.Hack//SIGN- Opening

So at this point we've looked at the openings for the American television show "Men In Black: The Series" and the British television show "Monty Python's Flying Circus." Continuing our journey around the world of animated television show openings, we arrive in Japan to check out the opening for the Japanese animated series ".Hack//SIGN".

".Hack//SIGN", which aired in Japan in 2002, is actually part of a larger multimedia project known as "Project .hack". The project presently consists of three animated television series and two series of Playstation 2 video games (7 games total), as well as several soundtracks and DVD-release only animated episodes. The central theme of both games and animated series alike is exploration of a futuristic virtual world in which players fully interact with one another in real-time over a single megalithic world-wide computer network.

The opening for ".Hack//SIGN", like that of "Men In Black: The Series", features both original animation and an original theme song. The song, "Obsession", whose exotic instruments and driving techno beat complement the futuristic animation, was composed by Youko Kanno, well-known for her work on many other well-known anime projects such as Cowboy Bebop and Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex.

From the other side of the globe, a stellar example of music and animation coming together to create a portal into an intriguing new world. Enjoy!



Composer: Youko Kanno, Performed by See-Saw
Song: .Hack//SIGN opening theme song
Animation: .Hack//SIGN opening animation

Matthew Sweet - "Girlfriend"

The video for the title track off of Matthew Sweet's 1991 album featured footage from the Japanese animation series "Space Adventure Cobra". Together with his video for "I've Been Waiting", Sweet introduced many American viewers to the world of anime, which was still relatively new to the US at the time.



Song: Girlfriend
Artist: Matthew Sweet
Animation: Space Adventure Cobra

Matthew Sweet - "I've Been Waiting"

For the second AMV TV entry, a video featuring original music set to existing animation. The video for Matthew Sweet's "I've Been Waiting" song off of his 1991 album "Girlfriend featured animation from the Japanese animation (anime) "Urusei Yatsura".

At the time, anime was far less well-known in the United States than it is now, and it made quite an impression. To this day, Matthew Sweet is still known in anime circles for his innovative videos.

Nothing like being ahead of the curve!



Song: I've Been Waiting
Artist: Matthew Sweet
Animation: Urusei Yatsura