Product Description

We're all connected... The world around us, made of people, tactile sensation, and culture has begun to blur with the wired world inside the computer, of images, personalities, virtual experiences. The day after a classmate commits suicide, Lain, a 13 year-old girl, discovers how closely the two worlds are linked when she receives an email from the dead girl: "I just abandoned my body. I still live here..." All 13 episodes of this amazing series collected in a special boxed set featuring original art from Yoshitoshi Abe (character designer)!

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #95489 in DVD
• Released on: 2001-10-09
• Rating: Unrated
• Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
• Formats: Animated, Color, DVD, NTSC
• Original language: English, Japanese
• Subtitled in: English
• Number of discs: 4
• Running time: 24 minutes

Amazon.com
Disturbing, perplexing, sometimes infuriating, Ryutaro Nakamura's serial experiments lain covers some of the same themes as The X-Files and the films of David Lynch. When introverted 13-year-old Lain receives an e-mail from a dead classmate, she gains access to "the Wired," a virtual world that promises unlimited power to those who can exploit it. Gradually the borders between the real and the virtual blur, and Lain's own identity begins to fade and fragment. Her parents tell her that she is not really their child, her online self grows in power and independence, and shadowy organizations pursue her in both worlds. Finally she begins to realize that she is either reality's only hope, or its worst enemy.

Nakamura keeps the pace of serial experiments lain deliberately slow, imbuing the early episodes with a sense of mounting dread that pays off as the plot develops. The anime technique of panning across static images creates a meditative stillness that works perfectly, and the repetition of certain key images gives them a dreamlike significance. Viewers will either love or hate the complex plot, which seems intent on incorporating every possible paranoid conspiracy, from sinister nanotechnology to alien plots. However--unlike many other anime--it somehow hangs together, and frankly not understanding everything is part of the pleasure of this kind of story. Fans of action-heavy anime and people who like every loose end tied up should steer clear, but those who surrender themselves to the slowly unfolding mysteries of the plot will be amply rewarded. --Simon Leake

Customer Reviews

"Hello, Navi."
How do I even begin reviewing a show like "Serial Experiments: Lain?"

To start with, this is one of the most visually amazing, compelling, twisted, sci-fi-ish, dramatic, different and confusing anime series I've ever seen. It all centers on Lain, who, in all respects, appears to be a normal, if not independent (read: loner) young girl. She doesn't have super powers, she isn't anime-style sexy, and she doesn't own or operate a giant mecha -- but she does wear the cutest little teddy bear outfit: ears, tail, and all.

The story begins with the suicide of one of her classmates. A short time later, she's emailed by this classmate, from "beyond the dead..." Lain, having likely never powered on her Navi (think future, voice activated Macintosh -- it even run's the "Copland OS"), clears off her desk and sets the machine up. And she's hooked. She asks her "Papa" for a new Navi, as her's is a little old and dated. With her wish granted, she's soon cruz'ing the Wired (the future Internet) in her brand new Navi. By chance (or is it?) she comes into posession of a Psyche Processor, and reads up on how to install it. That Processor is only the beginning, and soon her room is transformed into a dark cave of twisted wires and green, bubbling coolant.

The series, like I said, is confusing. If you had a hard time with "Eyes Wide Shut," you might pass on "Lain." It's difficult to review, because of everything that happens in it. True, there are only 13 episodes, but those episodes contain so much story line, that missing one is like missing two hours of a movie that's two hours and ten minutes long. Only until the last disc makes it into your DVD player do you begin to understand some of what's going on. And then, the story line changes on you again, and you're once again thinking, "Huh?"

If you've never seen "Lain," I wouldn't recommend this box set. I also can't recommend the purchase of just the first disc to "try it out," as the good, confusing stuff doesn't start happening until the next disc's episodes. You might want to try a rental store or friend, to give it a test drive. If you already own all the DVD's, there's really no reason to buy this box set, as all you'd be getting is a box (and, of course, a second copy of each DVD).

Repeated viewings of "Lain" are recommended. Personally, I think a little "viewer companion" for us American audiences would have been a nice touch. "Serial Experiments: Lain" should be watched by all anime fans, as it provides a different approach to anime, but some may come away feeling lost and dazed. Lain will do that to you.

Slow and deep
Serial Experiments Lain is a show which leaves most people with a distinct impression of 'huh?'. It is the story of a girl named Lain, who is rather socially inept.

In the first episode, a classmate of Lain's jumps off of a building to her death. Afterwards, people start receiving E-mails from this girl. And that's just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the 'weirdness' of Lain.

As the series progresses, so does Lain. Because of the dead girl's E-mail, she gets a little interested in computers. She learns more and more of the Wired, which is like our Internet. From the individuals on the Wired, and from her own experiences there, she slowly learns the truth about the Wired, and the world.

Lain is a nicely slow, somewhat pretentious anime. It questions what we know as the real world, using real-seeming characters.

In some ways, the series has an 'X-files' (the multi-part episodes) feel to it. You never quite know what's going on, who's who, and just when the pieces are about to come together, the storyline takes another twist.

A good look into the psyche of the Internet, Internet users, and the world.

The boxed version contains all four DVDs (Navi, Knights, Deus and Reset). For reviews or tech specs of the individual discs, visit their pages.

utterly disturbing
You know I love disturbing and confusing movies but this show takes both those concepts to the extreme. We have here a show about a shy girl who finds herself becoming increasingly fascinated by The Wired(a futuristic version of the internet).

This in itself is something that many ppl can relate to.
What's different about it though, is that in the show you can actually project yourself into the Wired as a physical entity.

The show begins with a girl jumping of an apartment building. This grisly event sets the mood for the rest of the show..
What's even more creepy is that a few days later all the girls in her class start getting email from her about how she 'merely abbandoned her body and how she is living in The Wired'. Everyone ofcourse is terribly upset about this but Lain being curious replies to the message...

That's the beginning of a terribly deep, confusing and fascinating tale.

The overal question in the series is wether or not Lain is a real girl. Other topics covered are "what is reality" and "what exactly is God".

This isn't a cutesy and simple anime like Pokemon. this is how anime should be. Deep and intelligent. This makes you think and ponder about life. Plus it gives some interesting perspectives on what the internet is.

Highly reccomended