Serial Experiments Lain is not just an anime. its art!
A few weeks back I had the privilege to watch an anime that my brother recommended to me called Serial Experiments Lain. I looked it up and I was almost hooked by the concept and the art design of the anime. It looked something very trippy and different than anything that I have ever watched in my life. I decided to watch it and went in pretty much blind and the only thing that I was not blind about was its art style and so I knew that somewhere along the way it is going to become very weird but boy not only it was weird, it was just bonkers to the point it is very hard to understand, not until you finish the series and think about it. Serial Experiments Lain deals with a lot of philosophical questions about life which include questions about Reality, Existence, Communication, Materialism, Death, etc. and the thing is, you will not really notice most of it unless you sit down and just think about what the hell you just watched. And that is what this show is, a really well made puzzle. In fact it is so well made as a philosophical puzzle that I would not even call this anime entertaining. Yes this anime is not really a typically entertaining anime because it is very convoluted with events in it that make no chronological sense in the shows own timeline and on top of that, the anime is a slow burn, and like a really really slow burn to the point where the anime only opens up when it reaches its last few episodes. I will not say that I was really entertained by this anime or it was keeping me at the edge of my seat but still there was something about it that made me very curious, curious enough that I kept watching without really knowing where would it go. And it was really hard to follow because every episode deals with separate things that make no sense if you to try make sense from a chronological or logical point of view. The story does go to a very different place in its final act that makes all the slow burn wait worth it. I will not say that I even solved the story puzzles within the anime but it all just works. The bizarre nature of the anime, the bizarre and eerie characters, the events that make no sense on their own, our main character Lain who starts as a shy introvert but by the end of the anime turns into something completely different that no one will see coming, etc, they all just worked and made me want to watch it even more even though I was completely confused and puzzled throughout my entire watch time. The show's complex and convoluted nature also works because of all its other complex philosophical questions about life that I mentioned before that a human being has no answer to most of the time. The complex nature also represents a human brain and its complex level of thinking and thought process but that is just my interpretation. It may very well represent depression as well since depression is exactly how this show is structured since it is very complex and convoluted. I also loved the way the story is told through a minimalistic cyberpunk art style which was also a very important identity for the anime since it deals with virtual electronic worlds, internet cyberspace, online communication, networking and conspiracy theories. For an anime made in 1998, the cyberpunk art style and the way it shows technology like Artificial Intelligence are scarily similar to what we see in modern times. Everything just works all together as a well tuned machine that is not a necessarily entertaining one but definitely a curious one that you want to know more about. I was always compelled to know about what was happening and what is going on. I was always curious to know about the world and about the wireless communication technology that they use in the anime called the Wired.
Overall, Serial Experiments Lain was a different experience all together. It was not the most mind blowing experience to me nor was it highly entertaining, at least while watching. But then I finished the show and then I just sat alone and thought about it and then out of nowhere, I was hit with chills and goosebumps. The hair strands throughout my body just stood up out of nowhere and I was moved. Perhaps that is what this anime is, a piece of art that just hits you in a different way when you just think about it after you have finished experiencing it. Just thinking about it on its on is a completely separate and unique experience that I never thought I will experience. While watching the show, I was so preoccupied trying to make sense of the events that I was not really able to understand the philosophical aspect of the anime. When just thinking about it, I was able to feel the anime from a completely different and philosophical perspective and was constantly trying to figure out its deeper meaning about what it is trying to say. Of course I could not figure it out 100% but whatever I did understood about its philosophy gave me chills! The anime may not had a huge impact on me while I was watching it but it seems like that it did have a massive impact on me when I just sat and tried to think about the meaning of the anime. It hits you only after you have finished it opposed to almost all other show that hit you while you are watching. And this why I will always remember the experience I had while watching Serial Experiments Lain.
It is not just an anime but a piece of art that most people would never understand and will just say that it is boring edgy anime that has no entertainment value.
I will leave some cool Artwork from the anime below :-
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