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Reviews
Serial Experiments Lain (1998)
"I just didn't get it."
Yes, ok. I probably just didn't "get" this series.
Watching it over two decades after it was created it also played a role in my opinion, I'm sure. But still It was very hard for me to find this series enjoyable at all.
For the positives, I'll say the animation has held up very well. I also think some of the themes the show covers are almost prophetic in how the in universe characters deal with their version of the internet. The series deserves so much praise on what can be interpreted as a metaphor between the wired and the internet. I also found a few of the characters as very likeable.
But the con of just never truly knowing what's going on is too big a hurdle to move past. Maybe it's a metaphor. Maybe Lain is an alien? Maybe she's a construct made from a god? Or made from the collective unconscious of earth--Is that what The
Wired is?
I've seen shows that do the "open to interpretation" thing well. And Serial Experiments Lain just isn't one of them. If you're cool with very few answers, then check the show out. I think it tackles our relationship with the internet, and identity in general very well. But if you want a satisfying and conclusive. In anyway whatsoever, story... you probably won't find that here.