Serial Experiments Lain Blu-ray Review

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Serial
Experiments Lain is
one of the weirdest anime series of all time. It sounds a lot like a
big
hyperbole to begin with that kind of statement, but I don't consider it
one.
This is genuinely an incredibly odd and offbeat series with a twisty
sci-fi narrative
that questions the path of human existence, the role of technology in
society,
and many philosophical questions about people in general. This isn't a
cookie-cutter anime series or even a massively plot-driven one. It's a
big,
weird, and fascinating experience in thought-provoking anime. It
inspired the
creation of The Matrix. It redefined
the way many anime fans thought about the genre as a whole.
The
series begins with a horrific
suicide by a student, and an e-mail that begins to spread around the
school she
attended. The girl who died apparently sent a message to some fellow
students.
It doesn't take long for Lain to hear about this, but she is probably
the last
classmate to find it out anyway. She doesn't connect to "the Wired" and
doesn't
seem to know much about it. This is a technologically innovative
network that
connects people and technology directly through some unconscious
communication
signals that allow for people to enter (and perhaps leave) the land
created by the
Wired. Or is it the other way around, and data exists to enter reality?
What is
an existence in this system? These are the types of bizarre questions
this
series poses, and Lain is someone who begins to unravel her own strange
journey
along the way.
The
series soon shifts to the character of Lain: lonely, often isolated,
and
incredibly introverted - far more than most. She has few people she can
call
friends and she is not even someone with parents or family to really
connect
to. She's got a mother who doesn't seem to grasp her or want to spend
time with
her, and a father who shows obsession with technology to the point that
it's the
main driving force in his life. She is distant from those around her.
She tries
to make friends, to join in with her classmates, and to understand the
network
known as "the wired". Lain isn't just relegated to staying as a shy 14
year old
girl, and over the course of the story she develops so many more
"personalities"
that it becomes clear that Lain is not just a single-person or entity.
It's
something that shifts over the course of the series and becomes more
complex.
What causes this to happen with Lain? The series is bizarre and
nightmarish in
this regard. It's certainly one of the more weird aspects of any anime.

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The
show has only thirteen episodes. Some of them feel so much more about
laying
out some philosophical ideas about society, technology, and the world
in
general that it's not as focused on a linear plot. Sometimes the series
seems
to be making sense. Then sometimes it seems to be making no sense at
all. The
one key element remains: originality. Serial
Experiments Lain isn't a series like any other anime. Other anime
series
have tried to emulate its unique qualities, failed, and continued to
try to
replicate it again anyway. I'm of the opinion that the series never
wholly succeeds
on its own either: it's a show that is successful in parts, and
disappointing in
some of it's others matters. It's also so weird and bizarre that it
won't be
wholly successful for those who are not necessarily on board for then
entirety
of this weird mind-trip. Those who can may love it, and those who can't
may be
fascinated by it even if it leaves them feeling a bit cold. Maybe that
is part
of the point.
Serial
Experiments Lain is
a bit of a divisive series for anime fans: either you'll find the
series
fascinating or you'll be both perplexed and annoyed by it to some
degree. I
find myself sitting middle-ground with this particular series. It's
easily one of
the most unique and artfully done anime series that I have seen. I'm a
fan of
how creative and original this series is. However, I also find some
aspects of
it a bit tedious and underwhelming. The ending is also vague and it
confuses
rather than elaborates. I'm sure others will disagree but I always
found the
show as something distinct, worthwhile, but not altogether brilliant. I
find it
worthy, but overrated as something to truly be called out as
definitively "brilliant".
I
consider this an altogether
well-done series but one that doesn't necessarily hit a perfect
home-run like some
anime fans are going to claim. It's worth checking out for most anime
fans who
appreciate science-fiction, horror, and trippy anime series that are a
bit
thought-provoking and quite different from the normal anime
expectations. This
is certainly a bold, original, and smart series (to some degree). It's
just that
it's befuddling at the same time as it is thought-provoking. It makes
me feel
like scratching my head in confusion. If that sounds like a series you
might be
interested in, it might be a series you love... or one that has you even
more
perplexed than I've been.

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The
Blu-ray:
Video:
There
seems to be a lot of
controversy surrounding the picture-quality on this release from
Blu-ray enthusiasts
who have gotten the set already. I am a bit surprised by the downright
negative
reactions. The transfers have obvious flaws, including video banding
issues
(especially found with the first disc) and gamma issues. The lines are
a bit
less detailed and refined than what a majority of fans might be hoping
to find,
and some of the faults reminded me of the letdown from the somewhat
sub-par
FLCL Japanese Blu-ray upcovert. However, the series has never looked
better
before in North America.
I
have also heard claims that the breathing room on the discs isn't even
good enough
for these episodes - that too many episodes have been included on each
disc. I
do not agree with the sentiment, and find the average bitrates of 25-30
mbps is
acceptable. Most of the video flaws are also a result of the way the
series was
originally animated and created using technology. The technology of the
time
was different than it is today, and a lot of hard work went into
restoring the
show for a High Definition era. The included booklet on the restoration
even
points out some of the issues that fans have pointed out as
disappointing flaws
with the picture quality on these Blu-ray discs - the people
responsible for
restoring this series were aware of the issues and even reference them
in this
restoration booklet. Disappointed fans can complain as much as they
want, but
Funimation isn't likely to re-release the show with newly authored
discs with
higher bitrates or go back and attempt a re-do of what was already a
massive undertaking
for the Japanese Blu-ray release. Serial
Experiments Lain may have a flawed debut in 1080p High Definition,
but it's
still an acceptable presentation that offers a worthy upgrade over
previous
editions of the series on home media, and it retains the original
television
broadcast aspect ratio of 1.33:1 without any annoying tinkering with
that aspect
of the presentation.
Audio:
Serial
Experiments Lain
sounds pretty good in lossless
Dolby TrueHD 2.0 audio. It's not going to knock your socks off (so to
speak), but
it will maybe make you realize how much better this series sounds with
a good
HD audio presentation. The sound in clean, crisp and absorbing as a
whole -
this is a high quality sound presentation. The dialogue is easy to
understand.
However, nothing is particularly exciting during the soundstage. The
opening
and ending theme music is beautiful to hear in lossless and the
occasional
sound effects are impressive, but this show is a mostly quiet one with
less
going on with the soundstage. There are few moments of score and other
sound
design elements that one might typically find. It's a creative element
of this
series. Serial Experiments Lain has a
minimalist sound-design approach, and it blends into the weird,
occasionally (okay...
mostly) bizarre atmosphere, and these
elements work well for this series.
Viewers
can choose between Dolby TrueHD 2.0 audio on the English language dub
or
original Japanese language dub. The English dub sounds slightly more
involving,
but I thought that the Japanese dubbing was a bit better for this
series.
Either option should work well. In this case, I would consider it
something
that is just a matter of preference. English
subtitles are provided.
Additional
Screenshots:
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Extras:
This
is a combo-pack release containing both
remastered Blu-ray and DVD editions of the series.
Serial
Experiments Lain has
been released with a deluxe
art-box, containing two standard Blu-ray sized cases inside of the
outer case
(one for the two Blu-ray discs, and another for the two DVD discs).
Each case also
contains reversible cover art featuring additional Lain artwork. It
highlights
some fan-favorite art. There is also a high-quality softcover book
entitled "Inside
Serial Experiments Lain"; this is an artbook with 320 pages of
production art,
sketches that essentially were used as blueprints for the series
character
designs, landscapes, and more.
There
is
also a brief booklet containing a conversation between Ueda and Saito
about
their restoration work on the series, e-mails from Saito, and
additional
full-color artwork pages. Included on the bottom of each page
(excluding the
artwork inclusions) is a dictionary of restoration terms and what each
means. Fans
will find this useful given the occasionally problematic restoration
results.
This booklet helps to "make sense" of the restoration.
On
disc
extras include a promotional video, an original commercial, textless
opening/ending songs, the U.S. trailer for Serial
Experiments Lain, and trailers for other Funimation releases. These
supplements are slim and underwhelming, but the extras included with
the set
help to make up for a lack of interesting on-disc supplements.
The
quality of the artbox, artbook, and booklet is entirely impressive.
This is easily
one of the nicest looking releases of the year in terms of the
packaging
presentation. This set is one of a select few sets to receive this kind
of
treatment, and it's arguably the nicest looking set that Funimation has
ever
put out on the Blu-ray format. It's a top-contender for the best of
2012.
Click on
image to view Blu-ray screenshot with
1080p resolution
Final
Thoughts:
As
long as you can call yourself a
fan of the show, the Blu-ray set is absolutely one worthy of a place in
your
collection. The transfers aren't perfect - but a huge part of that is
because
of the way this series was originally made in the first place. I
wouldn't expect
a better release of the series to ever be released. Essentially, this
is a definitive
collection. The PQ has a few minor issues, but the presentation of the
packaging and all of the notable inclusions here (along with transfers
that are
still significantly better than the prior DVD editions) is something to
consider when deciding on a purchase. Personally, I still find the
series a bit
more convoluted than most and wouldn't necessarily consider it a "must
own"
show. However, I know that any fan that
is serious about owning Serial
Experiments Lain will want to have it on Blu-ray in this jazzy,
fun, and well-made
edition.
Recommended.
Neil Lumbard is a lifelong fan of cinema. He aspires to make movies and has written two screenplays on spec. He loves writing, and currently does in Texas.