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Oh
Sweet God My Head Just Exploded
Review:
Serial Experiments Lain
Anime/Music/Fandom/Merchandise
Title
rating: PG-13, gore, sexual innuendo,
sexual scenes, adult themes, CRAZY CRAZIES DOING CRAZY THINGS
-13 episode TV series (1998), complete
-Playstation game (1998?), complete
-Tabletop
RPG (within fanbook), complete
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| There is a difference, I believe, between movies (or shows)
and cinema. And since I've never taken a movie theory class,
I am free to make up what that difference is. I believe
a movie entertains--ooh big explosions, ooh big breasts,
hehe that guy's funny because he fell down, that sort of
stuff. Cinema, on the other hand, while it entertains, more
importantly makes you think. It challenges you, it makes
you reexamine your life and your ideas. Serial Experiments
Lain is a genuine piece of Cinema. When you finish watching
these 13 episodes (or, as the show calls them, layers,
conjuring up the image of an onion or one of those Russian
dolls), you will be challenged. Your ideas regarding what
life is and the meaning of God will change--the only way
they won't is if you are both deaf and blind, and are also
dead. |
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There is nothing on Earth sexier than
a woman hardware hacker.
For the love of God,
man, button up your shirt!
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Anime
Lain, at its base, is about the evolution
of the human race. While the intro to the show says
"Present day ... present time," it is not--rather,
it is a slightly futuristic world much like our own,
only with universal, wireless broadband access to
the Wired (a sort of futuristic Internet). Lain Iwakura
is a shy middle school girl who one day receives an
e-mail from a girl who's committed suicide. This postmortem
e-mail prompts Lain to delve into the world of the
Navi--think a very, very badass Apple--and through
that, the Wired. Lain soon comes to a shocking realization,
and she must not only come to grips with this, but
also with the effects it has upon her, the Wired,
and all of humanity. And if that summary isn't good
enough for you, then just go watch the show. If you
haven't already guessed, it's kinda one of those things
you just have to watch (and allow to massage your
head until it pops).
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The first thing that will hit you about Lain is the animation
style; the theme of the day is minimalism. Instead of
busy backgrounds which serve only to distract you from
the view, there are whitewashed backdrops. One of the
most often-used scenes in the first few layers is Lain
walking out of her house, where all you see is the black
shadow of the door and her walking slowly--the rest is
a glorious bleached white interspersed with phone lines.
The bleached backgrounds are a subtle counterpoint to
the amazing amount of information that the show imparts
to the audience.
In addition, all of the shadows in the show aren't just
flat black copies of the objects casting them--they are
besotted by reddish and purplish dots, giving them depth
and texture. The impression is that shadows are a universe
of their own, each shadow with its own worlds to explore.
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Phone lines are a major feature of Serial Experiments Lain,
almost as if to show how there's nowhere the Wired doesn't
reach. To further remind you of their presence, the lines
emit an electric buzzing sound, almost inaudible, that evoke
a feeling that we are all surrounded by an electric community.
These sounds speak about how much information surrounds
us--gigabytes of information being transmitted every second,
and not just by computers, but from our eyes to our brains,
from our brains to our legs. These phone lines, though a
human creation, are a symbol for our nervous system.
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Lain: Super Saiyan?
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Also of note: sound is an amazing aspect of this
show, planned with such an exacting nature that it's a
shame the English dub had to be made at all. No matter
how highly-skilled the English voice actors are (and they
are skilled; it's a decent dub), it will never reach the
genius of the Japanese track, where the gentle voice of
Lain sounds almost as if it had been bleached over like
the backgrounds. Lain sounds quieter, softer, almost like
a different sound channel altogether from the rest of
the dialogue--until she has something important to say,
at which point she is CLEAR and she is LOUD and any and
all background music vanishes. For you DBZheads out there,
think of it as her going Super Saiyan--but, you know,
better.
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Hehe, it's funny because she's going insane.
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Finally, beyond all the technical and artistic
achievements in this show, it's simply well-written. Yes,
it's confusing, but unlike Akira it does attempt
to explain the concepts it creates. Serial Experiments Lain
is a mental investment, so don't watch it if you want a
cheap laugh or some fan service. There are many levels to
Lain: on one hand, it's entertaining, but if you think about
it for a few days you'll see entirely new levels present
themselves to you. Like a good piece of literature, or a
real piece of cinema, Lain will affect the way you think.
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Music
Music is not a huge feature of this show,
as it's mainly used as a mood setter and is not particularly
prominent; however, that doesn't mean any effort was spared
on the music track. As you can no doubt imagine, the musical
theme of the day is cyber-punk, and techno and trance music
are abound on the three soundtracks. The best of the three
would have to be the Cyberia Mix, whose tracks don't appear
in the show but are inspired by Lain's different moods and
settings--all of the songs are as good as any other techno
I've heard, and are worth a purchase. The first CD, aptly
named "Soundtrack," is the major music from the
show, and the remaining CD, "Bootleg," features
more than 30 tracks of Lain's minor music. None of the songs
from "Bootleg" really stand out, though, so I
couldn't recommend getting it.
The intro song, Duvet by the European
band Boa, caused something of a sensation in the otaku
(hardcore anime fan) community. One reviewer
said that if every single person on Earth heard Duvet,
world peace would ensue. While I wouldn't say that,
I will agree that it's a great song and well worth
downloading from BoA's
website. And a word of warning to you l33ches
who want to download Boa music: there's a Korean pop
singer by the name of BoA (notice the difference),
so don't be surprised if you run into some crappy
K-Pop while l33ching.
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Fandom
There are a number of great Lain websites on the Internet,
such as Thought
Experiments Lain (one of the best sites ever made for
any anime) and Miss
Lain, which has a great image gallery. There are a good
deal of fanfics for the show, so check out FF.net
for a good compilation of them. Though I'm not a huge reader
of fanfics (Gundam Wing fanfiction mailing lists scared
me when I was young), at least most of Lain's pieces are
rated are PG-13. If there's one thing Lain doesn't need,
it's fan rape.
Lain is not a show that you can watch once
and then forget about it--like a good book, you need to
discuss it further. Luckily there is a very active e-mail
list, of which I am a member, that you can join and discuss
all aspects of Lain to your heart's content. Beware that
it does go off topic a lot, but if you do choose to join,
don't be afraid to ask Lain questions; some of the most
knowledgeable Lain fans frequent the list and will be happy
to talk to you.
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It is a grave mistake to piss off l33t
h4xzors.
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Merchandise
What would a show be without great junk to
spend your hard-earned money on? Beside the soundtracks,
Lain has a good variety of posters and wallscrolls that
are not only graphically beautiful, but also highly technological--one
of the posters I have has text which refers to TCP/IP, ROM
jacking, and a lot of other lovely nerd stuff on it. For
the 6-year-old in you, there are 2 Lain dolls you can get,
and don't forget to check out the published "fanbook"
which features outlines of the layers, analysis, and, oddly
enough, a Serial Experiments Lain tabletop RPG (role-playing
game). Now you can be not only a tech geek,
but an RPG nerd as well! Though I would say you can have
a better RPG using GURPS or AD&D, there's no bad Lain
merchandise, so it's hard to go wrong.
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That is so true.
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Overview
This show is a good one, but not one to watch
if you want to laugh
and joke about something, or laugh
and joke at something's expense. It's an investment,
and it'll take some effort, but when you're finished your
life will be the better for it.
Who would I kill as a favor to the people
who made this show?
God, but who is God, is God me, is it Lain,
is it you? Does that mean I have to kill you?
In other words, 4 stars out of 5.
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NotHayama: 3.2 stars. It was definitely
a bad idea watching this all in one night. I'm not going to
say I get it, but it was still pretty cool. |
Lianne: You're going to hell stars. I
didn't watch this show, but dammit Bad Jew, could you
stop talking about killing God? |
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