.hack//SIGN/Episodes

.hack//SIGN is a Japanese anime series directed by Kōichi Mashimo and produced by studio Bee Train and Bandai Visual, that makes up one of the four original storylines of the .hack franchise. Twenty six original episodes aired on TV and three additional bonus episodes (Intermezzo, Unison, and Gift) were released on DVD as original video animations (OVAs). The series features character design by Yoshiyuki Sadamoto, known for his work on Evangelion, and screenplay by Kazunori Itō, who penned the screenplay for the first Ghost in the Shell movie. The score was composed by Yuki Kajiura, marking her second collaboration with Kōichi Mashimo.

.hack//Sign is influenced by psychological and sociological subjects such as anxiety, escapism, and interpersonal relationships. The series focuses on a Wavemaster (magic user) named Tsukasa, a player character of a virtual-reality massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) called The World. Tsukasa wakes up to find himself in a dungeon in The World, but he suffers from short-term memory loss as he wonders where he is and how he got there. The situation gets worse when he discovers he is unable to log out and is trapped in the game. From then on, along with other players Tsukasa embarks on a quest to figure out the truth behind his abnormal situation.

The storyline of the series moves at a leisurely pace, and has multiple layers — the viewer is often fed false information and red herrings, potentially leading to confusion until the true nature of events is unveiled towards the end of the series. It relies on character development and has few action scenes; most of the time character interaction is presented in the form of dialogue.

The series premiered in Japan on TV Tokyo between April 4, 2002 and September 25, 2002. The English dub of the series was distributed across North America by Bandai Entertainment. The series premiered on Cartoon Network's Toonami Super Saturday block on February 1, 2003 and ran until February 22, 2003. It was then moved to Saturday Video Entertainment System, beginning on February 29, 2003, where it stayed until March 1, 2004.

The series was released on DVD, spanning six volumes. The limited edition ran from March 4, 2003 to March 16, 2004, followed by the regular edition from March 18, 2003 to March 16, 2004. A recap episode called Evidence and the DVD only episode Intermezzo were included in the sixth volume, and Unison was only included in its limited edition. The series was compiled twice. The first DVD boxset was released on October 26, 2004 by the name .hack//Sign – Complete Collection, and the second, more affordable one on August 22, 2006 by the name .hack//Sign: Anime Legends Complete Collection. Neither of these releases contains the OVA episode Unison.

Following the closure of Bandai Entertainment, Funimation announced at SDCC 2013, that they have acquired 4 .hack title including SIGN.