Serial Experiments Lain (1998)

Original title

serial experiments lain

Directed by

Ryūtarō Nakamura

Genre

cyberpunk, science fiction anime and manga, science fiction anime

Country

Japan

Length

1 season, 13 episodes

Rated

TV-14

Rating

8.2 of 10 from 644 voters

Elsewhere

IMDb

How it feels

A shy teenage girl in Japan starts receiving emails from a classmate who recently died. She begins exploring a global computer network called the Wired, and her experiences there blur the line between the digital and real worlds.

slow-burnunsettlingdreamlikecerebralbleaksurrealtenseparanoid

What happens

Serial Experiments Lain is a Japanese anime television series created and co-produced by Yasuyuki Ueda, written by Chiaki J. Konaka and directed by Ryūtarō Nakamura. Animated by Triangle Staff and featuring original character designs by Yoshitoshi Abe, the series was broadcast for 13 episodes on TV Tokyo and its affiliates from July to September 1998. It follows Lain Iwakura, an adolescent girl in suburban Japan, and her relation to the Wired, a global communications network similar to the internet. Lain features surreal and avant-garde imagery and explores philosophical topics such as reality, identity, and communication. The series incorporates creative influences from computer history, cyberpunk, and conspiracy theories. Critics and fans have praised Lain for its originality, visuals, atmosphere, themes, and its dark depiction of a world fraught with paranoia, social alienation, and reliance on technology considered insightful of 21st century life. It received the Excellence Prize at the Japan Media Arts Festival in 1998. (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

Trailer

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