Serial Experiments Lain: Navi
Genre: Sci-Fi (Dramatic)
Length: 100 minutes (4 OVAs)
Audience: 16 Up
Opinion:
No one can deny this series' beauty on virtually all levels.
This is a review of the subtitlede
VHS release.
©1998 Triangle/Pioneer
LDC, Inc.
There are a lot of junior high
kids that are suffering from a disturbing experience. A girl who recently
committed suicide is sending them e-mails. Lain, an extremely introverted
girl, was included on this mailing list. Unlike her classmates who consider
these letters to be a cruel trick, she is intrigued by the message that
death is only leaving your body since the soul can now be transferred
on the Wired network.
Lain's technology crazed father
decides to buy her the most state of the art Navi computer, so she can
investigate this new world. This becomes an exciting and addicting experience
for our main character as the world of the Wired seems to already know
her. Not to say that Lain had a great sense of reality, but her deity
like status in this network can only further blur her perceptions.
It did not take much to inspire
me to pick up this title. I was looking for something a little more mature
than the series I was collecting at the time ("Martian
Successor Nadesico" and "Bubble
Gum Crisis Tokyo 2040"), but I did not know what to base the decision
on besides the at least "16 Up" rating. What it came down to
was box art, and still to this point there is no better cover art for
anime than "Serial Experiments Lain".
Once I got back into the car
after making this purchase, I read the plot synopsis and was amazed at
how intriguing it was. Seeming irresistible, at least from my perspective,
or that of anyone who can get into films like Cameron Crowe's "Vanilla
Sky", this is an extremely promising title.
Lain is an anime that
must be purchased since to catch everything about it requires many viewing.
You cannot afford to blink or you will miss many little details in the
story and the animation. Patience is also required because a premise is
not really established for this series until after the end of the final
episode of the video.
If you are impatient, it will be difficult to enjoy
the story or the slowly gradual changes in the character of Lain. Being
able to understand this character is crucial to enjoying the series because
all of the other characters are nothing more than background drawing with
the added dimension of movement.
I consider the series' artwork
to be beautiful. It gives the feeling of being extremely realistic while
maintaining the feel of reading a manga. The computer images used in this
series are not too complex, but are placed properly to give the viewer
the same sense of "aahhhh" and worry that Lain is experiencing.
The
series soundtrack further adds to the show's overall beauty. With the
exception of the closing credits' song. The eerie techno beats are perfect
for this series. There is only one artist that I can compare this to and
that is Trent Reznor, but due to the lack of violence or aggression, a
Nine Inch Nails score would not be appropriate. Because of this, Lain's
beauty is going to be difficult to match.
Serial
Experiments Lain may only be enjoyed be minority cliques like Goths
and Geeks, but no one can deny this series' beauty on virtually all levels.
It is an expensive purchase ($24.99 dubbed, $29.99 subtitled), but it
a necessity for any anime fan who does not have ADD collection.
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