Serial Experiments Lain

Lain Iwakura, an awkward and introverted fourteen-year-old, is one of the many girls from her school to receive a disturbing email from her classmate Chisa Yomoda—the very same Chisa who recently committed suicide. Lain has neither the desire nor the experience to handle even basic technology; yet, when the technophobe opens the email, it leads her straight into the Wired, a virtual world of communication networks similar to what we know as the internet. Lain's life is turned upside down as she begins to encounter cryptic mysteries one after another. Strange men called the Men in Black begin to appear wherever she goes, asking her questions and somehow knowing more about her than even she herself knows. With the boundaries between reality and cyberspace rapidly blurring, Lain is plunged into more surreal and bizarre events where identity, consciousness, and perception are concepts that take on new meanings.

Written by Chiaki J. Konaka, whose other works include Texhnolyze, Serial Experiments Lain is a psychological avant-garde mystery series that follows Lain as she makes crucial choices that will affect both the real world and the Wired. In closing one world and opening another, only Lain will realize the significance of their presence.

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

Iwakura, Lain Main

Shimizu, Kaori Japanese

Mizuki, Arisu Supporting

Asada, Youko Japanese

Eiri, Masami Supporting

Hayami, Show Japanese

Iwakura, Yasuo Supporting

Oobayashi, Ryuusuke Japanese

Yomoda, Chisa Supporting

Mutou, Sumi Japanese

Iwakura, Mika Supporting

Kawasumi, Ayako Japanese

Haushofer, Karl Supporting

Nakata, Jouji Japanese

Taro Supporting

Takimoto, Keito Japanese

J.J Supporting

Chikada, Wasei Japanese

Sui-Xi, Lin Supporting

Yamazaki, Takumi Japanese

Cook, Justin Producer

Ueda, Yasuyuki Producer, Planning, Original Creator

Maseba, Yutaka Producer

Abe, Shoujirou Producer

Reviews

May 13, 2024

Gumi_39

Recommended

I have had a lot of time to think about this show, as I watched it in multiple sittings with time in between. After finishing it, I've come to the conclusion that I'm one of those people that think this anime is something special.

I think one of the most important things to consider when diving into Lain is the way in which it could be viewed and interpreted. By this I mean that if you want to view it as a standard anime with normal plot and character development, you will get little to nothing out of it. The story is basically nonexistent, characters do ... not have formal character arcs or change much at all, ideas and plot points are introduced and/or forgotten, imagery is thrown about in strange ways. You will be very, very bored. However, if you view it differently, like an art piece, you will feel much more fulfilled.

That probably sounds incredibly pretentious, so let me explain.

I'm not saying that this anime is so incredible it must be viewed purely as fine art. No, far from it. What I mean is that, in my many years of experience as an artist dissecting and writing about tons of different pieces, some art asks many questions and do not give many answers. These pieces are invitations for their viewers to digest their words, their imagery, their craftsmanship and motifs. They provide these things, but the true meaning of the piece is for the viewer to discover something about themselves or the world around them as they haven't before. And in doing so, the viewer feels connected with the piece and gains new perspectives. This is exactly what I think Lain is: an open conversation. It shows the effects of its proposed ideas and philosophies of a world similar to ours and asks the viewer what they think. "How would it affect our world? Is memory history? If something is forgotten, does it exist? What exactly is a God?" All of these questions are answered vaguely in this world. But that's not the point. The point, in my eyes, is for the viewer to take these questions with them afterword and ponder them. It opens up so many discussions, from memory to morality. And you get really neat visuals too, so that's a plus.

I'm not going to sit here and try to describe the plot of Lain. If all of this sounds pretentious and boring to you (which, I've seen many people describe this show as, and I wholeheartedly disagree) then it is not the anime for you. I feel that it is so great because it asks all of these things in such beautiful, haunting ways. It kept me invested for the entire duration without fail. I felt connected to Lain, (which is... fitting), but interested in the rest of the cast as well. So many of its themes apply to the world-- both digital and "real"-- now more than ever, so I think it holds up well aside from some outdated computer graphics.

If any of this sounded even remotely interesting, please give it a shot. Watch at least to episode 3, as the first couple are very quiet. I find it beautiful, but I don't think it would be everyone's cup of tea.

I don't know. I thought it was pretty fun to watch Lain have multiple existential crisis. (My only major complaint is the amount of times characters said "Lain". I know it has value in relation to its themes and messages, but it definitely got grating after 13 episodes ^u^; )

Reviewer’s Rating: 9

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May 15, 2024

HotHamlet

Mixed Feelings

Serial Experiments Lain seems to have left a significant mark on anime, often rated highly. That being said i found my experience with the anime rather disappointing.

One of the main parts of the anime is it's horror that is especially prominent in the initial episodes. The series begins with a deeply unsettling atmosphere, haunting imagery and creepy(ish) audio. The first few episodes create a sense of unease and makes you feel like the anime will be laced with these great moments of psychological horror. However, as the series progresses the horror element disappears completely. The more convoluted the narrative seems to go, the less creepy ... it gets. This shift might leave fans of the horror genre feeling somewhat unsatisfied as the initial promise of psychological horror fades.

The voice acting is a standout feature here. The cast delivers performances that are so very monotone it's rather chilling. The lead Lain is particularly noteworthy as her subdued and almost emotionless delivery at times captures her detachment from the world around her. This monotone approach extends to other characters as well, creating a world where everyone seems slightly off and dreamlike. I should mention that i watched the dubbed version of the anime.

The movie is undeniably ahead of its time with it's themes of social media that feels more real today than it would watching it back then. The anime seemed to predict the impact the internet would have on society. This is impressive and adds a nice layer to the anime that is still relevant to this very day. That all being said i do believe if Serial Experiments Lain were released today, it may not be received as well. The once decent visuals and animation does not hold up against today's techniques, making it less appealing to your average viewer. I also do believe when rating the anime it's one that you really need to take into account the time of which it was released as there are so many better alternatives for anything noteworthy in this anime in my eyes. The anime i believe provides nothing you cannot find a better version of today. That being said i obviously will take into account the time at which it was released.

The story is full of interesting ideas, however it feels more incoherent as the plot continues. The story feels messy and rather difficult to follow thus leaves you with more negative confusion than feeling any sense of intrigue. I do not believe an anime needs to always explain perfectly what is going on and/or treat the audience as if they're stupid. However i feel the way this anime treats it's story is poorly handled and feels more like a convoluted mess than something deserving of theories and discussion.

I also would like to mention how forgettable the characters are. While Lain herself is the titled named protagonist, the supporting cast lacks any memorable qualities. They often serve more as vessels for lain to tell a story rather than fully realised individual characters. This lack of strong character development can make it challenging for viewers to form emotional connections to a single character throughout the story. Although i only just watched the anime, i have already forgotten half of the cast. This all being said Lain is by far the most important character in the anime. Thus as long as her story was told better, i think this issue wouldn't have been as noticeable.

Overall, the anime is a piece of history that is good in it's voice acting, ahead of it's time exploration of the web and in the earlier episodes it's horror. However, the narrative discombobulation and lack of compelling character's throughout really hold the anime back. Despite these flaws my final score will take into account the release date of the anime (that being 1998).

Final Score - 4/10

Reviewer’s Rating: 4

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Mar 29, 2024

BlueKojiro

Not Recommended

Serial Experiments Lain is a story that would be infinitely better told as a few dozen-page short story or a feature-length film, NOT a 13-episode TV series.

The only reason I give it a 6 is because of reading a few think pieces about the ending that made me appreciate it a bit more. I like the *idea* of the story, but hell, I have plenty of *ideas* for stories I'd like to write someday so that's not really impressive. The thing that impresses me about storytelling is the ability of a writer to take an idea and *show* it to an audience. This show is, ... in a word, self-indulgent.

75% of what you see on screen is just for mood and vibe and communicates zero information. There's a movie-length story cut up and shuffled into someone's schizophrenic episode. Maybe that's the point! Too bad, don't care! It's not enjoyable to watch, and what is the point of spending my free time watching something that's not enjoyable? That's what *work* is for, i.e. something unenjoyable that yet offers some benefit (whether this is working for an employer so they pay you, or working out your body so that you retain your health, etc). I have consumed stories that are both enjoyable and thought-provoking at the same time, so let's please dispense with this idea that we *owe* any writer our attention just because they've got a really cool idea they want to communicate. If you're going to make me work for it, I'm passing.

This is a story that is only understandable through reading someone else's synopsis, and those people are only able to understand it by watching it multiple times and filling in all the gaps with their headcanon. I don't know when it became acceptable to call stories like this "good." Lain is not even remotely the most complex story I've come across, so why is it so inscrutable? Just because it's hard to understand does not mean it's complex and it certainly doesn't mean it's good. One of the most fundamental aspects of writing *anything* is learning how to communicate efficiently. This goes for fiction and non-fiction equally. Just as you don't want to drown your boss in unnecessary details about the specific procedures you applied to get them your data set, you also don't want to bore your reader with an unnecessarily drawn out scene, too much dialogue, too much exposition, etc. Lain is filled with too much noise that does not communicate any meaning. You could replace most of this show with a windows screensaver slideshow and come away with roughly the same experience.

Ultimately this show is a reflection of one of my least favorite aspects of the process of classicification (in my usage here I refer to the process by which a particular story becomes canonized as a "classic" in its specific genre or medium). Sometimes a story is just really poorly executed, and there is a class of people that believe the consumption of art should be work and thus the process of parsing through a poorly executed story is somehow part of the process of bettering one's mind and spirit. I think this is frankly bullshit. Anyone can write a terrible story based on a cool idea. This does not make it a good story. If we really thought this was a legitimate enterprise, then there is no such thing as a bad story, and by necessity there is then no such thing as a good story, because execution does not matter. All that matters is stringing together a story in your own imagination, in which case the entire enterprise of writing and scripting itself is meaningless. Let's all just write down plot summaries and let each other write the story in our minds and then we can all tell eachother what we were actually trying to say.

This show does not deserve to be a classic. It's trash.

Reviewer’s Rating: 6

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	This is the first anime to truly mindf*** me mydaddy - May 22	14 replies	by CursedMonarch-69 »» 2 hours ago
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	Poll: Serial Experiments Lain Episode 9 Discussion ( 1 2 3 4 ) aero - Mar 16, 2009	174 replies	by Bunker-Nines »» May 19, 1:15 PM
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	Will this come over to crunchyroll? Rockyjams909 - May 7	16 replies	by FlavioTP126 »» May 12, 9:34 PM

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