This review is split into 4 parts: A spoiler-free section, a spoiler-filled section, some scattered thoughts, and my conclusion. Enjoy!
Let’s start with the pitch. Why should you watch this show? I can sum it up in one word.
Atmosphere.
Serial Experiments Lain succeeds in creating an atmosphere to an extent that I have not experienced with any other show. For me, it began with the name. It screams cool, dark, and mysterious. Paired with the beautiful yet haunting cover art, I was immediately set on watching this show. When I started it, I was shocked to discover that I had only skimmed the surface of how the show pulls you in. If the concept, title, or art style of the show intrigues you, I highly recommend watching the first episode to understand exactly what I mean when I praise its atmosphere. Some may be put off by the fact that the show was released over 20 years ago, but it has aged well. In particular, its depiction of the internet, known as the Wired, is still relevant to this day.
Now I’ll move on to why you might not like the show. Obviously I was a huge fan of it, but there are some weaker aspects that could make someone feel differently. The two main issues that I see people have with the show are:
I agree with the first complaint, but I disagree with the second. As far as the first goes, this is a surreal show with a complicated and convoluted story. While I thought this was to the show’s benefit, if you don’t like confusing plots or not knowing exactly what is going on this is not the show for you. For the second point, I think it comes from some fans more so than the show itself. The show brings up some deep topics in an engaging way and in my mind doesn’t deserve to be called pseudo-intellectual. From what I've seen, the show gets its reputation from a subset of fans who think they are smart for liking the show. That is not necessarily the case and can lead to unfortunate elitism. Instead of talking more about this "issue", I will put forward another potential issue, which is the dialogue. I thought it was a bit stilted. For me it added to the uneasy atmosphere, but you have to buy into the atmosphere to love the show. If you aren’t immersed in the atmosphere, you probably won’t like this.
(If you don’t want to be spoiled, you can skip to the Various Thoughts or the Conclusion)
Now, the part that you Lain fans and haters have been waiting for. My unfiltered thoughts on the series. The suicide scene completely shocked me. I knew that the events in the show were kickstarted by a suicide, but I was floored at how graphic they made it. All the same, I loved it. It was dark and disturbing, yet also oddly fascinating. There were many more such events throughout the series. I especially loved the shooter in Cyberia and the entire Rumors episode. Everyone just looking at Lain was unnerving as hell.
As far as the plot goes, I’m not gonna lie I didn’t understand all of it. But the great part is I felt like I was learning all of these things at the same time as Lain. I’m still a little confused as to how Lain doesn’t know her powers and about her alter ego. I think it's something to do with memory erasure, but I'm not sure. Other than that, I think I understood what was going on for the most part.
The ending of the show was unexpected for me. After 12 episodes of layers upon layers of trippy content, the show ends with the state of the world rewound to before it even began. Everyone has completely forgotten about Lain’s existence and she is once again alone. At first, I didn’t like how it ended. Once I thought about it a bit though, I grew to appreciate it. Based on Lain’s personality, she couldn’t just erase everyone’s memories and go on with her life after seeing how Alice reacted to her doing just that in episode 12. She might have been able to erase her own memory as well, but it could lead to the exact same scenario with Lain not knowing her true self. The final scene with Alice was bittersweet. Lain is able to watch her loved ones live their lives but she is cursed to never be able to be a part of them.
For a show that came out over 20 years ago, it is a scarily realistic depiction of internet personas and the increasingly blurred line between the internet and the real world.
I instantly added the opening song, Duvet, to my Spotify playlists. It is such a good song and contributes to an outstanding OP.
Once again, the art of Lain leaning against the chain-link fence backlit by a purple sky is beautiful.
Layer 08 was my favorite episode
To put it simply, Serial Experiments Lain is an experience. While some aspects of it are slightly lacking, I found the atmosphere to be the greatest of any show I’ve seen to date. This aspect is what makes me give it a 10/10 (amazing) on my rating scale. I can't wait to rewatch it and see all of the little details I missed!
37 out of 39 users liked this review
