.hack//G.U.+ Volume 3 by Tatsuya Hamazaki and Yuzuka Morita

Haseo knows now that defeating Tri-Edge won't bring back the Lost Ones, so he tries to understand the nature of the Legacy Bearers and the Morganna Factor that they carry. It seems that somehow the game itself manufactured them for an unknown reason. They weren't keyed in by any human operator or administrator. But what could the system have meant the Morganna factors to do?

Pi doesn't know, but she intends to bring the system back so the players can log out of the world once more. Restoring the game, however, only puts Pi and Haseo in the teeth of a trap set by the AIDA. Atoli appears, corrupted by the AIDA into a huge, clawed wasp-woman. Haseo doesn't want to fight her, but when she hurts him, he realizes he doesn't have a choice and uses Skeith against her.

As he does, he sees into her life: a girl who was tormented and used by everyone around her. She even tried to commit suicide because of the emptiness inside her. Haseo empathizes with how she feels since he felt the same way towards his friend Shino. He wanted to save her and failed. As he and Atoli talk, she gradually assumes her former appearance, but she is bleeding.

However, Haseo's defeat of the guardian restores the game to the correct server, and Atoli, Pi and Haseo reappear in a town. However, he realizes that even if half a day seemed to pass inside the AIDA server, no time has passed in the real world. So the AIDA can play with the perception of time by players. But is that all it is? Pi doesn't seem to think so.

However, in the meantime, Kuhn has fallen, and his Epitaph has been stolen. His avatar bears the marks of Tri-Edge, but those who witnessed his fall say he was slain by a monster, the likes of which they had never seen before. Soon, however, attacks on Yata and Pi reveal the true face of Tri-Edge, Ovan! But with the person behind the attacks revealed, can Haseo bring himself to fight his old friend and mentor, even if Ovan reveals that he's the one responsible for Shino being a Lost One?

Is Ovan's comatose sister real, or a product of the AIDA which has taken him over, toying with his mind and perceptions? Or is she like Atoli, an AI charged with maintaining the world? Or something else? But can Haseo stop Ovan, or will his interference bring about the end that Ovan seeks?

This book, unlike the second, had at least some fighting in it, even if a great deal of the book was taken up with metaphysical blather. But at least it isn't mostly talking heads this time, so I can deal. Of course, any .hack story is more about god and metaphysics than it is about a MMO-type game, so with every variation we get the talk about how "The World" is run by some weird metaphysic that arose out of the coding of the game's original ideas posited in an unpublished short story by a female writer that the game was based on.

Which of course leads to the idea that the game itself is some kind of God or Prime mover or goddess or deity, with the ability to alter itself. In a way, the conflict between the AIDA and the Morganna factors resonates a bit like a fight between Angels and the Devil's possessed creatures. Think about it. The AIDA lies, misleads and plays with the perceptions, and whispers into the minds of those who have fallen to it. Sounds very like the Western conception of Satan and how he manipulates people, doesn't it?

While it has a lot of interesting ideas, the whole of the manga is overly talky, with talking replacing a lot of action, especially in the second and third parts of the series. The second volume is the worst in this aspect, but the third devotes a good portion of its length to talking as well. While it's nice, it's not really all that entertaining.

The .hack series tends to promote talk over fighting action, and this particular series is no exception, and is probably the worst in this regard in all the .hack manga I have read. If metaphysics and talking heads in the guise of an MMORPG is your thing, you'll enjoy this series. But fans of action and less elevated subjects will have to look elsewhere for an enjoyable manga. This won't do it for you, and you'll feel frustrated by the story, not entertained.