MachiAsobi [Official Site] is a biannual anime and gaming event held in the spring and fall in Tokushima, Tokushima Prefecture. This year there were a bunch of events going on from October 7-9 to help promote the release of 『.hack//G.U. Last Recode』.
Here’s a quick look at .hack related activities and other goodies that were available at the event:
Yesterday was the Talk & Signing event at Tsukumo Digital Life in Shinbashi, Tokyo– also where the .hack//G.U. Last Recode exhibit is going on.
I first met with some other cool .hack fans and went as a group to the talk & signing event… then we hung out at the exhibition area for a while before going out for a fan dinner. It was a full day of .hack goodness!
Anyway, here are a couple of the photos that I took at the exhibition area.
▶︎ You can view all of my pictures in the gallery here.
▲ Uchiyama Daisuke & Matsuyama Hiroshi
This year at TGS, I wanted to get the special signed copies of the NieR:Automata concert blu-rays, so I booked a hotel for two nights just across the street. On Saturday, I got in line with my friend at 7:00am and it was still too late by the time we made it to the SQEX Merch booth to get the signed copies. *sad*
So with that failure out of the way (I was able to get the NieR LP Box set at least), we were pretty much free the rest of the day until we needed to find the place for the .hack Fan Meeting & Dinner. I can’t really talk about the details about it, but it was a lot of fun!
On Sunday was the .hack//Last Recode presentation at the Famitsu booth with Matsuyama & Natsumura from CC2. Before the broadcast, I asked if it was okay to take photos, and they said it’d be no problem! Yay! So below are a ton of pictures that I took.
But first, here’s the edited video that I cropped out of Famitsu’s 4th day live broadcast. I also fixed a bit of audio discync.
▲ Matsuyama-san reveiled the cover illustration of his new book The Medicine Called Entertainment (エンターテインメントという薬). It’s an anecdote about a boy he learned about roughly 10 years ago when the 3rd volume of .hack//G.U. was still in production. He was informed of a boy suffering from cancer would soon have surgery to remove his eyes some weeks later. The boy was asked what he wanted to see the most before losing his sight and he responded that he wanted to play the final volume of .hack//G.U., but the scheduled date for the surgery was before the official release of the game. Matsuyama very much wanted to make the boy’s wish come true, so he had his team fix up a pre-release version of the game and he personally delivered it to the boy.
Now, ten years later, he felt bad that he accidentally created a continuation of the G.U. story that the boy would not be able to play. That is why he decided to take the initiative upon himself to write a story heavily based upon the boy’s story. The book will be available in paperback, electronically on e-readers, and also in audio book format. You can purchase the book here on Amazon Japan.
I’ve been extremely busy / tired from work and other stuff going on recently that I haven’t been able to keep up with this site all that much. I’ve got a lot of projects sitting on the back burner that I don’t see myself getting to any time soon. *sigh*
That being said, I’ve also been riding on a wave of hype over the news of .hack//G.U. Last Recode. I was a huge .hack fan back in the day and it was one of the first series that I played entirely in Japanese after I moved to Japan in 2005. G.U. especially holds a soft-spot in my heart for various reasons that I won’t get into here, but… just know that I’ve been hoping that something *good* would become of the series eventually, especially after the atrocity that was Link and Quantum. *sigh*
Anyway, a couple days ago, CC2 shared a little sample of the Drama CD “Innocent Call” that will be bundled with the special edition of the game. I meant to translate it the day it was uploaded on their site, but, alas… work / life happened and I forgot about it.
At any rate, I finally got it done tonight… So, here it is!
Note: I use the original Japanese name for Zelkova, which is Keyaki…
■ .hack//G.U. Last Recode Drama CD “Innocent Call”
The Sealing of the Terror of Death, and A Plea Over Coffee
Keyaki: Haseo-san, I shall seal Skeith. Your Avatar should not be allowed to exist in this world. After absorbing all the other Epitaphs, Skeith has become far too powerful. It could very well bring forth the Anti-Existence…
Keyaki: I’ve been waiting for you, Haseo-san. Have you come to a decision?
Haseo: Yes. I was confused when you told me last night, but… My character, Haseo… has obtained a power so great that it can warp the very fabric of The World… In time, I’ve come to realize that. But… *guh*
Keyaki: It’s all right, Haseo-san.
Haseo: Eh?
Keyaki: The power bestowed upon you in this world is not simply the power of the Epitaph. In fact, it ought to be a sort of “key” to help you achieve your final purpose. Or at least… that’s what I believe.
Haseo: My final… purpose?
Keyaki: In any case, would you lie flat upon the table. And just like the time with your Xth form… please try to relax.
Haseo: My final… purpose. That’s right, there’s still something I must do. Purpose… That hasn’t ever changed, even from the very beginning. In order to achieve that goal, I continued to search out more power. To never lose to anyone. To become stronger than anyone else… And yet… I couldn’t have ever fathomed it. By achieving that very power, I’d have to give it up…
Keyaki: Haseo-san, the procedure is complete. You are no longer an Epitaph User. Your character, Haseo, has been returned to a regular player character.
———————————————————————————————
Waitress: Sorry for the wait. Here’s your two coffees.
Reiko Saeki (Pi): This is a rare occasion, contacting me in the real world like this.
Ryo Misaki (Haseo): I’m sorry to ask you to meet me.
Reiko: So, what did you want to talk about?
Ryo: About that… I, uh…
Reiko: *sigh* Haseo no longer has the power of the Epitaph, isn’t that right?
Ryo: How did you…?
Reiko: From Keyaki. He received a message from the Serpent of Lore regarding the necessity of sealing Haseo’s Epitaph. It was before I quit CC Corp, but… Ovan possessed a massive amount of energy within his left arm, and with just his own PC data, he laid waste upon an entire area. Even still, Haseo’s Xth form possessed far greater data– an enormous amount that should not have been possible with a single PC. I think Keyaki’s judgement was correct. There was a high probability that if you continued to use Haseo like that, the results would hardly be favorable, for both the world… or yourself.
Ryo: Saeki-san. I heard from Kuhn… er, Kasumi-san, that you started to work for NAB, the Network Analysis Bureau. NAB is an organization that oversees large-scale networks like The World, right?
Reiko: Hm?
Ryo: I want to work for them.
Reiko: What are you saying?
Ryo: No… Please, let me work for you. Please!
Reiko: Masaki-kun…