On July 6th 1998 aired the first episode of Serial Experiments Lain. How does it hold up 20 years later? I can't even believe someone wrote this in the 90s, I don't think I have seen a more mind blowing and frightening prediction of this modern day internet obsessed era. All the messages, symbols and concepts that come into play in this anime, we can see in our day to day life. Although it will come off as exaggerated, at it's core it's depiction of what's going on are pretty accurate. Without spoiling anything I'll just say it so brilliantly depicts with the blur between physical and online reality and the further we go into a growing culture of social media, the more relevant it becomes, it's one of those shows that just gets more important as it ages with time.
As genius as it is, It's certainly not an anime for everyone, if you're looking for something fast paced, dramatic and dialogue heavy, you're probably gonna find this boring (But even so I highly recommend who watch the whole thing). Lain feels incohesive, like a bunch of random scenes and events and characters put together and you're watching it without it giving you any info on what's happening or understanding the character, there is almost no soundtrack to pull you in although the OP and ED are both excellent and there are some spooky electronic riffs that are part of the experience. it's just a really weird, messy and confusing story. I couldn't watch more than 2 episodes continuously, but the way it comes together in the final two episodes just makes the whole thing worth it. Looking back, there were so many layers to show I might, a lot which I might not even have got, it's just super crazy. I think the best way to describe Serial experiments Lain is like watching a masterful painting being painted in real time. The artist is using different colors, different strokes on different part of the canvas, the audience is super confused and has no idea what he's doing, all of a sudden he flips the canvas and it all makes sense, your brain is blown into a million pieces.
Like it or not, The way Serial Experiments Lain continues to make us think decades after it's release and influences other works of art, looking back it was such a bold and diverse anime that pushed the genre and stands out from a lot of works in the 90s, it is without a doubt, A cemented classic anime, A successful experiment indeed.
