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Mar 29, 2024
Serial Experiments Lain is a story that would be infinitely better told as a few dozen-page short story or a feature-length film, NOT a 13-episode TV series.
The only reason I give it a 6 is because of reading a few think pieces about the ending that made me appreciate it a bit more. I like the *idea* of the story, but hell, I have plenty of *ideas* for stories I'd like to write someday so that's not really impressive. The thing that impresses me about storytelling is the ability of a writer to take an idea and *show* it to an audience. This show is,
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in a word, self-indulgent.
75% of what you see on screen is just for mood and vibe and communicates zero information. There's a movie-length story cut up and shuffled into someone's schizophrenic episode. Maybe that's the point! Too bad, don't care! It's not enjoyable to watch, and what is the point of spending my free time watching something that's not enjoyable? That's what *work* is for, i.e. something unenjoyable that yet offers some benefit (whether this is working for an employer so they pay you, or working out your body so that you retain your health, etc). I have consumed stories that are both enjoyable and thought-provoking at the same time, so let's please dispense with this idea that we *owe* any writer our attention just because they've got a really cool idea they want to communicate. If you're going to make me work for it, I'm passing.
This is a story that is only understandable through reading someone else's synopsis, and those people are only able to understand it by watching it multiple times and filling in all the gaps with their headcanon. I don't know when it became acceptable to call stories like this "good." Lain is not even remotely the most complex story I've come across, so why is it so inscrutable? Just because it's hard to understand does not mean it's complex and it certainly doesn't mean it's good. One of the most fundamental aspects of writing *anything* is learning how to communicate efficiently. This goes for fiction and non-fiction equally. Just as you don't want to drown your boss in unnecessary details about the specific procedures you applied to get them your data set, you also don't want to bore your reader with an unnecessarily drawn out scene, too much dialogue, too much exposition, etc. Lain is filled with too much noise that does not communicate any meaning. You could replace most of this show with a windows screensaver slideshow and come away with roughly the same experience.
Ultimately this show is a reflection of one of my least favorite aspects of the process of classicification (in my usage here I refer to the process by which a particular story becomes canonized as a "classic" in its specific genre or medium). Sometimes a story is just really poorly executed, and there is a class of people that believe the consumption of art should be work and thus the process of parsing through a poorly executed story is somehow part of the process of bettering one's mind and spirit. I think this is frankly bullshit. Anyone can write a terrible story based on a cool idea. This does not make it a good story. If we really thought this was a legitimate enterprise, then there is no such thing as a bad story, and by necessity there is then no such thing as a good story, because execution does not matter. All that matters is stringing together a story in your own imagination, in which case the entire enterprise of writing and scripting itself is meaningless. Let's all just write down plot summaries and let each other write the story in our minds and then we can all tell eachother what we were actually trying to say.
This show does not deserve to be a classic. It's trash.
Reviewer’s Rating: 6
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Aug 4, 2016
I'm writing this review mostly as a counterpoint to all the praise this show has been receiving, so be forewarned, my opinion of this show is not very positive. That being said, I'm not writing just to complain, either.
First of all, I think it's fair to say that at it's heart, this show has a story to tell, and it wants to get a message across. It's a work of passion, that much is obvious. However, it utterly fails to communicate anything because there simply isn't enough time to say anything it wants to say. The plot is barely existent, consisting of a dystopian
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world where a scavenger runs into a robot hostess who is still alive and functioning at a planetarium, wherein he takes a few days off to help her repair the observatory and listen to her endless chatter about her life prior to the cataclysmic event that turned the city into a wasteland.
The clear push of the story was to have the audience connect to this jaded man and innocent robot girl as we see him begin to take a liking to her, going so far as to stick around to hear her commentary on the stars that she would normally tell to an auditorium full of customers, and even repairing the projector for her. However, the juxtaposition of the innocent robot girl--who talks very optimistically about her managers returning one day and about hoping to see more customers come back eventually--and the reality that the world is broken points to some greater tragedy that will most likely occur later on. Spoiler alert, a tragedy does occur. They're all typical Key story elements really, i.e., innocent girls, jaded guys, sad conclusions, etc.
The problem with all of this is that we aren't given enough time to connect to these characters so as to feel for the tragedy that is to come. Tragedy in a show makes you feel like you lost something, i.e., you lost a fictional character, or a fictional character had something horrible happen to them. However, you can't lose something you never had in the first place. Comparing this story to something such as Key's other work Clannad, they are not all that different in the emotional goals of the plot. The innocent girl slowly warms the heart of the jaded guy, but then tragedy strikes at the worst time possible, and then tears and spoilers ensue. However Clannad has a massive 40-something episodes all together, and takes a lot of time showing its characters in comical settings, it has them go through copious amounts of dialogue with each other in various settings, and there are many different story arcs that each focus on different side characters. Once all that is over, the real tragedy finally strikes in the latter half of the second season, AFTER we've had plenty of time to feel like we've gotten to know these characters as if they were real people. That's how we get to know characters, after all. We have to see them laugh, cry, scowl, sigh, smile, scoff, smirk, grimace, and a whole host of other emotes that indicate a human personality.
In Planetarian, we get to see about 10% of the jaded guy's personality, and probably about 75% of the innocent girl, since she's a robot with a very clear operating procedure. It's not hard to insinuate that her personality is fairly linear. However, even though we know after only an episode or two exactly what kind of person the robot girl is, we still haven't spent much time seeing her interact with anyone, and the only person we have seen her interact with is a very inexpressive loner-type who rarely talks. Combine that with short episode runtimes and only 5 episodes total and you've got one of the worst combinations for trying to create an emotional connection I could possibly think of.
It's got heart, I have to give it that. But there is just no way to care about these two people when you've only spent around an hour getting to know them. I started a job working at a daycare when I was in highschool, and one month into the experience, I got a call before work one day saying that the teacher I was working with had just committed suicide. That's pretty tragic, right? Well you know what I felt? Shock, surprise, and then I moved on. Why? Because I'm heartless? No, because I barely knew the woman, that's why. There was no connection to be severed, so there was no pain. It was a loss of human life, yes, but there just was no depth of connection with this person to feel anguish over. That's what this show suffers from. It's trying to rush you into a really serious relationship without taking the proper time to set things up and ease you into anything before suddenly telling you about all the hardships its gone through in an attempt to bring you to tears over its tragic backstory. I appreciate the gesture, but I'm sorry, you have just not given me enough time to care about anything you're saying, Planetarian. That's all I can say.
P.S. Art is great, sound is great, ending song is catchy, final ending credits song is really really pretty. Visual novel was probably better, wouldn't know, but that's usually the case in these situations.
Reviewer’s Rating: 6
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Oct 11, 2015
This is the best Shoujo anime I've ever seen. That's not saying much, because I don't think Shoujo as a genre has much to offer in the first place, but if you like watching two characters totally meant for each other fall head over heels in love with one another and in general gooey, happy feelings, then this show is for you.
Be aware, though, that this is only the first season, and another cour is already planned for release in Winter 2016.
Starting us off will be the story department. It's nothing that hasn't been done before, what with the handsome prince saving the beautiful maiden
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from certain disaster and all that jazz. But this show pulls it off that I feel is actually sort of believable given its medieval setting, and I didn't mind the more cliche aspects of it, since there were little things here and there that made it feel more realistic. The main heroine, Shirayuki, for example, is actually a talented herbalist, and her goal in getting closer to the prince, whom she's obviously fallen for after having been saved by him, is to become an official court herbalist. She actually has a talent that she uses and improves on, and she's incredibly hardworking, which was refreshing to see. She also is pretty competent on her own, and in most dire situations she gets herself into, she often is able to almost pull herself out of it, and it ends up making one feel that, though she didn't need the Prince's help, it's still nice to see the guy save the girl at the end of the day because rainbows and butterflies. But overall, the story doesn't actually do anything special, and it's really just about an unlikely relationship between two people of different classes and how they struggle to come to grips with their feelings for each other.
The art is where I was actually expecting something better considering it was done by Studio Bones, but I actually found the character designs and background art to be pretty boring. Nothing bad, but everything kind of screamed generic, even though you technically could say it was all fairly pretty looking. The animation was pretty good, again, no stand out moments in particular besides perhaps a certain fireworks scene toward the end of the series, but there wasn't ever really much to anime in the first place. There is a lot of dialogue, a lot of viewing scenery, but also several fight scenes, and those are all actually well done. I appreciated their inclusion to break up the monotony of courtly meetings, walks in the courtyard, office discussions, and other fairly boring events, animation-wise.
The music was all very pretty. That's honestly the best way I can describe it. Not beautiful, but it was pretty. The tracks were often very soothing, and just added to that same "gooey" feeling of fluttering happy feelings of the show. Voice acting was pretty good, but I felt like the MC prince Zen was trying way too hard for a lot of his lines. Hayami Saori does a good job as usual portraying the plucky Shirayuki, but I don't actually like her voice that much in the first place, so it was a struggle for me personally. She did a good job though. Also, the OP and ED are very good and pleasant to listen to every time.
The characters are the best thing about this show. Everything is set up to be the most generic idea for a show ever imagined, but the things you learn about the characters and the way they act are refreshing actually. Shirayuki, as I mentioned before, is actually capable of taking care of herself, and she doesn't actually need to be rescued in most situations. She has convictions and goals, and she actively works to achieve those goals. Zen is a lot more nuanced of a character, and his motivations and backstory are both very interesting. The flashbacks of his past actually add a lot to his character, and he feels very complex and I'm not sure I know everything about him yet, which is good. The side characters get barely any attention, but they're side characters in a shoujo after all.
Objectively speaking, I'd only rate this show a 7 or 8, but enjoyment-wise, I'd give it a solid 9. If the visuals had been more impressive or the soundtrack more moving, I'd have given it a 10. But honestly, it just did the right things. It was gooey, that's really the best word to describe it. Just feels good, man.
Overall it's a nice break from predictable shoujos in that it presents its story in an interesting way that just lets you take a break from life. It doesn't require serious thinking, nor is it tiresome or boring, or nauseating even. It feels good.
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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Oct 6, 2015
I far prefer the movie version of Air to its tv counterpart, and I think the condensed format works better for the story that it's trying to tell. Comparisons aside, though, I think as a standalone movie Air is a very moving piece of tragedy that can really tug at the heartstrings from the way it sets up your expectations for a tragic ending and delivers on it in a timely manner.
The story is once again about a man on a mission to find some lady in the sky that his mom used to talk about, and he finds a strange girl in a seaside
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town and decides to stick around for a while.
*SPOILER WARNING*
I felt as though Misuzu's death was very moving, and showing her physical decline was very difficult to watch, as was Haruko's mourning for her daughter. The scene between Misuzu and Yukito at the shrine during a fireworks festival was particular moving, seeing Misuzu barely able to stand and witnessing a passionate kiss between the two of them.
*SPOILER OVER*
I'll be honest though, I don't remember the exact details of this movie because I watched it about three years ago. However, I definitely remember how I felt while watching it, and what it does great is write a very bleak story that just makes you feel shitty. There really was no good way out for anyone in this story, except maybe for Haruko, but even she has to deal with an enormous amount of suffering by the time the movie is over. The movie definitely has a lot of things one could interpret from it, such as the importance of having the strength to move on after tragedy as can be seen in Haruko's character, but I suspect many different meanings could be pulled from this title than just that one. It tells the viewer very little, but instead opts to show you what the characters are experiencing, and in so doing leaves it up to the viewer to decide what the message is supposed to be. I really like this format, and seeing what different people took away from this tragic tale is always interesting to see.
The art and sound are very well done for being several years old, and I attribute this fully to the enormous pockets of Kyoto Animation, since their animation has basically always been top notch. The character designs are Key classics, with pretty looking characters whose eyes are probably too big to be taken seriously by most, but are easy to get used to if you just go with the flow. The music is appropriately wistful and sometimes downright depressing, but oftentimes there simply is no music, and I felt that added to the more dramatic scenes. The impact of having to accept the tragedy before your eyes without any sort of music in the background forces you to focus on what's going on in front of you, and it makes it feel strangely real at times. Sometimes there is nothing but grief, and I think the movie definitely has moments where it smacks you in the face with just some cold, hard sadness.
I don't think everyone will enjoy this movie, since it certainly is not fast-paced, nor is there much that actually happens in it. However, for someone who wants to just sit down and sink into a hope-filled story that slowly just breaks apart into heartrending tragedy, I highly recommend Air, the movie edition.
Reviewer’s Rating: 9
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Sep 13, 2015
I love Kyoto Animation and have watched almost everything they've done since this show came out. I also love that they adapt most of Key's visual novels, and this show, Kanon, and Clannad are some of the most entertaining and moving shows I've seen. Air is the earliest KyoAni Key adaptation, however, so it was interesting to see how they started, since I had watched both Clannad and the 2006 version of Kanon before seeing this show.
The story is mysterious and has a sort of wistful feel to it. It's not entirely explained, and there is a touch of the supernatural involved with each character
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arc, and the setting of a seaside town was very relaxing most times. It also has a sad ending, and it was fairly moving, but it didn't manage to make me cry.
The art still looks good despite being 10 years old, and I have a thing for the art style of Key novels, and KyoAni reproduces the style very accurately. Some people may be turned off by the female characters' abnormally large eyes, though.
The OP is a beautiful but anguished sounding song, and the ED was good but not as memorable. The BGMs are all well crafted and fit the mood, and I like the synthetic sound a lot of them have. The English dub was well done, and Luci Christian's performance as well as Vic Mignogna's were outstanding. I am planning on rewatching this show in the Japanese dub so I have no comment on its quality yet.
The characters were a mixed bag, but I found Haruko to be the most enjoyable one out of all of them. Her story of being Misuzu's "mother" was very heart-wrenching to watch and she felt like a very down-to-earth person trying to live their life the right way. Misuzu is a clutzy, but lovable girl who has some tragic fate and mostly ends up being someone to feel sad for, which then also makes one feel sad for her mother, Haruko. Yukito, the protagonist, was an interesting character, and though we don't find out much about him, I like that most of who he is is kept shrouded in mystery. He has a simple backstory and he's a man on a mission to find out about some lady in the sky that his mom talked about. And he does puppet shows. But he ends up getting fairly downplayed near the end of the show. Any romance (as it is one of the genres tagged for this show) is not really developed, and I can really only say there were some vague "feelings of affections" between Yukito and Misuzu flying through the air at most. Also, there is a pair of characters that appear in flashbacks from ancient Japan that are somehow related to the characters in the modern day story, and their interactions are fairly enjoyable. They make a cute couple in my opinion, but their story also ends tragically if I remember correctly.
I would say enjoyed this show, but not as much as either Kanon or Clannad, which both have more or less the same premise, albeit reimagined. Befriend a bunch of strange girls, help them with their unusual circumstances, move on until the main climax arc with main waifu. I only watched Air because I figured I owed it to myself as a KyoAni fan to go back and see some of their earlier stuff (I'm a little scared of going any earlier than this though). Overall it was a short, sad story that stuck with me for a little while in the way that stories that feel like, though they ended, you wish you could have done something to help the people that went through what they did.
Overall, this is an entertaining show to watch if you want something slow and intriguing with a tragic end that is close to being amazing, but falls short due to some strange production decisions near the last few episodes.
Reviewer’s Rating: 7
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May 31, 2015
This show is for everyone who ever played in a concert band. If you've done so before, you will love all the nods and references to band culture thrown in everywhere.
It's also a show for people who want a very simple character-driven story where the main action comes through an introspective heroine trying to sort out her thoughts and then her relationship concerning a childhood friend of hers whom she had a falling out with during their middle-school band days. There is also a bright and cheerful character who knows nothing about concert band, and her interactions with the other characters are pretty cute.
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In addition there is the super-moe double bassist, who's an interesting case in that I expected her to be the shy, unconfident type, but she actually has quite a bit of fire.
The characters themselves, though, are all that there are, because the story itself could be superimposed over any other situation and be mostly the same. Another reviewer here mentioned the same thing, but honestly, they could be magical girls, they could be vampires, they could even be on a sports team, and nothing would change, because it would still be a slow-moving story about a very boring girl just sort of slogging through life wondering what she should do about her past relationship.
As for the art, everything was amazing, it's Kyoto Animation. The sound was all good, but none of the BGMs particularly stood out.
I haven't finished the show, as it is not finished as of the time of this writing, but I just wanted to drop a short review for anyone thinking about getting into this show. It's very slow-paced, the plot doesn't exist, and it will only be interesting if you happen to like the characters for who they are, whereas I didn't find them all that fascinating. Also, if you have no experience with concert band, you're going to spend a lot of time staring at your screen wondering either what hilarious joke or fond memory you're missing out on because the show caters pretty hard to the concert band crowd.
Reviewer’s Rating: 7
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