Farhana_Luba's Blog

Anime Relations: Serial Experiments Lain

I just finished watching this anime named “Serial Experiments Lain”. And I’m just glad I came across this. I’d have missed out a lot if I hadn’t seen this. So here goes my thoughts on “Serial Experiments Lain.”

The anime starts with a narrator saying, “Present day…present time…hahaha.” Trust me, every time I heard those words, it just creeped the hell outta me. I’m pretty sure that all of my nightmares will include that voice note from now on. :v

Then starts the OP. I have to say, this is one of the best English OPs I’ve ever heard in my life. I loved the song, and I loved how everything was visualized…’cause it gave a sense how complex this anime’s gonna be. I’m definitely setting that song as my phone’s ringtone.

The ending theme was fine. Found it interesting, as well. But even if you skip the ending, you just can’t skip the OP every time.

The anime starts with this character (named Chisa) committing suicide. And later on, Chisa’s classmates get emails from her. So yeah, that was definitely enough to hook me up to the anime. Trust me, I was hooked to this anime in such a way that I couldn’t concentrate in any other thing till I finished this. There are just so many mysteries, so many unanswered questions…I just wanted to find the answer to everything.

The anime goes on with the life of the protagonist, Lain. She’s a mystery on her own. I liked the uniqueness, the complexity in her character so much that I can’t probably describe in words. Often, I felt really bad for the so-called “hologram” of the Lain from the Wired. She was desperately trying to prove her existence, to fix everything, to make everything alright…but things weren’t just going her way. As she searches for the answers of her questions, she finds out more and more horrible truth about herself. When the familiar world you’ve been living in starts to fall apart and turns into something you’ve never known, it’s definitely depressing. And that’s what Lain’s been facing.

The plot of the anime doesn’t just stand still. It revolves in its own way…and I found this unique style of storytelling pretty darn interesting. I’ve never seen anything like this before, and I’m pretty doubtful whether I’ll see anything close to this, ever.

Every single episode dragged me towards the next one. I just couldn’t put this anime on hold, like a lot other ones. I just couldn’t give it a rest.

All the characters are so mysterious in their own ways that it’s just unbelievable. You just can’t predict everything accurately about this one, I can bet on that. As the episodes go on, you’ll be doing a lot of brainstorming. If you’re looking for something to mess with your brains, this is the anime you should watch.

There’s a big “but” in the anime. This anime deals with a li’l bit of atheism, existentialism, transhumanism, parapsychological abilities and a ton other complicated things. To watch this anime, one must have a really open mind to see this only as a medium of mind-boggling entertainment, and nothing else. I’m not saying that this anime supports or indicates any of those mentioned above. But then again, the plot includes a little bit of those. So yes, this anime is definitely not for everyone.

[PS. This anime is not gonna influence your religious views, or your psychological views. So I think one should give this anime a chance. ]

Lain’s identity crisis and her despair regarding this were remarkably shown in this anime. She wanted her existence to be removed from everyone’s memories, and yet she didn’t want the people she loved to forget her. Her mental crisis really made me think a lot about myself. Alongside the brainstorming with the plot, the anime made me think a lot of stuff about memories, how it represents human, and how it sets a person apart from another.

This anime is just not for mere entertainment. Rather, it serves the purpose of those who wanna see the more realistic side to life, how it is, and how it could be. It makes you wonder who you really are. Are you the person you claim yourself to be, or are you the person who other people think you as?And that’s what sets this anime apart from a lot others. This anime is complex, mysterious, and yet amazing. I personally loved watching this, and I’ll recommend this anime strongly, if you’re really looking forward to having a mind-boggling experience.

And in the end, I’d like to quote the anime.

“What isn’t remembered, never happened.
Memory is merely a record.”

And yet, memories might just be the reason why every human being is so unique in his/her own way. Isn’t that outrageous to think?

Well, I feel it is :)

Anime Relations: Hachimitsu to Clover

I’ve completed watching “Honey and Clover” a few months ago. My buddy Rodela suggested this to me, and I knew I had to watch this. And this question has been whiling around in my head ever since I completed the series.

How far can I go without turning back?

I’ll tell you how I felt after watching the last episode. As the ending theme (”Waltz”) was being played on the screen of my computer, I had a smile on my face, and yet…I was tearing up enough to create an ocean. I was smiling ‘cause I got to know what life’s about from the anime. Life’s crazy, life doesn’t always offer you what you assume it to do (in fact, it NEVER does). But we keep on going ahead, looking forward to the next day.

I loved each and every character there was. Takemoto, Mayama, Morita, Nomiya, Yamada, Rika, Hagu… everyone somehow seemed familiar to me. It felt as if I’d known them forever. I didn’t know why I felt that way. But now I do.

Everyone was looking for answers, or searching for themselves, and what they’re meant to be. All of us do that, don’t we? I felt the pain of Yamada-san, ‘cause I know how it feels when you can’t stop loving someone who might never even look back for you (I’m symbolically talking about my ex-bestie here). I also felt what Mayama was going through when he just wanted to be there for Rika-san. I felt that emptiness that Takemoto felt, ‘cause I didn’t know what to look forward to. I knew how Hagu-chan was feeling when she couldn’t paint according to her own will. In fact, I saw my reflection in one way or another in all the characters. I guess that’s what made it worth watching.

I loved the comedy part, too.I used to watch the anime in the middle of the night so that my mum doesn’t get to know about this. But I laughed out loud so hard that my mum thought I was laughing on the phone with my boyfriend (which I don’t have). I can never forget the part where Morita got the “Mocademy” awards, and when he kissed Hagu-chan. These two parts will always make me laugh every time I’ll think about them. I just loved, loved, LOVED Morita-san! <3

Watching “Honey and Clover” was definitely one of the best decisions I’ve ever made. I think I know a lot about myself now. This anime is just not some graphical movements, this anime’s about life, what life is, and how we should live life. I loved the whole experience of “Honey and Clover”. That unknown amusing feeling I felt when the anime ended, I’d love to feel that over and over again. I’d love to marry Morita-san, if I were Hagu-chan. I’d love to see Takemoto smile after getting a job. I’d love to see Yamada finally being “not-so-broken”.

Most importantly, I’d love to stop hearing the sound of emptiness someday, just like Takemoto did.

And I know… someday, I will :)