Serial Experiments Lain Episode 13 Discussion

Now we made it to the conclusion.

Serial Experiments Lain is not what i expected(to put it mildly it was definitely NOT). Kind of poor anime that had the veiled reviews and the idea that dragged along turned out to be nothing more than a simple low-budget serial in which the idea is presented in the form of "here's a saucer for you, and you'll figure out the rest yourself".

So yea, there are no catchy characters that we'll remember later. As such, there is almost no plot, there are a lot of holes, they still haven't explained to us what "Wired" is, how everything was erased at the end, I thought it was a little strange to show God in this guise, besides what happened to him at the end of episode 12, everything looks pretty poor, the idea itself is pretty cool by itself, and in principle, perhaps even a remake could be watched, but in fairness, all this can be contained in 5-6 episodes (despite the fact that perhaps the effect of the Ominous Valley will be lost in some way due to the cutting of many moments where there is no music or where just a glance or cuts of incomprehensible scenes, this is better for me, times are not the same anymore, anime feels like it's "the old way", take the same Cowboy Bebop that still feels "fresh" to this day)

Due to my kindness and some episodes that i found ok/fine i will put light 4/10. See ya' later👋🗣️

Oh, man. This was definitely something special. But like many others said, you need to go through this series a second time, just to be able to connect some of the pieces. But even after a second watch… there will be questions. I’m sure of it. I’ve been reading the comments here and I see various interpretations. Most people agree on certain key points, but other parts of the story remain ambiguous.

And this was done because the creators wanted the series to be open to interpretation. I think this is one of its stronger points (but others may see this as a weakness): it makes you think and come to your own conclusions. About our identity, about the internet, about the way we connect to each other, about the digital age, about the world of information, about the “collective unconscious” – about “godhood” and the omnipotence of “being everywhere” inside this vast, endless cyberspace. Essentially what Lain was.

But here come the questions on my part… Ok, Lain is a personification of the Wired’s infinitude, probably the true God of the digital cyberspace. But we come to know and care about her through her physical incarnation. And she herself grows attached to this part of hers – it becomes real not only to her, but her closest friend, Arisu, as well (not to mention all the other characters in the series). So Lain exists in both planes simultaneously: as an infinite, godly presence in the Wired and as a teenage girl (who may, or may not, have a “past” – but she certainly exists in the “now” of the series).

In the end, she chooses to erase the memories of her existence, so that the world will return to its former, peaceful state. BUT here comes the question: what was Lain's actual role in all those terrible events that we saw unfold – how does erasing the memories of herself make everything normal? We saw the Wired infringing on the domain of the real world and providing a substitute, in many ways. We saw Eiri having a huge role in this and the Knights making a crusade of sorts, part of a “total assimilation” quest. But what of Lain, herself? Was she the key that triggered all these events to happen? Was she used by Eiri or the Knights? We saw reality being distorted and Lain being the one manipulating the world of information at certain parts of the story… but it still leaves many other parts unanswered.

Someone back in the comments wrote about the Human Instrumentality Project in NGE and I liked this reference – yes, we can see many resemblances here and many questions concerning the “collective unconscious” and humanity’s “merging” through the Wired are answered. But I’m not sure about Lain’s role in all of this. She’s definitely more than a symbol – she triggers events, she makes things happen. But how can erasing her memory in others manage to reset everything? Even in the final episode, she keeps searching for the answers herself!

Is it perhaps that she can't go "back" to being "herself" in the memory of others, because she now knows who she is? (so it won't be the same to her?)

And she clings to her physical being – we have to take a note of this. She enjoys being “human”, living a life, having a close friend. She has emotions and feels the need to love and be loved. Not so a “digital-god”, more like a “human-ascending-to-godhood” figure. Or a god becoming human.

Yes, the ending was bittersweet, as others mentioned… But I think it’s a good ending for Lain. Everyone is ok. And even if everyone lost their memory of hers, she can still appear to them – and create new memories and bonds. That’s what happens with Arisu: Lain wanted a friend and she can still make one. So, our beloved digital god is not alone – she can be still everywhere, watch over her friends… and become real to them, if she decides to. Life goes on, in a way.

But what of her father? Was he the “real” creator? God, that is? That’s what I thought by seeing this final scene. And what of Eiri’s actual human self in the end? Did we see him before he got entangled with the whole Wired idea? So he DID have a body, afterall? (let us remember that in episode 9 Lain fights him by declaring the importance of physicality over digital omnipotence: “a body doesn’t mean anything to you, right?” – I think this is a very important point).

Lain returns to her physical form and meets Arisu once again. She knows that living a life and having feelings involves physicality, actual presence: a heart that beats, as she and Arisu say in episode 9 (the sweetest moment in the series). So… Lain has to be “something more” than just a manifestation of the Wired. And that’s exactly why we care for her: she loves life, she wants to be absorbed by life – in contrast to Eiri, who doesn’t give a shit about physicality and only cares about obtaining power in the cyberspace.

It’s the humanity in Lain that we love, and this perhaps was one of the points the creators of the show wanted to make.

Overall, I loved it. I’d prefer if there were a couple more episodes, just to make things a little more clear. Still, it’s definitely one of the anime series’ I’ll never forget and definitely re-watch in the future.

Final point: the Japanese, back in the 90s, were really concerned about the internet and the world of cyber information… It’s a theme that appeared first in cyberpunk novels (like the Neuromancer), but certain japanese anime and manga in the 90s truly brought this to another level… This series is a perfect mirror of its age, while its themes are more than relevant nowadays.

@Lethal_Rabbit

Read https://myanimelist.net/manga/5461/Serial_Experiments_Lain__The_Nightmare_of_Fabrication next

You can also check the Lain "game" here https://laingame.net/

PS The father in the final is probably not the same human father of Lain we saw previously and simply uses his appearance. There is a neat reference to Proust at the end btw.