Serial Experiments Lain - Boxed Set
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DVD Cover Information
Actor: Bridget Hoffman, Keito Takimoto, Kotomi Muto, Shô Hayami, Yuki YamamotoProducer: Yasuyuki Ueda
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Unknown), Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo; English (Subtitled); English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo; Japanese (Original Language), Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo
Format: Animated, Color, DVD, NTSC
Picture Format: 1.33:1
Running Time: 24 minutes
Published: 2001-10-01
DVD Release Date: 2001-10-09
Audience Rating: Unrated
Studio: Geneon [Pioneer]
Movie Reviews of Serial Experiments Lain - Boxed Set
Movie Review: "You're wrong, the lines between them arn't so clear, and soon I'll be able to cross them..."
Summary: 5 Stars
(Written by Ben's 15-year old daughter)
Serial Experiments:Lain is by far one of the best series I have seen and I am no noob to anime. (I've seen anything from cowboy bebop to mushishi to inuyasha to desert punk ect.) I've read some of the really bad reviews for this series and found that people either dont understand it or complain about the animation (some were decent reviews with valid points, but they still didnt fully comprehend all that took place) and I've also read 5 star reviews from people who didnt understand half of what happened. I myself have watched this series over 4 times through (in both langauges) and still absolutly love it.
Animation: This series doesnt have what you'd call "clean" animation, but that is part of its appeal in my opinion. If it had been present in an animation similer to "Lucky Star" or even "Moribito", I really dont think it would be as meaningful or as captivating. I consider some of the animation to really show thought and hidden meaning, but definitly not the whole series being a a piece of abstract art. The series has a sort of a realistic sense, while maintianing the feel of an anime. The animation is not the point of the anime, though it works in this situation, but it is not something I'd base my opinion of the series on.
Voice Acting: English dub- I find the english dub to be miserable, and horrendous in comparison to the original japanese version. The voice of Lain, while cast to fufill her role as the timid girl who is unaware of whats happening to her, is very pathetic and cant fully express the range of emotions thats shown throughout the series. Her normal voice is so simaler to her angry and happy voice that it becomes repetetive and dull to listen to her speak. Her friends voices are either irritating or dull. Not to mention the bad translation from japanese to english loses some of the the efforts to pack as much as much meaning as possible into every event that the creators strived for. And for this anime, sinse 80% of it is foreshadowing, thats not something that you could get away with like a series like "Rurouni Kenshin or Yu Yu Hakusho" where plot is less than complex. -Japanese Version: Very well done, emotions are fully expressed and the voices blend with and form the personalities of each character and help define thier corrosponding roles in Lains "life".
Music- while music is not a prevalent part of the appeal, it doesnt hurt the series. With few songs, and background music (for when they go to cyberia) the viewer actually is able to focus more on whats taking place, which in this case is very important. The intro is one my favorite songs in(or outside) the world of anime. "Duvet" by BoA (the artist of Fukai Mori~ Inuyasha) and is sung in english is so good that I never press the skip button when watching an episode to actually get the story (which in my case is rare). The ending on the other hand is somewhat hard to listen to and is ok, but I wouldn't choose to litsen to it.
Plot: Ok, now we get to the meat of this series. Please keep in mind that this series requires at LEAST 2 full watch-throughs to fully appreaciate the thought put into it (it's really not hard as the series only has 13 episodes). I won't spoil anything but the first minutes. It starts out with a highschool girl speaking to herself while standing on the edge of a high building, screens with text which seem to reply to her appear on screen. She happily then jumps to her death while the busy "people"( which are portayed as a general idea/organism on purpose) all react to the situation. Lain, who breifly knew the girl found out that people were getting e-mails from her even though she had died. Lain (who doesnt touch her computer) eventually checks to see if she recieved one too... the initial spark of the plot. This leads into the series where her computer use escalates past obsession and reaches a point where the lines of the Wired (the internet) and reality blur and eventually meld into what is a very insightful and thought provoking examination of life and what it is to be alive. (I know, cliche right? It definitly breaks the boundries :D)
IMPORTANT: I garrantee that you will NOT understand whats happening until episode 4! It's when light is finally put on some of the situation (slightly) and a plot is visable, but even then you really don't know :) Symbolism is everywhere from the telephone lines to the blood-spotted shadows of buildings and are a constant to the end of the series. The series does drag at points, but it adds more meaning and impact for when the you reach the end. Patience is a virtue!
Rating: I would gives this an R-rating for there is blood, sexual themes, violence and drug/alchohal use. I personally ( a 15 year old girl), had no problem with it and reccomend it to anyone mature enough to watch it.
Final Opinion: This is definitly a series that deserves to be seen, one the best out there, and has terrific overall effect. Iv'e shown it to friends who all loved it, all age groups (above maybe 12, I first saw it when I was 13). Please don't skip this anime, you'll miss out. Find a cheaper version, get the slimpack edition, either way, its worth your time.
---- Angelica M.
Summary of Serial Experiments Lain - Boxed Set
Disturbing, perplexing, sometimes infuriating, Ryutaro Nakamura's "serial experiments lain" covers some of the same themes as "The X-Files" and the films of David Lynch. When introverted 13-year-old Lain receives an e-mail from a dead classmate, she gains access to "the Wired," a virtual world that promises unlimited power to those who can exploit it. Gradually the borders between the real and the virtual blur, and Lain's own identity begins to fade and fragment. Her parents tell her that she is not really their child, her online self grows in power and independence, and shadowy organizations pursue her in both worlds. Finally she begins to realize that she is either reality's only hope, or its worst enemy.\n Nakamura keeps the pace of "serial experiments lain" deliberately slow, imbuing the early episodes with a sense of mounting dread that pays off as the plot develops. The anime technique of panning across static images creates a meditative stillness that works perfectly, and the repetition of certain key images gives them a dreamlike significance. Viewers will either love or hate the complex plot, which seems intent on incorporating every possible paranoid conspiracy, from sinister nanotechnology to alien plots. However--unlike many other anime--it somehow hangs together, and frankly "not" understanding everything is part of the pleasure of this kind of story. Fans of action-heavy anime and people who like every loose end tied up should steer clear, but those who surrender themselves to the slowly unfolding mysteries of the plot will be amply rewarded. "--Simon Leake"Similar DVD Movies
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