Top-Rated Episodes
S1.E13
Lain's guilt over the havoc caused by her interaction within the wired provokes her to take drastic - and irreversible - action.
S1.E10
Lain encounters a man who call himself the "god" of the wired, and members of the Knights all across the world log on to participate in a cryptic mass suicide.
S1.E12
"God" preaches that our bodies are simply an obstacle preventing the evolution of mankind. An exhausted Lain appears willing to sacrifice her own flesh and blood until Alice convinces her to take a ...
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Title: Serial Experiments Lain (1998– )
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Plot Summary
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Storyline
A week after Chisa committed suicide, her classmates begin to receive emails from her. Hearing rumors fly at school, a quiet withdrawn girl named Lain goes home that day, turns on her dusty Navi computer for the first time and has a conversation with the dead girl. Chisa's message reads that she killed herself because she didn't need her body anymore, and she now exists in The Wired. When Lain asks why someone would do something like that she gets a response: "Because God is here". Written by Anonymous
Taglines:
Present day, present time! Ha ha ha ha ha...Parents Guide:
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Details
Official Sites:
Geneon Entertainment (USA) Inc. [United States] | Geneon Entertainment, Inc. [Japan] | See more »Country:
JapanRelease Date:
13 July 1999 (USA) See more »Also Known As:
Lain See more »Company Credits
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IMDbPro »
Technical Specs
Runtime:
Color:
ColorAspect Ratio:
1.33 : 1
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Miho Iwakura: The wired might actually be thought of as a highly advanced upper layer of the real world. In other words, physical reality is nothing but an illusion, a hologram of the information that flows to us through the wired.
Lain Iwakura: But ma...
Miho Iwakura: This is because the body, physical motion, the activity of the human brain is merely a physical phenomenon, simply caused by synapses delivering electrical impulses.
Lain Iwakura: But mom, I...
Miho Iwakura: The physical body exists at a less evolved plane only to verify one's existence in ...
[...]
See more »
Composed and performed by Boa
Vocals by Jasmine Rodgers
Courtesy of Polystar Records
See more »
Did You Know?
Trivia
The two MIBs actually have names. The name of the short, Asian MIB is Lin Sui-Xi. The name of the tall, Caucasian MIB is Karl Haushofer. His character was the only one to be addressed by name during the series. See more »Quotes
Lain Iwakura: [gasp]Miho Iwakura: The wired might actually be thought of as a highly advanced upper layer of the real world. In other words, physical reality is nothing but an illusion, a hologram of the information that flows to us through the wired.
Lain Iwakura: But ma...
Miho Iwakura: This is because the body, physical motion, the activity of the human brain is merely a physical phenomenon, simply caused by synapses delivering electrical impulses.
Lain Iwakura: But mom, I...
Miho Iwakura: The physical body exists at a less evolved plane only to verify one's existence in ...
[...]
See more »
Soundtracks
DuvetComposed and performed by Boa
Vocals by Jasmine Rodgers
Courtesy of Polystar Records
See more »
As most have already pointed out, `Serial Experiments: Lain' is a rather unique Japanese anime series. Watching `Lain' is not an easy trip to take, certainly, but one that is totally engaging nonetheless. Although exactly what the show is `about' is subjective and is open to interpretation to all who see it, I believe some people are completely missing some key points. Some have complained about the lack of character development during the series. But one must understand, that's the whole essence of the series: alienation. Look at the shots in Lain's classroom when the teacher is writing on the blackboard; all the other students except Lain are grayed-out. Look at the scene where Lain shows her father the Psyche processor and look how far she stands from him. Even look at the name of the club, Cyberia (as in Siberia: a cold, desolate place of exile). It's all done to emphasize how far, how detached, how alienated Lain is from everyone else. The direction in `Lain' is brilliant in depicting this. We, the audience, exist in the real world as we watch Lain, but we hardly ever get to know her. Yet we know she has a deeper personality because of what other characters say about her (`weren't you the girl at Cyberia?' Etc). These facets, which we only get a rare glimpse of, are her `online-self'. There have been studies that have shown a paradoxical relationship between time spent on the Internet and isolation and loneliness. Japan is one of the most `online' nations in the world, with almost 40% of the population having Internet access. At the same time, Japan also has one of the highest suicide rates amongst developed nations (which brings to mind a scene early in the series of the girl who commits suicide). Many are concerned with Japan's trouble youths and the increasing difficulty many have forming meaningful relationships with others. The only meaningful relationship we, the audience, see Lain have with another person is with Arisu. Other than some brief instant messaging via a palm pilot, Lain and Arisu's relationship exists entirely in the real world, not on the Wired. So, to me, the entire series is a metaphor for this increasing isolation of Japanese youth in an ever-expanding high tech world. For those having troubling getting into this series, I say focus on the directing, the atmosphere, the metaphors used throughout. Come to your own conclusions. I highly recommend this bittersweet, highly unique series to any who want to branch out from familiar territory.