Review of Serial Experiments Lain: Vol. 3

Introduction

Serial Experiments Lain is the groundbreaking anime that introduced Yoshitoshi ABe to Western audiences. It takes place in a world where the Internet has become even more ubiquitous than in our own. Communication, friendships and relationships are defined by links created in the Wired as well as the real world. Lain Iwakura is a regular schoolgirl at first glance, but a tragic event leads her into a fantastic world that has her questioning the nature of reality itself. This penultimate third volume contains three more episodes of Serial Experiments Lain.

Layer 08: Rumors
After hearing what the people at Tachibana had to say about her memories, Lain isn`t reassured when her parents don`t simply laugh off the accusations. Her explorations of the Wired have a negative affect when her friend Arisu accuses her of spreading rumours about her. Lain`s digital avatar has been up to no good, and Lain will have to confront Lain of the Wired. Lain realises that she has the power to erase the mischief, but it means sacrificing part of herself.

Layer 09: Protocol
Lain is all alone, withdrawn from the real world, trying to come to terms with who she is, her abilities in the Wired. When she receives a new component for her Navi at Cyberia, she decides to uncover the truth once and for all. That means learning just who the Knights are, and what they want with her. A conspiracy is revealed that stretches back to the Roswell crash of 1947, and even further. Just as she begins to uncover the truth about who she is, the God of the Wired appears to confront her.

Layer 10: Love
The God of the Wired, omnipresent within the network reveals all to Lain. Lain is his creation, the Knights his worshippers, and Lain`s destiny to spread his word by removing the barrier between the Wired and the real world. To that end, Lain`s life is gradually being erased, her friends` memories of her, and her existence at school. She returns to an empty house, her family gone. The man she thought was her father supplies the final piece of the puzzle. Lain decides to hunt down the Knights. After all, what is a God without worshippers?

Video

Serial Experiments Lain is presented in the original 4:3 format. The image is sharp and the colours are strong. The animation itself is breathtaking. In keeping with the reality warping storyline, there are several styles of animation, mixed with real word footage. Occasionally stark images contrast monitor style footage to keep the viewer confused as to what is real and what is surreal. The characters are traditional anime, but how they perceive the world offers a melange of styles that keeps the viewer guessing.

Audio

You get a choice of DD 2.0 English and the original DD 2.0 Japanese. The dialogue is clear throughout and optional translated subtitles are provided (Japanese text is translated with burnt in subtitle captions, as is the end credit song). As usual I went with the original Japanese as opposed to the English dub. This being a relatively dialogue light programme, the dub is pretty good as well. The stereo is remarkably effective in setting up an unsettling atmosphere. Even something simple like the sound of chalk on a blackboard is used to provide a claustrophobic feel. The sound design is certainly successful in this regard, muffled voices, the oppressive hum of power cables, the tangible impression of heat haze, the visuals go hand in hand with the sound. The stereo track when output through Dolby Surround is excellent in making the most of the sound design. Serial Experiments Lain does stand out in terms of music though. The soundtrack is something special, with a selection of haunting tunes that uplift the story.

Features

You get Navi style menus for the disc, and there is the usual MVM Jacket picture. The extras are limited to 18 stills of concept art, brief trailers for the TV series, DVD, soundtrack CD and Playstation game, and finally a 10-second clip merely titled Weird. Is it an enigma, a clue, a random image? You figure it out.

Each episode is followed by Device, a brief clip of live action footage featuring Kaori Shimizu, the actress who voices Lain, and who also served as inspiration for the character`s design.

Conclusion

If you want a quick anime fix, some eye-candy and action then you are in the wrong place. Serial Experiments Lain is one anime that requires that you watch all 13 episodes to get to grips with what is going on, and it will make you work for the answers at that. But putting some effort into this story is ultimately rewarding, as it is one of the most provocative and challenging anime available today. It combines a variety of animation styles, and presents striking imagery that tells a story in a way that takes the genre into new territory. It is deceptively slow paced. It takes its time to reveal its secrets, and you feel that you have time to assimilate what you see. The pacing adds to the atmosphere of the story most certainly, but repeated viewing is essential, as you realise that even the quieter moments are laden with symbolism that resonates through the episodes. I`m watching it for the second time now, and uncovering details that I had missed the first time around.

The story deals with the nature of reality and the way that we perceive it. Lain`s perceptions are at the centre of it, she is a teenage girl who already sees the world in a skewed way, and the design of the anime merely heightens that. The shadows in this world border on alive, the sky is always a blinding white, and the oppressive hum of power cables dominates the outside. This is a world where nothing is as it seems, and preconceptions are torn down, to be replaced with enigma and confusion.

However after the previous two volumes have sown the seeds of these mysteries, with disjointed and warped narrative, skewed viewpoints and mind-bending ideas, it is in this volume that the pieces of the jigsaw begin to form a recognisable picture, the main players and movers behind the conspiracy begin to be revealed, and some semblance of the truth is uncovered. If you have kept up with the Lain story, then it is this volume that will justify your faith in the series, delivering in terms of the conspiracy, as well as strengthening the emotional heart of the story. This is because up till now, Lain had been an observer at best; at worst she was simply moved by events. Here she begins to exert her own personality, and it is her decisions that move the story from this point.

The mysteries and conspiracies start being resolved in this volume, with the key players in the story taking centre stage to set up the conflict that will decide the future of the Wired, and how society functions in it. The story is layered with symbolism and enigma, and will keep the wheels of the mind whirring long after the end credits have rolled.

That said, Lain doesn`t exactly tell an original story, its blend of X-Files and Cyberpunk musings on the meaning of life, reality and everything is comfortingly familiar to this sci-fi fan, but the viewpoint of a teenaged girl is certainly something new. Lain also benefits from brilliant character design. The interactions between characters show a thoughtfulness and depth of writing that is a cut above other anime. Entertaining and intelligent, Serial Experiments Lain is a stunning anime series, but to make the most out of it, you`ll have to meet it half way. This third volume is where Serial Experiments Lain comes good, and I can`t recommend it enough.