Haseo


Haseo, real name Ryou Misaki, is a fictional character in the .hack franchise first introduced as the main character from the video game trilogy .hack//G.U. in 2006 by CyberConnect2. He is also the lead character from the anime television series .hack//Roots by Bee Train. A player character from the fictional massively multiplayer online role-playing game "The World", he is feared in the .hack//G.U. narrative player killer of player killers. This earned Haseo the nickname "The Terror of Death". Searching for the killer Tri-Edge who sent his friend Shino in a coma in real life, Haseo comes into contact with the guild G.U.. They seek to use his PC to destroy AIDA, a computer anomaly responsible for leaving players in coma. Haseo's appearances in .hack//Roots depicts his early days in The World as a member of the Twilight Brigade guild led by Ovan, where he first meets Shino. He has also appeared in other printed adaptations from the .hack//G.U. games.
Haseo was created by CyberConnect2 CEO Hiroshi Matsuyama who aimed Haseo to be a different protagonist from previous .hack lead Kite. Since Kite was created to be the player's avatar in the original story, Haseo was meant to be more individual when it comes to his characterization, giving him darker traits. He was designed by Seiichiro Hosokawa, a new artist who joined CyberConnect2 in 2006. Takahiro Sakurai voices Haseo in Japanese. In the English version, Haseo is voiced by Yuri Lowenthal in the games and Andrew Francis in the anime.
Video game publications have given both positive and negative response to Haseo's character, with most criticism being aimed towards his rude personality. On the other hand, his development across the games and the improvement to his PC resulted in positive responses. Both Sakurai and Lowenthal were also praised for their role in the games. Haseo's characterization was also the subject of mixed responses in other media.

Creation

Haseo was designed to have a darker design than previous .hack characters to reflect the more mature storyline from the .hack//G.U. games. Hiroshi Matsuyama considered Kite as a relatable character and thus wanted the next game to feature a different take of lead character for .hack//G.U.. In contrast to the kind Kite from .hack, Haseo's antisocial personality was meant to reflect shonen manga leads who would display iconic elements such as "rage, despair, conflict, courage, and victory". His characterization meant to be more appealing based on how player is distanced from the new protagonist. While the third title ended Haseo's story, Matsuyama had mixed thoughts about it. In some scenes from the game's beginning, Haseo was designed to give a scary look. Matsuyama aimed to Haseo to be written in order to give him multiple range of emotions in order to properly display his quest for revenge towards Tri-Edge for sending Shino into a coma.
Haseo's character traits were decided from the outset, as was him featuring as both game and anime protagonist to draw in different audiences. While .hack and .hack//Sign were conceived as two ongoing an connected projects, Matsuyama wanted to do the same with .hack//GU. However, Matsuyama wanted both .hack//G.U. and .hack//Roots to feature the same lead character, Haseo. However, he found it might come across as challenging to make the writing make both stay true to the original writing. Matsuyama's basics down for something before doing anything else. When conceiving the idea of the Haseo's Xth form, his hair bangs were made to symbolise his continued immaturity. Due to the massive scale of the story, and its spreading across multiple media, Matsuyama brought Hamasaki in to help with the writing due to his pedigree of working on the previous.hack project. Hamasaki wrote the game's script so the team could focus on developing the game. Under Hamasaki's suggestion, production of two different writing teams worked on the game and the anime.

Personality

In regards to Haseo's personality, Hamasaki claims that it was toned down for the games in order to make him more appealing. In contrast, Haseo is more aggressive in the printed adaptations where he often threatens enemies. Hamasaki states that Haseo's traits are his attempts at writing a PC controlled by an antisocial teenager. As one of the themes of the series is "Grow Up", Haseo gradually matures across .hack//G.U. simbolysed by the initials of the title.
In the English version Yuri Lowenthal was first cast to voice Haseo in the games. However, since the dub of .hack//Roots was produced separately from that of .hack//G.U., Haseo was instead voiced by Andrew Francis for the anime series. Lowenthal came to like Haseo based on his character arc to the point of cosplaying as him. The actor has noted that multiple fans commented that Haseo is similar to another character he plays, Narutos Sasuke Uchiha. Lowenthal agreed based on their antisocial characterization but felt both of them undergo different character arcs.
The second game was titled "A Familiar Voice" with the director citing multiple relationships, including how Haseo remembers Shino's voice, how Atoli thinks of Haseo but the one more important was Ovan's relationship with Haseo. In the three games, Haseo can get deepend the bond he has with friend he has met with an ambiguous romantical tone based on who is chosen. Although Atoli was the main heroine, the team had issues with writing her to the point that Matsuyama himself chose other characters when playing the game alone. This urged Matsuyama to make her more appealing for the second chapter of .hack//G.U. since Matsuyama saw himself as Haseo and thus had to pick the heroine originally set up. When it came to Haseo's scenes in the games, Matsuyama's favorites involved the ones where Haseo summoned the avatar Skeith based on how Haseo yelled towards his avatar to summon it with Takahiro Sakurai's performance as him surprising the director.

Designs

In regards to his visual appearance, Haseo and Ovan were designed by Seiichiro Hosokawa. They both were Hosokawa's first creations upon becoming a professional especially during his rookie days at CyberConnect2. Matsuyama claimed he was influenced by Manji, the main character of the manga Blade of the Immortal by Hiroaki Samura. Originally CyberConnect2 aimed to give his initial form more clothing, including a cape but ended with a design that revealed his skin. The cape was meant to conceal Haseo's weaponry but the team feared issues with how the graphics would handle this resulting into many trials and errors. When creating the 3th Form, Matsuyama claims that Haseo's black armor was meant to contrast his rookie look to the point gamers would question what exactly happened between the series' prologue and the next timeskip. While Hosokawa designed the character, the staff asked fellow artist Yoshiyuki Sadamoto for input in regards if it was an appropriate look. As a result, some asthetics from Haseo's design featured in the games' original trailers were removed from the finished product.
For the film Trilogy, Matsuyama wanted to give Haseo another design as he felt retelling the story with the same abilities the character possessed would not attract returning fans. This was called "B-st Form" which occurs when Haseo loses his control as Atoli's PC is killed by Ovan. In the new storyline provided by .hack//G.U. Last Recode, Hosokawa gave Haseo a new form, titled 5th. In early designs the form was similar to the Xth as Haseo still wore the white shirt and was only altered his right arm with black areas. Due to Haseo's showing his abdomen in this form, the asthetics provided in his body went through multiple revisions, including changes to the chest's black points. His hair was originally meant to be black but Hosokawa ended up going back to his silver tone. Haseo's main weaponry in this form is known as the Gate of Uroboros. Originally, the team aimed to give Haseo eight black swords but it ended up turning into a red sword.

Other works

For the CGI movie, Matsuyama wanted him to be given more realisitc expressions, resulting in alterations to his design. Matsuyama wanted the film to deeply focus on Haseo and Atoli's relationship. A In trailers of the film, Haseo's B-st form was kept in secret to the point he joked they might be different characters. Matsuyama gave multiple directions to Sakurai for the Trilogy film, including how he should act in a scene like he was throwing up due to his large amount of yells. In contrast to the original games where Ovan becomes an ally to Haseo, the Trilogy OVA was written with the opposite result. Haseo's character arc in the movie comes in the form of how he is obsessed with violence during his struggles with Ovan and thus reaches his Xth Form when coming on terms with the flaws of his ways. Matsuyama felt this take on Haseo was well executed.
For the remasterization version of the trilogy, CyberConnect2 aimed to make newcomers "meet Haseo for the first time". Matsuyama wanted to use the remaster as an epilogue to Haseo's story and to further promote it, the team designed a new form for combat. CyberConnect2 wrote mulitple joke videos, finding Sakurai suitable to make act in them despite how Sakurai found it messy. Sakurai expressed and exhaustion when talking about his work, considering he had to work as Haseo in different sorts of media. Motivated by Matsuyama, Sakurai exclaimed he had fun with his work, specially as he had to work properly to make it appealing. This was most noted in the CGI film. One of the parody scenes involves Haseo getting married with Ovan for which Itsuki Hoshi designed an alternate take of Haseo wearing a wedding dress. Most of the female staff members from CyberConnect2 argued who would wear the wedding dress in the making of it.

Appearances

''.hack//G.U.'' games

Haseo is introduced in the .hack//G.U. games as a famous player from "The World" who several player killers and is known as "The Terror of Death". He is in a search for the legendary player killer Tri-Edge, who left his friend Shino in a coma in real life after killing her character. He is guided by his former comrade, Ovan, to fight the AI Azure Kite under the assumption he is Tri-Edge. However, Haseo loses the fight and the PC completely reseted. As a result, Haseo is mistaken for a new player by Gaspard and Silabus, who ask him to become their guildmaster. Haseo also agrees to join the guild G.U. led by Yata, a System Administrator in The World R:2, to discover the reason behind a sudden increase in AIDA activity and Tri-Edge using it to leave players in coma. Haseo gains an "Avatar", Skeith, The Terror of Death, hidden within his PC, that has the ability to destroy AIDA. Although initially cold and antisocial, Haseo comes to appreciate the friendships he makes across the trilogy. He also starts developing feelings for Atoli, a fellow player who encourages him to appreciate his time in The World, but is not until late part of the trilogy that Haseo understands his feelings.
Using Skeith, Haseo defeats Azure Kite but none of Tri-Edge's victims recover. He then continues working with G.U. to eliminate the AIDA that has been infecting other players and learn more about Tri-Edge. During the .hack//G.U. games Haseo becomes a friendly person and learns to depend on others, coming to terms with his dark past. He eventually learns that the real Tri-Edge is Ovan. Ovan has been planning on Haseo to develop his Avatar abilities by fighting against multiple enemies so that he would gain enough power to completely destroy Ovan's own Avatar. In their final fight, an overwhelmed Ovan uses his Avatar's abilities to delete AIDA across the network, awakening most of the comatose players. Following this a being called Cubia awakens and starts devouring The World; its destruction would result in the death of all the players who have yet to recover. Since the Avatars are Cubia's counterpart, Haseo and G.U. join forces to destroy their enemy using Skeith. Following Cubia's defeat, Shino awakens much to Haseo's relief.
In the HD release of the trilogy, a new chapter involves Haseo working with Pi to find a way to awake Ovan. Ovan's PC was found frozen in the World as his body remains in a coma in the real world. As Haseo searches for a way to save Ovan, he meets Zelkova's selfproclaimed sister Kusabira tells who tells him his brother disappeared after coming into contact with a monster known Vegalta. Haseo saves Zelkova from the enemy but fails to defeat it. Once recovered, Zelkova uses the data of Kusabira to fully mix the eight Epitaphs powers Skeith had absorbed into Haseo's PC. With this newfound "5th Form", Haseo and Kusabira are successful at reviving Ovan, with Kusabira being revealed as the personification of AIDA. Haseo and Ovan to defeat Vegalta with their combined Avatars. Afterwards, the two go on a final quest to remember their old times in the Twilight Brigade.

''G.U.'' related series and adaptations

Haseo has also appeared in the anime television series .hack//Roots, where he is depicted as a new player who is invited to join Ovan's Twilight Brigade and search for a legendary item known as the Key of Twilight. While dealing with a rival guild, TaN, Ovan disappears, and the other members abandon the guild, leaving only Shino and Haseo. When Shino ends up in a coma after being attacked by Tri-Edge, Haseo becomes depressed and searches for revenge. In his quest for power, Haseo meets the AI of The World's creator, Harald Hoerwick, who highly upgrades Haseo's PC. In the following months, he becomes known as "The Terror of Death" after defeating one hundred player killers, and meets Ovan again, who directs him to Azure Kite. This leads to the events of the .hack//G.U. games as a weakened Haseo continues his journey. An original video animation titled .hack//Returner shows Haseo reuniting with his former comrades from G.U. and the Twilight Brigade following the events of the trilogy after receiving an email from the disappeared Ovan.
In the manga adaptation of the games, .hack//G.U.+, Haseo is confronted by Ovan shortly after defeating Azure Kite. When Ovan disappears while awakening the comatose players, the player behind Haseo, Ryou Misaki, temporarily quits The World until receiving an e-mail from Ovan's sister, Aina. He returns to The World to investigate what happened to Ovan, but loses his Avatar after being attacked by Kazumi, a member from CC Corp. As Kazumi tries to use Cubia to control The World, Haseo rejoins G.U. to defeat Kazumi. In the novel series, Haseo learns that he has amnesia and that seven years before the events of .hack//G.U. he was a character named Sora who was left in a coma by Skeith until the monster's defeat. After accepting his past, Haseo gains a new form that replaces his Xth Form.
The 2008 CGI film adaptation of the games, .hack//G.U. Trilogy, shows Haseo healing the AIDA-infected Atoli by combining their PCs. When Ovan leaves Atoli and all of G.U. members in coma, Haseo is consumed by rage and attacks Ovan in the new B-st Form. With help from Atoli's PC, Haseo gains the stronger Xth Form, which he uses to defeat Ovan and save him from dying as he uses his last forces to wake up the comatose players.

Other appearances

In the video game .hack//Link, Haseo's time with the Twilight Brigade and G.U. during Tokio's journey in the 2017 timeline is shown. Haseo's PC in 2020 he joins the Twilight Knights with Tokio and the other new members, preparing for the final battle with a virus-infected Aura, the goddess of The World. In the manga version, Haseo's story is different as his memories have been tampered with to make him believe he is still searching for Tri-Edge to avenge Shino. The .hack//Link Special DVD shows a sidestory in which Haseo teams up with Asbel from Tales of Graces as both are voiced by Takahiro Sakurai.
In the novel .hack//Cell, Haseo appears in his quest for Tri-Edge. The .hack//4Koma manga features a series of omakes where Haseo has a rivalry with Kite regarding who is the best protagonist from the franchise. Additionally, he is also a playable character in the fighting game .hack//Versus.
Outside the .hack franchise, Haseo's Xth Form outfit has appeared as downloadable content in the video game Tales of Graces F. He also appears in the crossover Project X Zone 2.

Cultural impact

Popularity

Haseo's character and voice actors have been popular. He has been popular within the .hack//G.U. games, ranking as the most popular character and then as the most popular one from the CGI film. In two oher polls made in commemoration of the .hack franchise's 10th anniversary Haseo was voted as its most popular character. CyberConnect2 noted the character was popular within cosplayers. In the first Seiyu Awards, Sakurai was a nominee in the category "Best Leading Actor" for his role as Haseo in .hack//Roots but lost to fellow Code Geass voice actor Jun Fukuyama for his portrayal of Lelouch vi Britannia. Lowenthal's performance was also noted to be as one best ones from 2017 losing to Kyle McCarley's role as 9S from Nier Automata. Matsuyama noted that thanks to Last Recode Haseo's popularity has risen with a figure of the 3rd Form being developed. He claimed that given the case, the Xth and 5th Form might get their own figures based on their popularities.

Critical response

Critical reception to the character was mixed. IGN compared his character with multiple anime heroes, but stated that his sword awe-inspiring distinguished him from others, giving him a darker tone. Patrick Gann from RPGFan referred to Haseo as a "jerk" due to his personality and thus noted how much of the plot from Rebirth revolves around him starting to behave better. Playstationlifestyle panned his "bully"-like personality shown in the first title of the trilogy to the point it feels it makes no sense how Haseo was supposed to be a sympathetic hero, remarking his "misogynist with paper-thin character motivations". Nevertheless, the reviewer noted that Haseo developed in the second half of the story while still finding issues with his behaviour. Moreover, RPGamer writer Adriaan den Ouden commented that in Reminisce, Haseo's character development is "phenomenal", citing his interactions with Atoli and Alkaid that help him to "take his first steps away" from his dark past. RPGFan stated that Haseo's growth in the games are one of the strongest points but still felt that most areas behind it were cliches that many players knew of. Destructoid liked Haseo's journey in the fourth volume of .hack//GU based on the handling of his relationships. GamesRadar disliked how in the game's beginning Haseo loses most of his powers but still retain his manners. The evolution of Haseo's PC in following titles was praised by Gann due to the weapons he obtains that help to improve the gameplay. Ouden, however, criticized Haseo's second Job Extension design for featuring unnecessary accessories. His Xth Form was noted by Gann for the inclusion of guns that make the fights more entertaining. This also included the evolution from his Avatar, Skeith, although it was lamented that Haseo could only use it in the game's final battle. Ouden agreed with Gann, commenting on how the use of Haseo's guns allows the player to perform different types of combos. RPGFan, Push Square and DualShockers felt that Haseo's character arc was one of the strongest parts of the narrative due to how he changes from an antisocial teenager to a friendly heroic PC instead. Yuri Lowenthal's performance as Haseo was also well received by Ouden "nail the lead voice role." With Rice Digital and RPGamer also praising his performance in Last Recode in general.
Besides the game, writes commented on Haseo's role in other media. For the anime series .hack//roots Haseo was found as an enjoyable protagonist especially for viewers who have watched previous series according to DVDTalk. However, the relationship with Shino was criticized for being "melodrama" by the same by the same writer though the scenario might not come as unrealistic. Due to Haseo's constant quest for power, his screentime in the anime was criticized as weak to the point the reviewer stopped liking the anime. Anime News Network panned Haseo's characterization in Roots due to his antisocial mannerism as seen in contrast to Tabby although he felt the narrative made it clear that both characters had flaws they have to surpass, mostly when Shino goes into a coma and they take different routes. The Fandom Post found Haseo's darker personality in Roots with potential but it fails it pay off an interesting result it in feeling pointless. UK Anime Network criticized Haseo's lack of interest in general but this aspect in general was felt to be on purpose due to roots being a prequel to G.U.. Mania Entertainment foud Haseo's skills useless in combat but liked his relationship with the Twilight Brigade as the cast is explored in a personal manner as the premise focuses on players interacting with each other. Francis' performance was viewed positively by Anime News Network despite initial issues in the early episodes.
Critics have also commented on media related to the games. His take in the manga earned positive response due to Haseo's quest being compelling due to player killers being something no online gamer discourage according to IGN. Despite calling him a "ruthless fighter", Carlo Santos from Anime News Network commented that Haseo's wish to save Shino makes him an appealing character. Manga News felt that Haseo was more a more striking character in the manga than in other versions due to how his cold personality contrasts other shonen manga protagonists, leading to criticism of his change into a more traditional hero as the writer found that Haseo loses most of his charisma following Ovan's defeatand that his love triangle with Atoli and Shino was poorly handled. However, Ben Leary from Mania Entertainment noted that while the game's novelization "takes the trouble to really get inside Haseo's head", the result is appealing considering Haseo's motivation and his development across the story as he is initially a loner who realizes he needs friends. Leary felt that Haseo was appealing in the novel than in the manga version.
Critics have also mentioned Haseo's role in Trilogy. Though finding Haseo unlikable in the CGI film trilogy, the Fandom Post felt Haseo's interactions with Atoli allowed him to mature and become a stronger character in the process. Carl Kimlinger from Anime News Network referred to Haseo's and Atoli's relationship as one of the best parts from the film .hack//G.U. Trilogy, pointing to the scene in which the former confronts the latter's AIDA-infected. He praised Takahiro Sakurai's work voicing the character but still called Haseo an "unsympathetic bastard of a lead." Similarly, Jeuxact found Haseo as too unlikable in the film in contrast to his more enjoyable persona from Roots. Capsule Monsters and Fandom Post praised Haseo's fastspaced fights as one of the most outstanding scenes from Trilogy alongside his interactions with Ovan and Atoli.