Serial Experiments Lain aka What did I just watch?!

[Tanuki Tales]

So, Serial Experiments Lain is my significant other's favorite anime of all time and she was just giddy as a kid finding that Santa Claus is real when she saw that the Funimation booth at Otakon had a collected edition of it (on blu-ray and with the art book).

We buy it of course and started watching it yesterday, finishing the 13th episode today. I personally found myself completely bewildered on what I had just spent several hours over the span of two days watching. It was a great series, but I still hadn't really grasped what was going on in the end; something that hasn't happened to me since I watched Big O.

Instead of going to TVTropes and getting lost in that soul devouring time sink, I figured I'd come here with my initial graspings at what it all meant and see what you wonderful folks can do to enlighten me.


Lain was the awakened consciousness of the Earth that the God of the Wired unknowingly collected and gave sapience and a chance to discover its purpose, correct? And the scene where she's alone and then talking to her father in the sky at the table is her conversed with the actual, true God, right?

[erikun]

Serial Experiments Lain is a nifty one, yes. It is one of ABe's anime1, which tend to stand out as weird and thought-provoking... although I still prefer Haibane Renmei.

It's been a long time since I watched it, probably over 10 years, but here's my impression of the series.
Yes, Lain is basically the conciousness of the entire internet, or the Wired as it's apparently called. The Wired and computer devices are so ubiquitous that someone controlling the Wired can control pretty much all of reality. Lain doesn't realize who she is at first, and a lot of the anime is Lain slowly beginning to realize who she is.

I don't remember how much of this is "Lain is physically changing the world" and how much is "Lain is changing the perception of the world." I was under the impression that most of what was happening was simply changing perceptions of the world; manipulating cybernetic augments so that people are seeing something different, and such.

A lot of the weird visuals are hard to take a face value for japanese anime. Japan tends to use odd colors and strange patterns to indicate mood, so there are times when things just start looking bizarre but are supposed to indicate Lain's attitude and outlook at the time, rather than streets or rooms actually changing appearance.

I don't really recall what the significance was about the big man in the sky. I think I'd need to re-watch it to give a good opinion.

As most stuff like this, I think you'll find that a lot of the answers are open to interpretation. Japan does love creating stories without explanation, and with the intent that the readers should fill in the blanks or create their own reasoning from it. Lain isn't really all that different in that regard, just rather well done in comparison.


1Google "Serial Experiments Lain ABe" for the person's full name. Forum filter is censoring the first name.