remind me tomorrow
remind me next week
never remind me

Subscribe to the ANN Newsletter • Wake up every Sunday to a curated list of ANN's most interesting posts of the week. read more

You are welcome to look at the talkback but please consider that this article is over 18 years old before posting.

Serial Experiments Lain: Loving the Wired and the Weird

by Matthew Roe, Jul 24th 2020

In his debut on Anime News Network's YouTube channel, Criticlysm's Matthew Roe looks back on the techno-punk anime cornerstone Serial Experiments Lain and how its themes are just as relevant over 20 years later.

discuss this in the forum (16 posts) |

Feature homepage / archives

review

The Obsessed Anime Film Review

Oct 31, 12:00 anime

While not without its issues, The Obsessed is a film well worth watching. It's full of fun, silly, moments and yet manages to delve into true human tragedy as well. ― Giuseppe is a man existing in his own little world where his current obsession overrides everything else. However, that doesn't mean he is selfish or cruel—it's more like a sickness he has no control over. Moreover, his obsessions often...

column

5 comments

This Week in Games - It Was A Very Spoopy PlayStation 2 Anniversary

Oct 31, 10:00

5 comments

games

Freshly back from vacation, Jean-Karlo discusses TwitchCon and reminisces about the PS2 on its 25th anniversary. ― Welcome back, folks! I've returned from my vacation in San Diego; apparently, my coworkers said I even came back with a tan! It was a fun trip, and I figured out how to have fun while I was abroad. I definitely needed the time off, even if I actually missed working on This Week in Games ...

interview

Chainsaw Man – The Movie: Reze Arc Interview: Director Tatsuya Yoshihara×Assistant Director Masato Nakazono

Oct 31, 09:00 anime

Chainsaw Man – The Movie: Reze Arc's director and assistant director share how the blockbuster anime film was born from creative challenges. ― English translation of articles from the Japanese entertainment magazine Nikkei Entertainment! Read Nikkei Entertainment! on the web! Find Nikkei Entertainment! on Instagram and X We sat down for an interview with Director Tatsuya Yoshihara, who oversaw the pr...

your score

1 comment

Your Anime Rankings - Best of Fall 2025, Oct 1-28

Oct 30, 16:20

1 comment

anime

My Hero Academia is going out all guns blazing in this final season, but May I Ask for One Final Thing? is giving it a run for its money. The new season is gearing up! ― Let's have a look at what ANN readers consider the best (and worst) of the season, based on the polls you can find in our Daily Streaming Reviews and on the Your Score page with the latest simulcasts. Keep in mind that these ranking...

review

7 comments

You and Idol Precure♪ Episodes 25 - 36 Anime Review

Oct 30, 12:00

7 comments

anime

You and Idol Precure♪ is struggling to make its two halves merge in what feels like a relevant way. It's like all of the pieces are there, but they've been assembled incorrectly. ― You and Idol Precure♪ is not what I was hoping for, and it pains me to admit this. It is, as has been mentioned, absolutely possible to merge idols and magical girls – it's really a subgenre in its own right. Likewise, the...

news

20 comments

Global Anime Market Grew 15% to Record 3.84 Trillion Yen in 2024

Oct 30, 10:06

20 comments

anime

Industry group: 2nd highest year-over-year jump recorded, fueled by 26% increase overseas ― The Association of Japanese Animations (AJA), the industry group headed by anime production companies, presented a summary of its Anime Industry Report for this year during the TIFFCOM trade event in Tokyo on Thursday. AJA reported that the global anime market grew to a record level of 3.8407 trillion yen (abo...

column

27 comments

This Week in Anime - I Can't Believe They Dubbed This (Like This)!

Oct 30, 10:00

27 comments

anime

Chris and Lucas explore the weird world of streaming dubs looking for wonderful and terrible surprises. ― Chris and Lucas explore the weird world of streaming dubs looking for wonderful and terrible surprises. Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed by the participants in this chatlog are not the views of Anime News Network.Spoiler Warning for discussion of the series ahead. Crunchyroll streams...

news

3 comments

Rich Girl Caretaker Novels Have Anime in the Works

Oct 30, 06:47

3 comments

novels anime

Series centers on young lady from conglomerate family who is lazy, has no life skills ― The official X/Twitter account for Hobby Japan's HJ Bunko label revealed on Thursday that author Yusaku Sakaishi and illustrator Sakura Miwabe's Saijo no Osewa light novel series has an anime adaptation in the works. ◤特報📢◢•┈┈┈••✦✦••┈┈┈•　「#才女のお世話」アニメ化企画進行中！•┈┈┈••✦✦••┈┈┈•最新11巻は10/31発売！https://t.co/MBm1XB4hmV pic.tw...

news

12 comments

Yona of the Dawn Manga Ends on December 19 After 16-Year Run

Oct 29, 22:28

12 comments

manga

Manga launched in 2009, inspired 2014 TV anime ― Hakusensha announced on Thursday that Mizuho Kusanagi's Yona of the Dawn (Akatsuki no Yona) manga will end in the second 2026 issue of Hakusensha's Hana to Yume magazine on December 19.The manga recently went on hiatus in July earlier this year, and returned on October 3.Viz Media licensed the manga and describes the first volume:A red-haired princess ...

review

The Drops of God Season 1 Live-Action Series Review

Oct 29, 12:00 live-action

I would recommend this series with caution if you enjoyed the manga. ― Camille Léger (Fleur Geffrier) is an awkward person. Because of her father's training in her childhood, Camille cannot stand the smell or taste of alcohol, reacting violently to it. Nor can she tolerate too many foods. She has not spoken to her father in years, since her mother cut off all contact when she was young. She does have...

game review

4 comments

DRAGON QUEST I & II HD-2D Remake Game Review

Oct 29, 11:00

4 comments

games

DRAGON QUEST I & II HD-2D Remake strikes the difficult balance of providing a truly astounding amount of new quests and story details without ever betraying the simple and earnest heart that is core to the franchise's identity. ― If you have ever taken the time to play the original Dragon Quest and Dragon Quest II: Luminaries of the Legendary Line, you know that these are the bone-simple ancestors of...

interview

1 comment

Laugh, Cry, and Cheer for the Stories in Tatsuki Fujimoto 17-26 Anime Anthology

Oct 29, 09:00

1 comment

anime

In their first-ever overseas interview, directors Seishirō Nagaya and Nobuyuki Takeuchi and producer Ryo Oyama share how they went from page to screen for the wildly creative anime anthology. ― Tatsuki Fujimoto's two-volume anthology collection comes alive in eight separate animated episodes, each told by seven different directors and six animation studios. The adaptation of Tatsuki Fujimoto 17-26 de...

review

1 comment

Werewolves Going Crazy Over Me Volume 1 K-Comic Review

Oct 28, 12:00

1 comment

korean

Werewolves Going Crazy Over Me is unhinged and takes itself way too seriously, and there’s a lot of fun to be had with that combination. ― How many times has this happened to you? You're coming home from your job at a diner only to bump into a buff, handsome man with a serious gunshot injury. Instead of calling 911, you bring him up to your apartment, where you're overwhelmed by the urge to make out ...

news

52 comments

One Piece Anime Reduced to 26 Episodes a Year Starting Next April, After 3-Month Break

Oct 28, 10:30

52 comments

anime

New visual unveiled for upcoming Elbaph arc ― Toei Animation and One Piece anime producer Ryūta Koike announced during a One Piece News livestream on Tuesday that the anime will reduce its annual episode output to a maximum of 26 episodes moving forward starting in 2026. Following the conclusion of the Egghead arc this year, the anime will take a three-month production hiatus from January-March 2026....

column

13 comments

This Week in Anime - OVAs on the Cob

Oct 28, 10:00

13 comments

anime

Coop and Lucas go trick-or-treating at OceanVeil's house to see what OVAs they've put out. ― Coop and Lucas go trick-or-treating at OceanVeil's house to see what OVAs they've put out. Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed by the participants in this chatlog are not the views of Anime News Network.Spoiler Warning for discussion of the series ahead. @RiderStrike @BWProwl @LucasDeRuyter @vestene...

feature

21 comments

The Fall 2025 Manga Guide

Oct 28, 09:13

21 comments

manga

It's the final update for this season's Manga Guide! Come find your new favorite, whether it's a brand-new series or a rescued title. ― Welcome to Anime News Network's Fall 2025 Manga Guide! You may have seen one of our seasonal Anime Preview Guides, where a team of critics writes up each new anime television premiere as it airs at the beginning of a season. Now, doing something like that for manga ...

news

19 comments

Dark Gathering Anime Gets 2nd Season

Oct 28, 04:58

19 comments

anime

Main staff, cast return as setting shifts to Kyoto ― The staff for the television anime of Kenichi Kondō's Dark Gathering manga announced on Tuesday that production on a second season has been green-lit. The anime's website presented a teaser visual for the new season, which switches the setting to Kyoto with the returning main staff and main cast: The anime premiered on Tokyo MX on July 9, 2023 at 2...