Forum - View topicSerial Experiments Lain (TV).
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LilacShadow
 Posts: 165 Location: Kentucky |
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I'm not sure I can accurately describe my opinion of Serial Experiments Lain. It has to be one of the weirdest and most confusing things I've ever watched, and I think I barely understood it. I didn't find it really boring, but it took me a while to finish it because I felt that I had to be in a certain mood to watch it. I definitely wouldn't consider it something to watch for entertainment. That's not to say it isn't enjoyable, but it's not for everyone.
I like anime that makes you think, but I sort of felt like Lain was overly confusing. I feel like no matter how much I watch it and think about, I'll never truly figure it out. But in a way, that was what I kinda liked about it. If you can get interested in it, it's rather fascinating. Overall, I liked it. I'm glad I bought it because I'd like to rewatch it sometime. I just don't quite consider it the masterpiece many people think of it as. I must mention one of the things I love about Lain is Yoshitoshi ABe's art. I have an artbook that is just lovely. I'd like to get a Haibane Renmei artbook eventually too. I also really like Lain's opening theme song. |
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caseclosedfan414
 Posts: 264 Location: Missing In Action |
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In my opinion, Serial Experiments Lain sucked. My friend lent me the DVDs once and I forced myself to get through it, just to say I saw it. At first it wasn't bad. It caught my interest, but then it went nowhere and did nothing. It never really explained what was going on, even though not much was happening to begin with. It was weird as hell--not to mention, confusing, too. After an interesting beginning and a middle composed of pretty much nothing (which made it insanely boring), it actually started doing something (and/or going somewhere), towards the end of the show, but that something made no sense because it came out of nowhere and the events prior to it weren't explained in the least. Therefore, even the ending was crap. That's just my opinion, though.
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Fallout2man
Posts: 274 Location: San Diego, CA |
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Maybe I just got it wrong, but I was actually able to understand lain on the first go, and while drunk to boot. In fact I think that was probably its real downfall because it left so much that did really need to be explained since I could see all the strands of places they were going but stopped abruptly. Let's start with the questions/peeves. I'm putting spoiler tags around the entire thing since It's easier that way.
spoiler[1: How could such a complicated program as one meant to be sentient could expect to sustain itself or a persistant virtual world on such a low frequency or even in a wired protocol. I mean come on, there's no way anyone wouldn't notice the some eight terrabytes of overhead per packet. :p 2: well as the assertation that there was more of a "Real god" behind the god of the wired. Yet it's never fully delved into. 3: The the fact that I personally felt lain takes an orewellian approach to handling existence in that it defines it entirely subjectively (based on people's memories and recorded history) versus objectively (external events forever recorded in time-space or in a person's soul or other detached perspective), which really is a shame since it does seem to try and pull religion and all that into the mix. 4: The non-ending: All Lain did was basically reset the world by reshaping memories into a what-if scenario based on the idea of the protocol being made without the sentience inside of it. This doesn't address any of the real motivational factors that created the situation lain was in to begin with. If there was a "Real god" or some other such entity around then it would be expected that eventually this would basically destroy everything Lain (re)-made. 5: I also just dis-liked a lot of the animation, and honestly it felt a bit creepy that the image created of a supposed hero of the wired was that of what appeared to be a ten year old girl.] |
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Lee1981
Posts: 109 |
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It's not really my favorite series, but I didn't think it was boring and I enjoyed watching it. In a lot of ways it kind of seemed like one huge acid trip to me but it was definitely good and very interesting. A lot of things in it are kind of hard to remember with any great clarity long-term, but I might at some point in the future watch it again. Overall interesting stuff.
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Keonyn
 Subscriber Posts: 5567 Location: Coon Rapids, MN |
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Cool, an official Lain discussion thread. Never thought there was one because I was looking under the L's, not the S's.
I only just recently saw this series as a recent Answerman column showing the intro reminded me about it and reminded me that Geneon is gone and the series isn't in production anymore. So I rushed to pick it up so I didn't lose my chance to pick it up. I have to say I wasn't quite as lost as everyone made me believe I would be, but the anime definitely has an ambiguous nature to it in how things are resolved. I kind of like it though as it presents a lot of opportunities for people to interpret it differently. It was a mindf*** though, there's no doubt about that. Did it explain everything? No, but that wasn't the intention and I think it worked out for the better leaving so much open for interpretation. Yeah, if you want everything spelled out for you then you're not going to like the series as it asks the viewer to do a lot of the legwork and when it does explain something it often does so later in the series so you're left in the dark for awhile. I do want to touch on a few of Fallouts comments though
spoiler[You're thinking along the lines of a modern network. Obviously a sentient program in the modern world couldn't even exist outside of the wired world, so it's quite obvious that the very nature of the world portrayed in the series is different. If I recall it follows a theory based on the idea that information could exist within the earths magnetic field and the information itself can manifest itself.]
spoiler[They never meant to delve in to that, I'm pretty sure that was intentionally left ambiguous.] I didn't see 3 as really being a problem, so I skipped that one.
spoiler[The real god didn't necessarily create her but rather the fake god did, there's nothing to indicate the real god is out to get her or looking to undo what she did. And no, it wasn't explained, because the series' style is to leave itself open for interpretation by the viewer. The creators wanted audiences to develop their own viewpoint and message about it, in fact, I recall reading that they were disappointed to find that Japanese and American audiences' viewpoints were similar when they expected there to be a major difference.] As for 5, that's really just a stylistic complaint. It didn't work for you, but I really liked it to the point I bought the artbook and figure. |
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Aromatic Grass
 Posts: 2424 Location: Raleigh, NC |
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Hey, Keonyn. I was wondering if it would be OK to create a newer discussion thread for Lain? An actual episode-by-episode discussion to replace the older ones because there aren't any in this format. If you just recently saw it and enjoyed it, then I would like to encourage your help in the discussion because it's fresh in your mind, as well as those who've already seen it and may see it soon. It'd be cool to see some actual episodic discussion of older series up here with the newer ones, too.
This is sort of an announcement to others interested in taking part! I will actually start watching it as soon as I finish some of the shorter series this spring, which will be in a few weeks, and I would like for everyone to look out for a fresh discussion thread in not too long. Texhnolyze after that. 
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Keonyn
Subscriber Posts: 5567 Location: Coon Rapids, MN |
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Well, if it's going to follow an episode by episode pattern that won't work well in an already existing thread then I don't see why not. There are a number of Lain threads in the directory already, but honesty a few of them are so small and lacking they can probably be removed. PM me with the details of your idea and so I can get a better idea of what you're proposing, and so we don't overrun this thread discussing it, heh.
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Sigkill
 Posts: 8 Location: Quezon City, Philippines |
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Lain was my favorite anime for a long time before it was usurped by Planetes. Perhaps my education gave me an advantage, but as a man with a computer engineering degree, I enjoyed Lain to a high degree. The way it delved into the early history of the creation of the WWW, tied that into Majestic 12, and speculated on the use of the Schumann Resonance as a theoretical medium of information transfer was all so enjoyable, and one of the best conspiracy theory cyberpunk stories I've had the pleasure of experiencing.
Many of the technical details of Lain will go over the heads of many people, especially when it touches upon the history of computers, the Web, data transfer, and Internet protocols, but I think that's what makes it good. It has actual substance and research behind it, and it's obvious the creators knew their stuff. If you take the time to read up on the things referenced in the show, it all comes together very well, and is a supremely rewarding experience. Last edited by Sigkill on Fri May 23, 2008 5:52 am; edited 1 time in total |
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r-18
 Posts: 62 Location: northren oregon |
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Lain definitely left me with a what the hell was that about question hanging in my mind after each episode. As i got into it i decided that i liked it better if i did not try to understand it, but just went along for the ride. real life does not produce any answers or "over meanings" as far as i can tell so why should Lain? Asking what's up with Lain is like asking what's up with Suzumiya Haruhi no Yūutsu, in a way they are the same show sans the wired. there is no why it just is. sort of like a slice of weird life, things just happen and your along for the ride, if you like it you don;t get off till the end.
Last edited by r-18 on Fri May 23, 2008 5:19 am; edited 1 time in total |
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kakitamike
 Posts: 183 Location: Akron, OH |
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Lain was one of the slowest and least interesting series I've seen. If i sit down on my couch, no tired, to start watching and fall asleep, that's usually a pretty good indication for me.
And it wasn't just because it's not action packed. I enjoyed watching Mushi-shi and Witch Hunter Robin, and I'd say both shows are pretty slow in their pacing, but I found both interesting. I think my biggest problem was that by the end, I didn't feel like anything had been accomplished. It ended as randomly as it began. I feel that shows people say have to be watched more than one to be appreciated, just weren't produced properly in the first place. This wasn't like Sixth Sense or Memento, where you are given some huge revelation, and then you rewatch to garner clues about the story. I just felt it was poorly paced to begin with. This studio's series have been hit or miss with me. Despised Lain. Loved Haibane Renmei, and i'm soon to sit down with Texhnolyze. |
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Zade
Posts: 79 |
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I thought it was great but didn't put much effort into understanding it since its not really meant to be. I found the main char to be 1 of the most likable characters ever, even compared to Kyon from the Haruhi series.
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zawa113
 Posts: 7357 |
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While I found the art style interesting (the shady areas around the power lines remind me of a visual blend of a Pokemon holographic card and the dark eco from the first Jak & Daxter game), and I did enjoy the music to some degree, but I overall did not like SE Lain.
I first watched it during its TechTV run, and then several months ago, a used CD-DVD-Games store had the whole box set for $14 used so I picked it up because I had remebered watching it and, while not understanding it very much, being entertained enough by it. My 2nd go around made me appreciate the show less instead of more though. Since I had originally seen SE Lain earlier in my anime viewing as my interest in anime was increasing, I decided to give it another go as I had done for other shows. This time around, I felt Lain was severly lacking in a clear plot and character development. spoiler[ I didn't see Lain's motive for turning her room into a giant computer (or I don't count 'to be cool' as a good motive), I didn't see why her sister went insane nor a reason for what might have led her to go insane, and I certainly didn't see why the show needed to flash in an out of the wired so much without doing anything notable in the wired most of the time except show Lain simply being there]. Its entirely possible I missed something, but I did give the show a second run through to be fair. I'm still not impressed by it. |
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Dorcas_Aurelia
 Posts: 5344 Location: Philly |
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Oh, that'd be nice. Like, we'd watch an episode a week and discuss what the heck is going on? Because I have no idea what happened in this show. It's among the number in my anime list that I haven't rated because I didn't understand what was going on. I haven't rewatched it yet because I'm not too good on my own with picking up on symbolism or the subtler points of thick plots. |
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Ramadahl
Posts: 325 Location: MK, UK |
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My view:spoiler[ She was programmed to. She was disconnected. To show what the world was like. ...in that order.] |
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HellKorn
Posts: 1669 Location: Columbus, OH |
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@Keonyn: If you like lain, I'd recommend checking out NieA_7 and Texhnolyze (I'm assuming that you've already seen Haibane Renmei). TEX is the most similar anime to lain, with a far more human element applied to it that leaves the latter series a cold masterpiece. While it also leaves a lot of questions that only gives the viewer answers on repeat visits, it's far more straightforward and concise -- I can't think of any other serial anime as narratively tight as TEX -- so as to be more emotionally and intellectually rewarding than lain. NieA_7 is more akin to Haibane, but is probably the most underrated of all of the related Yoshitoshi aBe-related anime.
@AG: So you've bought both lain and TEX, right? Hopefully I'll be able to get around to re-watching them before or at around the same time you start the threads.
spoiler[It works on multiple levels: the symbolic layer of an urban teenager escaping into modern technology; the literal layer of a piece of software being used to fit into its hardware; and the symbolic and literal layer of the human subconscious' endless fascination with drowning itself in technology.]
spoiler[It's explicitly alluded to that her encounter with the Knights and their subsequent actions deliberately screwed with her mind.]
spoiler[It's to show the gradual process of Lain's increasing awareness of her actual purpose, and also to delve into the theory that the Wired -- or rather, the Internet -- is a mere extension of reality and how the fact information is processed in both worlds leaves little difference between the two. It exemplifies the interconnectedness between people.]
Apparently you missed a lot. |
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