Serial Experiments Lain

"SE: Lain" is a great anime series. It's not godly perfect or anything, but it gets up there...way up there. From the killer opening title sequence (with a great opening song, by the way) to the strange "previews" (they only consist of a girl talking and her body parts - I'm not kidding) for the next show, "Lain" certainly has a fairly unique style. But it goes beyond style and gets into substance.

The story is simple at first and seems half-predictable in these post-"Matrix" times. After a classmate seemingly commits suicide, Lain gets e-mail from the dead girl. Apparently, her consciousness is still on the net...or is it? From then on, things get weird, complicated, and interesting.

Splicing in elements of Matrix-style cyberpunk, X-Files conspiracy, and the David Lynch-esque surreal, "Lain" is, like the Wired world it portrays, a synthesis of disparate ideas and personas, all thrown into a blender for the viewer to interpret. The interpretation's the thing, and those looking for action or comedy may come away slightly disappointed. After 13 episodes, there will probably be more questions than answers, but isn't real life like that, anyway?

Lain is by far one of my favorite animes of all time. The story is deep, well thought out, and very entertaining throughout. The characters develop perfectly, the atmosphere is incredible, and the story is flawless. Some of the story is left slightly open ended, leaving the viewer to fill in his or her own conclusions.

Tech heads will relate to this story effortlessly. The Wired is easily a souped up version of our own Internet, and the history isn't outrageously far from our own and well explained. The parallels between our world and this fictional world really make things interesting. This series really hits a sweet spot for sci-fi technological dramas.

Every anime fan should see this series, but be prepared for a brain twister. I've watched it a good five times and I can honestly say I still find new tidbits of the story every time. You just can't sit back and put your brain on cruise control; You must make an effort to follow the story or it will leave you mercilessly lost and confused.

And remember folks, this is fiction. You have to be willing to suspend belief a few times and accept the universe of the work at hand. Those unwilling or unable to do this, need not apply. Think of it as a deep mystery novel. Even when following the concrete parts of the story with great attention, there's enough misdirection to leave you wondering what if... and that's half the fun.

If you simply can't accept that the story isn't handed to you neatly gift wrapped, and that you may have to fill in the details from your own imagination, then go watch a simpler anime. This isn't for you. If you like the confusing story of animes like Neon Genesis Evangelion, or Boogiepop Phantom then you'll love this. If you live and breath technology, you'll only love it that much more. All in all, this is a masterpiece of animation.

• Rirath_com

Generally speaking,Japanese anime products,as its by-product known as "otaku" culture, are full of contradictions. First of all, anime's "artistic" level has never been adequately estimated in its homeland(namely by audience, critics and mass medias) and usually "discovered" by foreigners(most sad example is "Inoccence--Ghost in the shell", Mamoru Oshii's best and probably last artistic film). Secondally, anime's highest level in dramaturgy had been achieved before it was "discovered" by world film festivals and foreign audiences(French people is said to have believed "Candy Candy"'s not a Japanese serial, because it was so sophisticated).

"Serial experiment Lain" is a accidental postmodern masterpiece,made after anime's classical achievements("accidental", because no one had intended to make a work of art). "Lain" uses plenty of postmodern devices: citation from purely historical materials,stylish eclecticism,"open" ending or circular structure and showing its own media's limitation(many scenes are openly "two dimensional" and look like rather abstract "picture").

Having been made in the time of imitation and citation of past anime "classical "serials of 80s and later 70s, "Lain" is superb in its originality and the sense of the contemporary.After seeing this serial, "Evangelion" seems to be boring and too long(experimental works must be not so long as ordinary "genre" works,it is the rule from the time of silent era).

I recommend to compare this serial with "Kairo" by Kiyoshi Kurosawa,the latter will seem to be some kind of a little out-dated remake of this serial.

I feel like I have to say a few things about zetes's rant. For one, it's kind of depressing when people watch 4 episodes of a show and feel like they know everything about it. To put things in perspective, this is like watching the first 35 minutes of a movie and being convinced that it's worthless. But onto his points:

1. Yeah, a lot of effort does go into making the show more mysterious, but eventually it really does touch on themes that would appeal to those looking for something intellectual, especially functionalism, descriptive materialism, and the problems with a wholly materialistic interpretation of identity. Don't expect hardcore analytic philosophy, just a nice sprinkling of references and some interesting perspectives.

2. When you first start watching the series, it makes absolutely no sense, and every episode just seems to be adding to the complexity by introducing new aspects. But by the time you finish it, I guarantee that all of these things will make perfect sense (even why Lain's family seems so shallow and undeveloped). In this sense, the series creates perfect order out of total chaos, an aspect that I particularly liked.

3. I'm not going to pretend to be a film critic, but the directing seemed pretty effective at creating the kind of atmosphere that the series needed. And many of the episodes ended with great "what the hell just happened?" moments, that forced me to revise all my theories and definitely made me want watch more.

No offense to zetes, but you shouldn't watch this anime expecting to find character portraits or traditional "slice-of-life" drama. Just like any good existentialist movie ("Donnie Darko" comes to mind here) it won't make too much sense until you've watched the whole thing and maybe even thought about it a bit. So if you feel like you won't be satisfied unless you get your moral straight-up, then this series isn't for you. It'll make you think and will only provide you with more question, not answers.

Last night I finally received the last of 4 DVDs in this mind-blowing series. This series is to anime in general what films like American Beauty are to movies in general. Don't let the word anime turn you off, folks. Doing so would be like comparing Schindler's List to The Kentucky Fried Movie...

The story follows Lain, a shy, adolescent school girl. After receiving an email from a classmate who committed suicide a few days earlier, Lain begins to examine the world, society, god, self, technology, and how these concepts fit together. The fact that such an email could easily be faked is irrelevant, but instead we focus on how Lain's perspective changes as she learns to deal with life. This 13-part series, spanning 4 DVDs, is the best aspects of American Beauty, The Sixth Sense, 2001, and (to a lesser degree) The Matrix rolled into one subtle and beautiful story.

Note that this is NOT an action-packed story, nor does it lessen itself by trying to cater to the lowest common denominator. Nor does it ever come straight out and explain itself or what is going on. That's not the purpose of the story. The purpose is to make you think about your own place in life, and how you deal with it. The story is never judgemental, it simply gives you things to think about. It raises more questions than could possibly be answered given the limitations of language. The answers can only be understood, never explained.

In keeping true to the Zen Buddhist traditions of Japan, the animation style is often minimalistic, offset by the frenetic chaos of the computer animation added to it. This is an intentional counterpoint to the more natural looking animation, often consisting more of still paintings than movement, and the effect is stunning.

So if you are looking for a thought-provoking way to spend about five and a half hours of your time, I cannot recommend this more. If you understood what made American Beauty such an incredible movie, you'll love Serial Experiments: Lain.