Serial Experiments Lain

[Straylight]

I've watched this all the way through. There is pretty much no technically objectional content apart from a couple of deaths (no blood though). However the subject of the anime could be considered blasphemous, unless you perhaps look deeper. I thought it was a very good allegory. Not really suitable for children though, because the plot is very deep.

Has anyone seen this? What did you think?

[andyroo]

I saw it twice through. It helps to see it more than once to get a good grasp of what is going on without any headaches. Alot of deep questions in layer 4. Most people I know who have seen it turned off the t.v. once it came to those episodes that would have been considered blasphemy. I can't say that I feel that it's the best, but it's so so. I hear that Boogiepop Phantom is similar to Lain as far as being very thought provoking.

[Straylight]

In my opinion, although Lain appears blasphemous on the surface, it is not. The reference to God is allegorical. [spoiler="The reason why. (most of my post is in here, mild spoiler)"]The show predicts and depicts a god that has been fabricated. This god is unable to offer what the God of our faith can. I liked this allegory because it showed that false gods are shallow and empty. In addition to this, the false god was based within the Internet(The Wired). In Genesis we hear about the Tower of Babel, and I think you wouldd agree that in the past century or so we have really been driving the nails into that coffin, especially with the internet breaking down communication barriers.[/spoiler]

The main message I got from the show was the suggestion that man may have created a false god when he created the internet. Interesting pondering material. Here is a good quote:

"If I can operate Google, I can find anything... Google, combined with Wi-Fi, is a little bit like God. God is wireless, God is everywhere and God sees and knows everything. Throughout history, people connected to God without wires. Now, for many questions in the world, you ask Google, and increasingly, you can do it without wires, too." - Alan Cohen, V.P. of Airespace, a new Wi-Fi provider, New York Times, 6/29/03

This is a quote that I think in the years to come, will become quite famous. I'm not saying it's right, i'm saying it makes you think. It pretty much sums up the message I got from Lain. Christians who like thinking a lot will probably love this anime. I liked it anyway.

[Gleph]

Hmm... i have heard good things about this, and really would like to see this. Plus i like Lain ^^

The story is meant to be very thought provoking as you say. It was one of the first animes i wanted to buy... makes me wonder what would have happaned if I had bought it then...? But i guess this is God speaking, so i'll probably buy it soon

God Bless

[Jimmothy]

I saw it on Tech TV. I thought it was very strange but after you just explianed it i understand it more. It leaves you with tons of Q at the end of the sieries. I wish that it would have been longer and explained it self more.

[Benu]

I really loved lain really!!! I really didn't find anything that I didn't like about it. But It's not for the kiddies or anyone that get's bord really quick. I really didn't see anything that was objectional or offenceve too me. It really gave me some good ideas on a manga I wanna write soon. But I think it's all how you look at it. The idea of when people die they still live electronicly may be offenceve too some but I think it's kinda a silly idea but some are more offended by some things then others. If you like a deep Sci-Fi story. Or you wanna see what a cross between the sixth sense and the matrix would be like lain is awesome.

[Psycho Ann]

Well, the opening song is one of my all time favs. But yeah, it's "thought provoking". ^^ Though, unfortunately, for most secular people they will interpret that there is NO God, including ours. It's all just the power of man yadayadayada.

Lol, secular people don't/won't "get" the allegory we can find that's positive for Him. That's probably why most of the time His message needs to be painfully blunt. XD

[Mithrandir]

Well, at least blunt. I liked (read: own) SEL. Go figure. I guess there is SO much going on that my brain tries to focus on it all at once. Hmm. Maybe that's what my ADHD brain needs. Anyone recommend any other anime that is like this? Eva, perhaps?

[EireWolf]

Well, the opening song is one of my all time favs.

Mine too.

Anyway... my hope is that people will not base their belief systems on some anime or Hollywood movie they watch. I would hope that people have enough sense to distinguish fantasy from reality... but perhaps I ask too much.

[Murphy]

<----Is obsessed with Lain Look my family thinks its blasphemous or whatever but it's not. It is simply the conceit of one man because of the power he has over the collective unconsious that is the Wired. Besides God is good and "God" is mean in Lain. He tried to attack Lain and Arisu! Stupid "God"


Save Eliot!

[SangoKilala]

I didn't really like the show, it was kind of creepy and very confusing, although in Lain's point of view it was kind of sad too, so I didn't like the show too much, overall it was just weird