Serial Experiments Lain – 1 [Weird] – Throwback Thursday

Welcome one and all to another season of Throwback Thursday! I see you all really wanna screw with my mind, cause this time its Serial Experiments Lain! You can find it, legally, for free on Youtube posted by Funimation. Feel free to follow along. Now let’s jump in!

First, like always, production. Whew, Lain is weird. Like, I thought Paranoia Agent was weird, but Lain one ups it. Stark white backgrounds in contrast with shadows, blowing out all the scenes. It kind of reminds me of Steins;Gate’s first episode, and the heat haze. Setting up this “wrong” feeling for the rest of the season, telling you right out the gate that this series is going to be… weird. The sound design is also fantastic, really setting the discomfort throughout the episode. Cutting in and out with our lead, Lain’s, attention. Not only do I think this is very interesting from a direction standpoint, but the actual sounds themselves were well done. For example, during the dinner with her family, the sound effects on the glass and tableware was great. As was the train or classroom. However, Lain doesn’t stop the weirdness here, no. It’s just getting started.

Right off the bat, as if it wasn’t clear already, Lain is weird. I will be honest, I fully expect to have no idea what is going on for most of this season. However, there is one question that has popped up in my head after 1 episode. Is Lain autistic? I ask this because throughout the episode, we’re shown a lot from Lain’s point of view. She zones out on the train, popping in and out. The computer reads her mail back to her, so possibly dyslexic. Lain sees people as black smudges and often stares off into the distance. On top of all of this, she possibly hallucinates in the middle of class. As if living an entire day before cutting back. I am in no way qualified to make this diagnosis, however with no idea of any supernatural stuff going on, it seems very possible.

Now I have to ask though, was it all a hallucination? Is the school the hallucination? Maybe there is some time shenanigans going on? Suffice to say, I am absolutely baffled. There is a lot of evidence to say it actually happened. That Lain went home, and spoke with her family. It would be a very weird way to introduce the characters for the first time if it was a hallucination. If Lain ends up with a new computer, that would be further proof it actually happened, as the talk with the father would be real. However for that to be true, we would have had to pickup in school the next day. This is the most likely scenario I think, because however weird a series Lain is, it’s a bit too early to break continuity like that. Now though, I want to talk about her family I previously mentioned.

Speaking of family, lets talk Lain’s family dynamic, because it looks to be a mess. Every single one of them seems like they are estranged from each other. The eldest daughter finishes dinner and just walks away. The mother blatantly ignores Lain during their conversation, though I can’t figure out if her eyes are staring at the TV or just into space. Meanwhile the father actually talks to Lain, but is disturbingly obsessed with computers. Marking that as clearly what has harmed his and the mother’s relationship. Going so far as to have a creepy little giggle. At this point I feel like Lain is going to be rather critical of computers and the internet in general. Considering it aired in ’98, that wouldn’t be to surprising either. Computers were still “new” in the commercial sphere so to speak. Will be interesting to see where this goes.

I bring up the internet because Lain seemingly has its own version of this, the “Wired”. Based on the fathers TV screens, it looks like a super advanced sort of “Sim” thing. I am curious how far Lain is going to go with this. It doesn’t appear to be a sort of VR or .Hack/Sign setup. Perhaps I am reading to much into this? Lain’s father is just looking at a lot of different youtube videos at once? Regardless, it appears as if it will be a huge focus going forward. I look forward to learning more about what Lain is planning to do with this. Regardless of how weird it will, inevitably, be.

Finally, let’s talk Chisa, who apparently sets everything in motion. Once again, I have no idea whats going on here. She committed suicide, but then sends mail to everyone. Appears in front of the train and apparently singled Lain out for the truth? Something about how God has come, “God is in the Machine” sort of thing. I am curious if Chisa becomes a recurring character of if its just a one time thing to drag Lain to the Wired. I hope she does, as at the moment she is the single most important character in the story. But my track record with these sorts of thing isn’t great. Still, Paranoia Agent has prepared me well for this. My mind is steeled and I am ready for madness.

So all in all, how was Serial Experiments Lain? It was intriguing on every level. It starts off strong just like Paranoia Agent, except even crazier. With so much going on one episode in, I foresee this either being one of my favorite anime ever, or a complete flop. It all comes down to how it handles the upcoming mystery/madness. Paranoia Agent flagged in the middle, to its detriment. If Lain can give me a similar level of madness, without flagging, then I expect to like it a lot. Lain just needs to never let off the gas.