I posited that there was more than one Lain at the end of disk one, and here, on disk two of Serial Experiments Lain, we learn that that there are an almost infinite number of Lains, as every memory of Lain in every individual’s mind, exists as an artifact in the Wired.
This causes Lain no end of grief as various artifacts act in ways that she could not have anticipated, nor can approve of. Eventually, the Lain who we have been following and who we were supposed to believe to be Lain Prime, turns out to be merely another artifact. It wasn’t terribly hard to tease that from the narrative, though, so it has less power as a big reveal than the creator hoped, I think.
Nonetheless, there are some interesting elements of the narrative – primarily, the idea that memories of us linger as different versions of us. Anyone who has had an opinion on the Internet has probably encountered this phenomenon. (Things I wrote 10 years or go or more are thrown back at me by random people who have just discovered them, as if they are fixed, inviolable and I must feel a pressing need to defend them. In my reality, I’m perfectly comfortable pointing out that my opinions change and I’m okay with being “wrong” all the time. ^_^)
Also interesting – and very accurate – was the representation of the Wired as a series of bodies, with no faces, but mouths yapping, yammering away endlessly. All I can say to that is, yup. ^_^
Ultimately, Lain finds a way to “fix” the narrative, tie-up the loose ends and repair the broken connections, by removing herself from the story completely. Which she does.
In that moment it dawned on me that Serial Experiments Lain is much less a child of William Gibson’s Neuromancer and much more of Herman Hesse’s Siddartha.*
Ratings:
Art – 4 The focus on sound and color/light is more developed than the line work
Character – 7
Story – In the end, 8
Yuri – 3 I have always been ambivalent about “Arisu x Lain”. There is genuine affection…perhaps there is love. YMMV
Service – 4
Overall – 8
* Both these books are excellent. You should read them. Go, do that and come back and tell me what you thought.
