Manga Corner: .hack// Legend of the Twilight

Last week I read the first three volumes of .hack// Legend of the Twilight. It's actually some manga that I bought for the public library I used to work at - it's recommended for the Young Adult collection.

I think it's fair to say that it really is aimed at teenagers - 11-15 years or so. And gamers. The premise is that there's a enourmous world-wide virtual reality RPG called the World - sort of like World of Warcraft but VR style. A brother and sister win the avatars of two famous former players. As they start to play with their new characters, they discover the "Mystery" of the World that their characters once sought - and also discover that the vaguely sinister corporation that runs the World is not always as in control as they would like.

There's lots of monster fighting and leveling up and quests - like I say, a real gamers' read. It's a bit like Pokemon and those other franchises - computer games, anime, manga. I think the computer game came first here. I might pick up the anime at the library for a look, but I don't think I'll go further with the manga. The story isn't bad, but I think I'll stick to my current fave, Fruits Basket.