Serial Experiments Lain

Lain¹ is a series (or OVA) consisting 13 eps. It’s about a once clueless kid who eventually is entangled in a complicated “wired”² world and is somewhat forced to undergo a process of self discovery… and something more than the self, the other, etc.

Because it’s a philosophical series… the only way to understand or absorb such topics is by receptivity. Fortunately, I [think] I had a fairly good grasp of what it wanted to convey so I think my review is justified. It’s interesting enough to watch, though not to be compared to other anime. Once you start comparing, you’ll be sorely dissapointed. It seems to follow the same type of genre Evangelion pioneered, but it would be unfair to say it was a ripoff. Whatever the case may be, Eva beats the socks out of Lain… AT EVERY POINT.

I guess the best description of the anime would be the Matrix turned anime… seriously. The philosophical topics are fairly different but the situation is similar. So again, you can see how disappointed you may get when comparing it… because it seems to have merged 2 exisiting popular stories³ into one.

However, I’d still recommend this to the anime fan, because it still does make the mind tick when watched with a receptive mind. And for the record… it’s got one of the best if not the best (depending on your musical taste) theme songs⁴ I’ve ever heard.

For those thinking I’m comparing Lain to Eva directly, let me expalin a bit. I do agree that the stories are totally different from EVA. I wasn’t very clear in stating exactly what points are to be compared. And if you’d look back again in the previous paragraphs, I remember saying the comparison shouldn’t be made in the first place. But if people must compare, then this is my answer:

Lain is totally different from Eva, however the genre in which it tried to wedge its niche is the same as what Eva pioneered. Meaning, while the stories are definitely different, both were in the “philosophical/spiritual” type of anime. And it would be unfair to claim that Eva alone has a right to delve on such topics. Story-wise, Lain is nothing like Eva nor does it try to be.

But while it’s not like Eva story-wise it is still very comparable to the Matrix, so I stand by that part of my review.