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First off let me say that this anime is not for everyone. It has a very unique and brilliant concept that not everybody will appreciate or enjoy.

Story/Plot 10/10: The story is about a girl named Lain, who doesn't understand the concept of self and how the collective unconscious(research 'Hive Mind') correlates with humans' social interactions. The story is just like that of "Brother's Karamazov" (considered the best novel ever written by many critics.) It has no clear objective and no clear direction, it is just like real life; it is created by the 'self'; we don't know where we will end up and we don't ... know if our prudence is enough to accurately judge what will happen next. As for plot hole loops there are none, but there could have been if the execution was not done in the abstract/elusive manner that made you think about everything that was going on. The story doesn't just read like a book, it makes you think about every action that was taken by the character and is only revealed to you in whole after you are done watching the series in it's entirety. I did not like the ending of this anime however, it was very out of character for the themes they tried to indulge and ultimately tried to conform with the; 'We're a happy family' and 'they all lived happily ever after' quota.

Art 10/10: This is my own opinion, and it may seem disorienting/bothersome to other people who do not like the abstract art style. This anime takes on a "Linklater" like animation style(animation company responsible for the movies; "Waking Life" and "A Scanner Darkly".) It has a very contrived field of view and shadowing. Objects are over-emphasized and posses a morphed look, yet leave a distant feel just like a Picasso and Salvador Dali paintings which is very suiting for the style of the anime' elusive and thought provoking nature. The characters were also drawn very differently from what i have seen in most anime, but not drawn differently from most anime in it's genre, though one could argue that it is the first of it's unique style, therefore is not a copy of anything else.

Sound 10/10: Now, the OP and ED were not that amazing, but the timing and emotional portrayal of the characters is resolute and definitive of their surroundings and relationships with one another. For example the way Lain and her 'family' speak to each other is broken and riddled with long pauses/awkwardness which reasoning becomes apparent as the story goes on.

Character 10/10: Here is where the anime really shines. The characters truly take on a life of their own, just as you and I would. There is no clarity as to what they may do next and how they will react, they remain undefined and keep you guessing. Lain especially consistently keeps you guessing. The friends and parents' have a definitive way of thinking, while Lain consistently changes throughout the series not only socially, but mentally and cognitively as well. Lain literally is the driving source of the story and plot, she adapts many different personalities and for the most part, you wonder if she has a personality/mental disorder, rather than a clear way of thinking. She moves from one form to another and changes as 'The Wired' self and herself in reality. There is lack of a main antagonist, and only after watching it in it's entirety will you begin to understand who the antagonists were and why they were antagonists towards the series.

Enjoyment 10/10: Serial Experiment Lain kept me thinking about the philosophy and psychological state of the character, it never left anything definitive for you to grasp at, but always kept you wondering what the next action and story line it would follow, therefore it has a high re-watchability factor, as you are most likely to find things you missed when you watch it again. In my own opinion, subtlety and abstract thinking is what media must have to truly achieve greatness, but that is not what everybody desires in media, in fact it is quite the opposite. Therefore only a select group of people will understand and appreciate the layout of the anime.

Overall 10/10: Serial Experiment Lain is most definitely not a series that all will be able to enjoy. The way it plays out can be very confusing and hated by those who prefer there to be a straight forward objective and conclusion. But, for those who enjoy thought provoking and philosophical media it can be a 'masterpiece' in it's own right. The way the characters interact with one another and the way the story and plot progress is not for all, but can be absolutely amazing to others. Though I did not enjoy the ending, as it was out of theme of the rest of the anime, it was still very compelling and emotional. "The only things worth having involve sacrifice."

I'm usually a huge fan of gender bender anime/manga, so after reading the description I thought it would be a an action/adventure based comedy, which is sort of unusual for the genre, but this was nothing like what I expected, it turned out to be a 'fan service' based, really awful ecchi love polygon, with the action and what should have been the main story line was sat out on the side lines of the show.

Story 6/10 - The only reason why I am rating it this high, is because, as mentioned it does introduce itself as something that will be unique and interesting and ... it maintains it for about 2 1/2 episodes and then it becomes rubbish that's been reused a hundred thousand times and done better with other anime. The story line is just completely derailed by the ecchi comedy/love polygon and even ignored by the characters themselves. But that's not all, the story also takes some really weird turns in itself, even away from the ecch;i at sometimes it feels like the randomness in anime like Ebiten.

Art 5/10 - Wasn't really anything special, but it wasn't poorly done either. Very plain unmemorable characters that have been seen time and time again in ecchi comedy. Atmosphere wasn't that great, but shadows and lighting accents were quite exceptional. The pallet of the atmosphere consisted of your general comedy school life anime; light blue skies, sun always shining, grass really green.

Sound 5/10 -Noting special here either, your pretty basic comedy OP/ED. The voice actors weren't that great, their reactions and lines weren't very realistic at all and they never seemed to convey emotions in a realistic manner, though that is the scripts fault more than anything else. At least the voicing wasn't whiny and shrill like what you mostly hear in these types of anime.

Characters 2/10 -And if it wasn't dead before, here is where the anime surely dies. Instead of developing any of the characters emotions or relationships, they just throw some clueless guy who turns into a girl into a harem and kill the whole story and premise of why I thought it would be alright to watch it in the first place. The only character that seems to be aware of the main storyline is even deviated into the whole harem thing about half way through the anime.

Enjoyment 6/10 - Despite the horrible execution and disappointment this anime turned out to be for me, it did keep me laughing. It may have been crappy fan service that's been done before, but it puts the main character in those awkward/funny situations that make the gender bender genre appealing to me.

Overall 4.8/10 -Overall the producers took something that could have been cool and unique and destroyed it for 'fan service' and crap. Recommend to anybody that was going to watch the anime on that premise to stay away. However, if you like to watch anime for the ecchi comedy and harems rather than story line, than this is definitely one you should check out.

First off, I would like to say, that FUNamations description does not do this series the justice it deserves.

Story 9/10 - Mnemosyne, is kind of like the movie "The Shining", absolutely god awful, but if you pay attention to it, and put a little thought and research into it, you will see that it is actually a misunderstood master piece. Just like in "The Shining" there are actually multiple stories being told simultaneously. It is telling the tale of Japan and it's struggles after the nuclear bombs had been dropped, the Greek mythological tale of Mnemosyne(goddess of memory and remembrance) and her children, and the ... story of a detective(who becomes a daughter of Mnemosyne), trying to piece all of these elements together. What did not like about this series is that there was a huge plot hole, that threw me off. And I find it didn't attract as many viewers because of the aggressive and what most would believe to be pointless sex scenes, which derails the story for the eyes of people not looking for its complex dimensions.

Art 8/10 -The art was pretty average for this type of anime for the first half, but what was really good about it was the animation. Very fluid like transition between frames, no "Blur frames" or "Half frames" . But once the Greek Mythology story comes more into play the, the art becomes more detailed and ominous. The mysterious looking skies with a transient look, like water colors of a sunset painting.

Sound 8/10 -The music was very well placed throughout the series, every song was well placed with the themes of the actions that were taking place throughout the series, the one thing that kind of was bothersome, is that some of the songs sounded like something that was used in a corny 80's film. The OP and ED were definitely suiting to the themes of emotional and physical torture, and the abuse part, but nothing really creative along the lines of being original. The voice actors actually did a very good job on the English Dub. The voices weren't annoying as they tend to be English dubs and they did a fair job of getting the feeling they were trying to convey to the audience, and they didn't use unnecessary formalities, using apostrophes for omission("It's" instead of "It is").

Characters 7/10 -Rin is really the only character that has a solid dynamic nature through out the OVA's. Though Koki Maeno and Mimi, do some changing themselves through out the series, Rin is the only characters whose change is consistent through out it, the others seem to just change dramatically half-way through, as a significant amount of time passes. First time I watched this, Rin's character got kind of annoying, she comes into the series like a total bad ass, and ends it with her tail between her legs, that part really got to me. But when I watched it a second time, third time etc, I saw that to complete the story they wanted to tell it was a necessary plot tool.

Enjoyment 10/10 -Not going to lie, the first time I watched this anime, I was absolutely appalled by the amount of sexual content and lack of story content. It wasn't until that I heard from a friend that I should re-watch it after reading up a bit on Greek Mythology and the story of the goddess of Mnemosyne. After doing that, I find little wonders hidden through out it, that I didn't see before, and it happens each time I watch it. In the end it was because of this anime, that I began to develop an interest in it again I have been able to get quite a number of people to start watching it as well, I also happen to own a copy of this anime as well, I liked it so much.

Overall 8.4/10 -Overall, this anime is definitely got something in it for everybody; action, orgies, mythology, Sci-fi, comedy and a little bit of romance in the end. I give a strong recommendation to check it out with an open-mind and attention to detail for full enjoyment.

Story 7/10 - The story was good, but if you are looking for a "Tale of Two Cities" or "Brothers Karamazov" then you have picked the wrong genre. It's a about a guy, Masato, whose not at all very charismatic and kind of socially clumsy and a trans-gender(not transexual, huge difference) guy, Yuki, who falls in love with him when they were kids. The story can be flat at times and rely on not very 'intelligent' subject matter, but it was part of what made it so funny.

Art 7/10 - Not going to lie, don't know much about the art side of anime, it ... wasn't extremely detailed, but it wasn't messy and cluttery. The text was pretty well organized and it made for easy readability. And that is how I'm going to do write ups on the art aspect.

Character 8/10 - The main characters Masato and Yuki were dynamic, they change through out the series and keep things interesting. Masato progressively becomes more mature and starts taking other peoples feeling into consideration and Yuki's conflict of gender identity slowly becomes more apparent and unraveled. But the supporting characters were very flat and plain, one dimensional as MTV's "Undergrads" Jess' friends.

Enjoyment 10/10 - I really enjoyed this manga a lot, it made me laugh and question what may happen next, considering their are so many different plot twists through out the chapters.

Overall 9/10 - I loved this manga, it was cute and funny and it had some pretty good romance scenes. If you can stand through awkward humor about sexuality and like a good comedy-romance then I highly recommend it.