Product Details

• Format: Animated, Color, NTSC
• Rated: Unrated
• Number of tapes: 1
• Studio: Geneon [Pioneer]
• VHS Release Date: July 6, 1999
• Run Time: 100 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (165 customer reviews)
• ASIN: 6305460132
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #488,357 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

In serial experiments lain, things get very weird very quickly, and they stay that way. A schoolgirl commits suicide, but several days later her classmates receive e-mail from the dead girl. One--an introverted 13-year-old called Lain--replies, and her correspondent claims not to be dead, but to have passed into the "wired world." Eventually, Lain must join her. What follows is a story that combines virtual-reality, nanotechnology, a host of other science fiction concepts, and a healthy dose of postmodern paranoia. It would be unfair to reveal much more about the plot, but the phrase "nothing is what it seems" applies to just about everything in this compelling anime.

The beauty of serial experiments lain is the deliberate pace at which the story unfolds. Director Ryutaro Nakamura eschews the hyperkinetic style of many anime, allowing the plot to develop in slow motion and making every single image count. The first episode (a total of four are included) is a masterpiece of shifting moods and slowly building tension. Every detail--from the strange blotchy shadows to the ever-present hum of power lines to the slow tracking shots across the dazed face of Lain herself--helps create an atmosphere of unease, and as the truth is gradually revealed, that unease is amply justified. The art direction is superb, mixing computer graphics with traditional animation and making frequent use of high-contrast images that set deep shadows against a blinding white sky. The first four episodes of serial experiments lain combine the millennial dread of Neon Genesis Evangelion with the subtle menace of The X-Files to create a uniquely disturbing beginning to an imaginative and intelligent story. Stay tuned. --Simon Leake

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

26 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Engrossing! Cyber suspense at its finest..., August 12, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Lain: Navi [VHS] (VHS Tape)

At the time of this writing, I've viewed the first three of four "layers" of the first "Serial Experiment Lain, 'NAVI'". I find it gripping in that is the most innovative of Japanese anime I've thus far seen. The style reminds me of underground comics of the 60's and 70's but has a freshness of color and motion. The series clearly shows the conditions of the characters; social disconection, benign neglect in a dysfunctional family, social seperation as it is found in both American as well as Japanese schools, etc. The underlying story is of a young girl, alienated from others because of her shyness, finding a connection to what is called the "Wired". It is not yet clear as to the mechanations of her being made aware of the wired other than the E-mail she gets from a dead classmate telling her about how she only left this world for the one she's in now.

I greatly anticipate the next video release where we can continue to see the merging of "The Wired" and "The real World" unfold...

Warning! This series will be very disturbing to individuals who suffer from dysfunctional social skills. There is a risk I can see the ease of identifying with these characters could lead to emotional distress.

The best viewing is Sub-tittled for the simple fact that you get to hear the actual originally intended voice characterization.

John Sanford

19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Lain: Be prepared for the Long Haul, February 28, 2000

By 

Robert Aarhus "ClosetOtaku" (Alexandria VA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Lain: Navi [VHS] (VHS Tape)

Watching Lain is like conducting a siege: you have to commit to it to be successful. My wife and I watched Volumes 1 and 2 and, despite the ethereal beauty, were really considering shelving the whole thing because of the pacing. Then Volume 3 came and -- *click* -- parts started falling into place; we couldn't wait to get Volume 4 into the VCR. Yes, the story slowly unfolds, but you don't just watch Lain, you immerse yourself in it. By the end, the journey you thought you had started out on leads you to a completely unexpected destination. Surreal, thought-provoking... but requires discipline and patience.

23 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Creepy and somehow beautiful, March 31, 2000

By 

Josh Leman (Littleton, CO United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Serial Experiments - Lain: Navi (Layers 1-4) (DVD)

This disc begins what is perhaps the most intriguing, creepy, and wonderfully strange television series ever created. Show an episode of Lain to five hundred different people and you'll get five hundred different interpretations of what's going on. I've talked to people who think that the character Lain is a modern Jesus, and others who think that she's the Goddess described in various pagan religions. That's how wide open this particular anime is for personal interpretation and meaning. The writers never explain anything outright, with intelligence-insulting dialogue; the significance of each bizarre little moment is entirely up to the viewer to figure out. Spend the money and get the whole series, because you'll come back to it again and again and again. Every single time I watch an episode (oops, I mean a "layer") I find out something new about the storyline, and also about myself. This is absolutely essential viewing for anyone who likes anime or just good (albeit extremely strange) sci-fi.