5/5 "Hello, Lain..."
  by Richard E. Heyer (St. Louis, MO USA)
Not since the computer HAL has there been such an unnerving computer voice, anime or otherwise.

"Serial Experiments Lain" is a product of its time. Released on Japanese airwaves in 1998, and on American VHS and DVD by 1999, I can't imagine a series like this being made now, given how mundane many anime series have become as well as the current economic crisis. An intelligent property like this wouldn't be viable, so let's count our blessings this was ever made at all.

Much like the films of David Lynch and Stanley Kubrick, "Lain" delves into the often disturbing and perplexing realm of human thought, memories, and anything in between. Fans of action anime or anything else may want to steer clear; the sheer perplexity and open-ended nature of the show is enough to frustrate most and garner academic articles from others. It really is that kind of show.

The show starts with a rather startling suicide, which leads to a number of girls, Lain included, receiving an e-mail from the dead girl explaining that she hasn't really died, and has found God within the Wired - a more advanced version of the internet.

Perhaps by fate or curiosity, Lain persuades her father to buy her the latest Navi computer. Not soon after, she's become enamored and rather obsessed with perfecting and expanding on her already powerful computer. Becoming more a part of the vast world of the Wired, Lain begins to slowly unravel its secrets and finds some disturbing links to its creation in the real world. To explain any further would do the series a disservice, as many of the more eye-opening moments are too difficult and fascinating to give away.

Its apparent script writer Chiaki J. Konaka (The Big O, Bubblegum Crisis Tokyo 2040) and director Ryutaro Nakamura (Legend of Crystania) are either well versed or have an abundant staff who are as interested in cyber punk culture and technological information as they are. Many sequences flow in a slow, often haunting fashion, sometimes interrupted by disturbing imagery or a wealth of on-screen information. The complex story is often tangled in conspiracy theories and scientific jargon, which only serves to either alienate or intrigue you. Before this show, I certainly had no clue about Schuman Resonance, or who Vanaver Bush was. Fascinating stuff.

Though this show will most certainly never have a complete explanation from its creators or maybe even an agreement by fans on the nature of the series, it would take all the fun out of it if anything was given away. Part of the charm of this series is how much ISN'T explained or divulged; like Utena and Evangelion before it, it's far more interesting to try and piece the puzzle together yourself than have everything laid out. This was a show meant to be explored and taken apart bit by bit.

The haunting imagery, subdued and menacing music, and deliberately slow pacing all give the show a very dream-like, ethereal quality that is inherently absent in most animation, Japanese or not. When the build up reaches its crescendo near the end of the series, you'll be hard-pressed not to marathon the rest of the way through just to try and discern everything the show's creators are throwing at you. Without giving too much away, one of the most fascinating scenes in the series takes place without any vicious battles or hardcore trauma. Instead, it's the subtle and delicate interactions between two very realized and human characters. Perhaps that is what Konaka and Nakamura are trying to tell us: that any real understanding between people can only be accomplished outside the boundaries of media, and with simple words and gestures.

This is a series that should not be missed. With an open mind and some patience, it's a disturbing, incredible, and downright bizarre experience.

3/5 Serious Experiment Gone Wrong
  by Vocaloid (Microphone)
Lain by nature is a series with odds and ends turning at every moment. As the product description describes that the episodes are literally dragged out, indeed they are. If you simply do not have the testing-the-waters-patience to wait for 13 totally episodes of cliff-hangers, avoid this title. Otherwise read on.

-The Animation-

The animation in Lain is neither grainy nor terrible. Do not however, except the shiny-rub polish of 2009 animes. Since the story focuses around the internet, the characters and their worlds are portrayed mostly in a 2D coloring and shading. Expect Patlabor 2: The Movie graphics here in a more updated verison. At times some of the worlds are interesting, such as the internet world. There are several episodes when lain's shadow is casted in a animated mirror/shadow of swirling/ red vortex.

-----------------The Plot---------------------------------------
"Present day, heh, Present Time Hahahaha!"-Serial Experiment Lain Episode Introduction

*Note: Due to the series long plot I will be splitting this review into sections for easy viewing.

-Introduction-

We start out with the main character, Lain. Apparently one of Lain's fellow classmates commits suicide by jumping off of a building. It is then upon that that Lain receives an e-mail from the 'dead girl'. Out of curiosity Lain receives a device that can connect her to the Wired world. Unknowingly though, this very device is the reason why Lain's world is turned upside down. As stated before there are many, many cliff-hangers in this series. This was the most frustrating aspect of this anime. Questions are constantly left unanswered by the characters repetitively to the point that it becomes annoying. Whether Lain ask a question, it goes unanswered, especially questions about herself.

Another downfall of this series is the whack-out proportion between reality and non-reality. There are many times when Lain is talking in the real world then suddenly the plot will switch back to the 'virtual world' as though she was still in the real world. This can make the series confusing to anyone that isn't paying attention to fine details. This can be a benefiting technique but when used repetitively it defeats the purposes, especially if you end up loosing your audience due to a choppy transition. This series wreaks of this until the very final episodes.

-The Break-down of Family ties-

In the beginning Lain's sister is being attacked by a group called the 'Knights' who constantly have been harassing her by the weakening of the two worlds. The 'wired world' has enough power now to influence people and events in the real world. Lain's sister, being their victim. Spamming her constantly with words such as "Fullfill the prophecy" until she cracks mentally. I found it idiotic how Lain throughout the entire series couldn't notice the mental-breakdown of her sister even though she had seen her many times. Not only that but the stale acting of Lain's parents is poor. They literally ignore Lain's sister throughout this entire stage, and even when she's spazzing out "beeping" noises due to her instability. Both Lain and her parent's showed no concern/emotion for their family members which I found to be totally unrealistic. The only time sadly that Lain's father shows any feeling is towards Lain when he discovers her wired-filled room. He's shocked by the amount of equipment in the room and attempts to 'say' something but as always, no one says anything and lets things be. That was the last time he showed any emotion towards her in the real world.

-Enemies of the Real World-

On the other hand Lain discovers this group named 'Knights'. Apparently they were some sort of hacker group that was causing chaos in the real world. Yet on the other hand they found extreme interest in Lain in her ability to obtain her form and influence in the virtual world. Everyone else in the world comes out as yes, body-parts (such as ears, eyes, lips and even arms) but never full-bodies. They have been imposing as to be "Lain" on several occasions, such as Lain being seen in the sky glowing yellow with the clouds parted as a so-called God, or her being a 'peeping tom' or her on television after a car-wreck. These 'Lains' however are not the real-world lain herself, but the 'Lains' from the memories of everyone. Or simply to put it, what they want Lain to be. It doesn't help either when Lain becomes so addictive to the wire that she's surfing the internet during class and hooking wires over herself in her room for countless hours that we never see her actually 'eat' or take a 'break', despite her 'only' friend, Asuri's concern. In the beginning they seem to be Lain's friends, but later she discovers that she was being used as nothing more than a playtoy to them. When she disagrees to their antics, they try to destroy lain by sending her a global virus that blows the windows out of her room. However lain escapes this by the help of mysterious men-in-black (no pun intended). Lain ask them who they are, and in a contradictory fashion they say they are 'Knights' but are not the 'Knights' in the virtual world. There's been a dialogue issue here, as the real-world knights are nothing more than a collection of average to coporate-people using those 'pyscho chips' that were trying to make Lain like their God.

-The History of Protocol 7 and KIDS-

We discover through Lain's investigation that an old man labled as the 'child killer' was the start of the 'internet merging' circumstances. Apparently he was experiencing with the 'untapped' mental state of human children and focusing this energy into 'psychic' energy that be harnessed to create one information system. This however, caused too much energy and caused the plant to backfire, destroying all the children in the process. Lain is upset at his lack-of-heart attitude but the man says that there is 'nothing he can do to bring them back'. Then why is he resting in a hospital in a paradise world (using the Wire) than rotting in a cell? This anime never ceases to amaze me with again, the lack of care for anybody. It is then when this anime takes facts from the real world (yes, our real world. History books opened please) about gimmicks about how the entire 'Alien Theory' started and the very beginnings of how the internet was being established before missing it into the gooble-ge-gook of the anime's plot.

-Wipe Out-

The group known as 'Knights' becomes exposed to Lain. Once their identities have been made, the 'Men In Black' come to sweep them clean of their troubles by annihilating them, with them later on mysteriously being 'killed' by seeing images of Lain and a mysterious figure. So with Knights out of the way the wire will return to it's normal functioning state right? Not so. Apparently another being is responsible for the havoc of the wire. We then began to learn and probably suspect in the earlier episodes that lain is simply not 'human' but a program designed by the very man who had died on a train-track. Nothing remains of this man but his virtual 'conscience' which he strives in being 'God'.

-Her Only Friend-

As i've said before Asuri is Lain's only friend. That until a dirty secret about her doing some 'private things' to herself is let loose over the wire. And Lain is the blame. When Lain meets her at school she truly doesn't understand what's going on. Asuri's friends instantly ditch Lain but Asuri decides to give Lain a chance. This however, is ruined as Asuri sees Lain on her bed while she's giving herself a R-rated lesson on a comp chair.

-Secrets revealed and friendships collapse-

Asuri of course is terrified and feels violated as she wanted to keep that naturally as a tender secret, it is then she avoids Lain in school and truly believes that she did it, telling Lain that she 'saw her in her room' as a creepy midget with a nasty smile. Lain is visited by this creature as a smiling alien. She goes on the Wire to find out who this really 'is' where this virtual-lain explains that all information should be shared on the wire. Lain tries to choke this imposter but oddly it feels 'warm to the touch' in which the imposter laughs and says 'i'm committing suicide!' This leads to the conclusion that maybe Lain isn't the only 'Lain' but that there really is another lain. This Lain I will call Virtual Lain.

-Alone Lain-

In the end Lain's parents simply get up and 'go' with her father explaining to her that he was almost jealous of her 'free will' and that their time with her was to an end. Her sister just vanishes. This of course leaves lain 'broken' in a way where she's just laying locked up in her room with wires tangled around her body, constantly 'wired' in a zombie-like state. It is then in the wired world where she is being talked into suicide, that she doesn't 'need' a body. Lain takes the gun in hand questioningly until the girl that killed herself in the first episode shows. With a sad look on her face she tells Lain that 'Death Isn't Easy' and may show signs of regret of doing so as she is nothing more than memories of her life. Asuri, remembering what has happened while everyone else suddenly 'forgets' (thanks to the helpful erasing powers of Lain) goes to visit Lain to find out the truth.

-Reality and Wired are One-

After traveling through the neglected muck-of-house she stumbles upon Lain contained in wires. Lain then sits up talking some gobble-de-gook about her being a program. While Asuri tries to make sense of this the 'God' appears to Lain, telling her that she should connect with her friend if she loves her as she claims. Asuri stands there baffled as she watches lain talking to air until a digital hand appears when he says she needs to be debugged. Lain confronts 'God', saying that without her none of his progress would have worked and who created him. As soon as she starts talking to him about him not having a body and therefore not being 'real' he explodes. A vortex-like wrap appears in which random flesh is being drawn into and machine. A tangled mass of what appears to be a man is 'growing' out of this mass, despite Asuri's frantic screams. "What do you need a body for?" Lain says as this nasty squirting mass wraps its 'tentacles' around the two females, growing a big eye and a nasty zombie-like head in the process.

-Reset-

Apparently this being got physics punched by Lain because a big hunk of machine slammed into it's body. Then it just absorbed all the rest of Lain's expensive equipment until it became nothing more than a huddle of metal. Lain tries to say to Asuri that everything is okay. However just as Lain's sister Asuri 'cracks' from everything and ends up scratching Lain's face with a slap. Lain cries, telling Asuri that she is sorry and ends up erasing the world of her memories. Life continues for the best as everyone forgets about Lain, although she does 'pop-up' to a few people. In the end Lain is only left with Virtual Lain who tells Lain to 'start-over' again until Lain sends her packing, leaving her all alone. Lain is left to cry until her father appears, telling her that he loves her. This causes rivers of tears to flow down Lain's lonely face.

-Non-existance-

'Years' later Lain appears in the real-world to her friend Asuri who is now in her 20's. Asuri doesn't recognize Lain but goes to investigate her, telling her that she 'recalled her from before' but Lain goes by saying that they 'never-met'. So to wrap up the story it's as though Lain never existed in the real-world yet she can visit the real-world to see Asuri anytime she wishes.


-The Themes-
There are 3 major themes throughout Serial Experiment Lain. Homocide, Suicide, God.

The girl in Lain's school commits suicide by jumping off a building and becomes a bloddy mess on the ground. Several people shoot themselves or get shot at. Even lain's wired self laughs gleefully as it exclaims that she is 'committing suicide'. Seriously how old is Lain, 13? Another is the self-proclaimed God theme running throughout the show that can also be offensive. First knights are 'gods' then Lain is a God then 'God'(the man who made prototype 7 which is Lain) is a God. The belief that mankind can become 'God' simply by their mental advancement capacities. Ironically Lain admits "there must be God" in the end. And as much as the shock-factor of the characters are done, I believe that this series has over-done it. Why isn't anyone actually brave for once? Must I hear the constant drizzly whining of 13 year olds?

Overall Review:

Good:

-Long Plot Story
-Nice intro theme by Boa
-Nice chunk of episodes spanning to 4 dvd cases
-Plot twist
-The 'virtual flesh' scene by the fake God was cool.
-Some of the artwork was nice
-Asuri seemed like the only realistic character that responded realistically to her surroundings. Oh, and she actually cared for someone.

Bad:

-Dragged, dragged, dragged out storyline proves irritating.
-Showing no emotions to your suffering family is cold, mechanical and not realistic concerning how everything else freaks out.
-Sometimes you want the show to 'get to the point'
-Constant flipping between Lain's real-world and Lain's Wired world is a choppy transit and can leave the viewer confused on what their seeing.
-Themes of Suicide/Mental Instability/Questioning one's existence and homicide runs this show. Beware.
-God God God. Everybody wants to rule the world.
-There should have been an interesting fight scene with the virtual flesh-man instead of a sudden and dull ending by a piece of metal.
-Lain went through all that just to delete herself out of existence? Boo.
-Whinny emotional teens has been over-done at some points.
-Why can't someone be brave in this show???
-Some characters have said things that make no sense (That 24-year oldish-MIB (Men In Black) guy telling Lain that he 'Loves her' yet only meet her in one episode briefly?? What!?Ew.)
-Lain sister cracks and no one cares. The characters can be self-centered.
-Some adult-orientated material such as 'drug packets' and 'sexual situations'

Overall Score:
3.0 out of 5.0

Serial Experiments Lain plot was dragged far too long and it's choppy transit sequence came to bite the series back. It would have been nicer for some fights scene than constantly witnessing characters either cracking up or dying. It's overdone.

-Queenie

4/5 4 Stars
  by Shebastian Reyes
Good. Unusual and confusing. It's a slow series, so expect slow character development and slow story line progression. Lain brings up many interesting theories about how reality works, and prepare to be deliberatly confused until it's conclusion in "reset". (and you may still be confused after that :D)

4 Stars because it's not my type of anime, but it's still very good and very deep. Everything from the art work to the subjective questions it asks, Lain is a very well put together story.

I watched it dub and have no complaints, but there's the option to watch it sub and a few extras, mostly conceptual drawings and a few promo videos and textless opening/ending. There are no commentaries.

5/5 The world you once knew, will change.
  by Andrew Watson (Southern Oregon)
This series not only opened my eyes...it literally changed my life.


I've experienced the whole series many times, always letting it probe my mind to provoke thoughts I didn't know existed. This isn't a review, if you want to know what the series is like, watch it, or rather let it watch you.

After studying the series for a while I became deeply interested in computers, computer science, philosophy, mind-expansion, and theory. I related to Lain on such a personal level that the show almost seemed to transcend the subtext of it just being a work of fiction. But then again Serial Experiments Lain blurs the thin boundary that is reality and the virtual. The concepts and information shown at parts is very much worth looking into as well (E.I. Shuman resonance (commonly)7.83Hz). The integration into the story seems entirely possible in the future.
The concept of the wired is in itself one of the most intriguing and glorious things i've ever heard of. Cyberpunk nirvana I suppose would be a way of looking at it. I could write for days on this work of art, but i'll limit myself here.

If you do decide to watch it, you must commit to the whole series, or you'll probably be confused or misled. The series comes full circle like i've rarely seen any other do before.

On a side note, the series is also an incredible psychonaut tool :D

- Don't pass this one up.

5/5 An Important and Often Overlooked Anime
  by Jonathan McCartney (Pennsylvania)
This anime was released during the late 1990s alongside other giants such as Neon Genesis Evangelion and Cowboy Bebop...the other two went on to great acclaim while Serial Experiments Lain virtually faded into obscurity, except for a cult following among otaku. It's unfortunate because this anime really deserved more success and recognition than it got. Perhaps it is due to the atypical story and eerie, paranoid production...but therein lies this series' appeal. It is delightfully creepy and thought-provoking while being a compelling sci-fi story to boot and it doesn't rely on cliches like fan-service or violence to draw you in. Any serious otaku should already have seen this series...if you haven't, see it now!!! As a side note: this anime went out of print when Geneon got out of the DVD business. Seeing as how this series has been virtually forgotten, I don't see anyone buying the license. Sadly, we may never see this series in print again so get a copy as quickly as you can.