Serial Experiments Lain – Episode 1 (Wired)

Well, I’ve decided to start off with a rather well known series that most people have at least heard about: Serial Experiments Lain. Keep in mind that everything after the read more cut has spoilers for the episode, as it is a full summary of the episode as well as my closing thoughts about the show itself. Though Lain is the only series up on the blog right now, I hope I’ll be able to add more as time goes by – some that I’m planning are Chrono Crusade, Monster, and Fantastic Children. I’m going to try and balance between blogging popular shows and unheard of – but still good – ones. So if there are any good animes out there that are underrated that you wouldn’t mind me blogging, drop a line and I’ll check it out.

If you have an animé blog yourself, and want to be part of my blogroll, drop a line. I wouldn’t mind being added, too. ^_^ We’ll both do ourselves a favor.  And as this is my first time using wordpress, the first posts bound to be a little space glitchey.

 

 

 

 

 

Serial Experiments Lain has always been one of those shows that you often times have to get or understand – not unlike the fabled Neon Genesis Evangelion or RahXephon. I have only seen part of the latter, and non of the former, but that is what I’ve heard, and after seeing this, I believe it.

They’re obviously trying to make this animé as mysterious and mind-bending as possible, already throwing in little mysteries from the get-go. Like is one of the girl’s alive or dead – and where did they go if the latter is true? Along with other things that make me wonder why I bother to watch this type of show, as I’m not one for the dementia-type animes – or whatever you’d classify this as.

 

 

The opening and ending themes of this thirteen episode series are pleasing – with Duvet (By boa) being a very nice, and welcome addition to the show. I’m so used to English Jpop openings that I really welcome a more serious English addition.

The first episode deals with Lain and the mysterious suicide deaths of students, as well as Lain’s introduction to the world of technology, which she hesitantly gets into, and is encouraged by her father. The techology and internet talk was actually the highlight of the episode, as it relates a lot to the internet run world we live in now – even more so than when this animé was first debuted. Not much other than that happens in this episode, and it feels (and goes by) very slow – at a snail’s pace I daresay. I can’t say whether I like or hate this show – and it’s impossible to say that usually when only you have watched the first – but I felt this episode – save for a few key moments, like the Internet talk between Lain and her father, were rather bland and uninteresting thus far, and the way the show is done, it makes you feel quite distant from what’s going on.