Serial Experiments Lain
"Oh, okay. So that's how it works. I had no idea the world was this simple. I always thought the world was such a big and scary place, but once you figure it out, it's all so easy."
I am under the impression that you don't have to fully understand a work in order to appreciate it. Serial Experiments Lain is a prime example of this, in my eyes. SEL is an easy target for "Ending Explained" type YouTube videos. While it is fun to dive into the intricate plots of works like this, I feel like analyzing them solely through the lens of understanding plot beats sort of misses a lot of the point. Serial Experiments Lain is a series whose plot isn't meant to be understood. It's not some grand mystery to be solved, instead the ideas it presents are meant to be absorbed and pondered on long after its runtime is over. All that is to say, I still hardly comprehend a lot of the intricacies of this series' plot and world upon rewatching it. I understand it a lot more than I did initially, but that's not saying much. In spite of that, my love for it was only reaffirmed after a second viewing.
Art-wise, Lain is gorgeous. Its animation is far from the flashiest thing you'll ever see. In several spots it's honestly downright sparse. However, it works with the show's more overexposed art style. The art direction, background art, and shot composition are fantastic in Lain. Many of the locations are very grounded and familiar. However, they are offset by elements that just simply aren't right. Examples include how blindingly white the interior of the Iwakura household is, or how the show's shadows seem to be speckled with drops of crimson blood. It adds a lot to the uncanny feeling of the series and makes its moments of psychological horror even more effective.
There is so much effective, haunting imagery in Lain that it'd be impossible to for me to name every single instance that stuck with me. One moment that always really freaks me out is when Lain sees some sort of apparition of herself incessantly moving its mouth, she shakes the clone, and its head falls off while still moving its mouth unnaturally. Weird stuff like this is omnipresent throughout this show. The series also features some effective recurring imagery. A motif that I particularly enjoy is how the show utilizes extreme closeups on character's faces. It makes them look oddly grotesque. Lain's simpler artstyle makes these small moments of extreme, uncomfortable detail really striking.
Serial Experiments Lain's soundtrack is also fantastic. Lain's usage of "Duvet" by the band English alt-rock outfit Bôa has become one of the most iconic 90s anime openings in recent years, but there are great tracks sprinkled all throughout the show. My personal favorite is the sloppy, psychedelic, guitar-driven "Wind of Space and Time" that plays during the montage in episode 11. It's one of the rawest things you'll ever hear.
Serial Experiments Lain is a show about many things. It touches on topics such as the implications of memories, the existence of God, the meaning of identity on various different scales, and the nature of culture and the collective conscious/subconscious. Communication is at its core, however. To me, the thesis of Serial Experiments Lain is this: the flow of information, and, thus, the internet (information exchange taken to its logical extreme) serves to connect us to others only on a superficial level. Such shallow and artificial connections come at the cost of our humanity. While SEL acknowledges thar widespread access to information can be a net positive, it also posits that it will likely only further divide and alienate humanity in the coming decades.
I had originally given this a 4.5 stars when I first watched it. I really enjoyed it, but wasn't fully sold on it. However, after rewatching it, I will be bumping its score up. This is a fantastic series. It will definitely not be for everyone, but it's certainly worth taking the time to find out since it's only 13 episodes long. To me, Lain is a landmark title within cyberpunk anime that fully deserves to be discussed in the same breath as works like 1988's Akira and 1995's Ghost in the Shell.
10/10