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Dec 30, 2017 10:19 PM

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Jul 2016
474
This anime's use of sound is some of the best I've ever seen. It's very effective.
Jan 2, 2018 5:26 PM
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Nov 2017
6
I really liked the atmosphere in this episode. The characters not talking much and there being very little background sounds and music added to the almost unnerving and ominous feeling I was getting while watching this. I don't know for sure but I think color will have a symbolic meaning later on because Lain and the background were colored but sometimes cars and other people were gray. I'm pretty excited to start the next episode.
Feb 26, 2018 12:45 PM

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Sep 2014
4860
I finally decided to watch and Im all in for it.

Really interesting episode. I love how pre 2000 Anime sometimes are just silent without obnoxious OST
"This emotion is mine alone.
It is for Madoka alone." - Homura
or how I would descripe Mahou Shoujo Madoka Magica.
Apr 27, 2018 1:58 PM

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Jul 2016
1056
got goosebumps!!
May 8, 2018 8:35 AM

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Apr 2015
3537
I'm going on a little famous-older-series project while I have some free time on my hands cos I'm a bit disappointed with this season's seasonals, will kick it off with Lain and finish it off with FLCL I think

Have to say, it's damn stylish. Good ones just show their quality in every scene
May 11, 2018 8:22 PM

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Jan 2017
56
I'm usually not one to like these kinds of shows as I find they really miss being a piece of entertainment as well as a form of art. But this is really interesting so far. Really dig the vibes I get.
May 25, 2018 3:52 PM

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Jul 2009
3344
Aww wow. I can't believe I hold this show after one episode. There were so many things happening in my life, I completely forgotten that I had started this.

I rewatched it again just to refresh my memory. Yup this is some deep shit!!

Going to finish it this time for sure! It's also Lain's 20th anniversary! So good stuff!

SomaHeir said:
Finally watched this! It's been so many years since I had the US BD.

Yeah the episode was kinda weird and confusing, but at the same time. It's amazing how the show already predicted what's going to happen in a few years time. Especially with the rise of the internet age.

Looking back, I still remember those old PC monitors and tons of wires at the back. Amazing how much has changed in almost 20 years now.

Can't wait for the next episode!
SomaHeirMay 25, 2018 4:25 PM
Sep 7, 2018 3:25 PM

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Mar 2016
1072
This was... weird? I hope i get answers in the next episodes. I already have some theories but taking into consideration how weird this show is I want to finish it first.
Sep 18, 2018 6:02 PM

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Oct 2016
602
Just like how the episode is named: Weird.
But, this catch my attention.
Oct 31, 2018 6:47 AM

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Nov 2008
523
tbh i dunno what i just watched
Dec 3, 2018 5:20 AM
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Apr 2017
74
It was okay... or at least I think.
Apr 14, 2019 3:08 AM

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Oct 2012
7189
So she become an AI on the "internet"?
This is back then when internet wasn't really a thing

Welcome to "I don't know what I've just watched" xD
"Signature removed"
Apr 23, 2019 6:36 PM

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Sep 2013
3373
I'm kind of on the fence about this anime after the first episode. It seems to have potential, but Lain's tendency to stare into space, not responding to external stimulus is kind of off-putting. She constantly acts like she's in a drug-induced haze. The one classmate asked her if she got the email from dead-girl-chan and Lain was like, whaaaaaa? huhhhh?

Like she's never experienced a conversation before.

It seemed to go beyond mere shyness to me. It was like her reaction time was slowed to a crawl and she had no idea what was happening around her. The one time she reacted was when the other girl was on the train tracks...and I'm not sure that actually happened or if Lain was just tripping.

Again, it's too soon to judge the series, but that's my impression of the MC so far.

This episode 3/5

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May 13, 2019 4:38 PM

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Jan 2014
3771
The sound design for this anime is so fucking good, that's the first thing that I noticed

Aside from that this show is definitely weird. I actually have a bad feeling that It's gonna be one of those anime like Ergo Proxy ( which I just finished recently )

What I'm getting at is that it has so much potential, but if the execution is not there, the anime will fall short.

There has to be a good sense of place for the viewer in order for these types of shows to succeed imo. The kind of direction that Aoi Bungaku and Casshern Sins has achieved flawlessly. Otherwise it will come off as pretentious and trying too hard.


May 15, 2019 10:47 AM

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Oct 2018
29
Looks promising. I really like shows with atmospheric horror and this anime has lots of it! I wanna know whats going on.
Jul 28, 2019 7:51 AM

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Jul 2008
441
Rayl1ght said:
So she become an AI on the "internet"?
This is back then when internet wasn't really a thing

Welcome to "I don't know what I've just watched" xD


In 1998 the internet was really a thing. I was in chatrooms with people using photoshop edited anime pictures to role play and just chat with fellow anime lovers.


Revisiting this anime for a 2nd time, I feel like the first time I watched this I was rushing through anime and didn't give this one a fair chance.
Jul 31, 2019 1:04 PM

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Aug 2018
255
Weird beginning but I kinda liked it and lain is so cute especially with the bear suit lol.
Aug 13, 2019 2:28 AM
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Jan 2019
208
What just happened? Who is Lain? Who is Chisa at the end? What is Wired? Is this real world?

>"Do you understand? It's okay if you can't right now. You will all understand soon. Everyone will."
That was meta lmao xD
Nov 17, 2019 6:34 AM

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Nov 2008
29
I am so lost and confused, no idea what just happened. And the pace is really slow. But I'm not ready to quit the series just yet. XD Everyone seems to praise it a lot.
Jan 21, 2020 8:27 PM
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Apr 2016
13218
A very strange show from what I've seen so far. Lain seems to be very dissociative, with a ton of emotion deficiencies (derived that from her reactions, obviously). Seeing the dead girl's palpable appearance didn't make much sense however, unless it was made metaphorically (she didn't know who she was up until recently, after all).
Apr 8, 2020 8:51 PM

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Apr 2020
69
Strange, but good start.
⬇ CLICK IT ⬇


⬆ CLICK IT ⬆
Apr 13, 2020 11:56 PM
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Aug 2018
133
I don't know what I just watched but the sheer atmosphere is enough to keep me interested. It feels so eerie and haunting. I love it.
May 12, 2020 1:53 AM

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Dec 2013
2579
Well a lot of people seems to like this anome so why not give this a try. It's a bit odd but it piqued my interest. So let's see what will happen



★━━─
𝘏𝘰𝘸 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘐 𝘣𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘱𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘺 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘵?
𝘞𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘐 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘪𝘵 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘥𝘢𝘺?


May 29, 2020 12:29 PM

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Dec 2015
381
haven't even gotten to the end of the first episode yet, but i had to stop in and gush.... god, just that scene where lain talks with her dad is so, so good

all the people he's "connected" with are faceless (or rather headless) caricatures s, a magician, a voluptuous showgirl, etc. he's lecturing her on using the computer to connect with people, but there's this massive wall of computers between him and her, and he won't stop what he's doing for ten seconds to actually look at his daughter and talk to her face-to-face

is he laughing at something on the screen (totally distracted and not listening to the flesh and blood person directly in front of him) or laughing at her (at the idea that she has friends? he certainly seems to think she's the type to have trouble with making friends. or the idea of "seeing" people through the computer, i.e. bc she's technologically illiterate? idk) ohhhh, this is exactly the kind of detail-rich series i've been craving :D
Jun 19, 2020 9:23 AM

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May 2016
12390
I'm curious on how this anime would be like so it wouldn't hurt to give it a try~ I really like how eerie and ominous it felt. This episode's vibe made me feel pretty tense like there's something bad bound to happen at any time and I like it.

Lain seems to be very disconnected to reality on top of being not very good at using technology so it's rather interesting that she's the one who ended up getting dragged into whatever that was by her deceased but supposedly transcended schoolmate.








Jul 21, 2020 12:35 PM

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Feb 2020
1307
One episode in and I already feel invested in this show ! It looks great so far, and I'm getting a lot of Perfect Blue vibes from it (a short music piece even sounded very similar to the OST "Nightmare"). Considering the fact that I love this movie, I'm obviously intrigued.
Everything seems to be interesting, though I obviously don't get everything for now.
Lain is apparently communicating with a dead girl's spirit, a girl who tells her "God is here"... The girl probably killed herself after finding out about it or something.
Lain seems to have some kind of hallucinations, however, and that is what reminds me the most of Perfect Blue, it is very hard to tell what is real and what isn't, as well as why is Lain imagining (if it's even her imagination) such things.
I'm so intrigued, definitely looking forward to the next episode !
Aug 27, 2020 12:13 AM

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Jul 2016
8676
Well first of all, the OP song is so damn good. Already on my phone since a long time ago.

The use of different kinds of symbolism is rather interesting, I must say. Especially liked the one featuring Lain's father talking about being connected with other people yet a literal wall of computers (the same ones he uses to interact with faceless entities) blocks his sight from reaching his daughter.

Rather intriguing start, honestly. They way how the series handles background sounds and silences feels oppressive yet appropriate and the idea of playing with the boundaries of reality and perception totally caught my interest. Looking forward to discovering what's actually "real" here and how this Wired world works. Not to mention also that I'm rather interested in knowing more about this God.

P.S.: Uhm... wonder how it would be to watch this show while being drunk or high...
SouthRzVaAug 27, 2020 12:37 AM
Sep 15, 2020 9:42 PM

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Mar 2020
697
1st episode sure is confusing and random, as I understood her parents don't really care about her much: her mom doesn't listen to her (when MC said about how a dead girl messaged her I expected some reaction from her mother but there was nothing), seems like Lain's dad lives in cyber world.

Even if the anime is old, the visuals are still soo good, animation gives me some 'Perfect blue' vibes.
“Life is a constant process of dying.”
Sep 20, 2020 9:44 AM

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Jan 2016
1620
Not exactly sure what happened. The girl killed herself and Lain is apparently mentally not there because she's hallucinating out of her mind. I like the feeling of loneliness in this show tho
Sep 26, 2020 6:10 AM
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Aug 2020
630
ok this anime has the same vibe as taking a nap at the afternoon then waking up later at night confused as fu*ck!! Also it somehow reminds me of my weird dreams.
I love the soundtrack
Sep 26, 2020 3:32 PM
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Sep 2015
858
Intriguing start. I love Lain's eyes.

I don't see her as simply introverted tho, she seems more autistic or schizophrenic to me. She also needs some glasses lol.
Oct 3, 2020 1:45 AM
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Jul 2018
564060
This episode has no dementia(the prestigious "mal" made category), it has mystery vibes, it has a supernatural grounding.
But is Lain someone who either spaces out a lot or she is more of a daydreamer? This is something I want to know in further episodes.
I was surprised about the amount of the English they used in this episode as compared to other series.
But, This feels like a show that tells nothing but shows everything.
Coming from Monogatari Artistically, I think this inspired Shinbo's directional style because Bakemonogatari was made a decade later.
But never mind, I am curious about the next episode.
Let's Jam
Oct 20, 2020 2:58 PM

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May 2010
8126
This show is giving me Paranoia Agent vibes, which is not good.
Even when I was in crowd, I was always alone
Nov 2, 2020 6:06 PM

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Sep 2020
76
Just started the series and episode 1 has been quite monumental. Its so weird and the opening song is too good. Hope to finish it in 1-2 days
Nov 10, 2020 12:52 AM

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Oct 2013
4358
Yeah, I can see already why this series appeals to the monumentally specific, incredibly niche trope of anime watchers whose tastes orbit the psychological, slow-paced, and surreal. I'm not sure what I think yet because nothing really happened yet.



Discord: the.path.to.pathos
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Dec 3, 2020 6:03 AM

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Feb 2019
991
i dont know what just happened

lain is cute
Based Certified.
I love anime armpits.
Dec 5, 2020 12:17 AM

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Jan 2019
598
What the fuck did I just watch for 20 minutes
Jan 1, 2021 3:30 PM

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Aug 2018
2487
I dont’t quite remember watching an anime like this yet. It was this creepy and mysterious feel to it. The use of light in the backgrounds and darkness inside certain places just gives such a weird yet beautiful atmosphere,

The op song is one of the main reasons why I even knew this anime existed but the genre and short description I read about it is what made me want to start watching it so much.

This might be something really worth seeing so I’m really looking forward of watching more of this.
Jan 3, 2021 2:24 AM

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Jun 2020
127
I thought this was going to be like Neon Genesis Evangelion or something, but this genuinely made me feel put off. I am honestly super interested how the story will continue after a start like that, especially because I am asking infinite more questions than receiving answers at the moment.

The use of Lain's eyes is really interesting. I know that in Japan, and in art it is the eyes that are the main way Japanese express themselves— but Lain's just creep me out.

Excited to see where this goes, heard a lot of good things about this anime.
Have a great day!

Jan 12, 2021 5:48 AM
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Oct 2020
1
I couldn't scale it😂
Feb 21, 2021 8:49 AM
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Jul 2016
2
I'm so confused what it's about but at the time I'm interested wjat it's going to be about
Love the opening so far
Jul 15, 2021 11:45 AM

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Jan 2021
6
I am very confused.

Honestly, this episode was by far the hardest episode for me to get through. I've probably been watching so many fast-paced animes that I get really disoriented when I watch a slow-moving or perhaps just not as fast-paced as other ones.

Still, I'm intrigued. Lain is a mysterious character. She seems to be seeing the world in a different way than most.
"I wanted you to be Kira." - L Lawliet

Jul 19, 2021 4:51 PM
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Jul 2018
564060
Re-watching this is like watching it for the first time... Slamming the door with the right foot: striking series in the first two episodes already!
Jul 28, 2021 10:15 PM

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Aug 2018
41211
Well, it certainly is super weird so far....

Aug 7, 2021 11:36 AM
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Aug 2021
8
I put this anime on hold for a very long time. I'm not sure why. Perhaps, it's the popularity. Perhaps, I just don't want to run out of good shows. And it looks like I did the right thing. The first episode definitely goes beyond my expectations.

This anime is just too popular though.. Not that it's a bad thing. I just think that its popularity is just wasted and unnecessary. This anime is surely a niche. Popularity will only bring general anime watchers who are bound to misunderstand or cannot enjoy this anime. We only need to take a look at this first episode thread..

On the first episode:



Oh, by the way, I read some MAL user wrote that this anime is a pseudo-intellectual thrash. Well.. this anime was a subject of study in a paper by an American professor that was published in the Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society.. so, yeah..
Sep 11, 2021 4:08 PM

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Nov 2016
31991
Lain got drip 🐻

Occasionally I love myself some trippy anime like this where I can just chill-watch and become immersed.

One Piece episode 914 & 915 & 1027 were a mistake and 957 brought the salvation - FMmatron


Sep 28, 2021 4:04 AM
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Jan 2021
1
Lains opening is sooo fucking good its just one of the songs you can replay for hours at a time without getting tired of it. Also I would really like to watch Lain back in the 90s and fully experience its post-internet future history. :c
Oct 6, 2021 7:55 PM

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Jan 2020
1101
It's just me, or Lain could be in the autist spectrum? Her perception of the world seems like so, being annoyed by the noise of people speaking, being over perceptive of stuff people normally ignore like the noise of electricity, unusual obsession and fear of certain things, and constant detachment of reality could make me think so. So far, the anime doesn't look that bad, quite confusing tho.

MOKUSHI KUSHIMO SHIMOKU KUMOSHI MOSHIKU SHIKUMO.
Oct 9, 2021 3:52 AM

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Aug 2020
695
As expected, this series isn't straightforward and is confusing. For that reason, I will be reading along this analysis breakdown for each episode (I read the first episode, and I can recommend it): https://idolsandrealities.wordpress.com/2018/07/07/a-critical-analysis-of-serial-experiments-lain-episode-1-weird/

As for the show itself, the opening is great and unique, and nice bear costume. I wasn't expecting this show to be this slowly placed.

Status: On A MAL Break
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Oct 18, 2021 3:00 PM
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May 2020
16473
yhh... episode 1 was certainly something. what what i am assuming, chisa has been bribed by "god" to leave her normal body to be part of the web or internet and this is steadly becoming like a cult type thing.

lain's family is hella perplexing ngl
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It’s time to ditch the text file.
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