Anime Review - Serial Experiments Lain - The Need to Differentiate Reality and The Virtual World

There is always a need to differentiate between reality and the virtual world. Most of us, if not some of us, view the virtual world as a temporary way to escape reality, and that's all fine. The problem arises when the individual purposely avoids the harsh reality in favour of the peaceful and painless virtual world. This theme is prevalent in a lot of films - like Matrix with the blue and red pill, where Neo must choose between choosing the harsh reality and the painless virtual world. Serial Experiments Lain goes into detail about the consequences of not differentiating reality and fiction, and sometimes "curiosity will kill the cat"

The anime starts off with a suicide and messages from the person who committed suicide suddenly is sent to everyone. This prompts the main character Lain to explore more about the virtual world, in this case - Wired system. As the story progresses, we see Lain become more and more obsessed with the Wired system, and eventually becomes part of the Wired system. The story starts off slow but then it develops relatively fast and the ending was pretty good where we see Lain wipe out everyone's memories of herself and we see that she has made the bolder self of herself disappear and it goes into the future, where it clarifies that she can go anywhere that she dies since she is not of the physical world anymore.

This anime goes into a lot of themes that apply to many of us. The idea of purpose and communication in the real world, and how we should first consult and find solutions in reality, rather than quickly getting a short-term solution like escaping into the virtual world. According to the director, he wanted to show the audience — and particularly viewers between 14 and 15 — "the multidimensional wavelength of the existential self: the relationship between self and the world" (Source: Wikipedia).

Another theme that it also goes into is the idea of loneliness and how this prompts people to escape reality because they have no one to lean towards. We see Lain as a very lonely individual - having no friends and family who are either apathetic, busy or mean to her. It is a tragedy to see a young girl get neglected and having no one to talk to, and that's the reason why she has severed the connection between her reality and chose to delve into the virtual world. This anime highlights why so many people prefer the short-term solution, because it is human nature to do so, and other factors like loneliness will further compel you to do so. To be honest, I could probably write a longer essay on this topic, but will refrain so since this is an anime review.

I essentially talked about our main characters - her background and her reasoning of escaping into the virtual world. We sympathize and perhaps even empathize with her decision since her reasoning is probably the same as many people in real life. Having a realistic character serves the anime justice and further develops the theme of loneliness and the connection with the real world. It's an old anime so the art and sound isn't going to be spectacular. But when you are watching this type of anime, you immerse yourself with the story rather than the aesthetics.

This meme is somewhat relatable.

Overall, I really enjoyed this anime, mainly due to its realistic themes of loneliness and the need to have a connection with reality. I have usually been a lonely person, but I wasn't suffering the same fate as Lain. I had friends, family, but sometimes I just felt like being alone, and view the virtual world as a tool to escape reality. But the main message of the anime was to differentiate reality and fiction before it's too late. Sure it's not going to be as dramatic as Lain removing her physical self and memories of her from reality, but the consequences can be dire if you don't attempt to differentiate reality and the virtual world.

This anime is definitely not everyone's cup of tea but I would recommend viewers who are looking for deep story lines that highlight a particular theme that affects many of us. If you are looking for an aesthetically pleasing anime, this may deter you, but for me, the story is what dragged me, and immersed me with the tragic story of a lonely and neglected girl, who severed her connection with reality.