Serial Experiments Lain...

[Yeito]

Hullo there, I'm sorry if there's already been a thread like this or about this series, but we're not supposed to gravedig either so.... anyway...

Has anyone seen this series? If so, do you know why it's rated 16+? Because I would really like to hear at least one or two opinions before attempting to buy it. I've already heard its really deep. I just want to know if its worth it or not. Please. u_u

[Hitokiri]

Ive seen a couple of episodes of it but I had to take it back cause the DVD was corrupt -_- Plus I didn tlike it that much.

Lain is about a girl name Lain who recieves a email from a girl who recently commited suicide. Though the email is dated after the girl commits cuicide. She says she's is finally plugged into the net and Lain know tries disocver herself through th enet in which thyiers another verison of Lain.

confusing, no?

[Yeito]

I had heard it was confusing, but I like figuring things out. Not to mention I've figured out a good many confusing shows before they ended. I'm just a freak like that.. r_r;

But anway... i guess thats one nae and one aye. u_u .... Ok, I'll keep this in mind. Thank you for your opinion.

[Esoteric]

Um, yeah, the show was confusing. I didn't see all of it, but was deep. Too deep for me I guess. I tried hard to understand the symbolism, but it wasn't very consistent. I also didn't like the religious undertones. i'd recomend renting first, or I believe it is showing weeknights on G4techTV right now if you get that channel.

[ClosetOtaku]

Has anyone seen this series? If so, do you know why it's rated 16+? Because I would really like to hear at least one or two opinions before attempting to buy it. I've already heard its really deep. I just want to know if its worth it or not. Please. u_u

It is rated 16+ because it deals with mature issues like suicide, has a few violent scenes in it (including suicides), some sexuality (no sex per se, but mature sexual themes), and is just all-around convoluted.

I liked the series, but then again I like nonlinear anime/movies such as Boogiepop Phantom and Memento, so my tastes probably don't run mainstream. However, it took me a lot of episodes before I knew what was going on, and halfway through the series I almost stopped watching it.

So, if you're on the fence, I wouldn't buy it -- maybe borrow it if you can until you get through it once and see if you like it.

[Azier the Swordsman]

Lain is aimed at a very mature audience; there is no way children would get anything that's going on in it. Heck, when I watched it, everything sailed straight over my head too! You definately will have to watch it more than once.

[Tenshi no Ai]

I love anime dealing with psychological issues, but it is true that more of the story seeps into your head when you watch it more than once. Sort of like I'm realizing more and more stuff with watching RahXephon. But Lain's one I really want to see.... one day when I get a chance.

[Bobtheduck]

Ooh... Lain! Oh, I love lain...
1. It is very deep. Every detail of this show is philisophical, from events to discussion topics to artwork.
2. You can't expect to understand it without watching the whole thing, watching it carefully, and maybe watching it a couple times... It's not just paying attention, but stopping and thinking and putting things together... This takes serious work to watch. I call it active watching.
3. Lain is made to be very open ended... IN other words, they were very deliberate about putting things in the story that could give people different conclusions. I have gone on in detail about my conclusion, but I don't remember much of it now because it has been so long since I've watched it.

[c.t.,girl]

hu, this sound interestin'!

[Bobtheduck]

I meant to continute after that, but I accidentally reset the computer, so I had to send before it reset...

The conclusion I drew from it was based on the line [spoiler]There was a God all along. Some think that's supposed to be Lain, but I don't think so. Now, you may notice that Lain's Dad seems somewhat schizzophrenic... He's a completely different person talking to LotW than to regular Lain. This wouldn't be too strange if he were normal, but given the last episode, I don't think he's just a person who's made an alternate self on the wired. I think the weird "Lain's Dad" wasn't him at all, but was Eiri, or rather Eiri's Wired persona that lived on after he was dead. During the conversations, it is suggested that this has been planned. It was all in the works long before the wired was formed. Eiri had said that God didn't really exist, but that in the wired he could be a godlike figure, or just be God, and have absolute power and omniscience. As the person who fixed the last release of the wired, Eiri (the real one) put a lot of himself into it. He did become a "godlike" figure in reference to the wired. However, Lain's comment, the one that eventually defeated Eiri, was that "There was a God all along." Eiri was a false god. Whenever Lain's father showed up as not eiri, he offered gentle correction, and he seemed to understand more than he said. Ok... I believe, that as the image in the last episode suggests, Lain's dad was the "God all along" He worked closely with Lain because he knew ahead of time what was going to happen... Ok, I'm missing some major points of my interpretation, but that's the crux of it... There are a lot of other things I can't remember... I just know that Eiri's explanations are all made up in his own mind[/spoiler]

[Bobtheduck]

double post