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| − | '''''Serial Experiments Lain''''' is an anime series directed by [[Ryutaro Nakamura]], original character design by [[Yoshitoshi ABe]], screenplay written by [[Chiaki J. Konaka]], and produced by [[Yasuyuki Ueda]] (credited as ''production 2nd'') for Triangle Staff. It was broadcast on TV Tokyo from July to September 1998. [[Serial Experiments Lain (game)|A PlayStation game]] with the same title was released in November 1998 by Pioneer LDC.
| + | #REDIRECT [[Serial Experiments Lain]] |
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| − | ''Lain'' is influenced by philosophical subjects such as [[Reality|reality]], [[Identity]], and [[Communication|communication]]. The series focuses on [[Iwakura Lain]], an adolescent girl living in suburban Japan, and her introduction to [[The Wired|the Wired]], a global communications network similar to the [[Internet]]. Lain lives with her middle class family, which consists of her inexpressive older sister [[Iwakura Mika]], her cold mother, and her computer-obsessed father. The first ripple on the pond of Lain's lonely life appears when she learns that girls from her school have received an [[E-mail|e-mail]] from [[Chisa Yomoda]], a schoolmate who committed [[Suicide|suicide]]. When Lain receives the message at home, Chisa tells her (in real time) that she is not dead, but has just "abandoned the flesh", and has found [[God]] in the Wired. From then on, Lain is bound to a [[Quest|quest]] which will take her ever deeper into both the network and her own thoughts.
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| − | The anime series is licensed in North America by Geneon (previously Pioneer Entertainment) on DVD, VHS and LaserDisc. It was also released in Singapore by Odex. The [[Serial Experiments Lain (game)|video game]], which shares only the themes and protagonist with the series, was never released outside Japan.
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| − | The series shows influences from topics such as [[Philosophy|philosophy]], computer history, [[Cyberpunk|cyberpunk]] literature and [[Conspiracy theory|conspiracy theory]], and it was made the subject of several academic articles. English language anime reviewers found it to be "weird" and unusual, with generally positive reviews. Producer Ueda said he intended Japanese and American audiences to form conflicting views on the series, but was disappointed in this regard, as the impressions turned out to be similar.
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| − | ==Plot==
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| − | ''Serial Experiments Lain'' deals directly with the definition of [[Reality|reality]], which makes its complex plot difficult to summarize. The story is primarily based on the assumption that everything flows from human thought, [[Memory|memory]], and [[Consciousness|consciousness]] Therefore, events on screen can be considered hallucinations of Lain, of other protagonists, or of Lain fabricating the hallucinations of others. Story misdirection is central to the plotline; even the offscreen voices or narrations' information cannot be considered truthful. The series consists of a cross-reflection of [[Philosophy|philosophical]] themes instead of the traditional linear events depiction: episodes are called "[[Layer|layers]]".
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| − | ''Serial Experiments Lain'' describes "[[The Wired|the Wired]]" as the sum of human communication [[Telecommunications network|networks]], created with the [[Telegraph|telegraph]] and [[Telephone|telephone]] services, and expanded with the [[Internet]] and subsequent networks. The anime assumes that the Wired could be linked to a system that enables unconscious communication between people and machines without physical [[Interface|interface]]. The storyline introduces such a system with the [[Schumann resonance]], a property of the Earth's magnetic field that theoretically allows for unhindered long distance communications. If such a link was created, the network would become equivalent to Reality as the general [[Consensus|consensus]] of all perceptions and knowledge (''see [[Consensus reality|consensus reality]]''). The thin line between what is real and what is possible would then begin to blur.
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| − | [[Masami Eiri]] is introduced as the project director on Protocol 7 (the next generation internet protocol in the series' timeframe) for major computer company [[Tachibana Labs]]. He has secretly included [[Computer programming|code]] of his own creation to give himself control of the Wired through the wireless system described above. He then "uploaded” his [[Consciousness|consciousness]] into the Wired and died in real life a few days after. These details are unveiled around the middle of the series, but this is the point where the story of ''Serial Experiments Lain'' begins.
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| − | Masami later explains that Lain is the artifact by which the wall between the [[Virtual|virtual]] and [[Material|material]] worlds is to fall, and that he needs her to get to the Wired and "abandon the flesh", as he did, to achieve his plan. The series sees him trying to convince her through interventions, using the promise of unconditional love, charm, fate, and, when all else fails, [[Coercion|threats]] and force.
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| − | In the meantime, the anime follows a complex game of hide-and-seek between the "[[Knights of the Eastern Calculus]]", hackers who Masami claims are "believers that enable him to be a God in the Wired", and Tachibana Labs, who try to regain control of Protocol 7.
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| − | In the end, the viewer sees Lain realizing, after much introspection, that she has absolute power over everyone's mind and over reality itself. Her dialogue with different versions of herself show how she feels shunned from the material world, and how she is afraid to live in the Wired, where she has the possibilities and responsibilities of a goddess. The last scenes feature her erasing everything connected to herself from everyone’s memories. She is last seen unchanged - re-encountering her old friend Alice, who is now married. Lain promises herself to look after Alice.
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