Serial Experiments Lain Recommended

Publisher
MVM
Director
Ryutaro Nakamura
Production
Pioneer, Triangle Staff, TV Tokyo
Country of origin
Japan
Format
Series
Running time
13 episodes
Year
1998

Serial Experiments Lain

By Adam Cook
23rd May 04

In a break with tradition I will let you know what Serial Experiments Lain (Lain from now on) scored. This thirteen episode series is worth a nine out of ten, but why have I decided to tell you the score now? Well the problem lies at the heart of reviewing. As subjective as the text is, as soon as you affix an arbitrary number to the end of the review it takes on a stamp of objectivity, "x series is clearly better than y series because it scored higher". Unfortunately for every person that agrees with the nine out of ten score for Lain there is likely to be an equal number of people that completely disagree. Lain is the epitome of a 'marmite anime'. An anime series that you are either going to love or invariably hate. Hopefully my review will go some way in determining which category you would place yourself in.

If David Lynch was commissioned to direct an anime series he would probably come up with something similar to Lain. This is not a typical animated series, it is weird it is confusing and it is wonderfully hypnotic. Lain centres on a 13 year old girl by the name of Lain Iwakura. Lain is a shy and distant girl that has her life turned upside down when she receives an email from a friend that committed suicide a few days earlier. This strange event results in Lain becoming more and more interested in the 'wired'; a sort of Internet v2.0 in which the boundaries between real life communication and digital communication are difficult to distinguish. As she becomes more proficient in the ways of the wired the lines between the two realities become increasingly blurred.

The series does not try and lead the audience by the hand, as a spectator you are alone, isolated and occasionally disoriented by the images on screen. Is the series a cautionary tale of the duality of internet personalities? Is the wired a religious allegory? Is it either? Does it really matter? The answer is a resounding no. You see Lain provides so many different answers, and poses many more questions that anybody who has watched the show could probably come up with a completely different summation of the series. Lain leaves it up to the audience to decipher the images and to try and come to some sort of coherent understanding of what the last six and a half hours actually meant. It is refreshing to be treated to such an experience it makes you pay closer attention to every image and to every piece of dialogue in order to gain greater knowledge of what exactly is going on. It is a brave move for a series to take, especially in an age where we are increasingly guided safely through each episode to a conclusion that makes perfect sense. This freedom will however put some people off, it does mean you have to pay full attention and it does mean some things will never make total sense, but if you are willing to put in the effort you will be rewarded with a fantastic and memorable experience.
The narrative structure further compounds the programmes weirdness. Just like Satoshi Kon's classic Perfect Blue (1997) the distinction between time and space is often incoherent as the series jumps about and leaves the audience wondering exactly what they are watching and if it is in any chronological order or not. It is like tumbling down the rabbit hole in Alice in Wonderland and wondering where the hell you are likely to end up. This sense of disorientation is perfect for setting the mood for the series and puts the spectator in the position of Lain.

Visually Lain is a beautiful patchwork of differing visual styles. There are stark colours and clean lines in the 'real world' which are juxtaposed with the vibrancy and complexity of the wired. As the series progresses these two styles begin to merge with greater regularity which produces some stunning visual effects. The visuals further accentuate the isolation that Lain (and the audience) face, with many of the peripheral characters lacking definition. It is an effective way of focusing attention on Lain and leads the audience in to her world. Great emphasis is placed on images such as the repetition of cables and wires that surround Lains' house or the occasional religious symbol.

The soundtrack is also up to the high standards set by the animation. The theme tune by Boa is an ideal lead in track to the series and is quite unusual for an anime programme. Likewise the music throughout is a perfect accompaniment to the images with more and more digitally produced music being used as the show progresses. Lain also has many weird and abstract non-diegetic sounds that accentuates the strangeness of the series. The voice acting for both the English dub and original Japanese series is good throughout. Normally the English dub can ruin a perfectly good anime, but it appears that a lot of effort has been used in order to maintain such a high quality in all aspects of the series production.

Lain is an exceptional series that will intrigue and confound you in equal measure. Its unusual narrative structure and lack of any real closure will put some people off, but for those that are sick of watching identikit anime and want something that will provide you with the opportunity to think then I urge you to seek out a copy.
Lain is essential viewing as long as you don't mind being challenged.

9/10

-- Adam Cook 23rd May 04

Serial Experiments Lain Images