Serial Experiments Lain - Recommendations

• Movie (1 ep x 121 min)
• 2008

In a world where corporations snuff out the competition by sending fighter jets to attack their offices, teenage pilot Kannami Yuichi is reassigned to a new base. There, he meets Tokino, a carefree pilot who enjoys the company of older women, and Kasanagi Suito, his superior officer who he slowly falls for. However, not everything is as it seems. Soon, distressing questions are raised about Kannami's predecessor, a race of perpetual adolescents known as the Kildren, and the enemy ace of the skies, Teacher.

• Movie (1 ep x 99 min)
• 1989

Throughout Tokyo, a frightening number of construction Labors have begun to suddenly go berserk and violently malfunction. The growing chaos of Tokyo is overshadowed by the looming edifice of the Babylon Project, the lynchpin of Japan's plan to reclaim the land under Tokyo Bay. To make matters worse, its lead architect recently committed suicide by throwing himself off of it into the waves below. How will the Metropolitan Police's Division 2 investigate the malfunctions in the midst of world-wide destruction, when the reliability of their own Labors lies in doubt?

• OVA (2 eps x 43 min)
• 2009

Juu Juuzawa is a tough kid in a rough town. One day, he is approached by an odd girl by the name of Ame, who claims that she was connected to him in a past life and insists on serving as Juu's knight. His first reaction is to ignore her, distancing himself as quickly as possible. However, when a serial killer murders one of Juu's classmates and Ame seems to know something about the killings, he is forced into cooperating with her to get to the bottom of the mystery. Can this enigmatic stranger really be trusted?

• OVA (4 eps)
• 2001

At a typical elementary school in Japan, yearly chores are being distributed. Yuri and 3 other students are chosen to be the beneficiaries of the alien hats for the year. Alien hats?! Yuri's sentiments, exactly. Despite her misgivings, she and her classmates must round up stray aliens that have escaped from a crashed spaceship -- with the help of the alien hats, of course.

• OVA (1 ep x 40 min)
• 2008

Satoshi returns to his hometown after years of being away, carrying with him terrible memories of his past. He remembers the day Satoko Kisiki joined his class – it was the rainy season, and her unusual body made her an easy target for cruel bullying, though Satoshi never took part in the mean tricks that were played on her. However, soon he found himself relentlessly chased by a mysterious and deformed girl whose long dark hair obscured her face. Was this a simple case of a joke gone too far, or was a poor, mistreated girl looking to take revenge on those who made her life miserable?

• Web (2 eps x 30 min)
• 2009

Curious, kind Hikari loves to explore cyberspace, regardless of the danger it poses. With the guidance and help of Mari and companionship of Romeo, whose consciousness is contained in a mechanical sphere, she travels through space and hides from Atlantis, listening to a recorded message from her long lost father and meeting friends such as Lily along the way.

• Movie (1 ep x 98 min)
• 2007

Following a disastrous event known as "The Second Impact," humanity teeters on the brink of extinction. Having not completely eradicated mankind previously, creatures known as Angels begin attacking once more in an attempt to create a third, and final, catastrophe which will annihilate mankind once and for all. When conventional weapons fail to stop the Angels, however, the Japanese military organization NERV proposes the use of strange mecha called Evangelions. When the first Evangelion rejects its pilot, though, NERV's commander is forced to draft his estranged son, Shinji, as mankind's savior. Bitter of his father's estrangement and insecure in his abilities, Shinji struggles to overcome his doubts and fears in the face of certain death, but ultimately continues to fall short despite his efforts. As he slowly improves his skills, however, he must come to terms with the greatest question of all: is humanity worth saving after all?

• Movie (1 ep x 114 min)
• 2009

In the future, all facets of society are tied into OZ, a virtual world inhabited by millions of users. Kenji, one of OZ’s moderators, was set to begin another typical summer when the lovely Natsuki asked him to accompany her to her hometown as a job. However, little did Kenji know that the 'job' entailed pretending to be Natsuki’s fiancé in front of her eccentric family! Now on display and feeling like a fish out of water, Kenji tries his best to fit in with Natsuki and her relatives, until one day he receives a mysterious math problem through a text message. As an avid math fanatic Kenji can’t help but try to solve it, unaware that his actions may jeopardize not only OZ, but also the entire world...

• Movie (1 ep x 109 min)
• 2009

Medusa is a mysterious illness which causes the body to petrify shortly after infection, found throughout the world and steadily increasing the death toll. In order to combat the disease, 160 lottery winners were chosen to be frozen until a cure could be found, one of whom is Kasumi - a twin whose sibling was not one of the chosen. Along with a group of others Kasumi awakens from her cryogenic chamber, but not to the same world she left it: prehistoric monsters roam the now-abandoned castle and eat the survivors, while endless giant thorns rise all around them. Against all odds, Kasumi and the others must now try to survive the horror of their situation and discover the truth behind what's happening, all the while waiting for the Medusa to finally claim their lives...

• TV (24 eps)
• 2011

Kamba and Shouma Takakura have taken care of their sickly younger sister Himari since their parents disappeared years ago - that is, until the day she died. But as the boys grieve by her hospital bed, Himari sits up, adorned with a strange penguin hat. Suddenly, the three of them are transported to a vibrant world where the hat, using Himari's body as a puppet, charges these brothers with a task: find the Penguin Drum and their sister's life will be saved! Now aided by some odd penguins they received in the mail, the duo must find this mysterious item or risk losing the sister they care for so much. However, they aren't the only ones with their sights on the Penguin Drum, for new enemies await them around every turn, all connected in ways they would have never imagined...