Serial Experiments Lain - Recommendations

If you're looking for anime similar to Serial Experiments Lain, you might like these titles.

The Big O

The Big O

Forty years ago the citizens of Paradigm lost all of their memories, and live their lives without any knowledge of their past, or any hope for the future. Roger Smith is a man who performs the much needed task of negotiator in Paradigm. He provides his services to the wealthy with the help of a peculiar android named Dorothy and his mechanically inclined butler Norman. When greater evil arises, he calls on his magnificent relic of Paradigm's past, the Megadeus Big O. With Big O at his side, Roger Smith may be Paradigm's only hope of surviving in this new world without memories.

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Reasons you might like The Big O...

KeeperofDemons KeeperofDemons says...

The only thing similar between these two series is that Big O has the same "the world around is not what it seems" mystery theme. Everything else is different than in Serial Experiments Lain: it has stylish jazz music, hero-type characters (think Batman - the animation) or funny situations. Take care, there is no dementia feel in Big O.

Gunslinger Girl

Gunslinger Girl

Henrietta is a young girl who works for a "welfare group" that does the government's dirty work. Cybernetically-enhanced and specially-trained, she is one of a group of elite hit-girls, remorseless killers with no memories of their past. Jose, her partner, has taken care of her since she was brought into the organization following the murder of her family, and struggles between his affection for her, and his opposing duty to his employer. But, time is running out.. for with each bullet they fire, Henrietta and the other girls lose a little more of their humanity.

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Reasons you might like Gunslinger Girl...

senileseinen senileseinen says...

Like Serial Experiments Lain, Gunslinger Girl explores questions of identity and self-determination in adolescent girls. The differences are marked, though. While Lain is ultimately the mistress of her own fate, the girls of Section 2 are pawns of a government that regards them as expendable tools.

The struggle of the characters in Gunslinger Girl is in attempting to retain their humanity in the face of having to do inhuman things. They are not inuman killing machines, but they're not normal school girls either. Lain's struggle, by comparison, is to understand her true nature, the power she has, and the consequences of using that power.

If you liked watching Lain struggle to define herself, you'll like Gunslinger Girls for the same reason. If you don't like bloody violence or contrasts in tone, you probably won't like Gunslinger Girl.

Cowboy Bebop

Cowboy Bebop

Follow interstellar bounty hunters Spike Spiegel and Jet Black as they scour the galaxy for criminals with prices on their heads. Hoping to escape their past, they live on the spaceship Bebop, but it's a dangerous business and old enemies don't forget easily. Allies come from unlikely sources, however, as they find comrades in the beautiful swindler Faye Valentine, the genius child hacker Ed and the genetically engineered 'data dog' Ein. Will they be able to help each other though their respective struggles, or is their fate really inevitable?

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Reasons you might like Cowboy Bebop...

Darkpenguin13 Darkpenguin13 says...

If you liked Lain, you'd like Bebop because of the cyberpunk feel. Both series have a slightly surrealistic feel that sends chills down your spine (especially late at night). They are definitely different but I can assure you if you liked Lain you will like Cowboy Bebop!

The Girl Who Leapt Through Time

The Girl Who Leapt Through Time

Makoto Konno is a somewhat foolish and tomboyish high school student who spends most of her time hanging out with her two male friends. Things change one day when she suddenly gains the ability to leap through time! At first, she uses her newfound ability to do things such as preventing her sister from stealing her dessert, cheating on a test, and singing Karaoke for 10 hours. However, the small alterations she makes to the timeline turn out to have unforeseen consequences that snowball into dramatic and lethal situations for her and those around her...

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Reasons you might like The Girl Who Leapt Through Time...

hurin hurin says...

I found Toki wo and Lain to be related because in both, the main characters try to use their powers to alter reality.

Both anime also center on the change and growth of the main characters.

Kurau: Phantom Memory

Kurau: Phantom Memory

As scientists explore a new form of energy on the moon, an experiment gone awry brings the lead scientist's life crashing to a halt. In a freak accident, his daughter Kurau is engulfed in the energy and becomes the mysterious entity known as Rynax; a pairing that endows her with new superhuman abilities and a new personality. Years later, Kurau is using her unique powers to make a living as a bounty hunter, but the corporation has not given up on this new form of energy and will stop at nothing to find her. Now, Kurau must protect not only herself, but her Rynax "pair" named Christmas, a soul mate more precious to her than life itself. Can Kurau and Christmas find peace for themselves and the Rynax?

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Reasons you might like Kurau: Phantom Memory...

Eriadu Eriadu says...

While Kurau and Lain may not appear similar, these two anime do have some common themes, as well as a main character who is being hunted. Both Kurau and Lain are searching for something larger than themselves. They find what they are looking for in very different places, but the search and the journey of self-discovery is what makes these two so similar.

The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya

The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya

The eccentric Suzumiya Haruhi wants nothing more than to meet aliens, time travelers and espers… but she’ll have to settle for the everyday Kyon instead! Along with the mysterious Itsuki and the vacant Mikuru, the duo forms the SOS Brigade – a club whose mission is to discover the mysteries of the world. Armed with a razor sharp wit and a skill for manipulation, Haruhi will stop at nothing to have fun at all costs, even at the expense of Mikuru’s dignity!

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Reasons you might like The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya...

hurin hurin says...

Both shows feature a main character with the power to alter reality, and the effects this has on the world and the people around them.

Serial Experiments Lain is very philosophical while The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya is a more lighthearted show.

Zettai Shounen

Zettai Shounen

Aizawa Ayumu is spending the summer visiting his father in the quiet, rural town of Tana; but before long, he begins to notice that things aren't quite right. Flowers are blooming out of season and stories of ghosts and kappa abound, but for Ayumu, the strangest thing of all is the appearance of mysterious creatures who take the form of floating balls of light. Adding to this mystery is Wakkun - a boy who seems to be connected to the lights and claims to know Ayumu from the past. Now, Ayumu begins to search for the truth about the lights and Wakkun, as a summer like no other begins...

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Reasons you might like Zettai Shounen...

ahuman ahuman says...

This is a tough one to recommend since Zettai Shonen is basically two series back to back, but the second half reminded me oddly of Lain. The atmosphere of strange occurrences and the recurrent theme of crippling loneliness seemed to touch on whatever made me love Lain in the first place.

Battle Programmer Shirase

Battle Programmer Shirase

Shirase Akira is a genius hacker who has earned the nickname "Battle Programmer Shirase" (or BPS for short) for his incredible talent. From saving corporations to global security, BPS is always willing to help a hand -- for the right price. But for skills like his, money is not an option, so be sure to have specialized computer parts, sold-out tickets, or huggable life-sized cat girl posters to spare! With BPS in charge, no computer is safe! That is, if he can manage to stop being a complete slacker...

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Reasons you might like Battle Programmer Shirase...

Ran Ran says...

Both anime feature a computer freak as main character. Battle Programmer Shirase is much more funny and repetitively ecchi, whereas Lain is dark and serious; but if you thought one was cool, you're going to like the other.

Spriggan

Spriggan

In a research outpost in Turkey, an ancient relic known as Noah’s Ark has been discovered, and ARCAM, the world’s most secret organization in charge of keeping world order, must protect the ark from the deranged forces of the US Machine Corps. Yu Ominae, ARCAM’S #1 Spriggan, is an elite secret operative with one mission: Stop the key to NOAH’S ARK from being used by Colonel Mac Dougall, a cybernetically enhanced child with psychokinetic powers. Noah will be your grave!

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Reasons you might like Spriggan...

Ran Ran says...

With different plots and ambiances, both Spriggan and Lain question God's existence and relate it to technology and transhumanism. If one interested you, you'll find more to think about in the other.

Space Pirate Captain Herlock: The Endless Odyssey

Space Pirate Captain Herlock: The Endless Odyssey

Years have passed since Captain Harlock disbanded the crew of the starship Arcadia, and he has not been seen since. Most of the space pirates are now either in hiding or are being imprisoned by the new Earth government, which is being run by the invading race called Illumidas. One day, however, Harlock resurfaces in the nick of time to save the life of young Tadashi Daiba, just moments after his father Professor Daiba was killed by the mysterious beings called Nu. Now, the two will join forces and once again the Arcadia will take to the skies with the reunited crew, in an attempt to save the galaxy from the Nu.

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Reasons you might like Space Pirate Captain Herlock: The Endless Odyssey...

Nohansen Nohansen says...

Serial Experiments Lain and Captain Herlock: Outside Legend are Lovecraftian horror in the guise of science fiction.

Lain is recognizably cyberpunk but, as written by Chiaki Konaka, it bears a stylistic and thematic resemblance to the works of the gentleman from Providence. The TV series explores the possibility that reality lies elsewhere and present day and time are an illusion, an idea introduced by Lovecraft in 1926's The Silver Key. Outside Legend is a tale of ancient, forgotten gods worthy of the Cthulhu Mythos. Lovecraft's maxim on the nature of fear ("The oldest and strongest emotion of mankind is fear, and the oldest and strongest kind of fear is fear of the unknown.") is at the heart of Harlock's odyssey. The space opera explores the risks of knowing what should not be known and the maddening results of attaining such knowledge.

If you enjoyed the psychological horror of one series, you'll surely enjoy the other.