Serial Experiments Lain - Recommendations

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

Witch Hunter Robin

Witch Hunter Robin

STN is a secret organization charged with capturing witches of all ages who misuse their inate ability of the Craft. Its newest recruit is a young girl named Robin, who wields the same power that she is helping to control. While skillful at their ability to detain quickly, the number of witches keeps seeming to increase, and the misuse of power grows stronger, casting a shadow of doubt as to what is really going on. For STN, there is much work ahead, and for Robin, her troubles are just beginning...

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Reasons you might like Witch Hunter Robin...

Vayshti Vayshti says...

Both Witch Hunter Robin and Serial Experiments Lain have female protagonists who are heart-breakingly disconnected from the people around them.

Both shows explore their growth, both coming to terms and understanding their powers.

Also, both shows rely on atmosphere, and teasing the audience with unexplicable happenings, making both shows the more satisfying to rewatch.

Madlax

Madlax

The country of Gazth-Sonika has been engaged in a civil war for more than a decade, struggling to stay afloat amidst attacks from the anti-government faction known as Garza. With lies and corruption seeping into the political food chain, a mysterious book in one young girl’s possession may be the only key to uncovering the truth and bringing an end to the war. This book, however, is sought by many. And when the invincible agent Madlax is hired to protect those in search of its truth, Gazth-Sonika dispatches a ruthless soldier to make sure that truth stays in the darkness...

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Reasons you might like Madlax...

JAhU JAhU says...

Madlax and Serial Experiments Lain share a greate number of things from daydreaming main character to dengerous organisations manipulating informations via world wide networks which affects the real world in many ways. If you liked one, you should check the other too.

Neon Genesis Evangelion: The End of Evangelion

Neon Genesis Evangelion: The End of Evangelion

End of Evangelion is an alternate ending to the Evangelion TV series (replaces episodes 25/26). In this powerful conclusion, the final battle against the Angels is fought, and questions are finally answered. The fate of the world lies with Shinji, but how will he act?

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Reasons you might like Neon Genesis Evangelion: The End of Evangelion...

2007digitalboy 2007digitalboy says...

Visual trippiness, complex emotions, and plots revolving around the synchronization of human thought into one conciousness are the main connections between Lain and the End of Eva. Both involve lots of psychological examination, philosophical conversation, and the terraforming of the known universe through thought. Right down to the pace, endings, and conflicts, they are cut from the same cloth - plus they are my personal 2nd and 3rd favorite endings of all time.

Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex 2nd Gig

Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex 2nd Gig

As cybernetic technology advances, criminal activities are becoming daily common occurrences. For Chief Aramaki and his ELITE squad, Section 9, they are the only ones with the means to put an end to cyber terrorism. Join Togusa, Ishikawa, The Major, Batou, and the rest of the Section 9 team through a intellectual roller coaster ride in the 21st century.

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Reasons you might like Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex 2nd Gig...

Haste Haste says...

Although the two series vary greatly interms of violence or action, they are also immediately similar in terms of themes or style. Both Lain and Ghost deal with the idea of a consiousness through the internet -- via the Wired in Lain or Net in Ghost -- and both deal with characters struggling to explore that phenomenon and find a place for themselves within it.In both works, the plots are complex and not readily discernable until you're fairly far into the series, and the idea of man vs. technology and fate vs. will are explored.

Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex

Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex

It is the year 2029, and as many rush to embrace the changes that cybernetic technology bring to mankind, the seedier side of humanity is even quicker to take advantage of it. This series follows Public Peace Section 9, a government organization that plays behind the scenes to stop the worst of these criminals. Join Major Motoko Kusanagi and her team as they take you through an incredibly vivid world filled with plots of such depth and intrigue as is seldom seen.

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Reasons you might like Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex...

Kantram Kantram says...

If you liked the style of a female main character relating with cyberish technology I would recommend watching Ghost in the Shell. Both series relate to the cyberish style, where it's all about the computer parts or the latest technology. Where both main characters are females that can control whether you live or die... or just got insane.

Shigofumi

Shigofumi

There are some things that can only be said after death. Aided by a talking staff that thinks it is alive, Fumika delivers Shigofumi, the last words and feelings of the dead in the form of letters, to their addressees. Whether they are letters of apology, revenge, or simply a final farewell, she always brings them to their destination. Delivering Shigofumi is not always an easy job; as some people refuse to believe such things as letters from the dead are possible, while others are afraid of what these letters might contain. But the mail must go through; what the recipients decide to do with it afterwards is up to them.

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Reasons you might like Shigofumi...

JAhU JAhU says...

Serial Experiments Lain and Shigofumi are different, but somehow Fumika did remind me of Lain, and also there seemed to be some similarity between supporting characters. There is also one theme that appears in both shows, but I don't want to spoil so I'm not telling what it is. If you liked one of those I can't guarantee that you're going to like the other, but you should check it out anyway.

Elfen Lied

Elfen Lied

For Kouta and Yuka, finding the bloody naked young girl on the beach would change their lives forever, for better or for worse. Unable to speak or function as a normal human being, she is named Nyu by the duo, and taken into their home in an effort to save her. But what neither teenager knows is that this innocent young girl is actually a killing machine -- an experiment gone terribly wrong -- and it is only a matter of time before the murderer in her awakens again...

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Reasons you might like Elfen Lied...

Goodwine Goodwine says...

If you liked the most was the psychological theme, you should watch both animes.

Lain contains abstract scenes, sometimes its hard to understand what is going on since this girl suddenly switches personalities at some point of the story.

Lucy (Nyu) also switches personalities but you can tell when it happens, because one is innocent and says "Nyu~" and the other one is aggressive, sadist, and powerful.

Both characters get into psychological problems involving the people around them, while Lain is like "the queen of Wired (internet)", Lucy is more like "human evolution bloody-lusted with vectors".

Their actions depend a lot on the traumas caused by other people in the past.

Real Drive

Real Drive

Fifty years ago, Haru was diving in the sea as part of a scientific experiment; but something went terribly wrong, and a shockwave both decimated the area, and caused Haru to slip into a coma. In the present, Haru awakens as an old man into a vastly-changed society. People, no longer content with reality, have turned to a metaphysical reality called the Metal to fulfill their desires – and it’s up to "cyber divers" to save these souls when something goes wrong. With the help of the cheerful girl Minamo and the android Holon, Haru strives to become a cyber diver, discover the secrets of the Metal and ultimately discover the reason why his life has slipped away.

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Reasons you might like Real Drive...

uliba uliba says...

The reason for my recommendation is that both anime embrace the concept of virtuality: what is real and what is artificial? Additionally, both have complex plots involving an abstract information network. At the end I was left with more questions than answers!

On the other hand, SEL has a dark/mystery tone whereas RD follows a rather slow-paced plot with quite a few filler eps and millions of tongue-in-cheek moments (even fanservice!).

Scrapped Princess

Scrapped Princess

The god Mauser delivered unto a world of magic a prophecy: if the Scrapped Princess is allowed to live, she will destroy the entire world. But the knight who was to kill her could not end the life of a newborn child, and so she lived. Fifteen years later, her adopted brother and sister have sworn to protect her, and together they travel from town to town, searching for a life she can't have.

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Reasons you might like Scrapped Princess...

Gavia Gavia says...

While Lain and Scrapped Princess are very different, being in completely different genres, both share a philoshopical ground which the story is based on. It could be viewed as two people writing the same story and ending up with different results thanks to their individual style, preferences and background. Lain and SP have many differences, but considered the underlining idea which both of them center around they are also very alike.

Time of Eve

Time of Eve

In the future, androids live side by side with humans – but not as their equals, as their slaves. Though they look identical, these androids must display a holographic ring over their heads so the difference is clear. One day, a boy named Rikuo finds abnormal activity patterns in the logs of his own android, and alongside his friend Masaki, he sets forth to find where the android has been. Much to their surprise, the duo discovers a secret café known as Eve no Jikan with a single rule: within its walls, there must be no discrimination between humans and robots. In this place, androids appear to be human and are even displaying signs of independence – a trait that should not be possible. Rikou finds his perceptions increasingly challenged as he struggles to come to terms with his own android, and the relationship between man and machines...

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Reasons you might like Time of Eve...

m33p m33p says...

Both of these animes feature a very in depth plot regarding futuristic periods of time, and have a heavy technological/scifi theme.