Anime 339 Serial Experiments Lain Reviews Filter Check 1

Review for Serial Experiments Lain by John Kim

Introduction: I find myself typing this review thinking more about the conceptualization of existence, than the anime itself. Above all, there are two standards I hold true for anime. There are anime that simply entertain for the sake of enjoyment, and there are anime that stretches the boundary of human imagination. Serial Experiments Lain falls in the latter category and for this reason Serial Experiments Lain stands out as a true classic. Serial Experiments Lain pushes the envelope of what the perceived notion of what can be done with television as a medium. The show doesn’t just provide ... entertainment; it provides insight, and profound views and beliefs about technology and the role it plays in society. With that said it's time to get on with the review.

Story: Given that Lain’s story progression is very disjointed, if the execution were to be even off by the slightest, the show would have been ridden with plot holes. Lain however doesn’t need worry about plot and story in the same sense as other anime, but instead relies on the atmosphere and the characters to tell the story. What little plot Lain does have, the show works with it fabulously. Now some may argue that Lain is completely plot driven, but to each his own. Personally I believe that Lain strays as far as it can from bland episodic story telling, and in essence is similar to Citizen Kane in the aspect that the story has little to do with the show. Lain above all is a character study, and the plot only moves forward under the characters.

Art: Despite the art being off center in terms of traditional anime, it hardly deters from the overall enjoyment of the series. It is important to note that the series actually benefits from the unique art style presented in Lain. Art is not a big pulling factor for Lain, so if you are a fan of high quality art, you may be in for a rough ride.

Sound: The series relies on a minimalist approach to sound and music. Dialogue is sparse, but very profound. Sound effects are seldom used but with brevity, and has a lasting impact on the viewer. Once again, this lack of a quality that would normally be detrimental to an anime’s enjoyment, but becomes one of Lain’s strengths. The sound of the electricity running through power lines, the empty sound of Lain typing on her keyboard, and the scarce use of music. These are all memorable pieces of sound effects that adds to the overall impact of the show.

Character: Now this is where Lain shines brightest. In a vast wasteland of mundane same-old, Lain sticks out as an anime that takes its characters to a level that most anime can only dream of achieving. The character of Lain is perhaps the most deep and relevant characters in anime today. To explain upon this point, one would have to watch the series and comprehend the various themes and motif’s on one’s own. But in order to be brief, Lain’s character can be summarized as ascending from human status, to near God like power through the prowess of the internet. Ahem, I mean, “The Wired.” It’s a simple concept and seems like it has been done before, giving credit to the argument, and it probably has. But the beauty here is the cast of side characters that surround Lain. Her sister, her father, mother, and friends, are all extremely deep characters, that although don’t appear to be, are actually extremely poignant in their own right.

Enjoyment & Closing: If watched with an open mind, Lain will do more than simply entertain. It is truly revolutionary anime for its time, and the amount of depth in the show is utterly staggering. Never in my years of watching anime have I seen a show as thought provoking as Lain. If one were so inclined to contact me, we could talk for hours upon hours of the religious symbols, and religious references that run about the shows course. We could then change the subject to comparing Lain’s character to that of philosophy of the Jungian Shadow. We could converse and discover deeper and more universal meanings as time progressed. Lain is such a show that the viewer doesn’t just watch it. The viewer must be pushed to think, and who doesn’t want to do a bit a of thinking once in a while?

What really scares us? Death or the oblivion? Of course, the oblivion. It is not dying itself that frightens us the most, but rather knowing that we will lose everything we loved and cared for. All of the memories we've treasured, the choices we've made and the people we've touched; everything will cease from existence. So why do we treasure our past so much? Is that just a collection of memories the nostalgia bounds us to, or is it the part of who we are?

Serial Experiments Lain is not your average show, and definitely not something you run into every day. It is a unique ... piece of entertainment that completely transcends its genre, and presents itself as a work of art. An avant-garde show, not restraining itself to the boundaries of traditional storytelling and plot building, creating a completely unique and revolutionary piece of media.

This anime series is NOT for everyone. One of the reasons this show is popular even now, two decades after its initial release, is because its plot is still not completely figured out. The story is told in a rather convoluted fashion, which makes the already complex plot even harder to interpret.
Lain is one of those shows that require the viewer to pay full attention to every detail, and challenging them to put all the pieces together to grasp the content of the story. The theme portrayal in this series only becomes more relevant even now, that the use of technology and internet is becoming larger. A nearly prophetic story of what will happen if the lines of reality and virtual world start to blur.
Not only does the show do an excellent job at connecting its elements with its heavy commentary on psychology, sociology and technology, but it also has a very striking approach to the themes of human connection and loneliness, and overall an exploration the existential self in relation to the world. it raises a series of very thought provoking and intellectual questions about identity, existentialism, and religion. The show is also very famous for its mind-bending thoughts about reality, evolution and the existence of God.

Lain's narrative is rather cryptic, meaning that nothing is told to the viewer directly, but rather gives them the undertone hints and pieces that, combined, make the story. The story is devoided of any dialogue or character's inner monologue, not allowing the viewer to know more than they should, giving them a strange sensation of being lost, and forcing them to search for answers. Due to the absence of dialogues, the show relies heavily on its visual presentation. It tells its story through massive, yet subtle use of symbolism and visual keys. The series is rich of surreal and expressive imagery, with commonly metaphorical content.

In terms of characters, there are just the two worth mentioning, with one being far more relevant than the other: Lain and her best friend, Alice. They represent the two sides of the same coin, or, in this particular show, a physical world, and the virtual one. Lain is a lonely, shy, and seemingly depressed middle-school girl, who also suffers from a split personality disorder. She is used to portray most of the show's themes, one of them being a demonstration of the internet's ability to split ones personality, creating a whole different person online. Alice, on the other hand, is much more down-to-Earth, realistic and communicative. Her character is used to resemble reality, and common sense in general, but she is also the key trigger in Lain's development.
Also, even though other characters have an important role in the story, and are used as a symbolical representation of a certain element the show portrays, they aren't as significant as the two aforementioned are.
What i think is the strongest point of SEL's characters is the manner in which their characterization is done. As a fairly good compensation to show's lack of dialogue, Lain's characters aren't defined through cheesy lines or forced exposition conversations, but rather through their very actions. The show can clearly depict the character with little to no dialogue, only through visual presentation of characters reactions, movement and behavior. In an essence, 'show' is of a far greater value than 'tell' in visual media, and SEL follows that rule in a nearly flawless manner.

From the technical sides, even tho the show lacks budget and doesn't have as much production value as most of the shows nowadays do, it still managed to use this in its advantage.
The character designs are much more realistic and humanoid than most of the series. They are devoided of any abstract, but very commonly seen elements, such as weird and unique hair styles, unnatural hair colors, huge eyes and so on. This is due to the fact that the show wanted to make itself closer to the viewer and make them project themselves to the characters easier, but also to set a certain border of reality. In a show where so many surrealistic things happen there must be a certain sense of realism so the viewer can actually see what the paranormal happening is.
Also, due to the lack of budget, the backgrounds in the scene have minimal amounts of details, and a somewhat inconsistent animation. This allows the author to literally point out elements the viewer should pay attention to.
The show also uses lots of repetitive sequences, like the cityscape scene from the beginning of each episode. This is also used quite well, combined with new monologue each episode that really help a lot in the theme exploration. The show uses a very murky color pallet, with two different sets of colors: the deep blue tone, and a thick yellow and nearly sepia tone. This is not only used to locate the time of the happening, which is usually at night or twilight, but also used to switch tones and suggest a certain mood change in a scene.

It is very noticeable that the show lacks music, probably due to the lack of budget. In this certain show, this is by no means a flaw.
For a such a cryptic and mysterious show such as SEL, the absence of music creates a very unique atmosphere. The over-present silence and sometimes a quiet, but sharp techno sound absorbs the viewer in a world shrouded in absolute mystery, creating an atmosphere that perfectly complements the viewer's feel of being lost.
But also, surprisingly enough, such lack of music and creating an absorbing ambient can be use very well when invoking drama. For example, a sudden hard techno bass after a long period of silence can help in creating a sense of tension, and also signifying to the viewer that he should pay attention to the plot point. This can also work the other way around, when the omnipresent background musing is rashly interrupted by silence, creating a very clear tone contrast.

Serial Experiments Lain is one of the greatest anime shows ever made, and a personal favorite of mine. It takes an absolute focus on singularity, developing its themes beyond the limits, and pulls the maximum out of its platform for storytelling. It has some of the most aggressive and infinitely deep theme explorations ever put in any sort of media. Its story is complex, intriguing, and somewhat immersive, with thousands of plot-twist, fascinating narrative style, and unparalleled and grounded thematic side. A thoughtful and unique 13-episode experience that can only be described as an onslaught of brutal mindfucks, digging deep into the core of your brain. A perspective-changing brain-basher introducing a completely new look onto this so called "reality".
Close the world
Open the next

Now let me start of by saying THIS IS NOT AN ANIME FOR EVERYONE! *minor spoilers included*

The story of Serial Experiments Lain is an interesting complex one to say the least. It starts of by a student commiting suicide saying she does not need to exist in this world anymore. The following day the students receive an email from the dead student and at first they think it is spam mail but that turns out not to be the case. Pretty much the whole show revolves around The Wired (or their version of a more advanced Internet) and how humans use it as a form ... of communication.

The main colour pallete for Serial Experiments Lain uses a lot of blacks, purples, reds and yellows. The shadows pretty much consist of most of the colours listed above. For its time, the art style overall was great.

Serial Experiments Lain doesn't rely heavily on orchestral elements and it doesn't have to. The atmosphere already sets the mood for you. There are subtle ominous sounds every now and then.

Lain is an interesting character to say the least and as much as I want to give away spoilers I won't. Lain starts of as an anti-social girl if you will, she is a very shy and doesn't really show any emotion. If you do watch episode 3, that's when things start to really pick up. I was left like :O and you will see why. There are more characters, like Lain's so called friends....well really she only has 1 friend out of that 3 girl group, Lain's family, the Men in Black and a secret organization called 'Knights of The Eastern Calculus'.

This anime is influenced by philosophical subjects such as reality, identity and communication. Those things are key to what make Serial Experiments Lain such an excellent anime. With Serial Experiments Lain being such an in-depth, confusing anime, sometimes you do feel lost and have to try and regain composure, regain your thoughts if you prefer to look at it like that. Some things may not make sense at the beginning, but then an episode or so later things will start to make sense or you will pick up something from a previous episode and slowly put together the pieces. As a whole I really enjoyed Serial Experiments Lain.

So overall just to reiterate, Serial Experiments Lain is not an anime for everyone, you feel lost most of the time, this anime is a thinker (meaning you have to be using your brain to comprehend all of it), many adult themes (not including any of that naughty stuff ;), interesting characters....and in some ways very mysterious, has an odd aura surrounding them.

I'll end with this: Close the world. txen eht nepO

Title: Serial Experiments Lain

Anime: Serial Experiments Lain was produced by Triangle Staff, who also did the animation for Magic User's Club and Boogiepop Phantom, and directed by Ryutaro Nakamura, famous for directing Kino's Journey and the upcoming Ghost Hound. It ran on Japanese television from July 6th, 1998 to Setpember 28th, 1998. Pioneer (now Geneon, now soon to be defunct) has licensed it Stateside, and the fourth and final volume was released on January 9th, 2002.

Story: Serial Experiments Lain kicks off with a suicide in its first few minutes. Then it cuts to a week later, when all of her classmates are ... getting emails from her (which is really weird, as she's supposed to be dead and all). She starts contacting and talking to Lain Iwakura in particular, and weird things start happening in her life and in the lives of those around her from there.

I can't really tell you what happens, partially because it's spoilery, and partially because I'm not really sure what happened at some points in this series. I had to watch several scenes more than once just to be able to blog them semi-coherently. This is probably one of the most confusing, messed up anime you will ever see.

Not to mention the mindfuckery involved in this. At one point, I had to take a break because my head was hurting so bad from trying to understand everything. I wouldn't suggest watching more than two episodes a day of this, three tops, especially when you get past the half-way point. The mindfuckery involved gives the last few episodes of Evangelion a run for its money, and surpasses it at some points, believe it or not. Only watch this if you're willing to put the time in on the story.

And yet it manages to answer every question that it brings up, and resolve in a coherent matter.

WARNING: There is suicide, there is blood, there are weird mutant merges of machine and some hints of things related to sex. And, as I said before, mindfuckery. If you can't take any of this, don't touch this series with a ten-foot pole.

Art: Lain was animated back in 1998. So yes, it's going to be a bit dated. There's a lot of stock scenes, though, and the CG doesn't blend well. But it does use all of that to a very trippy effect at some points in the series. So, overall, average.

Music: Most of the background music is ambient noise, but the insert songs that they use are the smex. BoA does a good job with the OP, as does Nakaido "Chabo" Rei'ichi with the ED.

Seiyuu: Joji Nakata shows up as a recurring side role in this (YES!!), and Lain's sister was Saber in Fate/Stay Night (one of the few characters I could stand), so it was nice to see those. Otherwise, as usual, no problems with the seiyuu.

Length: Perfect. It manages to wrap up neatly in thirteen episodes, with no rush needed. Any shorter would've rushed it, and I wouldn't have been able to take one more episode of mindfuckery, really.

Dub: N/A, didn't watch it.

Overall: This is a confusing mindfuck of an anime. Know that if you're going into this. However, in the long run, it's rewarding, especially with the art, music, and seiyuu.

Story: 8/10
Art: 8/10
Music: 8/10
Seiyuu: 9/10
Length: 9/10]

Overall: 42/50; 84%; (B )

Usually, one can divide good anime into two groups. There's the ones that entertain you through your emotions; scooping you up in the adrenaline-rushing fights, riveting your feelings with heart-breaking drama or simply tingling your adventurous sides. And then there's the ones that makes you sit down and think. Ponder about deeper, philosophical dilemmas and questions such as those of existence, origin, connection. Serial Experiments Lain is among the few to fall into the latter category.

It is a fact that everyone in this world is connected. In our world, we have cell phones, the Internet; there's no limit to how we can connect with our ... fellow humans. Lain, the protagonist, gets drawn deeper into such a world, The Wired, realizing that this is indeed true, but on a much deeper level. Because everyone is connected with one another, not electronically nor physically, but on a deeper, unconscious level. Yes, who are really "you"? Or "I"? What is the truth abouth our existence as humans?

Oh, yes, what is indeed real in this world, and what is fiction? What can be defined as reality, and what is just an illusion of our mind? Or is everything merely a hallucination brought forth by our brain - or our brains as a whole? And in whichever way existence functions, who, or what, holds a responsibility for it? For our world, a fictional world, a dream world?

If you think the review has turned into a philosophical thought process straying afar from the show itself, I tell you this: It does not. Serial Experiments Lain deals with all these questions and problems, if not directly and bluntly, then it does so in a way that may bring you to think. And sometimes, it's good if we are brought to think about these kinds of things.

Amongst all the philosophical elements; the seeping, minimalistic cyberpunk aspects that bring about more perplexion than understanding, a plot eventually shines through; though in ways it serves merely as a vessel to bring forth these questions. Conspiracy theory, computer science dawdling, intricate hide-and-seek of the mature kind, blackmail, Serial Experiments Lain doesn't skimp back on the plot workings, and to sort out the complex web of events, question sand meanings brought forth by watching this show is quite the ordeal.

Amongst this mess of nothing and everything is quite a special cast. Some, well, some of them are seemingly normal people. Lain's cold mother, non-caring sister and her computer-obsessed father. They are all people you could see existing in the real world. Even the timid and shy Lain is someone you can find in your neighborhood. However there exists a limit to how much you can believe when you watch this. How everyone acts. How they really are. Are they the same? There is something about everyone; that distinct cyberpunk feel which gives you the feeling that everyone goes around carrying a veneer. But, maybe they are. Or maybe they aren't after all. Make a guess.

The artwork of Lain is quite peculiar. Though extremely simplistic; minimalistic nearly, it works. The almost-empty rooms. The simple faces and costumes. The barbones backgrounds, or the bright, monochrome backdrop that serves in lieu of it at times. It all works very well. It works because of the type of show this is. It shows us what we need to see, when we need to see it, no more, no less. Thus it serves as an advocate to let your thoughts be placed elsewhere. There's nothing to obstruct your mind from swirling into deeper and deeper meanings and questions.

And likewise is the background music. Or lack thereof; because there is extremely little music playing while you watch. While not directly praiseworthy, it has its effect on the overall feel of the show, in a positive direction, too. The only tune stuck within me is the opening theme, which is a mystery in and of itself. Enthralling lyrics and a soundscape that is quite enjoyable to listen to.

On its own, none of what you see in Serial Experiments Lain really has it in itself to make up a good anime. Butwhen melded together, the impression you're left with is quite unique and not something you're likely to encounter anywhere else in the vast world of anime. It is an experience that makes you sit down and think about certain things in life, and it's definitely worth your time to watch through it. But savour it in the right tempo; too quickly and you'll be left to ask yourself what was realyl going on, and too slow results in a product where maximum yield won't find its way uinless you sit down and re-watch the earlier layers.

Lain is a young teenage school girl of no extraordinary ability -- especially with computers, now all the rage among her friends. She appears to have many friends, and while not unsocial or rude, she doesn't like to hang out with people. Each day begins with Lain coming out of the front door of her sunwashed , minimalist house, and descending a small ramp of white stone stairs, identified as such only by slashes of deep black shadows on the risers.

Director Ryutaro Nakamura's SERIAL EXPERIMENTS LAIN is rightfully considered one of the most revolutionary anime series of its time and well into the forseeable future. ... His use of color is nearly nonexistent, there is very little dialogue, and what few words areexchanged between Lain and her friends or her father do little to give the viewer a single clue about what -- if anything -- is going on.

And yet LAIN is impossible to stop watching. It is as close to art as anime gets, dazzling in its simplicity of line and shade to infer motion. Ryutaro-san uses stillness to cause unease, and the lack of a word or expression around a family breakfast table speaks volumes.

For all it sounds as though there is no real action, there is plenty, if subtle. (There certainly are no sword fights or ninja stunts, nor, thank goodness, any giant robots.) And if you haven't already been won over by the creepy buzzing of the eclectric lines outside Lain's house, the girl who stood on the ledge of a tale building, smiling and whispering as though talking to someone other than herself, who then leaps to her death, plus Lain's own brief but repeated hallucination that all of her schoolmates walking toward the school and are fading into mist -- if this hasn't convinced you that something very odd is going to break soon, then I promise your patience over the first three episodes will be well rewarded.

All high art and my own pretensions aside, LAIN is a very creepy and unsettling series. To say more would spoil all the rest. Believe me, I've watched anime's that dazzle the eyes and promise to chill the nerves while retaining a very high artistic and design aesthetic. I have no problem and encourage experimentation in the anime field. But one thing I can not forgive is boredom.

SERIAL EXPERIEMENTS LAIN hasn't a boring spot throughout all 13 episodes. Director Ryutaro Nakamura has not drawn a single hand, cup, empty window, doorknob or chair that is not in the scene for SOME reason. He is a true auteur in the same genius mold of iconoclast American filmmaker David Lynch. You can't take your eyes off the screen for a second, for fear of missing something vital.

LAIN will satisfy the most discriminating and jaded otaku. It sits on my top shelf of anime that I am proud to own. But like all great art, my only regret is not being able to experience it again as though for the FIRST TIME.

But you, reader, have that most enviable experience ahead of you. I'm jealous.

Ryutaro Nakamura is currently directing GHOST HOUND -- and while I've only see the first show, it was enough to give me nightmares last night. No blood, no gore -- but another lovely and innovative anime with breathtaking and never-before-seen uses of the camera in long tracking shots that would be impossible in real-life film. Further still, he uses sound -- of flies, wind, hair brushing past a face -- in a thoroughly pioneering use of 5.1 sound that sets the nerve on edge and even outdoes David Lynch whose recent INLAND EMPIRE I thought had implemented sound in the most disturbing and provacative manner possible -- but no.

Hat's off to Ryutaro Nakamura and SERIAL EXPERIMENTS LAIN. Pure genius.

-Dr Sleep

Oh yes...it's time! I have been meaning to go back and re-review this anime for about 5 years now. My original review was very flippant, poorly written, and quite dismissive towards Lain. I gave it a 6 and the whole review was basically "Lol, can you believe this shit?! What a weird anime!"

Firstly, I want to go into a little background explaining my own experience with this anime and how my views have changed over time. I first saw Lain in 2005 and the best way to watch Lain in the United States at that point unless you had the money to buy the DVDs ... volume by volume was to rent it from Netflix. This was back when Netflix was purely a DVD delivery service. So you watch 4 episodes of Lain, then send your disk back and wait about 2 weeks to watch the next 4 episodes. I was watching Lain via Netflix at the same time as I was watching another gem of early 2000s anime called Elfen Lied. I really enjoyed Elfen Lied and had no problem keeping up with that story in 4 episode chunks. This was not really the case with Lain. I ended up mostly just feeling VERY confused. My little brother loved Lain and some of my offline buddies did, but I didn't really see the appeal at the time. I thought it was just kind of odd and maybe even that dreaded word "pretentious".

So flashforward to 2014. I've just started reviewing stuff on MAL and decided to write a shitty review of Lain, despite having not seen it in a decade and having very little memory of it besides "it's that weird show with the bear suit girl and the humming power lines". At the time, I actually wanted to connect with my fellow boomers on MAL and basically say, "Yo, remember this shit?!" You see, Lain was REALLY popular in the early 2000s. Japan thought it was so deep that Japanese philosophers started discussing it and they got the American Philosophical Society to hold a Lain conference in 2003. Time Magazine controversially picked Watchmen as one of the top 100 novels of the 20th century, but not even Watchmen was considered highbrow and academic enough to be featured in a conference by the APS! Lain in 2003-2005 was SO god damn hyped and elite that as far as animation and graphic novels were concerned it was a category onto itself. It certainly helped Lain in America that Pioneer's dub was both faithful to the source material and high quality unlike ADV's Eva dub. By 2014 when I wrote my review, Lain was near its all time low in popularity. It was still getting praise by folks like Thatanimesnob, but with casual audiences it was never less popular. Then we reach 2016 Youtube and the birth of the "video essay" era and HOLY SHIT did Lain come roaring back to life! Digibro's Lain essay had like 3 million views at one point. If you had a moderate interest in animation, your side bar was blowing up with video essays about why this anime called Lain was actually a masterpiece.

So around 2016-2017, I start watching these video essays. Now I'm thinking, "Woah...was Lain actually good this whole time? It actually had relevant messages and predicted modern internet culture?! I just remember it not making much sense!" So around 2018, I buy the Lain DVD set for like 10 dollars at a used media store. I watch the first 2 episodes with my offline buddies and they're really not feeling it, so I switch to another series and get distracted. Somehow, I didn't actually re-watch Lain until this last week when my girlfriend came to visit. After 16 years, I have FINALLY re-watched Lain...and it turns out Lain is fucking awesome!

In my old review, I was still following the plot, characters, sound, etc. format. I'm not really going to do that this time. If you're reading this review, you probably have at least a vague idea about what happens in Lain. It's about a genius hacker girl and her investigation into a mysterious hacker guild called the Knights. The Knights all serve a figure known as the "God of the Wired" and are somehow connected to a series of teen suicides in which the deceased teens are somehow able to continue sending emails and surviving online despite their physical bodies being dead. While Lain is labeled as cyberpunk, I would say this is only partially accurate. In the Western definition of cyberpunk, the genre is usually tied to what's called "hard science fiction". That means no impossible technology. No psychic powers. No magic. No supernatural phenomena that are beyond understanding. Lain is NOT a hard science fiction. Psychics actually do exist in Lain. The universal unconscious that Carl Jung theorized is real. The villain is able to use the brain waves produced by the mind of the planet Earth itself to break the barrier between the internet and reality so that we're all online all the time. As the God of the internet, Lain is able to rewrite all of time and space like an omnipotent being once the internet becomes reality. Lain's writer, Chiaki Konaka, has actually read a lot more HP Lovecraft than he has Philip K Dick and Robert Heinlein. Lain is about the internet, but it's actually just as much of a cosmic horror story as it is a cyberpunk.

The character of Lain is amazingly complex given the series short run time. Lain offline is a withdrawn, lonely girl with very little control over her environment and only 1 friend. Once she gets near a computer, her posture changes, her expressions change, and she suddenly becomes far more confident and assertive. This reaches a point where there's a complete split between offline Lain and internet Lain like something out of Dostoevsky's novella The Double. When Lain was written in 1998, it was not a well known phenomenon that people act completely differently offline vs. online. Lain was way ahead of its time in this regard and many others as I'll discuss later.

While Lain's plot is a tad imperfect in my personal opinion, the message of Lain is not only profound but positively prophetic. At the core of everything, the central point of Lain in my interpretation is that the internet is a false messiah. The internet in the 1990s promised to connect humans everywhere, but led to ever increasing loneliness and feelings of isolation instead. The internet was supposed to allow people from all races, classes, and religions to talk together and empathize with each other like never before, but instead it has largely desensitized us to human suffering and made it seem like nothing feels real. In the 2nd episode of Lain, the girls witness a mass shooting event at a club and they're laughing it off at school the next day. "Woah! Wasn't that some crazy shit! Let's go back to the club tonight!" No other piece of media from 1998 that I can think of so perfectly predicted how America and much of the world would learn to deal with frequent mass shootings and acts of terrorism. In Lain, the government is completely helpless to stop harmful information from being spread by rogue actors like "The Knights" who are an online guild of anonymous people that appear totally ordinary in their offline lives. They're teaching kids to commit suicide and spreading dangerous drugs and nobody can stop them. The novel 1984 predicted that the government would soon completely control the flow of information and 99.9 percent of people would have the same values and believe the exact same things. We live in a world where over 20 percent of adult voters believe in Qanon and despite the best efforts of the US government to stop conspiracy theories from spreading, they're losing the war against random assholes posting bullshit on anime image boards for people with autism! Lain was right and 1984 was completely wrong! Lain teaches us that the important things in life are offline. Lain learns from Alice that the human body IS important and forging relationships can only truly be done heart to heart and face to face.

Lain's OST and sound mixing are absolutely incredible. I feel that so much has been said about this topic that I don't even need to bother. What isn't said as often is that Lain's actual animation is kind of janky. If you pay close attention anytime a character is walking or moving in general, you can tell that Lain was made on a bit of a budget. However, Nakamura's genius visual directing and imagery are SO good that most people never even notice!

Despite all the praise I've given it, Lain isn't actually perfect in the end. It's only 13 episodes but episode 11 is almost entirely flashbacks that add nothing to the series and just take up time. Then there's the episode that goes on a complete tangent to talk about Roswell and Ufology shit for seemingly no reason. Lain does get a wee bit self indulgent at this point.

While I can't quite give it a 10/10 and Lain actually still isn't in my top 10 favorites of all time, I can say that I REALLY loved watching this one again. It's a wonderful feeling to go back and find out that something you once judged harshly was far better than you remember in every aspect! Lain is an incredible anime that everyone deserves to see. If you've only seen it once and that was 5+ years ago, I absolutely recommend paying it another visit. You won't regret it!

For my first anime review on this site, I'll be doing a series that I can confidently say is both one of my favorite works of fiction that anime has to offer that I've ever seen as well as possibly one where I can never ultimately decide how much I genuinely love it or just absolutely appreciate it even if I won't obsess over it.

Now with that out of the way, I guess I'll get into the review.

Serial Experiments Lain is NOT your average anime. At first glance, it might look a little bit like the Matrix movies or Ghost in the Shell ... (regrettably, both are things I've yet to watch). For more seasoned anime fans, it might even look like the genre of 'cyberpunk' series like Bubblegum Crisis and Appleseed and some aspects of Cowboy Bebop lovingly ripped off from movies such as Blade Runner and Terminator. That should not be surprising if you know the name Chiaki J. Konaka, a screenwriter who is best known for Armitage III, The Big O, Digimon Tamers, Tetsuwan Birdy, the original Hellsing, the 2003 version of Astro Boy, RaXephon, Ghost Hound, Texhnolyze and even some episodes of Princess Tutu and Eureka Seven. This man is very versatile, but his forte seems to be horror and cyberpunk. I haven't seen all of his works, but I'd be willing to check them out one of these days.

Story:

Lain's story has...a lot of...layers. In fact, each episode even starts out called "Layer...*episode number*". The series is complicated, and definitely not one you can just watch blindly. If you're wondering if this is a trippy, complex, genre-bending and thought provoking mindfuck anime like Neon Genesis Evangelion (shonen and mecha), Revolutionary Girl Utena (shoujo and fantasy) or Puella Magi Madoka Magica (magical girls)...yes it is. But in some ways, that's not intentional. Nor is it better or worse than a lot of those shows. While I personally LOVE these shows, I'll acknowledge that you're not going to get much out of it if you don't like plots which aren't in your face and hold things back from you only to allude to them subtly. This is a series where sometimes the characters actually see more than the audience. And the narrative is definitely unorthodox, not just for anime but any science fiction. You'll probably want to rewatch it once or twice in order to fully get it, like I did. But even then, it won't appeal to everyone. I even wrote an episode by episode journal summary and analysis for one of my English classes recently, and that was after my second rewatch which I found to be much more enjoyable than the first.

A young, antisocial middle school girl named Lain Iwakura becomes interested in the futuristic technology surrounding them to enter a whole new world they call “The Wired” (read: the Internet) after her classmate Chisa Yomoda commits suicide. Lain only met the girl once, but she reaches out to her from the other side telling her to come to the Wired. As Lain's interest in the medium becomes more intense, she is led down a path in which all of the truths behind reality, identity and how we communicate with one another are revealed to her. All of which causes her to question her own humanity. Ethical conflicts and metaphysical hijinks represented by loads and loads of different literary/cultural allusions, philosophical constructs, metaphysics, symbolism, the psychological makeup of the characters and much more occur and the real motives of The Wired’s creators and benefactors become apparent. The border between The Wired and the real world isn’t all that clear. The basic foundation of the storyline is ‘science-fact’ yet the dramatic presentation of the events which unfold will take you into a world of pure science fiction where the conventions of reality are defied completely and repeatedly. Yeah, it's THAT kind of show. Very love it or hate it, and also one that can appeal to casual viewers and non-anime fans as well. Also, definitely something computer and technology geeks would love.

Rating- 8/10

Animation/Art:

Lain's art style is on a whole nother level. It's insane and gorgeous to look at and you WILL get the trippiness induced from looking at a single frame of it. The animation and designs of the characters are by no other than Yoshitoshi ABe, also known most recently for his work on Texhnolyze and Ergo Proxy. Everything is really detailed. The colors are quite basic. Everyone has normal hair and bodies, in fact, there's barely any standard 'anime hair and anime face and anime eyes and boobs and other physical features' in this show at all. It's more realistic because these characters ACTUALLY look Japanese. And that's something I really find unique and FASCINATING. It makes you wonder how this series could possibly be from 1998 since it looks so ahead of its time.

It's some of the most unique artwork I've ever seen, and that's talking about both the 'real world' and 'Wired' visuals. Not to mention how the plethora of symbolism is not only appropriately used and serves a purpose but also blends in yet still pops out of the background for everyone to take note of it. Some people might have issues with the art since it does get a little wacky and I could see how people who are seizure-prone might not be able to handle it, but otherwise, I really have no complaints about it. Other than the fact that the opening sequence, which has the best animation in the show, sometimes looks off model but since its a closeup of certain character's faces while they're thinking and seeing certain things this may have been intentional. I'm not sure how else to describe it, but I personally loved all of it and you can decide for yourself if you feel the same.

Rating- 10/10

Sound:

There isn't much I can say about this. All of the voice actors sound great and in keeping with the themes of (sur)realism of the narrative and its overall appearance, also sound very 'un-anime' ish. Kaori Shimizu voices the meek yet stubborn and insightful Lain, and her voice is really nice and fitting for that character. Ayako Kawasumi also gives a very satisfying performance as her older sister Mika, who manages to stand out as well despite her only getting real focus for 5 or 6 episodes. I can't say much about the English dub because I haven't watched it, but if you like old school dubs with amateur but still effort-filled voice acting and cheesy, localized script writing...knock yourself out. Although you might want to wait on the dub until after you've finished the Japanese subtitled version for a show like this, if that's the case.

The music in this series is also really great, and there's a nice blend of jazz, techno, alternative rock, soft metal and electro type tunes and tracks in here. A lot of guitar solos too, some of which are very refreshing and fit nicely. The music definitely fits all of the scenes and events of what's happening in the series, rest assured. The opening theme "Duvet" by Boa is also really nice, it's one of the few anime themes that's in English. It's a very relaxing song to listen to and it tells Lain's story quite well with the lyrics, although when you first hear it you're probably going to think its just a wee bit emo and stereotypically teenage angst bullshit but who knows. It's not the best soundtrack for an anime I've ever listened to but its definitely a treat for the ears.

Rating- 8/10

Characters:

*sigh* This is a HUGE weak spot for this series. Now, I am someone who absolutely loves a character-focused storyline, even if that hampers some of the plot and other technical elements. Lain's not about that. This is basically one part Lain realizing her true identity and reality, the other part finding out what it does to people she cares about including her sister and best friend Alice/Arisu when they find out the truth and finally, what happens to the world when she is ultimately the cause of the 'border between the Wired and the real world not being clear'. The other characters, other than Mika Iwakura, Arisu, her Wired-obsessed friend Carl and the all-important posthumous characters Masami Eiri and Chisa Yomoda, just aren't really 'there'.

But that's forgivable for a show like this, especially since the characters who ARE the most important in the narrative DO get their justice and are very well-developed at that. Lain is perhaps one of the most complex, empowering, morally ambiguous, empathic and also, plain adorable without being moe characters in anime history. She really is quite something. Masami might remind you of Gendo Ikari/Keel Lorenz from NGE, Dios/Akio Ohtori from Utena and Kyubey from Madoka Magica just in the way that he looms over the narrative and ultimately decides what humanity and the character's fate will be. He also is VERY ambiguous in how he thinks and deals with things. A very engaging antagonist indeed. But if you don't like a show to have more characters for which you can't really feel or give a second thought about, then Lain might not be your cup of tea.

Rating- 7/10

Enjoyment:

Overall, I absolutely love Serial Experiments Lain and would definitely recommend it to someone into the types of anime and stories. If you loved shows like NGE and Madoka, you should definitely check out Lain. But keep in mind, it's definitely not for everyone. Some things about the show are definitely objectively better than others. Some might find it too confusing or too difficult to get through. A lot of things are up to interpretation and never fully explained, and the amount of symbolism in this series is comparable to Madoka's and Utena's in how dense and well-versed the narrative and its writers are. And you definitely will be caused to think and feel a number of ways about the show while watching it/analyzing it before, during and after.

Perhaps the most fascinating aspect of Lain is that it could lead the viewer to question whether the series is science fiction or a prediction of what will be ‘science-fact’ in the near future. After all, everyone is connected and we must “Close this World, Open the NeXt.”

So give it a try. Even if you don't seem to understand, it's (not) a shame you seemed an honest man...

Rating- 9/10

Serial Experiments Lain. Such an eerie piece of astonishment. And such a psychological thriller that is so full of philosophical ideas integrated in technology around us. This anime is one of those I have watched that required more time thinking or researching than watching (and making it hard to write this as my first review) - but it was definitely worth it. Apparently the 1998 cyberpunk anime was not made for the majority market, thus if you would prefer more actions than philosophy and thinking all over the series, there is a chance you will find this anime dull and boring.

Story - This is an ... utterly difficult part to comprehend. The storyline is not even linear. Instead, there are seemingly ambiguous clues and fragments all over the episodes. If you have not paid enough attention, or if you have not prepared yourself well for a thinky show like this, you will be lost quickly and get extremely confused first time watching it, because yes, it is hard to follow. Once you have good understanding of the plot and solve the puzzle, you will wonder how possible was the story be even written back in time. Not just with intensive philosophical and psychological elements that audience needs to deal with, but everything the story itself is beyond time as a 90s series.

Art - Despite it is a 90s experimental show, I still liked the art. The art is quite different from the "mainstream" productions, even compared to most popular anime shows back 15 or 20 years ago. We all know though, Lain is pretty hard to be put alongside with mainstream for benchmark. At times, high-contrast colours of different saturation grades were used for emphasizing certain circumstances and moods. Weird-looking reflection-like intricate shadows were used to express the Wired world concept . All these brilliantly worked for creating amazing atmospheres and is a plus for me.

Sound - I cannot say this is a bad part, because, as to fit the atmosphere, not much OSTs were used. There are not many conversations between characters as well. If I am to say, I would say silence was more used than anything in this aspect. A lot of words were substituted by facial expressions, reactions and certain forms of symbolism. The opening theme (Duvet by Bôa) was awesome on the other hand.

Character - Story centered around our protagonist Lain - and Lain had huge character development and psychological impact along the storyline. Also you may pay attention to the relationship between Lain and her best, if not the only friend, Alice. As you keep watching, you will wonder who, or what, some characters actually are, like the "Wired Lain", "Wired God", Lain's parents, or you would even wonder if Lain is God, or if Lain and "Wired Lain" are the same person. All these confusions within the understanding of the characters are so mind-blowing and would take a while until you figure it out all.

Enjoyment - I like philosophy. I like science fictions - even if the story is pseudo-science only. And of course I like cyberpunk and its story backgrounds. (Did not pay much attention to genres though, just realized lately this is called "cyberpunk") What is not to like? Bravo I say.

Summary - This is such a beyond-time anime in so many ways. The way the technology gets integrated in our daily life is shown in the elements like the Siri-like desktop computer system, texting friends in class, holographic display in Lain's room etc, coming from a 1998 anime (where mobile web service was not even popularized until later in 2000s), is way beyond time for me. Also philosophical integration with technological devices is very idea-provoking. The philosophical definition of existence and a shared/collective unconsciousness are also giving blue screen of deaths in our brains.

Bad thing about this anime? Maybe the theories in this anime are too advanced for some people and such made their heads exploded before anything significant can be processed in their brains, making its market small. It is also a matter of taste indeed - I personally loved it and I give my full recommendations to anyone who likes thinking. Definitely worth watching, and perhaps rewatching.

So, Serial Experiments Lain or like I like to call it; Serious Experiences of Mindfucking.

It's an anime you get when you put 2001: A Space Odyssey, Inception, The Sixth Sense, Threads of Time, Air, TRC, Nisio Isin, Guy Richie and couple hundred other things in a big bucket. The you give that bucket to Chuck Norris who shakes the ingredients and squeezes the bucket to smaller size. But it's not over yet. Chuck gives the bucket-like thing to Andy Dick. Andy comes near your head and starts to push the bucket inside your head through your ear. He isn't doing it in gentle way. Your ... ear whole is tight and it hurts like hell. After a while you can't handle with the pain and you lose consciousness. You gain it back about 13 episodes later, you don't know where you are but your brains feel silly. That's pretty much what I felt like when watching Serious Experiences of Mindfucking.

Story;

Everything is connected, there is life and eternity, some teddy bears, few crows and word God mentioned several times. Lain is psychological mystery with bit of dementia side on it so it really doens't need anything else to make it work. Whole story is pretty much just about the plot and there really is lot about that side. There ain't any useless seconds of screen time in Lain. Story is so wide that even if there is plot holes no-one is gonna notice those since the quantity of information which cames to your head while watching Lain is pretty much limitless.

Art & Sound;

Well, year 1998. Very unique art style and brilliant ideas made to success. Fits with the genres and makes it even more mysterious. Nothing to complain about. Pretty much the same thing with sounds. They are a hit with Lain but wouldn't work so good in any other anime. Story, art and sounds are working so good that I had chills more often than I blinked my eyes. And it's not bad thing at all.

Characters;

Another full hit for Lain. Saying them as a character is just downplay. Deep and real, that's how they are. Protagonist is pretty much the deepest character I have seen in any anime. I think she is pretty much like compination of Misaki from Welcome to the NHK and Nausicaä from Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind.

Enjoyment;

It's quite impossible for not to enjoy anime where everything on it equals with the word perfect. Many animes are ruined cause of crappy pacing, there that problem on Lain. It's quite rare for me to find anime which I can't stop watching, Lain is one of those fews. I love unique ideas and when they are as much success as they are in Lain, then enjoyment is on the top.

Other;

Lain is series which you shouldn't watch when you aren't on your best condition. If you are tired you ain't gonna get shit. I don't have any tens on my list but I seriously considered giving it to Lain.

This is my first anime review, I made this like in 20 minutes and I don't speak english to good so me is apologising crappy grammar and misspelled woords.

Present day... Present time! hahaHAHAHAha

"What isn't remembered never happened. Memory is merely a record...You just need to rewrite that record."

Preface:

The term "existentialism" gets tossed around a lot when talking about psychological narratives. Perhaps it's that existentialism is a theme common to many stories that not only makes them more interesting, but encourages the viewer to ask questions about themselves, and be more introspective. Perhaps it's that existentialism is a concept central to the being of psychological intrigue, and one that also lends itself to storytelling. However, Lain is existentialism in its most pure form.

Story: 9

Serial Experiments Lain is extraordinary, and not in the most ... ubiquitous sense of the word. It's very much outside of the ordinary, and unique in its own right. Lain deals with the connectivity of life, in terms of both our collective unconscious, our memory, and that of the physical around us.

In a time when the Internet was new (in SEL, referred to as "the Wired"), it was a nebulous, abstract concept that people had trouble initially latching onto. The concept was so radical for the time... that you could send and receive information from anywhere in the world, not just text or images, but disparate thoughts and ideas. Something that, by mail, could take days, weeks, or maybe a month to change continents suddenly took mere seconds. The idea that everything that went on the web was recorded somewhere, creating this vast store of knowledge also profoundly changed the way that we functioned as a person, group, and society. Suddenly, there was an entire library of virtual encyclopediae on practically any and every subject.

This connectivity is the underlying theme of Serial Experiments Lain. In episode 9, it changes gears, and goes into explicit detail of several of the formative forces that shaped the advent of the internet and computing- namely, Vannevar Bush's memex theory and Ted Nelson's HTML protocol. It also likens the collective human neural network to that of Schumann resonance (ultra low frequency "hum") that surrounds the world, and every small event on earth creates a tiny ripple in the network.

Lain, who at the beginning acquires a "Navi" (universe term for computer), begins to explore the universe of the net. Slowly, she descends into what's seemingly an inescapable addiction of being connected to the Wired at all times- constantly learning, constantly talking with others, constantly manipulating. Her ever-deeper descent into the net is marked visually by the vastly increasing amount of technology in her bedroom. What starts as a simple single monitor, single tower setup transforms into a grotesque dungeon of monitors, servers, chips, boards, and displays of all kinds. A veritable jungle of wires, coolant lines, and cords form a claustrophobic technological nightmare. Red, yellow, and orange display lights flicker like some carnivorous
animal in the dark, waiting to strike. Outside, dark shadows cast along the ground are covered in blood red spots, signifying the underlying presence of the wired beneath the surface of reality. The hum grows louder.

Within this lair, Lain seeks the truth about the Wired and the real world. Who are the Knights of the Eastern Calculus? Who, or what is the God of the Wired? Is the "real world" merely a construct of the Wired? Outside, we see her in the mundane trenches of life as a student; school, hanging out with friends, surfing the web. We also witness her more introspective ventures: who is Lain, truly?

The idea that everyone is connected without the use of a proxy device is central to the plot, and creates an unforgettable narrative that's at once eye opening and horrifying. What do we become when the lines between the virtual and the real blur to the point of being unable to extricate one from the other?


Characters: 9

"People exist in the substance of others' minds. That's why there were all kinds of me's."

Lain Iwakura is a strange middle school-aged girl. Distant, absentminded, and borderline catatonic, Lain is a very difficult character to get a feel for, even though one can read her traits off like a laundry list.

"Is Lain on drugs?" "Does Lain have some form of Schizophrenia?" "Is she affected by some kind of intense dissociative identity disorder?" Lain acts and reacts in many ways like she 'is' on drugs, or she 'does' have a medical condition, though it's none of the above. Lain starts out as a meek, repressed girl who's just along for the ride with her friends, and pushed around by her family. She seemingly transitions from a timid, shy person into an aggressive, self assured, and a touch petulant in an instant, lending credit to the multiple personalities theory. However, her life is more and more regularly interrupted with these changes, until it comes to a point where there seem to be two Lains, one assertive and manipulative, one shy and meek. Is one an imposter? Is Lain truly herself? Who or what is the real Lain?


Artwork and Animation: 8

This show will have aired 17 years ago this summer, and it looks it. While the animation is overall not the best, it also has a distinct charm about the minimalist style it's rendered in. The overall design is a little rough around the edges, and has a slightly 'unfinished' feel to it, like that of a hazy memory. Lain also makes excellent use of psychadelic colors and has an extremely surreal, tripping feel to it. Other times, it uses blacks, grays, blues and purples to create a dark and foreboding atmosphere. Much of the computer technology looks extremely dated at this point, but for the time, and looking back, the artwork and subject thereof is very indicative of that specific point in time; the mid-late 90s when the internet became universal and computing was something everyone was beginning to get into. Looking at it from when it was a present day representation, it fits in well with how it was then.


Sound and Voice Acting: 8

I watched this in both sub and dub (because, idiotically, the dub didn't have the Japanese text that shows up frequently subtitled). I have to say that, annoyances in the on-screen text aside, Bridget Hoffman (Irisviel in Fate/Zero, Nia in Gurren Lagann) did better job portraying the listless, empty character of Lain than her Japanese counterpart. The other voices are rather generic, but they're of little importance in this series.

Of equal or more importance than the speaking here is the background. The hum of electricity... the quiet tap of footsteps, faint car horns, barely audible traffic noises. The feeling of eyes is nearly audible in this. I've never seen such effective use of oppressive silence in a show. It sets the tone greatly, and gives it a very surreal feel of being locked inside someone's quiet, distant head.


Enjoyment: 9

Serial Experiments Lain is a show that can lead one to different conclusions with every successive viewing. I don't like to throw out nebulous terms like "deep", but SEL fits the definition to the utmost. Layers upon layers, intricately woven, heavy, intense. It's excellently thought provoking, and though it's confusing at times and not every question has an answer, that's part of the allure; that it's up to the viewer to decide what happens.


Overall: 9

SEL could be construed as a warning to society of the dangers of our increasing connectivity and detachment from reality. With how immersive online games, social media, and networking have become, it's easy to construct a persona that may differ strongly from the person away from the net, and in that, create a dissociative, escapist phenomenon that allow us to live multiple, separate, yet very real lives (in the sense that it's present day, present time). At what point do we become the thing that we've created, and cease being what we were before?


tl;dr

+ Excellent unreliable narrator + dissociative identity nonlinear storytelling
+ Unexpected, original story
+ Increasingly claustrophobic, nightmarish tense feel

+\- Dated art (part of the camp, honestly)
+\- Difficult to follow

- One early subplot not addressed later
- Annoying supporting characters


Recommend?

Definitely. Serial Experiments Lain is a well deserved classic. A unique tale of raisons d'être and how one girl's discovery of self leads to some extraordinary results.

Unlike most other animes at that time, SEL was not based on any manga or light novel, it was an original. Let me at first tell you that this is definitely not the only criteria that makes this anime unique. Firstly I would like to say that if you want a fast anime with lots of action or generally lots of things happening this is not for you; if you want an anime with romance or ecchi this is not for you; if you want an anime that starts with a bang from start and keeps on its definitely not for you; and lastly if ... you think after watching this you will soon forget the plot and get on with your next on watch list I say at the beginning its not that forgettable. This is an anime that makes you stop and think, makes you ponder the reality surrounding you and most certainly makes you question your beliefs. And if you think of the time when this aired that was and I think still is one of the most unique traits of any anime.

STORY

SEL is a story of a girl named Lain. She seems to be so ordinary at the start but please hold on till episode 3-4 then everything changes. At the beginning of the anime one of Lain's classmates commit suicide after telling everyone that she does not need to exist in this world anymore and next day all of her classmates receive an email from her. At first all thinks its a joke or something but slowly the plot progresses and we find the real truth. Lain was a shy girl with almost no experience of computers and the world of the wire (which is the writers idea of a much more developed form of internet) but she eventually finds out that she is quite skilled in computers and gets deeply involved in the world of the wired and then everything turns weird. If I say more of the plot I will just spoil the anime for you so let me just say this just be patient with the first few episodes and if you like a good story you will not be disappointed.

For me story is the best part of this anime and it gets 9 out of 10.

CHARACTER

If anything is better than the storyline is SEL its the characters. They are only a few characters that are fully evolved to be true but still the rest are also developed with equal discretion.

Lain, the main character is probably one of the well portrait protagonists for me in any anime. She is created with so much attention to every aspect that its like a flawless character, all the dialogues and the sell-centered thinking gets viewers interested more and more to learn more about her reality and always makes them guess why is she acting like that. With every episodes Lain grows more and more until all watchers will grow into the plot progressively.

Other interesting characters include Masami Eiri who is although not a likeable personality but still the way he is portrait you can not but understand his logic too. Alice is another very unique character whose plot was another well placed part in this beautiful puzzle.

Rest of the cast includes Lains parents and sister, her other friends and mysterious Men in Black none of whom seems to disappoint either.

Characters are the strongest part of this anime and gets 10 out of 10 from me.

ART/ANIMATION

Arts are not the main feature of this anime and there is no stunning animations to make you go wow, but you have to remember it was 1998 almost 15 years ago so in that time it must have been not bad at all. There is also use of some experimental colored backgrounds wich actually gives some sequences good atmospheric value.

I will give the art.animation 8 out of 10.

SOUND/OST

In the anime they are is very sparse use of sound effects present. Sometimes even dialogues are so few but all just adds to the affect of the unique atmosphere the director was trying to create. Most of the sound used in the anime are ambient stuff but the opening track by Boa and the ending by Reichi Nakaido are so good that most people will definitely check out the soundtrack for those. Overall the tracks and the ambient noise pieces and blend of sparse effects and dialogue adds immensely to the overall enjoyment of the experience.

I myself like the OST quite a lot and still listen to the Reichi Nakaido ending occasionally.

Sound gets from me 9 out of 10.

At the end I would like to say that this anime is a piece of art and like most art is not for everyone. But people who like food for thought with their entertainment and a good overall story and unique characters (lets face the truth, now-a-days good and unique characters are such a rarity in animes) should not miss out on this anime.

All this talk of this makes me want to watch SEL again and that is also another point for this anime its re-watch value.

OVERALL SCORE

9 out of 10

Lain was an incredible anime. It blew away all the anime stereotypes by creating a story with almost no romance, action, or comedy. It was a story of a girl who got so in touch with her virtual identity that she essentially broke the border between reality and virtual reality. Without giving away too many spoilers, I'll try to elaborate on what the anime is really about.

It's basically putting reality into question;
What really gives us our identity? Memories? Because if no one remembered us, how would we be identified?
But memories can be lost, destroyed, changed. Meaning that our identities themselves can be lost, destroyed or ... changed. So do we even have real, defined identities, or do we simply exist as the current memories of others?
But it is basically saying that reailty happens according to how we remember it. If you remember something happening, then - as far as you know - that's what happened. You can't deny your memories until something else can change them or prove them wrong. So if you don't remember something, who's to say it happened? You can't prove it did, and until you change your mind, it remains a truth. Because you live in your world, and your world alone. People are as you see them, they are seen by your eyes, your mind. If your mind is "wrong", then you see them "wrong". But who's to say that it's wrong? And how could you ever possibly know if your mind is wrong? You can't understand your mind's "errors" with an erred mind. And those errors are defined by another's mind, so their mind could be erred instead of yours. Or maybe we simply all have different minds, and none of them are wrong.
Sorry, I'm getting confusing again, I hope that's understandable enough though. It's really something worth thinking about.

The other concept brought up is God. The anime poses the question: what is God? Does it even exist, and if it did, what would it be?
Do we create a God? Or does it exist without us? Could it exist without us? Because, what is a God without its people? It holds no status if there is nothing for it to be higher than. People define their God, and create their God, and without them there would be no God.So then, is God perfect? If it exists in us, because of us, and is created by us and how we want it to be, what power does a god hold? When the physical reality we all take for granted turns out to be different than we thought, than what happens to God? Can a regular person become God?

Serial Expirements Lain is refreshing to watch, because instead of tackling a bunch of moral conflicts through "determination and fighting spirit!!!" like way too many other anime/manga out there, it doesn't really work on morals at all. It just tries to make the viewer take a step back and look at the world around him; reality isn't always what it seems and we aren't what we always think we are. It's not a moral message, its a message of awareness.

Note: I ain't no english speaker

Everyone is connected

I recently finished one of the most iconic and groundbreaking anime in history. Honestly is very difficult to write a review as my brain is trying to recover from the mind-melting experience of watching Serial Experiments Lain, but I am going to do my best.

SEL is all about making you think. While other anime want to simply amuse you, SEL tries to connect with you and tries to create some kind of "bond" between you and your conscious, pretty much what NGE and GhitS do (or try to). SEL uses (and abuses) your intelligence and your darkest feelings ... in order to get you into the plot. I'll simply put it this way: you can't watch SEL "just for fun", it requires your full atention and sometimes you will have to stop and re-think what you just watched.

I am not going to breakdown the story for you. All I am going to say is that is amazing. The story presents some of the major teenage issues of modern Japan (suicide, technology addiction, careless parenting) and connects them with a sci-fi plot. In this context SEL's plot is essentialy a psychological thriller driven by different situations that at first seem like random events with philosophical deepness but that in the end are connected with Lain's nature and her interpretation of the world. There is an interesting theory that Lain is a personification of Jesus and that the whole serie is an interpretation of Christ's life. That's probably the most beautiful thing about SEL: everyone perceives it different and has an unique interpretation of it, and there are not rights or wrongs.

SEL's art and animation are fine. It seems like a low budget production that some genius turned into a masterpiece (like Tarantino's Reservoir Dogs), but it is not really an issue and the characters expressions are really good. The soundtrack is great and the intro song is one of my favourites.

SEL is not "worth a shot", it is much better and much more reccomendable than most anime out there. Then again remember that it is not an action-packed shonen that you can marathon. You must take a time after each episode to interpretate what you just watched. In the end though it will be worth your time and you will feel the satisfaction of have watched an anime classic that helped you to open your mind.

Under its apparition of slow pacing and dull characters, their lies in the depths of Serial Experiments Lain; the most unique method of storytelling I have ever seen. The key to this is in the writers' careful decision to leave multiple coherent interpretations of the plot open to the viewer, in essence creating (at least) two separate (but thematically connected) stories with the one show.

This bizarre method of storytelling is done by presenting the viewer with one apparent sequence of events and character interactions, then retroactively reinterpreting them in later episodes. It's recklessly abstruse and will put off many viewers (just like the opening of ... this review), but by the same token is incredibly rewarding for the viewer willing to put some proper effort into working out what is going on or do some extra research about the show after having seen it.

There are a plethora of easter eggs, references and philosophical ideas thrown at the viewer, often related to the concept of self in an online world. The titular character of the show and her interactions with people from different walks of life comprise the vehicle through which these ideas are explored.

The artwork is the product of Yoshitoshi ABe. I should be able to leave it at that. His character designs are stunning and the choices in set design and visual presentation make it clear that there was a very strong level of communication between ABe and Nakamura and Ueda, the director and producer respectively.

The atmosphere invoked by the humming of electrical lines, the pulsing of cars through the arteries of streets, the whirring of computer's internal organs and so on is eerie and surreal. There isn't a strong use of background music in the show, but this scarcity only makes the few tracks that do make an appearance stand out all the more. It's worth noting that certain songs are contextual cues in the show and play into the plot in a small way. The OP is magnificent, and surprisingly enough sung in English.

In order to get the most out of this show, whenever you're presented with two contradictory events try to start with the assumption that it was intentional and then reflect on why such an inconsistency would be presented, remembering that the key information with which you can make sense of a scene may lie in a later episode.

Although I gave this show a 10 I feel that it is necessary to clarify that I do not consider this show flawless, but rather that the flaws it does have don't detract from the overall experience. For example, the pacing in the opening episodes is incredibly slow, but this works in the show's favour later on as you spend more and more time trying to make sense of the events shown. On repeat viewings, even the first episode no longer feels like it is dragging on, as by then it has become obvious that even minor details can be interpreted in significant ways.

In summary, Serial Experiments Lain is not just a puzzling show, but a puzzle, and an incredibly satisfying one to try to solve, even if you do wind up with more new questions than answers at times. The key is online.

Viewed as an evolutionary leap that broke the boundaries of the medium and redefined DEEP in a post-cyberpunk setting, a similar reality to ours, it is one of few avant-garde (innovative, experimental, unorthodox) titles ever made by the Japanese anime industry that forces their audience to actually use their brain for the entire duration of the show.

None before it has taken the same concepts and themes introduced in the movie Ghost in the Shell (1995) to unreachable heights in the same time span,
has the same amount of disagreements among the staff about what the heck they made,
is purely a mindscrew that ... required thorough analysis of every scene of every episode, including the stock footage,
shows the story mainly through dialogues and symbols
and has little/no superficial entertainment.

STORY SECTION - 9.75/10 (Is this all real?)
Plot, Content, Logic - 4/4
Set in modern times, boundary between virtual and actual reality is gradually blurred with the development and increased usage of technology in society with PCs, handheld devices, video games, social networking, and the ever-expanding computer network, called “The Wired”. A hacker organization, led by Eiri Masami, attempts to unify humanity into “The Wired” through the collective unconscious so the virtual and actual reality cannot be distinguished. This is justified with the unknown effects of Earth’s magnetic fields (Schuman Resonance), Psi ability of humans, evolution, etc. To achieve this, the only heroine Lain Iwakura must comply with the wishes of the said organization and live only in the Wired.

Spoiler or not, that is the plot and is more realistic than NGE’s Instrumentality with similarities from the original movie Ghost in the Shell (1995). No need for cyborgs, mechs, supernatural BS, and the distant future; just real science, philosophy, and psychology with a dash of conspiracy theories and a few major twists (e.g. fantasy/religion, reality as a whole).

As the title suggests, this is a series of unique experiments (one per episode), focused mostly on LAIN (not just Lain Iwakura), that revolves around its central theme, perception. The material is openly presented through minimal storytelling in the form of monologues, open-ended dialogues, anonymous characters, symbols, and psychedelic and surreal imagery so nothing is absolute. By watching at face value, there are plot holes because the viewer’s vision throughout the entire series is limited. Thus, the audience is forced to make their own interpretations to fill those holes and complete their “reality” of the series while answering its questions about identity, memories, time, existence, morality, concept of God, and more controversial topics. This alone is not confusing enough without the common schizophrenic hallucinations, stagnant or creepy atmosphere, and subtle lies. Add as well the cynical yet fairly accurate criticism of our dependence with technology because of the lack of live communication (or abundance of chats in “The Wired”), insecurity and isolation, apathy and despair, technology (virtual) over human life (real), definition of humanity (anthropological, psychological, sociological, or something else) and other ideas to support the notion of “abandoning the flesh.” This all makes it a series only for the brave few.

Structure - 2/2 (NO FILLERS & BREAKS!)
Everything is almost divided equally in layers and the opening and ending sequences with a key concept related to Lain, the Wired, the organization and Eiri Masami, or the content. There is not a single second of filler as it gets straight to the point since the first viewing of the opening.
Everything is relevant to the plot, character, atmosphere, schizophrenic experience, or just the mindscrew. At first glance, they are disjointed or fragmented but do follow a linear timeline shown in different perspectives through the characters and the medium for communication.
Think of it as a spiral Mandelbrot set with the last episode as its center/core/tip. To which point the series begins is for the viewer to decide.

Since the information is transferred from layer to another, the viewer must have understood the meaning and relevance of every single scene and the importance of the introduced concept or idea to the overall story.

Pacing – 1.75/2
It moves along with Lain Iwakura’s involvement in the Real and the Wired.
The episode pacing is slow enough to give the viewer enough time to ponder the philosophical questions asked and interpret the slight changes in the current frame/s while unnecessary events are skipped and hints were shown sparingly to move on to the next concept and keep the viewer interested. On an episode basis, the pacing is slow or realistically paced but, when examining the entire picture, it is quite fast and can leave you puzzled for the entire duration. The first six episodes are consistent, down to the last second of the ending theme, but the next seven lost its screws and started the mindscrew and WTF!? moments (if the first episode was only slightly/partially confusing). I admit that this second half is hectic to the point of deducting this section a bit but the execution does deliver everything extremely well.

Concluding Arc – 2/2 (Sensible only if you survived the mindscrew)
Consistent with the memory motif that was mentioned and applied in plot developments and twists, the bittersweet ending is perfectly fitting and foreshadowed a few times. Every loose end is tied up if all of dots are connected.

CHARACTER SECTION – 8.25/10
LAIN – 2.75/3
Omnipresent in both the Real and Wired, this being is represented ... well, anything you can think of. In this series alone, it is shown in the form of a Lain Iwakura, a shy, naive, curious, and “ordinary” junior high school girl with two main conflicting personalities, and Lain of the Wired. Her introverted and socially challenged outer layer is meant to relate to the audience and criticize the hikikomori, NEET, otaku, obsessed Internet users, etc. who have abandoned the “real” world to some extent while her repressed inner self asserts her beliefs in the presence of agents, apathetic classmates and family, conspiracists, trollers, and strangers, states her own opinion in straightforward and honest manner, thinks logically, and does her own way. Freudian and Jungian psychology are applied in the usage and blending of these two personalities as she further engages the people around her and translate herself into the Wired.

The only minor problems for her characterization are her naivety, ideas that rarely come out of nowhere, and confusing personality switch which is rarely done for plot convenience.

The rest – 2/3
All of the characters represent the “normal” citizens of modern society that are purposely designed to be realistic but unlikeable with the selfishness, betrayal, lies, fear, depression, mental breakdown, and death in various ways. Existing only to contribute to the plot and fully develop Lain Iwakura, not all of characters have enough screen time and depth. In a way, they are perfect as this allows the audience to focus mostly on the story, the best aspect of the show.

Development – 1.5/2
Atypical for the plot and character are integrated. Both advance at the same pace. Unlike most series where there has to be some sort of obvious conflict, the main protagonist simply levels up by interacting with strangers, going to different places, obtaining new friends, gaining new information, and other normal stuff most of humans do. Each information introduced in the episode adds another layer to her characterization. Gradually, her multiple personalities blend, and access in the Wired improves. What is still unclear in the end is how she manages to switch her personality.

The rest do change but only for the sake of the current demands of the story.

Catharsis: 2/2
Since the characters are never given the same amount of focus on Lain Iwakura, they might as well be dealt with in style. Suicide, insanity, mindscrew, murder/homicide, memory loss, removed from existence, disappearance, abandonment, etc.; everything is there in its uncensored glory. Most are not spared, not even Lain Iwakura. This is not like the Matrix, Black Lagoon, or any other show that just wastes its NPCs or side characters for the sake of plot convenience. Every concluding point of the character’s lives/existence is with reason and can be explained by previous events.

ART SECTION – 8.5/10
General Artwork and Visuals - 5.25/6
Production values are lower than Ghost in the Shell (1995) and Akira (1989).
Stock footage is sometimes used. Passable CGI and real photographs don’t blend well with the actual animated artwork.Common animation flaws in the 90s are probably present here. I can nitpick every single flaw there is but resistence is futile against the experimental art style from a late 90s Japanese anime TV series.

The minimalistic artwork and visuals is filled with so much symbolism in most of the frames that the story can never be fully understood without it. Simple color changes, stock footage, and even just the text (e.g. lain in the OP) has some hidden meanings. High contrasts, striking lighting effects, dark color palette that gives off a melancholic feel, bright watercolors, different animation styles, varying detail of background and foregrounds, screen caps, and smooth lines are good enough just on the aesthetic value. What is more impressive is the entire artwork of its computer hardware and software. Monitors, processors, motherboards, wires, cooling systems, etc. are accurately drawn with detail while the programs used are quite similar to the real ones we have.

Character Figures/Designs -1.75/2
Designed by the talented Yoshitoshi Abe (Haibane Renmei, Texhnolyze, Niea_7), every character looks exactly as one should be, even the NPCs and avatars. None look like blobs, sticks, or other characters in the show; none have weird hairstyles, and faces and reactions (if you exclude the hallucinations and the mindscrew); all are drawn realistically but never distracting. Detailing, shading, and clothing also change depending on the occasion and complement the physicality and personality of the characters.

As for Lain Iwakura, her unique hairstyle, eyes, and bear clothing (e.g. pajamas (my profile picture), hats, and toy) symbolize something and improve her moe and nymph aspects.

There are couple of inconsistencies in some frames due to angling.
Some NPCs lack faces and overall detailing but they are meant to be generic just like the backgrounds so one can focus on the story, the main thing anyone should care about.

Transition/Fluidity - 1.5/2
Accurate positioning/angling and zooming or scrolling of still frames, along with slow movement, is repeatedly used to compliment its content and artwork. Transition between stock and new footage is handled well especially with the change in audio. This, along with artwork mentioned above, produced the atypical OP and simple ED, each perfect in its own right.

As for actual character movement and special effects, it is paced similarly with the atmosphere but is a bit slow at times. There were key moments when characters should actually be moving instead of the frame only. Certain scenes can be presented on a larger scale so we can see more of just everything from characters to backgrounds without sacrificing the story and the focus on Lain.

SOUND SECTION – 9.25/10
Soundtrack – 3.75/4
The opening theme “Duvet” by Boa and the ending theme “Tooi Sakebi” (A Distant Cry) by Nakaido “Chabo” Reichi are excellent choices for they achieve the following:
1.) allow Lain Iwakura to communicate her feelings to the audience (personal pronouns are commonly used)
2.) perfectly describe her situation in her empty “Real” and dark “Wired” lives.
3.) introduce the right atmosphere for entering and exiting the world of LAIN
Both are also in sync with their respective videos.

The OST composed by Reichi “Chabo” Nakaido is a well-crafted collection of unconventional rock, jazz, and techno music. With the exception of Track 10, there are no lyrics but have the same impact, if not more.
Kodoku No Shigunaru (Signal of Solitude) and Inner Vision give a pleasant and relaxing feeling to mark the end of Lain and our journey in this mess. No other BGMs can match them on the same scenes.
Cyberia (nightclub) Theme, Lain’s Theme (Yes, she has her own special music theme), and Kiri no Ijigen supply the seriousness and suspense while complementing the content and atmosphere.

What made this short of a masterpiece is the lack of variety of similar tunes.
The staff played certain BGMs, specifically Kiri no Ijigen, a couple of times when the artwork and dialogue require something more or less “weird”.
The result is a conflict of the emotions previously and currently invoked.
WOW! or WTF!? responses for every episode happens less often. Also, there are a few moments when the BGM is played at the wrong time or does not give off the right tone.

By itself, the soundtrack is perfect, but, when used in the anime, it is not.
The second soundtrack “Cyberia Mix” makes up for flaws of the first.

BGM/SFX – 3/3
The silence and buzzing sounds of cables sounds helps the audience focus on the finer details and important concepts presented in the artwork while the sparingly used creepy or rock tunes and sound effects change the tone to spice things up when necessary. Never was it ever distracting the audience from the current topic and always gave a sense of realism or just weirdness.
Whatever you hear in a room, sidewalks, buildings, vehicle, computer, etc. in our current world, Earth, sounds extremely similar in this show. It tried to be as real as possible and succeeded.

Voice Acting – 2.5/3
Gnerally good for the seiyuu.
The voice actors may lack the emotional touch in their dialogues and sound dull, boring, wooden, or awkward but they manage to maintain the more important ambiance. Lain's voice actor is commendable though.

As for the English and modified voices, the computer software does it exceptionally and beats everything else, including the modern Vocaloids (e.g. Hatsune Miku).

VALUE SECTION - 10/10 (PRESENT DAY, PRESENT TIME!)
Historical Value and Memorability - 7/7
Along with Ghost in the Shell (1995), these are the only prominent cyberpunk titles in the 90s that have significant influence in the treatment of anime and rebirth of the genre itself.

This is one of the few titles ever made to have only one multi-layered female protagonist that ultimately defined the entire series and be remembered for who knows how long.

Lastly, the bear clothing fetish was reintroduced in the anime community.

Replayability - 3/3
Decrypting everything will take the same time as memorizing and implementing all of the right combinations in Dragon Lair from scratch without cheating. The clues are all over the place and it might take days, months, or years and every rewatch can give a different overall understanding of the mystery behind LAIN and the Wired.

ENJOYMENT SECTION – 10/10 (And you don’t seem to understand...)
Having none of the MOE, unnecessary fanservice and violence, storyTELLING, forced and cliché plot devices, overused formulas, bad pacing, and the damned FILLERS and recaps (but I admit that some are enjoyable), one experiences something nonexistent in the majority of all anime titles.

It is a coming of age experience that treats its audience as independent critical thinkers and mature adults. Never does it attempt to manipulate our emotions, caterto specific fetishes, tell the story, waste time, censor controversial images, sugarcoat the content, and any of the like. Instead, it offers the questions , that fuel the human insatiable curiosity, and pure mindscrew by simply overloading the human brain with the constant stream of information about the mysteries, hallucinations, and philosophical notions. One doesn't need to see themselves in the characters like in Neon Genesis Evangelion and Revolutionary Girl Utena or have eyegasms with the animation in the movie versions of the two mentioned titles above. All one needs is to focus on the story and whatever happens to the main character and the rest will follow. Everything is consistent, neutral, and honest for what it is – avant-garde.

OVERALL OBJECTIVE RATING – 9.29/10
A truly deserving cult classic that still stands to the tests of time by 2011 standards.

Now, watch the AMV (what should be the official trailer) in the given link below:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GaFayr9zI-8t

Suggestion List:
Neon Genesis Evangelion series (popularized the mindscrew/dementia genre)
Revolutionary Girl Utena (deconstruction of the shoujo genre while mindfucking its target audience)
Haibane Renmei (Lain for the casuals)
Texhnolyze (same difficulty, shares some similarities with SELain and NGE)
Boogiepop Phantom (same theme of escapism)
FLCL (easier than all of the above, can be watched by simply chillaxing)

It took me THREE damn tries to watch this anime. And by the end I can finally acknowledge the hype and say yes, it's good. It's also not great. You can gush and say it's brilliant, and it certainly has moments of brilliance and there're moments where it isn't.

For the story…this anime does have a story, but the point of the anime certainly isn't the story. The story starts off very slow sans the first few minutes where a girl commits suicide. If you can make it through the first 4-5 episodes with your motivation to watch intact, then I think you'll enjoy the later ... episodes. The plot is very environment centric. The world is very developed and there are many clues and intricacies to understanding the world that are important to both the theme and plot of the show. A small hint, the episode titles can be quite helpful if an episode confuses you :)

The art is very good-looking for its time and still does hold up quite well. If anything else the visuals in this show do complement the rest of it exceptionally. Except during certain times towards the beginning that I'll get into in the next paragraph.

The soundtrack and ambiance is hit and miss. The show goes for an eerie stillness and often you hear just silence with sound effects to help create some atmosphere. The problem with this is that the show doesn't always give you something to think about during the long stretches of little visual or auditory stimulus. In most horror or thrillers the silence makes you think about what horrible things or events might be lurking around the corner. In SEL you can end up just sitting there waiting for something to happen.

As far as characters go there is Lain and the supporting cast. Lain is brilliant. She is a well-developed, fulfilled, and complex character that really does carry the show. We don't get a ton of info about any of the supporting cast, but they do all fill their purposes quite well, and the less focus placed on them means more focus on Lain. That works out just fine.

Now although it actually took some work for me to watch the show to completion (when is that ever a good thing?), I did enjoy it by the end. The themes of the story don't stray throughout and the story even has a few great moments on it's own. It really is one of the best additions to the fairly uncommon cyberpunk genre. So if computery sci-fi interests you, I'd definitely give this a watch.

Let's now recall why Serial Experiments Lain stands as my favourite anime ever (not that i watched much, to be honest)

-> If there's one true thing about everything you've heard of this series, is the fact that Lain isn't your common show, It doesn't focus on things such as character development or plot, and instead decides to go analyzing diverse aspects related primarily with communication and technology (A.K.A the internet, or "the Wired" as they call it). In fact, the only coherent part of the plot of this series is this: Lain gets a computer and starts knowing about "The wired", everything else from there ... on can be considered screwed up, or a masterpiece, depending of how you take it

- So it's difficult to rate the story because there's just too much stuff there that can't be related directed to the plot directly, but it serves to explore deeper into the topics at hand: Still, many would feel it's just pure nonsense.

-> The Art and sound are maybe the best things on SEL, because the simpleness of it really makes an impact of the "weird" factor, dialog lines are lacking, and the art at many times is so simple but it makes the job so well, Duvet by Boa is a song i truly love, and it sets the mood perfectly for this kind of show, and as usual, Yoshitoshi ABe's style is outstanding.

- Now for the characters, just one protagonist, Lain, the one who experiments 99% of the situations on the show, a shy, introverted person which finds in the Wired enough confidence to the point of developing a new personality (Sounds familiar?), and that's as spoiler-ish as i will get.. The rest of the characters aren't even secondary, they are just triggers that allow the diverse situations to flow in a not so nonsensical manner.. In other words, they are only there to serve as a reason of why Lain became the way she becomes and why she acts like she does.

-> Maybe the biggest flaw in Lain is that is extremely indirect, it will not tell you how Lain deals with the situations in her head ala Evangelion, nor will show you directly what the purpose of the story is ala Elfen Lied.. That's why it may appear as pure BS to a lot of people, but i suggest you give it a try, because for me it definitely was something that trascended typical anime, and even typical TV, it was a thought provoking and really interesting visual essay.

Story: 8/10
Art- Sound: 10/10
Character: 9/10
Enjoyment: 10/10
Overall: 10/10

You should see at least: This one is hard, and if you go through 3 episodes (layers) and find yourself boring to death maybe you should stop, but if you're just scratching your head trying to grasp what is happening move on. Layer 05 is where the fun starts though :D

So there it is, a review of my favourite anime, something i think everyone should do sometime. I promise more recent stuff (is already there) but for now please bear with me reviewing things i wanted to since long ago, thanks for reading and have a nice day

[9.0/10]
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________


Present Time - Present Day

Ironic. Serial Experiments Lain isn't timeless. In fact, it bathes in its own time. You can make parallels to the lives we live, the wired culture which we indulge in. Perpetual connectedness. Forever trapped in the screens in front of us. Yet Lain is a product of its own time. The late 90s when, instead of Y2K, Japan was drenched in its own fear. The horror of technology. How it grows, evolves, enraptures, and swallows. The technophobe culture which Lain overtly commented on is the very culture that no longer exists to the same extent today. We accept technology as it ... comes. We consume it as it springs forth every second of every day.

Circuitry hangs low over the city like a spider web. A barrier that represents one layer beyond our own. A layer of the wired. The weird. The mysterious. Power lines, low hums of generators unseen, these are motifs through which director Ryuutarou Nakamura expresses the indulgence of a society bordering on dystopia. Power, mystery, and growth. The symbols associated with a spider. It's web. A perpetually connected string of vines that ensnares victims.

The shadows aren't black but splotched. They are made up of moving ink, the bubbling of a cauldron. The shadows move and hide anything and everything. Ethereal, they walk and cover or uncover. Whenever you are to wander into the over-blown, exposed outdoors, you see a world that is one step behind, the people disappear, desperately grasping progress. That progress manifests in evolution. You are alone. You are empty. You are without friends or anyone who understands you. You poor, poor girl, thick-brimmed glasses on your face and a frown that never dissipates. You see an opportunity. The opportunity for freedom, to escape, to become something more.

You jump. Fall. Fall all the way down. Windows shatter and the metal of the roof crumples under your weight. You don't know. You are no longer restricted by the heaving, useless body that no one understands. You are now a part of something more.

Or you. The one frustrated with work. The grind. It weighs heavy on your back and you can feel your ribs begin to crack. You believe in something more. That something right above you every time you walk outside. The shadows can't mask that. The wires drape over, like taunting beggars asking for you to come. You do. Screw work, screw obligations, you double down. You don't need your body. You need influence, you want religion, you want to be the religion you want. You are.


You Don't Seem To Understand.

Lain transposes the meta. View the wired as a look into the real world through the eyes of the fake world on screen. We are presented with falsehood, we see their reality, we see our own through that same reality. Blurred images of parking lots and bridges run through many filters. Hardly distinguishable as real but they are. These are the images Lain uses to show us the parallel. The meta.

Far from us but close anyway. Like an infinite loop. The presentation is purposefully confusing and fractured. The narrative lacks a timeline. We see a poor girl, fourteen, introverted, shy, a parallel to the two souls lost. One on the train-tracks, one splayed out on the streets. This girl, Lain, is given a window to the new, weird, wacky world of vaporwave fuzz and dripping cyber heaven. The wired is just that. A depiction of future as seen from the past that purposefully paints itself as completely dissonant than the path we took. Yet it is an esoteric narrative that is hauntingly believable in the minutia, but ultimately unbelievable in the idea. The ideas here, which are undoubtedly avant-garde and esoteric, are made to be siphoned from by the viewer. A string of information given to you.

What do you take from the depiction of the internet? The web that harbors answers and routes of communication that might seem completely unbelievable. What would you have said in 1998? What would you have said in 2000? 2005? Later? Lain isn't timeless because as time passes what you take from it is utterly different and not through the intent of the writer or director. It happens to be that because that is how technology works. The creators know that. We should've too. Lain works because it isn't timeless. If it were then the answers we seek would be malformed. Technology isn't timeless, much like this series, it becomes dated. Lain's room evolves as she does.


Ego Death.

To lose yourself in duality. Your self-identity melts away into pixels and becomes yet another blue screen that hums and glitches. The device which you look at the said screen is shaped like a gun. You press the trigger and the screen collapses and the gun is holstered in your hoodie. The hoodie is worn by a boy no older than thirteen.

Lain experiences ego death. Her loss is documented through thirteen brutal episodes. Each one adding layers. Layer one is weird, Layer ten is love, layer thirteen is ego. The layers evolve as does her room. Tubing stretches, viscous green coolant dashes through and feeds her system. Every time we see her room something new has been added. This persists until Lain lives in the cyber-heaven that she first got to witness in layer one. Consumed by the internet. No doubt people can relate. Anime fans especially. Let the flickering screen be the food for the day. The duality of not only yourself but the difference between fiction and reality. A topic which can be read into at any time and place. The bad side manifests and becomes you. You lose the understanding you saught.

In Jungian Psychology this is the psychic death. The fundamental change of the psyche. This could be becoming something new, becoming a god, realizing your true potential, your strength, the power, the mystery unfolds. Yet it can also be understanding who you were to begin with. The delusions fade and you see yourself for the first time, not in the third person, but in the first.


Memories.

They can be false. Once you forget them, the notion that they ever existed comes into question. The final theme of Serial Experiments Lain. An experiment in truth. Relating to truth and fiction, but only enough to draw the parallel. Once you remove yourself, truly remove yourself, you never were there to begin with. Just a fleeting thought triggered by minutia.

Lain makes this connection. Tea and madeleines. Written as an essay by Marcel Proust. The idea here is that certain triggers may cause forgotten memories to erupt back into the conscious. The memories of a childhood friend, the first time you tasted soda, the eyes of a deleted girl that is as much a part of you as she is everyone. The theme only holds weight to those who believe that the final comment of the series holds weight. A divine being that carves out a location for itself, out of reach by all but perhaps in sight. Like the wires that hang over you every time you venture outside.

Every idea builds on itself to paint a picture of more than just a culture. More than just a narrative. A holistic approach to storytelling that relies on encapsulating a present day. A present time. You laugh, but it is a period piece unlike any other. One that may fall victim to quick production or off-model animation, but one that wants to never be just another fleeting thought.

''What is real? How do you define 'real'? If you're talking about what you can feel, what you can smell, what you can taste and see, then 'real' is simply electrical signals interpreted by your brain.'' - Morpheus, The Matrix

The story starts off somewhat simple. A shy, timid, fourteen-year-old girl with few friends and interests is introduced as the titular main character. However, as the plot unravels itself, a simple web transforms into a deep, multi-faceted fabric. It is anything but simple. Conspiracies, ego, realization, communication and identity are explored in an existential tale of life in the digital age, set in the era ... of the personal computer. We are introduced to supporting characters through Lain, and merely few episodes in are questioned whether they even exist, or are delusions of Lain's twisted, yet innocent mind. Lain's obsession with the digital world of the Wired could be interpreted as humanity's plight into the world of the web, and a statement on globalisation as a whole. It constantly bombards the audience with questions regarding identity, humanity, religion and just when the audience thinks they are starting to get a basic grip on the highly and purposely convoluted storyline, the show throws a curve ball that knocks your interpretation over.

The whole plot operates on the level of a David Lynch film. Dreamlike imagery, suspicious, mysterious characters with motives concealed behind a one-way mirror, conspiracies, and philosophical themes. However, whereas David Lynch films are usually purely interpretational, Serial Experiments Lain lays out the plot in a basic form, placing pieces throughout the episodes, and gently nudges you to fill in the blanks.

Lain's development throughout the show is captivating, and very reminiscent of Fight Club's insomniac narrator Tyler Durden. As the plot progresses, we are introduced to many alter egos of Lain, hinting at a possible dissociative personality disorder. The real-world, "childish" Lain has a shy attitude and bear pajamas. The "advanced" Lain, her Wired personality, is bold and questioning. Finally, the "evil" Lain is sly and devious, and does everything she can to harm Lain or the ones close to her. This confuses the viewer and heavily ties in with the theme of identity. All the supporting cast revolve around her, but are purely there to further advance Lain's story.

As with any show, the ending is paramount. Don't fret, Serial Experiments Lain delivers, with an ending I believe ties up the show nicely. There is no action-packed boss battle, or anything of the sort, but if you even expected that for a second, you're watching this for the wrong reasons. This show is purely psychological.

The animation was handled by the now-defunct Triangle Staff studios. The show has aged well, and is still as well-animated as it was in 1998. The environments are very ambiguous, as we see the world through the eyes of Lain, her strange delusions coming to life. The character animation design is superb, especially on Lain. All her split personalities are well-animated, and successfully convey the vision of the writers.

The sound work in the show is top-notch. The series' opening theme, "Duvet", was written and performed in English by the British rock band Bôa. The closing theme is ''Tooi Sakebi'' by Nakaido Chabo Rei'ichii. Both are gorgeous rock songs, which tie in well with the ''confused, shy teenager'' character of Lain. A recurring sound of humming power lines is a constant thoughout the series, and is synonymous with the area outside Lain's house. The use of music is kept to a minimum, preferring the use of minimalist, psychedelic sound effects. When music is used, it is commonly electronic, blood-pumping techno, connecting to the in-show nightclub, Cyberia. During the recap in episode 11, wailing, beatless, noisy guitar riffs are repeated, layering over each other. Each episode title is announced with an Apple PlainTalk whisper preset, which I thought was a small, but nice touch, fitting in with the theme of contemporary computer culture.

This show is captivating. If you enjoy cyberpunk, or mystery, or psychological anime, you will definitely enjoy SEL. Interpretational, yet crystal clear. I'm sure this show could be analysed a thousand times over. I'm sure there are many double meanings hidden throughout the episodes. One of the classics of the 1990's, pushing the envelope for animated art and storytelling. I can see why this is a cult classic. If you enjoy anime that makes you think, give it a try. It's definitely not for everyone, but I believe it deserves a spot in your list. Its willingness to question the meaning of contemporary life and the extraordinarily philosophical and deep questions it presents us with are mind-bending. Present day, present time.