One of the main parts of the anime is it's horror that is especially prominent in the initial episodes. The series begins with a deeply unsettling atmosphere, haunting imagery and creepy(ish) audio. The first few episodes create a sense of unease and makes you feel like the anime will be laced with these great moments of psychological horror. However, as the series progresses the horror element disappears completely. The more convoluted the narrative seems to go, the less creepy it gets. This shift might leave fans of the horror genre feeling somewhat unsatisfied as the initial promise of psychological horror fades.
The voice acting is a standout feature here. The cast delivers performances that are so very monotone it's rather chilling. The lead Lain is particularly noteworthy as her subdued and almost emotionless delivery at times captures her detachment from the world around her. This monotone approach extends to other characters as well, creating a world where everyone seems slightly off and dreamlike. I should mention that i watched the dubbed version of the anime.
The movie is undeniably ahead of its time with it's themes of social media that feels more real today than it would watching it back then. The anime seemed to predict the impact the internet would have on society. This is impressive and adds a nice layer to the anime that is still relevant to this very day. That all being said i do believe if Serial Experiments Lain were released today, it may not be received as well. The once decent visuals and animation does not hold up against today's techniques, making it less appealing to your average viewer. I also do believe when rating the anime it's one that you really need to take into account the time of which it was released as there are so many better alternatives for anything noteworthy in this anime in my eyes. The anime i believe provides nothing you cannot find a better version of today. That being said i obviously will take into account the time at which it was released.
The story is full of interesting ideas, however it feels more incoherent as the plot continues. The story feels messy and rather difficult to follow thus leaves you with more negative confusion than feeling any sense of intrigue. I do not believe an anime needs to always explain perfectly what is going on and/or treat the audience as if they're stupid. However i feel the way this anime treats it's story is poorly handled and feels more like a convoluted mess than something deserving of theories and discussion.
I also would like to mention how forgettable the characters are. While Lain herself is the titled named protagonist, the supporting cast lacks any memorable qualities. They often serve more as vessels for lain to tell a story rather than fully realised individual characters. This lack of strong character development can make it challenging for viewers to form emotional connections to a single character throughout the story. Although i only just watched the anime, i have already forgotten half of the cast. This all being said Lain is by far the most important character in the anime. Thus as long as her story was told better, i think this issue wouldn't have been as noticeable.
Overall, the anime is a piece of history that is good in it's voice acting, ahead of it's time exploration of the web and in the earlier episodes it's horror. However, the narrative discombobulation and lack of compelling character's throughout really hold the anime back. Despite these flaws my final score will take into account the release date of the anime (that being 1998).
Final Score - 4/10
