should i give lain another chance?

[mudkipfan]

hello i've heard of lain again i remember watching it 1 or 2 years ago but i was just bored even though i loved anime like evangelion and FLCL should i give it another chance i heard there's a ps1 game on the anime so maybe i could give it a chance if i can't get into the anime?

 

[Spike's iconSpike]

The game is not much of a game. And it's not translated (on console) but you can play it in English here: https://laingame.net/

Try to watch an episode of anime. Lain is awesome!

 

[ciro64]

The game is not much of a game. And it's not translated (on console) but you can play it in English here: https://laingame.net/

Try to watch an episode of anime. Lain is awesome!

Is the game more like supplementary material to the anime or is it an experience on its own? Would playing it first then watch anime be worse than the opposite order?

 

[Spike's iconSpike]

The "game" won't make much sense without watching the anime or even after watching it..lol

 

[Zerpina]

I myself absolutely love Lain. I really need to rewatch it soon, so my answer is...
Yes, it’s slow. Yes, it’s bizarre. And yes, it might make you question reality more than your last relationship. But that’s the beauty of it. It’s like a digital onion, layers upon layers, and every peel reveals something new (and sometimes makes your eyes water) Plus, the themes about consciousness, technology, and identity are still super relevant today so it’s kind of like a “what if” scenario for the internet age.

So, if you bounced off Lain thinking it was just a snooze fest, maybe give it another shot. Who knows? You might find yourself saying, “Wow I get it now” or at least, “That was weird, but in a good way.”

Trust me, sometimes the best stories are the ones that make you work a little like trying to assemble furniture without instructions. It’s frustrating but totally worth it in the end. Give Lain another chance you might just find yourself a little more philosophical, a little more weirded out, In the best way.

 

[VampireLord1024VampireLord1024's icon]

If you don't mind hearing the powerlines buzzing a lot.

 

[A4lmond]

Is the game more like supplementary material to the anime or is it an experience on its own? Would playing it first then watch anime be worse than the opposite order?

A bit of both, the game is an alternative story from the anime and changes a lot of stuff (I'm pretty sure the game started development before the anime was finished since Lain was meant to be a multimedia franchise from the start), but I think you won't understand much if you play it without having watched the anime since the story isn't presented linearly if I remember correctly. Just FYI, like the anime the game is very slow, and confusing.

 

[ThePeon]

Honestly if you did not enjoy it the first time you may not like it another time or as with age taste can change. I know I don´t like it at all found it boring and I honestly hate the style.

 

[valosagutas]

Years ago just to play the PS1 game first I watched the anime but after lots of episodes I didn't see any reason to keep watching it so gave up playing the PS1 game.

My impression is anime is basically empty unless you love philosophy and like the mood anime has so you can fill what you understand from the anime with the mood you feel like looking at a painting that has random white lines on a black background. You can either see World War 2 in that painting or the ideal world you always wanted to live in, or the evil smile of Elon Musk (it depends on you) lol. Even Neon Genesis Evangelion's last few episodes has a better philosophy - meaningful aspects to watch ratio despite the creator himself said he loves to use Christian themes in a rather random way just because it looks cool or something like that lol. However why people may don't like Lain is the point of the anime is making you have a mood, not to make things cool so if you are a logical person you will react to it as "illogical random mess" and your brain will stop processing what the hell is happening in that anime even though comprehending Matrix and quantum is like walk in the park for you. If you had liked it you wouldn't give up on it anyway. It's really not an anime that offers a universally liked aspect that allow everyone to like it as it's rather a niche taste. You'll keep hear "if you dislike Lain then you didn't understand it" but they don't know the aspect of understanding Lain is not the issue, the issue is if you care to understand Lain and when you understand it did you enjoy what you watched? For example anyone can understand world history and law, but most people dislike them as this is not an understanding issue, it's all about it being boring AF. IMO Lain is way boring than studying law lol.

The only other anime I can compare Lain is "Perfect Blue" for how the point is feeling a mood and enjoying crazy philosophical mess, but even Perfect Blue has a tangible idea despite still being a random mess. At least there are coherent philosophical meanings to comprehend but Lain has no care to be something whatsoever. It goes full on the emo trend of the era in the Japanese way just because they felt like this would sell for fish baiting considering what's popular at the time. In that context Lain attempt to upgrade the idea of how emo people are by merging it with upcoming new internet and computer culture by bashing whatever was popular in 90s as urban legends that created the foundation of what early stage of internet was filled with and then it predicts how such shut-in emo people will be in the future which is what parents feared when computer and internet started to be popular around 90s. While it's not "wrong" on how the theme is despite how meaningless it is by trying to make something ordinary extraordinary, it really seems like anime was developed by old ignorant guys who can't still comprehend how people went to the moon attempted to take all the stuff parents fear about computer and internet and bashed Neon Genesis Evangelion stuff just after they studied all the few cyberpunk materials they researched and called it a day and we call it "Serial Experiements Lain" because they had to experiment it for they had no idea what they were doing. You may either take it as "wow they predicted future" when way before Lain existed there were tons of books predicted a more correct future over and over again or "I don't care or I don't know what happens but I just like to watch" or "that mood, man, it feels so good" or "I just like to watch Lain's face" as that's all about sums up what Lain is about lol.

 

[J.B’s rabbit den]

Just one more episode and if that’s spent do the trick try doing a bit of research but don’t spoil yourself along the way and then continue with another is my best advice

 

[fake-kun]

I watched Lain and liked the vibes.

 

[diapered]

i loved anime like evangelion and FLCL

Well, lain is more atmospheric than either of those, so I guess that could be described as "boring"... idk, I also love eva and FLCL, but I think lain is better than those. To be fair, lain is one that has been awhile since re watching, but I have watched it +3 times so I don't think this is one were my opinion would change...

 

[mudkipfan]

I myself absolutely love Lain. I really need to rewatch it soon, so my answer is...
Yes, it’s slow. Yes, it’s bizarre. And yes, it might make you question reality more than your last relationship. But that’s the beauty of it. It’s like a digital onion, layers upon layers, and every peel reveals something new (and sometimes makes your eyes water) Plus, the themes about consciousness, technology, and identity are still super relevant today so it’s kind of like a “what if” scenario for the internet age.

So, if you bounced off Lain thinking it was just a snooze fest, maybe give it another shot. Who knows? You might find yourself saying, “Wow I get it now” or at least, “That was weird, but in a good way.”

Trust me, sometimes the best stories are the ones that make you work a little like trying to assemble furniture without instructions. It’s frustrating but totally worth it in the end. Give Lain another chance you might just find yourself a little more philosophical, a little more weirded out, In the best way.
View attachment 68478

i've never been in a relationship so i guess this is gonna be the first time i'm going to be questioning reality for the first time i guess