Review of Serial Experiments Lain: Vol. 4

Introduction

I feel like I`ve been given a weighty tech thriller to read, one with plenty of twists and turns and wild concepts. But instead of reading the whole novel, I`ve just been given the last chapter, and having read that, I`m supposed to get an idea of the rest of the book, and convince someone else to read it, without giving the ending away. In actuality I`ve been given the final disc of Serial Experiments Lain to review. I can`t really talk about the episodes without going to deeply into spoiler territory, so you`ll have to make do with what little background I could glean from the last three episodes.

Lain is a schoolgirl who explores a strange new world. There is the real world and the Wired, and the boundaries between the two are not as tangible as people think. In a world without God, with people more isolated than ever, the Wired seems to be a way to re-unite human consciousness in a way considered lost since ancient times. Where man once worshipped Gods, digital avatars arise to take their places. The final three episodes see the boundaries between worlds become totally irrelevant, and the new digital deities realise there is a truth far more fundamental than the one they are creating.

Video

The picture is presented in the 4:3 ratio as per the television format. The picture is fine, with no problems that I could see. 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 it`s the perception of them that is altered.

Audio

You get a choice of DD 2.0 English and the original DD 2.0 Japanese. The dialogue is clear throughout and subtitles are provided. As usual I went with the original Japanese as opposed to the English dub. 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. I`m currently madly in love with the theme tune, Duvet by BOA, which is the best opening to an anime series ever.

Features

The extras are limited to 18 stills of concept art, brief trailers for the TV series, DVD, soundtrack CD and Playstation game, and finally an enigmatic 10-second clip merely titled Weird.

Conclusion

Serial Experiments Lain is certainly one of the more provocative anime titles I have seen in a long time. Eschewing the usual violence and gore more often associated with the genre, this opts for a more thoughtful and considered story. That isn`t to say that it lacks the visual inventiveness and refreshing innovation of style that I have come to expect from Japanese animation. Far from it in fact, as Serial Experiments Lain takes the genre into new territory, mixing and blending styles and using striking imagery to tell its story.

Starting from the last disc in a set would be an unwise place to join a series, but this time it is even more ill advised. The first ten minutes of Infornography, the first episode on this disc, is a melange of random images and voices, brief glimpses of characters and events. Without the other episodes it`s a sequence without context, but those ten minutes serve as an instant example as to the innovative animation used in Lain. The remainder of the episode does put the beginning in context, and ironically it serves to help catch up with the story.

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. The ending (don`t worry, I won`t spill the beans) once again is familiar, but rarely have I seen it used so effectively and with such meaning.

I have often started a book or a television series and have been hooked right until the end. I think this is probably the first time that I have been ensnared by the end of a series, and I doubt I`ll be able to rest comfortably until I find out how it begins.

If I do have a question it`s a small value for money one, with barely 75 minutes of programming on one full price disc. Yet Serial Experiments Lain is something special indeed, a story that ensnares, coupled with breathtaking animation and a soundtrack to die for, make this an essential anime disc.