fight to log out, with Subaru by his side. The latter half of the volume focuses on Subaru's past in the game, the history of the Crimson Knights, and a decision Subaru makes, critically impacting The World. What is justice without power? And when have players taken a game too far? These questions and more are answered in .hack//SIGN, Volume Four.

Ginkan's just sore that he looks like all the other Crimson Knights.	Subaru realizes the consequences of enduring Tsukasa's angst head on.

Bandai's extras were all the usual suspects: Another character gallery, an isolated-score audio track for Yuki Kajiura fanatics, and another Japanese trailer for one of the series' DVD releases overseas, in addition to the usual Bandai trailers. Presentation-wise, Bandai's given us more of the same, with a Chaos Gate themed main menu, and easy navigation through all the DVD content. Volume Four sports another of the traditional character-oriented covers, focusing on Crim the Red Lightning looking confident as usual, while Subaru stands in the background, looking pensive. Once again, Bandai included an insert with a few liner notes as well, this time focusing on the mythology of the Key of Twilight itself. All in all, nothing surprising, but satisfying.

.hack//SIGN volume Four ultimately serves as a strong transition from the series' first major climax to the remaining eight episodes. If you can handle the angst, you're in for a fantastic treat with the remaining two volumes. But if you can't, chances are you stopped watching the show at episode one. Go watch Cowboy Bebop or some other overrated series, you tasteless son of a-- ahem. Anyway, it may sound a bit, say, .hackneyed to say this, but if you're a .hack fan, you don't want to miss out on this volume. God, I feel like such a hack writing like this... erm, stay tuned for more .hack reviews! Once you go .hack, you never go .back!

Distributor: Bandai Entertainment
Creator: Project .hack (Bandai)
Released: 2002
Reviewer: Tsukasa

Video Quality: A+
Audio Quality: A+
Presentation: A
Content: A+
Overall: A+