Finally. People are finally free to explore vast online worlds from the comfort of their homes without looking like complete dorks. Sure, it’s not quite the “full dive” experience that anime promised us, but by using state the art VR helmets that create a simulated world right in front of your eyes, it’s about as close to reality as you can get going to get without actually going outside.
But no matter how many polygons you render per frame, how many frames per second, fake is still fake: all you need to do to get back to boring old reality is pull the helmet up over your head. So what exactly does it mean when you run into somebody who seems to be trapped in the game?
Hayami Kana (stage name) is a model, voice actress, and hardcore MMO player. That is, until one day she vanishes off the face of the earth without a trace. Her sister, Kurahashi Manami (not a stage name), has run out of clues trying to find her in the real world, so in a last ditch effort to get her sister back, she turns to the online world.
Ex shut-in and full time loser Matsuoka Jun isn’t much to talk about in the real world, but online he’s famous enough there are whole strategy guides based around the exploits of his character. When a botched quest brings him face to face with what seems for all intents and purposes to be a real live girl stuck in the game, he’s ready to write it off as a bug, or a hack in bad taste… Only how does she know his real-life name?
What exactly does it mean when you run into somebody who seems to be trapped in the game?
The Ghost follows Jun and Manami, as they try to unravel the mystery of what happened to Manami’s sister, figure out what connection she has to Jun, and discover just how the hell she became trapped in a video game where logging out should be as easy as taking off your helmet.
Half set in a fantasy VRMMO and half set against the backdrop of a futuristic Tokyo, where technology makes sure nothing is as it seems, and nobody is who they claim to be.