Another major new anime series is set to debut in the near future on the Cartoon Network.  The .hack//SIGN series makes its American TV debut on Saturday, Feb. 1. One of the most eagerly anticipated anime series of recent years, .hack//SIGN (known as 'Dot-Hack') is a multi-platform extravaganza involving some of anime's top creators including character designer Yoshiyuki Sadamoto (Evangelion), writer Kazunori Ito (Ghost in the Shell anime), and director Kouichi Mashimo (Noir).  In Japan different elements of the .hack//SIGN universe were revealed in the anime series, the Playstation II game and in the .hack manga series.  Here in the U.S. only two legs of this multi-media tripod are set for a near simultaneous release.  The Playstation II .hack//SIGN game will also debut in February, but so far no American publisher has snapped up the rights to the .hack//SIGN manga series.

 

However Bandai will release the first .hack//SIGN DVDs in March in both regular and limited editions (see 'Details on Dot Hack Limited Edition').  The limited edition streets two weeks before the regular version and includes a collector's box that will hold the entire series, plus a plush figure, a CD of .hack music, a postcard set, a Playstation II demo disk, stickers, and a t-shirt.