Serial Experiments Lain Kawaii Article
Serial Experiments Lain Polish Magazine Circa-1998 to 2000 p.84-85
“At last! Finally! After several lighter series on Canal+, an anime aimed at a more sophisticated viewer appeared. And specifically ‘more sophisticated,’ not simply ‘adult,’ because Lain is not some tentacle hentai by Toriego, but an extraordinarily intriguing science fiction work. Intriguing not only because of the themes it explores, but also because of the way it presents them.”
“In the simplest terms, it is a 13 episode series that premiered in Japan during the summer of 1998. Its broadcast time was set very late at night, around 1:15 AM, which partly explains why, until its American DVD release, it remained relatively unknown.
It also cannot be denied that this is not easy material, and without proper preparation it is better not to start consuming it. Otherwise you may only frustrate yourself for missing such a remarkable work, and later claim that it is nothing special.
If one looks at Lain in terms of action, explosions, blood, or bullets flying everywhere, then it is better not to look at it at all. Even though there is blood here, sometimes coming from very strange places, and there are bullets too, though who knows how many are real, these things are not the most important. They do not create the atmosphere.”
“The atmosphere created here is incredible. You may find it hard to believe, but it truly is. The music is strange and unsettling, perfectly matching the mood of the work itself.
The style of drawing the characters is fairly simple, sometimes even sparse, but the way the world is presented cannot be underestimated. It is simply perfect.”
“LAIN, WHAT IS SHE LIKE?”
“To the slow pace of the action, the abundance of understatements, long moments without dialogue, and close ups of faces, one must simply become accustomed, much like developing a taste for good wine.
During viewing, however, this ‘otherness’ is not felt negatively. From the very first episode the viewer becomes deeply drawn into the story. The internet and science fiction are not foreign here. They are presented in a very believable way, because we begin to ask ourselves questions that earlier we had not considered: who is Lain? What is the world? Why does most of the information shown resemble our own reality?”
“And finally, from our world’s perspective, perhaps the most important thing is the influence this work exerts. Because Lain does not create anything new, she only presents a fragment of our reality, our present…”
POLISH TRANSLATION:
“Counting on a generally happy sounding ending, and taking it as a happy ending, would definitely be a mistake. This is not a Hollywood style conclusion. In fact, even after the credits of the final episode, it is unclear what the ending truly means. Nor who Lain really was...”
"At the end I decided to include a short description of the Polish version broadcast on Canal+. Admittedly, compared to the DVD release it lacks somewhat in quality, but it has one enormous advantage: it is in Polish.
Generally speaking, the translation cannot really be criticized, though devoted fans will surely find a few inaccuracies that practically do not affect the viewing experience, and ordinary viewers likely will not notice them at all.”
"IS THIS REALLY THE END?”
“Yes. But for the curious, there is an even earlier article in Kawaii and also the Internet. Why am I sending you elsewhere instead of explaining things here? Because inevitably I would reveal too much, and besides, why repeat myself? So then, farewell, Lain...”
“Exactly what is the beginning of this anime about? Let me present one possible explanation here.
WARNING! If you avoid spoilers, stop reading this box until after the final episode!
At first glance it might seem that the opening sequence is made from fragments of later episodes. And indeed, the standard theory is that one serious mistake was made, because fragments from the opening can supposedly be found later in the series. But does this mean they were specially created for it? And if so, what does that imply?
No one except the creators can know for certain, but after carefully watching the episodes one can conclude that this is not the end of the series we are seeing.
Consider the scene of the footbridge where Lain stands. Compare it to the footbridge from the final episode. Similar, isn’t it?
Notice also that Lain is strangely calm when she stops time and visits people’s homes. She acts as if this is nothing new. Pay attention too to the bird image. Practically only here, instead of glowing patterns, we see something resembling memories passing through her, single words and fragments of phrases.
We see, ‘No position.’ The rest can be understood only after reading the final episode, because after the reset Lain no longer belongs to any era or place. She occupies a kind of undefined position.
After the reset, people’s minds no longer remember her. In the opening, meanwhile, we constantly focus on Lain’s face, as if she still exists somewhere in our minds...”
“It is difficult to believe at first, but if one begins searching for additional information connected to the concepts presented in the series, Lain turns out to be only the visible tip of an iceberg.
Only a gradual immersion into the network allows one to see the world the creators wished to show us. I do not believe that this is simply the invention of several fanatics nobody has heard of. Its strength lies precisely in the fact that it tries to show us nothing more than one possible version of our future, and I must admit that it is a very plausible path.
The power of Lain also lies in the fact that in the first place it shows the possibility of creating godlike beings within the Wired or the Internet. That is, if all the information humanity possesses concerning the structure and functioning of the mind is true, then there is only a matter of the next 20 or 30 years...”
Lain tries to show us what modern civilization is heading toward...”
“And you don’t seem to understand
A shame, you seemed an honest man...”
Production: Pioneer LDC
Distribution: Pioneer LDC
Polish Broadcast: Canal+
Director: Ryutaro Nakamura
Screenplay: Chiaki J. Konaka
Character Design: Yoshitoshi ABe
Music: Reichi Nakaido and Tatusno Kose
Length: 13 × 25 minutes
Age Rating: 16+
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