Serial Experiments Lain

Originally Posted by Oracle of Dreams

-=Philosophy Overdose=-

definately a food for thought kind of show... like reading poetry, everyone has different intrepretations of it! That's the beauty of it

[Hurin]

Review of Serial Experiments Lain [psycho-horror, coming of age]



Story: 10

The story is about Lain Iwakura, her interaction with the wired (a form of Internet), and her gradual transformation from an ordinary middle school girl to something a lot more. The story starts as one of Lain's classmates commit suicide and Lain gets an e-mail form her (sent after she died). As Lain investigates she finds that she has become the center of attention from various organizations and people who have taken an interest in her godlike way of interacting with the wired.

The anime is heavy on philosophy, psychology, conspiracy theory and information theory. Lain herself displays symptoms of Internet addiction and hikikomori lifestyle but unlike in the anime 'Welcome to the N.H.K.' the dangers and adversaries she faces are not a product of her imagination. Rather the anime shares several similarities with the movie 'The Matrix'.


Animation: 7

The animation itself is what you would expect from a 1998 vintage show with a proper budget. The style is slow and there is a total of one action scene. My only complaint is that I found that peoples faces sometimes looked like caricatures of faces rather than faces. On the plus side there are some really clever sequences where Lain sees blood dripping from electric wires and sees electronic noise coming from shadows.


Sound: 7

The sound is mostly dialogue. The few sound effects are OK and there are some clever scenes with Lain hearing voices and electronic noise from electric wires. The Japanese dub is great, the English falls flat. The main problem is that the people doing the English dub fail to convey emotion trough their speech, although real world Lain sounds like she's contantly whining. The worst part being where Lain's friend Arisu (named Alice in the english dub) thinks Lain have been spreading vicious rumors about her in the wired. In the Japanese dub she sounds genuinely hurt, in the English it's as if she's asking for the salt.


Characters: 9

The anime is about 90% Lain and 10% other characters. Other than Lain the only characters given any substantial amount of presence are the antagonist, Lain's older sister Mika, and her friend Arisu. Lain herself has different personalities, in the real world she is a shy, childish and timid girl who looks a year younger than her classmates. In the wired she is bold and aggressive. There is also a third Lain in the wired who is evil and enjoys hurting others by spreading vicious rumors, but it is not clear if this personality is a part of Lain or a creation of the antagonist.

Lain parents are seen as cold and indifferent towards Lain, but there is a reason for this. Her sister is portrayed as the only normal person in the Iwakura household. Arisu acts as an anchor for Lain to hold on to as the antagonist seeks to use and control Lain for his own purposes.


Overall: 9

It is confusing to keep track of what is going on, but not because the anime is obscure. It is not always obvious if we observe Lain in the real World or in the wired. Also the characters Lain interact with are giving her conflicting information, either because they're truthful, lying, mistaken, lying to manipulate her or being manipulated themself. You must not expect to grasp what's going on until the second or third time you watch it.

One thing that did irritate me was the inclusion of a narrator who in the beginning of some of the episodes gives information to the viewer. Ranging from lessons about the creation of information technology to physic to conspiracy theory to background information of the characters. I thought this was unneeded and that the information the narrator gives that is actually relevant to the plot could just as well have been conveyed in a different manner.

It is obvious the production company took quite a gamble with this show. There is no way an anime with such an abstract plot could have become an average show, it would either have turned out to be brilliant or a complete fiasco. Luckily it is the former.

[Snug_bunny]

I loved this series. The story was amazing, but very confusing the frist time though. I've watched about 3 times now, and I pick up little things everytime.

[Succubus]

SERIAL EXPERIMENTS LAIN

my most favorite anime...though it is somewhat confusing it made you realize and change your point of view in the real world..something must be there in the wired...what`s the purpose of us in this world...that`s just some questions Serial Experiments Lain raised and made us thinking for it..

love the animation..very unique..oh and the OP song ~ sooo nice ~__^

[Fireaxe]

This was one of the first anime I've watched probably like 6 years ago, and the only thing I can remember about it is the "not-going-anywhere-storyline" and the power lines ._.

I'm gonna have to watch this again because there must have been something I missed lol.

[Escaflowne]

hmm..lain...so:
Story:10
This show is made of some really great and original ideas.Intelligent.
Animation:9
Its cyberpunk style fits perfectly this series' tone,i loved the strange scenes.Weird.
Sound:7
Nothing special,but this doesn't necessarily mean it's bad.The opening is very nice.Appreciable.
Characters:7.5
It's all about Lain,unfortunately.Luckily,she really is an amazing character.Good choice.

lol.

[pajama]

This anime is awesome. I watched this a long time ago, but I still remember the music and all that jazz. It was one of the first to really delve into this new mix of genres and did so successfully, if I remember correctly.

[argona]

thanks to the horrible animation I dropped the serie before even finishing the first ep!well I dl my animes so I'm kinda picky!I know u dont have to tell me judging like this is stupid...

[Escaflowne]

well,it is,imo.

[vonpost]

I loved Lain. It raised many questions within my head and I seriously found myself pondering those late into the night. Yes it is confusing, yes it isn't your everyday anime, but also yes, it is brilliant.

There are some flaws, and myself I didn't like the animation at all in the beginning (it has begun to grow for me, though).

And in difference from NGE (even though they are similar) I feel that Lain actually had some relevance, while NGE (for me, sure tell me I didn't get the symbolism) was more of a plain mindfuck. Yes, the serie is pretty hard and confusing to follow, but for me it was like chasing something then finally catching it and getting the reward.