Cheap Serial Experiments Lain - Boxed Set (DVD) Price

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Customer Reviews of Serial Experiments Lain - Boxed Set

To start with, this is one of the most visually amazing, compelling, twisted, sci-fi-ish, dramatic, different and confusing anime series I've ever seen. It all centers on Lain, who, in all respects, appears to be a normal, if not independent (read: loner) young girl. She doesn't have super powers, she isn't anime-style sexy, and she doesn't own or operate a giant mecha -- but she does wear the cutest little teddy bear outfit: ears, tail, and all.

The story begins with the suicide of one of her classmates. A short time later, she's emailed by this classmate, from "beyond the dead..." Lain, having likely never powered on her Navi (think future, voice activated Macintosh -- it even run's the "Copland OS"), clears off her desk and sets the machine up. And she's hooked. She asks her "Papa" for a new Navi, as her's is a little old and dated. With her wish granted, she's soon cruz'ing the Wired (the future Internet) in her brand new Navi. By chance (or is it?) she comes into posession of a Psyche Processor, and reads up on how to install it. That Processor is only the beginning, and soon her room is transformed into a dark cave of twisted wires and green, bubbling coolant.

The series, like I said, is confusing. If you had a hard time with "Eyes Wide Shut," you might pass on "Lain." It's difficult to review, because of everything that happens in it. True, there are only 13 episodes, but those episodes contain so much story line, that missing one is like missing two hours of a movie that's two hours and ten minutes long. Only until the last disc makes it into your DVD player do you begin to understand some of what's going on. And then, the story line changes on you again, and you're once again thinking, "Huh?"

If you've never seen "Lain," I wouldn't recommend this box set. I also can't recommend the purchase of just the first disc to "try it out," as the good, confusing stuff doesn't start happening until the next disc's episodes. You might want to try a rental store or friend, to give it a test drive. If you already own all the DVD's, there's really no reason to buy this box set, as all you'd be getting is a box (and, of course, a second copy of each DVD).

Repeated viewings of "Lain" are recommended. Personally, I think a little "viewer companion" for us American audiences would have been a nice touch. "Serial Experiments: Lain" should be watched by all anime fans, as it provides a different approach to anime, but some may come away feeling lost and dazed. Lain will do that to you.

Slow and deep
Serial Experiments Lain is a show which leaves most people with a distinct impression of 'huh?'. It is the story of a girl named Lain, who is rather socially inept.

In the first episode, a classmate of Lain's jumps off of a building to her death. Afterwards, people start receiving E-mails from this girl. And that's just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the 'weirdness' of Lain.

As the series progresses, so does Lain. Because of the dead girl's E-mail, she gets a little interested in computers. She learns more and more of the Wired, which is like our Internet. From the individuals on the Wired, and from her own experiences there, she slowly learns the truth about the Wired, and the world.

Lain is a nicely slow, somewhat pretentious anime. It questions what we know as the real world, using real-seeming characters.

In some ways, the series has an 'X-files' (the multi-part episodes) feel to it. You never quite know what's going on, who's who, and just when the pieces are about to come together, the storyline takes another twist.

A good look into the psyche of the Internet, Internet users, and the world.

The boxed version contains all four DVDs (Navi, Knights, Deus and Reset). For reviews or tech specs of the individual discs, visit their pages.

Close This World
I happened upon Lain one day in a local comics store that rents anime and I was immediately drawn to the series by the art of the cover. Instead of your usual beautiful anime girl, Lain wasn't classically beautiful or sexy. Instead, she seemed sad, haunted almost. I rented the series and soon fell in love with it. I knew then, I had to buy the series.

Admitingly, this series can be confusing at times, but that's part of its appeal. On one hand, the plot seems simple; an introverted girl finds her way to the 'wired' and as she travels through this world, the lines between reality and imaginary began to blur. Sometimes, you find yourself not knowing whether what you are seeing is real or if you're just caught up in one of Lain's illusions.

I have seen the series about 5 times now and I still don't claim to understand all of it. Yet, every time I watch I find myself stumbling upon some idea I hadn't thought of previously. While Lain's main theme is that of reality within the 'wired' world, this series manages to question all basic human beliefs about life, death, religion, evolution, existance, etc. One second a character will make a statement that you'll immediately think is wrong but in the next second they'll say something you accept as a universal truth. The best way to watch this series is not trying to understand ever triviality, but journey with the characters as they search for the truth, yet it is up to the viewer to decide what this truth is.

To summarize, Lain is a beautiful, haunting series that asks everything yet explains little. It doesn't have a nice tight ending where all lose ends are tied up, but that would have ruined the series itself.