Simulwatch - serial experiments lain
- Thread starter teonzo
- Start date
Vashdaman
Za Warudo
So I decided to jump on board with this and I watched the first 4 eps. I think this summarises how I feel:
Seriously, it's not an easy show to watch and get into, and I'd say it's a particularly hard show to watch in large chunks, at least for me it was. It's definitely a deliberately disorienting show that makes the viewer feel both uneasy and unsure of what they are actually witnessing. So in that regard, I think it's quite successful. But I'm starting to feel- after watching ep 4- that the show might be starting to just run away from me now. There are so many jarring and murky aspects, like Lain herself as already mentioned by others in this thread, her change in personality and sudden obsession with "the wired" is somewhat hard to fathom. I know that there will be an explanation for it, but right now everything just seems a bit mystifying and vague. I mean, what does she even actually do on the wired? We hear these various voices, some directly communicating with Lain, and also many disparate and less coherent voices babbling about this and that. But we have no clue what she is actually doing on her computer. I do want to stick with this and find out what is really going on, but I wouldn't be surprised if many viewers would be turned off by this point, as it's got loads of interesting and cryptic themes going on, and some great direction, but it might be just a bit too sparse and lacking of real meat on it's bones thus far.
animefreak17 said:
Seriously, it's not an easy show to watch and get into, and I'd say it's a particularly hard show to watch in large chunks, at least for me it was. It's definitely a deliberately disorienting show that makes the viewer feel both uneasy and unsure of what they are actually witnessing. So in that regard, I think it's quite successful. But I'm starting to feel- after watching ep 4- that the show might be starting to just run away from me now. There are so many jarring and murky aspects, like Lain herself as already mentioned by others in this thread, her change in personality and sudden obsession with "the wired" is somewhat hard to fathom. I know that there will be an explanation for it, but right now everything just seems a bit mystifying and vague. I mean, what does she even actually do on the wired? We hear these various voices, some directly communicating with Lain, and also many disparate and less coherent voices babbling about this and that. But we have no clue what she is actually doing on her computer. I do want to stick with this and find out what is really going on, but I wouldn't be surprised if many viewers would be turned off by this point, as it's got loads of interesting and cryptic themes going on, and some great direction, but it might be just a bit too sparse and lacking of real meat on it's bones thus far.
Last edited by a moderator:
Genkina Hito
映画男！！！
Layer 06 Kids
Well, just when I thought I had a handle on the plot it spins out of my grasp again. The moderators and the Knights have switched places as good and bad guys… thinking in these terms is probably useless as they are probably all manipulative and out to get Lain… Anyway it was interesting and sinister to get an insight intothe Kensington Experiment from Professor Hodgeson. The big change is that we get ESP… okay, something close to it. Children who have parapsychological ability. Parapsychology is a broad church since it contains everything from clairvoyance, psychokinesis, precognition, reincarnation and apparitions (according to Wikipedia) so that covers everything Lain has experienced. This reminds me of Akira.
I hope that the show doesn’t venture away from interesting topics like isolation and technology and its effects on a person’s psychology because the direction and writing are excellent in exploring these themes. I love the moments when people talk about “connecting” and the irony and are anything but connected and the irony that Lain can only connect through her Navi. I also like the way Lain’s father has been reduced to a scared bystander in a scene remarkable for its stillness and use of shadow - he stands in silence in the darkened hallway just outsie Lain’s door and looks at the light pouring out before saying,
“Lain? I’m coming in.”
He has gone from the sinister figure I originally had him billed as and has become intimidated. I don’t blame him. I had a shock when I saw that the Navi had grown to fill the entire room and it had steam and water running through pipes giving it a biological bent.
Well, just when I thought I had a handle on the plot it spins out of my grasp again. The moderators and the Knights have switched places as good and bad guys… thinking in these terms is probably useless as they are probably all manipulative and out to get Lain… Anyway it was interesting and sinister to get an insight intothe Kensington Experiment from Professor Hodgeson. The big change is that we get ESP… okay, something close to it. Children who have parapsychological ability. Parapsychology is a broad church since it contains everything from clairvoyance, psychokinesis, precognition, reincarnation and apparitions (according to Wikipedia) so that covers everything Lain has experienced. This reminds me of Akira.
I hope that the show doesn’t venture away from interesting topics like isolation and technology and its effects on a person’s psychology because the direction and writing are excellent in exploring these themes. I love the moments when people talk about “connecting” and the irony and are anything but connected and the irony that Lain can only connect through her Navi. I also like the way Lain’s father has been reduced to a scared bystander in a scene remarkable for its stillness and use of shadow - he stands in silence in the darkened hallway just outsie Lain’s door and looks at the light pouring out before saying,
“Lain? I’m coming in.”
He has gone from the sinister figure I originally had him billed as and has become intimidated. I don’t blame him. I had a shock when I saw that the Navi had grown to fill the entire room and it had steam and water running through pipes giving it a biological bent.
Last edited by a moderator:
Episode 6 - Kids
Another episode that adds some elements, mixes some cards, continuing to stress the viewers' patience
This episode is based on kids, as the title says. Both the ones in the Kensington Experiment and the ones surrounding Lain. Lains sees various kids stopping what they are doing and then raising their hands and watching the sky. The first one seemed an illusion, the others definetely not. I suppose this is a metaphor for how it's easy and natural for kids to get the grasp of the new technologies: mature and old people tend to have difficulties to manage them, while kids grasp them immediately. There is phrase during this episode that says "for kids everything is a game" (I'm translating poorly from the Italian subs), this is valid on many levels.
Characters are changing their behaviours. Lain switches from introvert to resolute and back. Lain's father is becoming more respectful, almost scared, towards Lain. Lain's mother is starting to wonder about Lain. Lain's sister totally lost her exuberance, now she seems like an empty shell. Arisu appears for few scenes, in the last close-up she looks totally worried.
There are many powerful scenes in this episode. My favourite one (I'd say one of my favourites in all anime) is when the sky opens and then appears what seems another Lain watching from above. I'm pretty sure there is a word to describe this phenomenon, but can't remember it now. This gives a sort of recursive feeling, I love this stuff.
Another scene is when Lain is depicted standing on a cross in the wired.
We see another reference to Alice in Wonderland when one of the Knights appears like the cat's mouth.
There is also another geek reference: in a close-up in Lain's bedroom we see an electric pressure gauge manufactured by mebious.co.uk, a clear reference to Möbius and his strip (see the comment about recursive stuff above).
The overall picture is taking shape. Things are starting to move and define.
Teo
Another episode that adds some elements, mixes some cards, continuing to stress the viewers' patience
This episode is based on kids, as the title says. Both the ones in the Kensington Experiment and the ones surrounding Lain. Lains sees various kids stopping what they are doing and then raising their hands and watching the sky. The first one seemed an illusion, the others definetely not. I suppose this is a metaphor for how it's easy and natural for kids to get the grasp of the new technologies: mature and old people tend to have difficulties to manage them, while kids grasp them immediately. There is phrase during this episode that says "for kids everything is a game" (I'm translating poorly from the Italian subs), this is valid on many levels.
Characters are changing their behaviours. Lain switches from introvert to resolute and back. Lain's father is becoming more respectful, almost scared, towards Lain. Lain's mother is starting to wonder about Lain. Lain's sister totally lost her exuberance, now she seems like an empty shell. Arisu appears for few scenes, in the last close-up she looks totally worried.
There are many powerful scenes in this episode. My favourite one (I'd say one of my favourites in all anime) is when the sky opens and then appears what seems another Lain watching from above. I'm pretty sure there is a word to describe this phenomenon, but can't remember it now. This gives a sort of recursive feeling, I love this stuff.
Another scene is when Lain is depicted standing on a cross in the wired.
We see another reference to Alice in Wonderland when one of the Knights appears like the cat's mouth.
There is also another geek reference: in a close-up in Lain's bedroom we see an electric pressure gauge manufactured by mebious.co.uk, a clear reference to Möbius and his strip (see the comment about recursive stuff above).
The overall picture is taking shape. Things are starting to move and define.
Teo
Last edited by a moderator:
I'm kinda behind on this one, but I'm going to try and get back up to speed as soon as I can.
Episode 5
Oh boy. This one felt like possibly the most abstract episode so far. I feel like there's such a question over how much of what we see is literally happening at this point, that I'm really warming to the Matrix-esque idea that everyone has already been bonded to the Wired and just doesn't know it. It would explain the ease with which the characters' consciousness can apparently be manipulated.
Saying that, it wasn't until I read Genkina's post that I thought it might be Lain who distorts Maki's perception. Even though her behaviour towards Lain has been fairly cold so far, I do feel that (aside from possibly Alice), Maki is the most normal character we've seen so far. Her hallucenation sequence actually reminded me a lot of Perfect Blue; not only does her reaction to her loss of perception make her seem more human, but she's also finally confronted by her own apparent doppleganger.
I'm not sure if there's anything in it, but Maki also seems to have a strange recurring motif involving liquids during this episode. The kid in Shibuya spills his drink on her sleeve, there's a dissolve shot while she stares at the reflection in her glass of milk (I liked that one) and the coffee she knocks over in the cafe. Maybe it's an arch comment on her activities with her boyfriend at the beginning of the ep?
Yeah, I kind of agree. It's a quality production and there's certainly plenty of food for thought, but, even at this point, I'm still not sure to what extent I actually like the show. I find it very difficult to warm to any of the characters or really get involved in their plight. If nothing else, I'd be interested to look at some of Ryutaro Nakamura's other work as a director after this. Episode 5 in particular makes me think he'd be an excellent horror director.
Episode 5
Oh boy. This one felt like possibly the most abstract episode so far. I feel like there's such a question over how much of what we see is literally happening at this point, that I'm really warming to the Matrix-esque idea that everyone has already been bonded to the Wired and just doesn't know it. It would explain the ease with which the characters' consciousness can apparently be manipulated.
Saying that, it wasn't until I read Genkina's post that I thought it might be Lain who distorts Maki's perception. Even though her behaviour towards Lain has been fairly cold so far, I do feel that (aside from possibly Alice), Maki is the most normal character we've seen so far. Her hallucenation sequence actually reminded me a lot of Perfect Blue; not only does her reaction to her loss of perception make her seem more human, but she's also finally confronted by her own apparent doppleganger.
I'm not sure if there's anything in it, but Maki also seems to have a strange recurring motif involving liquids during this episode. The kid in Shibuya spills his drink on her sleeve, there's a dissolve shot while she stares at the reflection in her glass of milk (I liked that one) and the coffee she knocks over in the cafe. Maybe it's an arch comment on her activities with her boyfriend at the beginning of the ep?
vashdaman said:
Yeah, I kind of agree. It's a quality production and there's certainly plenty of food for thought, but, even at this point, I'm still not sure to what extent I actually like the show. I find it very difficult to warm to any of the characters or really get involved in their plight. If nothing else, I'd be interested to look at some of Ryutaro Nakamura's other work as a director after this. Episode 5 in particular makes me think he'd be an excellent horror director.
Last edited by a moderator:
Animefreak17
Godhand
still watching lain
Genkina Hito
映画男！！！
Layer 07: Society
She’s becoming less and less like me
The wall between the Wired and Reality is crumbling and the players are coming out into the open.
The Knights are a diverse bunch which reflects the anonymity of the internet. We get adult sexy scenes with the bored housewife and the delivery guy (loved the way the camera crawled over the woman’s body matching the chap’s gaze) and the woman’s bemused tone as she rebuffs his advances. Who is the executive and what is this game that keeps him from the sexy PA who is trying to Basic Instinct him?
Lain talking to the head of the moderators was a really delicious scene as he picked apart her reality and exposed that the family she lives with aren’t what she (or the audience) think they are. All we know is that Lain is undergoing a metamorphosis and is in possession of immense power.
Is Lain one of the esper children from the last episode? Was her father contracted in monitoring her progress and is are the moderators a government organisation aware of this?
This episode was full of creepy sequences. I’m thinking about the chap who wants to join the Knights. Use of real street scenes and animation made for great disjointed sequence which reflected the distorted world view of a character who is very creepy
The Wired is full of nonsense-spouting anarchists and idiots who think pranks are a revolution. Wow, the writer was really prescient with that line of dialogue. He should have added irritating memes and anime clips looped for 10 hours and he would have summed up YouTube!
@animefreak: Lain must have really melted your brain if you're bringing Bobobo up in this thread
She’s becoming less and less like me
The wall between the Wired and Reality is crumbling and the players are coming out into the open.
The Knights are a diverse bunch which reflects the anonymity of the internet. We get adult sexy scenes with the bored housewife and the delivery guy (loved the way the camera crawled over the woman’s body matching the chap’s gaze) and the woman’s bemused tone as she rebuffs his advances. Who is the executive and what is this game that keeps him from the sexy PA who is trying to Basic Instinct him?
Lain talking to the head of the moderators was a really delicious scene as he picked apart her reality and exposed that the family she lives with aren’t what she (or the audience) think they are. All we know is that Lain is undergoing a metamorphosis and is in possession of immense power.
Is Lain one of the esper children from the last episode? Was her father contracted in monitoring her progress and is are the moderators a government organisation aware of this?
This episode was full of creepy sequences. I’m thinking about the chap who wants to join the Knights. Use of real street scenes and animation made for great disjointed sequence which reflected the distorted world view of a character who is very creepy
The Wired is full of nonsense-spouting anarchists and idiots who think pranks are a revolution. Wow, the writer was really prescient with that line of dialogue. He should have added irritating memes and anime clips looped for 10 hours and he would have summed up YouTube!
@animefreak: Lain must have really melted your brain if you're bringing Bobobo up in this thread
Last edited by a moderator:
Animefreak17
Godhand
Has everyone dropped this?
I'll try and get back to it soon as well, I've just not been in the right frame of mind lately.
Animefreak17
Godhand
Me too I was very busy with other things but I'l pick it back up as soon as I finish negima
st_owly (witch)
Time-Traveller
Being a student, it's deadline and exam season for me, so I've not had much time to watch anything.
Genkina Hito
映画男！！！
Well I'm ahead of everybody, I'm just waiting for you to catch up... :wink:
To be honest I have been busy writing a Japanese essay, working and blogging about the latest anime Attack on Titan and My Youth Romance is Wrong as I Expected.
To be honest I have been busy writing a Japanese essay, working and blogging about the latest anime Attack on Titan and My Youth Romance is Wrong as I Expected.
Animefreak17
Godhand
iv only got 3 more episodes til im done, iv taken a liking to the ending credits its sooo bluesy
by the way ilmaestro how ya been old pal
by the way ilmaestro how ya been old pal
Animefreak17
Godhand
I finished lain.............. Mindf***
Anyone want to watch desert punk
Anyone want to watch desert punk