.hack//Liminality (ドットハックリミナリティ) is a 4-episode OVA that takes place during the .hack//Games, with the fourth and final episode taking place at the exact time Kite's party fights Morganna.
Setting
Unlike most of the other .hack series, Liminality takes place in the real world rather than the game. In the .hack timeline, it takes place at the same time as the games: between SIGN and LotT (manga).
The first episode begins while Kite and BlackRose meet up with Meg in .hack//INFECTION. The second episode takes place during Outbreak on the same day Kite fights Cubia for the second time. The third episode takes place in mid December 2010, roughly near the end of Outbreak. The final episode takes place December 24, 2010, during Kite's battle against Morganna.
Story
Liminality follows former CC Corp employee Junichiro Tokuoka and his own "party" on their quest to find what links the mysterious comas with The World. Each of the first three episodes focuses more on their title characters while the fourth episode has them all working together.
Episodes
Release
Liminality was released along with the .hack//Games, so it was released from June 20, 2002 to April 15, 2003 in Japan (February 10, 2003 to January 14, 2004 in the US). In the United States, Liminality is only available as a pack-in for the .hack//Games, so those who don't own the .hack//Games and want to watch the series must buy the games along with the Liminality discs. It was later re-released in Japan without the games as part of .hack//Integration, and the games were later re-released (In PlayStation 2 The Best form) without Liminality. In the UK, Liminality was released with the SIGN boxsets, with 2 episodes of Liminality on each boxset.
Trivia
- Liminality is a term used in anthropology to refer to the transition period between two states. For instance a student who has completed all of the requirements for graduation, but not yet received his diploma is in a state of Liminality. In regards to .hack, the term is used to refer to the grey area between the game world, and the real world. As the characters who play within The World, don't belong entirely to either one, existing in a sort of grey zone between the two worlds.
Cast
| Role | English VA | Japanese VA | Korean VA |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mai Minase | Michelle Ruff | Sanae Kobayashi | Yeo Minjung |
| Junichiro Tokuoka | Jamieson K. Price | Masashi Ebara | Oh Insung |
| Yuki Aihara | Sherry Lynn | Saeko Chiba | Jung Misook |
| Kyoko Tohno | Jane Lanier | Aya Hisakawa | Lee Sun |
| Ichiro Sato / Bith the Black | Michael Reisz | Toshihiko Seki | Um Sanghyun |
| Masaya Makino | Kirk Baily | Soichiro Hoshi | Kim Youngsun |
| Tomonari Kasumi | Anthony Pulcini | Takahiko Sakurai | Kim Jang |
| Harald Hoerwick | Crispin Freeman | Takumi Yamazaki | Jung Seungwook |
| Kaoru Asaba | Mary Elizabeth McGlynn | Yumi Toma | Jung Seungwook |
| Dark Suit | Richard Plantagenet | Koichi Sakaguchi | |
| Dr. Makino | Barry Stigler | Toru Okawa | |
| Mai's Mother | Leslie Hicks | Ai Sato | |
| Kiyoka | Philece Sampler | Minako Hon | |
| Kie | Dyanne DiRosario | Chinatsu Kasahara | |
| Eri | LaGloria Scott | Aki Daito | |
| Narumi | Kim Guest | Sayuri Kubo | |
| Miho | Annie Heller | Emi Shinohara | |
| Yuki's Brother | Crispin Freeman | Hiroshi Watari | |
| Kyoko's Father | Kevin Brief | Nobuake Sekine | |
| Kyoko's Mother | Karen Strassman | Nanaho Katsuragi | |
| Old Lady (Bith's Messenger) | Catherine Battistone | Kujira | |
| Hotel Receptionist | Susan Marque | Kaori Matsuura | |
| Guard A | Chris Smith | Kan Tanaka | |
| Guard B | Skip Stellrecht | Koichi Sakaguchi | |
| Guard C | Richard Cansino | Keiji Matsuo | |
| Guard D | Doug Stone | Takashi Furuya |