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

Iwakura, Mika Supporting

Kawasumi, Ayako Japanese

Yomoda, Chisa Supporting

Mutou, Sumi 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

Jun 3, 2025

kozad

Recommended

TL;DR – The gifs and memes don’t do this artistic imagining of an interconnected world justice, it’s so much more than powerlines and edgy quotes. This is an old anime from 1998, an era shared with several classics such as Cowboy Bebop, Trigun, Neon Genesis Evangelion, and Great Teacher Onizuka. It rightfully occupies a place alongside them as one of the first modern classics which trailblazed an anime fandom in the west. It explores the impacts of the internet on social relationships, mental health, and our perception of reality.

This is a thought-provoking classic, made in an age when the masses were just beginning to log ... onto the rapidly growing internet. Like many sci-fi works created in this era, it attempts to predict what may come to pass in a future where we live through the internet and largely spurn real world human contact and a seemingly dull existence. While taking a much more fanciful approach vs. the grittier and more accurate depiction of Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex, Serial Experiments Lain still inspires introspection in those of us who are chronically online or have tech addicted people in our lives.
Which person are we, really? Our online selves or what we show to people in the real world? Is the internet a place, is it an experience, or just a tool? Are there clear boundaries, or have the lines blurred so much that the internet and the real world are indistinguishable? What happens when we forsake human contact in favor of living vicariously online?
Ghost in the Shell is the only other anime I’ve seen which provokes viewers to ask themselves these sort of questions as it relates to tech. Sure, there are other anime and OVA which will present us with moral quandaries – Time of Eve comes to mind for example – but these are often more on the nose and less subtle. Are robots sentient and should they have rights? These are fun thought experiments but are of a completely different nature. Serial Experiments Lain shows us a world where the internet can change who you are, destroy your real-world social life, and even has Lain experience what could be interpreted as internet virality.
This anime remains one of my favorites, and I highly recommend it to anyone who is into psychological thrillers – think “Perfect Blue” “Paranoia Agent” and “Paprika” for example.

Reviewer’s Rating: 9

What did you think of this review?

Nice 0

Love it 0

Funny 0

Confusing 0

Informative 0

Well-written 0

Creative 0

More reviews by kozad (14)

Show all

Read more

Show less

Open

Gift

Report

Mar 18, 2025

Miggzy64

Mixed Feelings

I'm a fan of what thematic meaning I was able to extract from this, and I'm sure that on a rewatch things might click a little more into place. Unfortunately, everything is presented with such mundanity that I don't think I'll ever get around to that. It has everything you need to make a great, hard-hitting show about the oppressive always-on connectedness of the internet, but they forgot to make it an entertaining show. I can stomach something like this for about 120 minutes but this is 13 episodes of TV. I was never excited about tuning in next week to see more vibey shots ... of mundane life/ the internet paired with musings on what it means to be a person/ data/ memories/ exist in a place. There are cool ideas here but it does very little to exploit the strengths of TV anime. A short OVA, theatrical film, manga, visual novel, or essay could all get these ideas across without losing any of what makes Lain great.

Reviewer’s Rating: 5

What did you think of this review?

Nice 0

Love it 0

Funny 0

Confusing 0

Informative 0

Well-written 0

Creative 0

More reviews by Miggzy64 (2)

Show all

Read more

Show less

Open

Gift

Report

Jun 12, 2025

drageus_

Not Recommended

Serial Experiments Lain did not enchant me the way I hoped it would.

The first episode really got me hooked but all episodes after that felt like a pretentious and unenjoyable mess. The first half of the season honestly felt like a chore to watch. This show is also so insanely unstimulating, I kept on zoning out 24/7.

I really tried to get it. To see what the writers saw in this show. But maybe I'm just missing something. Something crucial that flew over my head that would've made me like this. However I can't imagine myself rewatching this, ever.

It's really such a shame because I ... love it's concept. It has topics I've never seen in anime before and the show really has a distinct character to it. The art style, aesthetics, and most importantly the opening are what carries this show. Another reason why I refuse to give it a negative rating is because the story isn't thaaat horrible. It's just trying so hard to be good. And I guess that's what triggers me. It's also ridiculously confusing. Not the fun or interesting way. It makes it all even less watchable if you ask me.

Im sure there are a lot of people who would love this, wish I was one of them.

Reviewer’s Rating: 5

What did you think of this review?

Nice 0

Love it 0

Funny 0

Confusing 0

Informative 0

Well-written 0

Creative 0

More reviews by drageus_ (2)

Show all

Read more

Show less

Open

Gift

Report

Foreign Music in Anime

by Ya_B0i

49 Entries · 27 Restacks

Psychological Eye Candy

by Hinozall

16 Entries · 16 Restacks

yuri 👩‍❤️‍💋‍👩👭

by grrrlsrevolution

50 Entries · 135 Restacks

North American Anime & Manga Releases for May

North American Anime & Manga releases for May 2014 Week 1: April 29th - May 5th Anime Releases Amazing Nuts! Cat Planet Cuties Complete Collection (S.A.V.E. Edit...read more

Apr 29, 2014 1:00 PM by Snow | Discuss (24 comments)

	Poll: Serial Experiments Lain Episode 12 Discussion ( 1 2 3 ) cureroyale - Jan 27, 2009	142 replies	by teraphIl1000 »» Jun 8, 8:11 AM
	Poll: Serial Experiments Lain Episode 13 Discussion ( 1 2 3 4 5 ... Last Page ) nini - Dec 30, 2008	422 replies	by teraphIl1000 »» Jun 6, 3:00 PM
	Poll: Serial Experiments Lain Episode 2 Discussion ( 1 2 3 4 ) MasterJ633 - Oct 28, 2008	196 replies	by Erquint »» Jun 5, 6:38 PM
	Serial Experimental Lain Torianne - Jan 1, 2016	10 replies	by JoeChip »» Jun 5, 11:12 AM
	Poll: Serial Experiments Lain Episode 1 Discussion ( 1 2 3 4 5 ... Last Page ) StabbyPWNS - Oct 11, 2008	334 replies	by Erquint »» Jun 4, 12:43 PM

12 Complex Psychological Anime to Wrap Your Head Around

In a genre with anime of various types ranging from action to sports, these are the psychological anime that will actually challenge you and the way you think.

by MAL_Articles

274,116 views

Top 25 Best Anime Opening Songs of All Time

Everyone has their own favorite anime opening, but is the one you cherish featured on this best of list? Let's take a look at 25 of the best and most famous anime openings in anime history!

by FreeNightFalls

1,252,573 views

RecommendationCollectionMusicVideo