Serial Experiments Lain — Review
A sci-fi/cyberpunk anime with an eerie take on various issues surrounding technology and networking.
Serial Experiments Lain is a 1998 sci-fi/psychological horror/avant-garde anime series. It is focused on the fourteen year old titular protagonist, Lain Iwakura whom develops an accelerated interest in The Wired. The Wired appears to be their version of the Internet, seeing as it is a communications network accessible and expanding to a global scale. The occurrence that causes her to first approach The Wired was a report of emails being sent by a student that committed suicide. The student ensures Lain that she is not dead, but “abandoned her physical body and flesh” and dwells within the depths of the Wired. Overall, the series presents very grim concepts and takes on identity, communication, and reality; all of are still relevant and discussed in technology today.
Identity
The theme of identity is portrayed quite genuinely and in some ways quite realistically. For instance, a boy whom Lain did not know insisted that he recognized her. However, he claimed she appeared very different in terms of mannerisms while in the Wired. At this point, Lain is very introverted, calm, and genuinely polite. The boy claimed that the “Lain he saw” was opposite of her current character, displaying much more wild and forceful mannerisms. Anyone who is a frequent user of or is familiar with social media these days can relate to this. We have come across that one person (sometimes the typical “Quiet One”) that seems so nice and pure, yet you see an entire new side of them online. This can also even be applied to a person’s behavior while in a public domain such as a school or job versus a more recreational setting such as a party or private engagement.
Communication
The same can also be said for the portrayal of communication as well. The series displays more towards to lack of communication, as Lain herself is practically the very essence of loneliness. She actually shares a very similar life of other similar reclusive characters. She has no close friends and soon has some girls reach out to her. At home, her relatives are seemingly hard to reach out to as they show negative, repelling qualities (her mother and sister) or are immensely preoccupied (her father). This is a greatly executed example of the desire for communication and how some people will turn to seek it on social media and the Web, if not found around them. Almost anyone on social media has some friends or connection(s) with someone that lives quite far from them and that they may NEVER meet in their lives. Still, the bond manages to sometimes fill that void that the person is seeking even though it is practically digital. However, the negative aspect of online communication is displayed as well. Lain’s obsession and journey through the Wired also brings about some troubles, such as her spreading a nasty rumor about a friend, being linked to suicides/killings, and encountering a terrorist organization. Such examples are real life occurrences with interesting and somewhat haunting portrayals in the series.
Reality
Of all the three mentioned themes, reality is the one that is portrayed more visually. The most interesting aspect of reality’s portrayal in Serial Experiments Lain lies in some of the background art. At times when Lain is walking through her neighborhood or anywhere else around town, the scenery has a variety of unusual colors and forms. One of the most outstanding is the eerie dark shadows with red blotches, which have been described as “blood pools”. These blood pools are representative of the Wired’s growing presence “beneath the surface” of the real world. These blood pools become all the more prevalent as Lain dwells further into the Wired and its influence grows within her. This can be interpreted as Lain’s confusion and conflict within her mind with dispersing the real world from the Wired. This could also be further justified with the theme of dissociative identity disorder as she is confronted with other personas of herself while in the Wired. This could also be seen as seeing a certain dark truth or connection between the two worlds, some of which she ends up discovering. The portrayal of this concept is done in a way that is quite extreme and unclear. The shifts in the scenery are noticeable, but are not exactly clear in symbolism at first hand. Still they prove to be quite powerful as it adds to the tone of mystique in the series.
