Why do people like this show so much? I mean I guess it can be

If you can't understand the plot then watch it again and if you can't get then....watch it again.

People who are too stupid to no understand it have to resort to reading outside material to get it. It isn't fucking rocket science kid.

Lain is not for sexual.

Haven't seen the animation, but the manga was terrible.

>>145112770
You don't seem to understand
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4-PkAQcuZOw

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>>145112770

Watch it again...and again...and again...

>>145112857
Statements like this reinforce my theory that Lain is only enjoyed by people who think they're smarter than everyone else.

>>145112770
Well, for some people it's just a circlejerk to feel intellectual.

I liked the story, but to me it was slow, though I'm sure it speaks to some people a lot more than others.

>>145112770
If you have to read an online description to form your own opinion or ideas about a show, then you are a retarded nigger and should probably kill yourself.

>>145113076
It's a solid theory. Mostly because Lain is easy to understand for anyone who's well read, and a little hard to breach if not. So people who get it easily tend to be condescending to anyone who didn't get it.

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>>145113076

How? I got it after two viewing and I found it to be brilliant.

I didn't go and read a 12 page description to get the story because unlike you I have a functioning brain and am able to piece together my thoughts given enough time.

Needing an essay to get an anime just goes to show that your education failed you.

Its meant to be experimental art house and one of those shows you enjoy by watching it over and coming up with your own interpretations

Other great art house anime: Paranoia Agent

ITT: 2deep4u, next time try being smart like me :)

>>145112770
It's mostly for the time it came out, it was way ahead of its time, is like the X Files of anime.

>>145113241
>>145113241
Uhh Paranoia Agent spelled everything out pretty explicitly.

>>145113113
>>145113195
>>145113196
>>145113201
hurr durr, technology can be dehumanizing but can also bring us together

Someone get this creator an award.

>>145113372
I just finished it pretty recently and the last episode explains everything and it's retarded. I still liked it, though.

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>>145113448

You really are an idiot.

>>145113485
>y-y-you can't make fun of my favorite show like that!!

>>145113448

>hurr durr, technology can be dehumanizing but can also bring us together

This autist read a 12 page paper to understand the anime and this is what he got out. Honestly when I said your education failed you I really mean it now.

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>>145113543
Care to enlighten me to the truth then, fampai?

>I shouldn't have to read a 12-page description to know what's going on.
Then watch one of the hundred anime where this doesn't apply. Leave Lain for people who like to do some outside reading to understand something. Is that hard?

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>>145113671

What did I originally say in my first post? I said if you don't get it then keep watching it until you get it. Hell get a notebook and write down everything then look over your notes at the end if it will help. I don't spoonfeed. This isn't English class.

>>145113867
There it is! An "enlightened gentlemen" can't even refute the point, all he can do is assure us that he can.

>>145113448
>HURR DURR I CAN'T FORM MY OWN OPINION SO I SHITPOST ON /a/ AND READ ANIME ESSAYS

Fucking kill yourself you swine.

>>145113945

I was being consistent the entire time. You seem to be having a hissy fit that other people can understand the anime without outside material.

Don't have to prove to anybody what I know and I certainly won't be wasting anymore time in this dead thread. Have a nice day kid.

>>145112770
>I shouldn't have to read a 12-page description to know what's going on.

It's not fair to blame that on the show. The only reason you didn't understand what was going on was because you have brain problems.

>>145114113
>SEE I'M RIGHT I ASSURE IT!
Kill yourself, autist.

>>145113518
Who are you quoting? He didn't say you couldn't make fun of the show, he called you an idiot.
>>145114156
Again, who are you quoting? The only autist here is you, honestly.

>>145113867
>Having fun, intellectual conversations about a show and giving opinions on your own interpretation of themes within said show
>spoonfeeding
You're the kind of asshole who judges other peoples opinions, but never has any of his own to give.

>>145113867
This is stupid advice. There's nothing wrong at all with perusing other people's opinions on media, that's the whole point of this fucking website. Explaining what you think the point of Lain is isn't spoonfeeding, it's just sharing an opinion.

>2011+5

AND YOU STILL DON'T SEEM TO UNDERSTAND

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>>145113867
>Lainfags
Lain's alright, but holy shit, you're delusional if you think Lain is really that deep and then refuse to actually clarify beyond "2deep4u" bullshit.

>>145113867
It's actually very commonplace to read other people's interpretations of works. This is how I know you've never taken a college-level literature course.

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>34 posts
>18 original IPS

Every time I come to visit /a/ and see a thread for a series I actually like, it's always two morons arguing, one side using ostensibly difficult art to fuel his narcissism, the other painting anyone who might enjoy something open to interpretation as pseudo-intellectual. Neither side ever really elaborates on why the series in question is good or bad, in logical detail. They just accuse the other of being an idiot.

This is why I don't come to /a/, thanks for reminding me. And OP, 'story' can take many forms, not every piece of media needs heavy exposition or conventional plotting, especially if its goals are atmosphere and tone. Watch a Tarkovsky movie, or something, for a film example. Some people like abstractions, and please don't assume everyone who does is 'pretending,' or at least don't belittle others for what they like until you yourself can write in depth about why Lain is bad and why liking it is wrong.

>>145114731

>This is why I don't come to /a/
>Comes to /a/

Hey faggot stay in your containment board and don't venture in these parts.

>>145114731
Then don't come, no one cares.

>>145114890
>>145115079

I come to this board once in a few years and can't have people even have a discussion with me. Instead I am shunned out by two faggots. From the bottom of my heart, go fuck yourself you idiotic dipshits.

>>145115140
Then fuck off. Clearly you aren't wanted here and clearly you don't want to be here either.

>>145112770
Lain's not for everyone. I think I stopped caring about a quarter of the way through, but finished it anyway, because I wanted to like it

>>145115233
You're perfectly okay contributing to an environment where nothing of worth gets communicated?

>>145115140
You deserve it for being an attention-seeker. Go post your self-important bullshit on one of the 90 threads about cute anime girls if you care about this board so much.

>>145115233

It is faggots like you that make this board almost unreadable. Fuck you and every other idiot who participated in that shitty discussion. I come to this board to see if great shows that I watched in the past are being discussed, only to get asshats turn it into a shitfest. Whatever happened to communication and people going back and forth with their ideas? Fuck this place.

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>>145112770
>there's no coherent story

>>145114731
>Not diving in headfirst to cure the cancer yourself.
>Wondering why /a/'s shit.

Just stick to meme threads.

>>145115316
>>145115348
>don't like /a/
>comes to /a/ anyways
What the fuck did you expect?

>>145114731
The problem with /a/ is the amount of newfags false flagging.
When they don't like something they throw a tantrum and start shitposting.

/a/ has never been good place for discussion, it's mainly waifu wars and false flagging left and right.
Only at rare times you can find a thread about a not so popular show where people post sincere opinions, but this kind of thread usually dies fast.

Lain was written by a luddite who was uneasy about how the internet might affect behavior in youth, specifically that youth might become detached and unable to sincerely connect with one another. So it's ironic that this thread is nothing but contentious argument.

>>145115463

I came for a fucking discussion thats why. Can a guy just once come to a thread and have people discussing anime without being told to fuck off?

You know what, I am done. From you, this crappy thread and most of all this board. I was right to never post and only lurk but I took the bait because one of my favourite anime was being discussed. Everyone on here can go die in a ditch.

>>145115463
>>don't like /a/
>>comes to /a/ anyways
You probably have no idea why anyone in their right mind would do this. It's just a matter of time, but you're going to find out that this is a real thing in the most unpleasant way possible. Even though you can't think of a single redeeming value for this shitty website, you'll keep coming here, day after day.
And you still won't understand why.

>>145115547
Right, right, I get that pretending to be me is totally caustic, and let me commend you that based on the one post I made, you have me nailed, perfect imitation down to a tee. But let me ask you this: can you actually address anything I said?

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What a stupid thread.

>Guy shits on lain.
>Other guy acts like a elitest prick by telling him to rewatch it.
OP acts like a autist wanting an explaination
>Other guy says he won't do it and leaves without explaining shit
>Autist respond to guy who never came back
>New autist comes back shitting on /a/
>Has a mental breakdown and then leaves

This is /a/ in a nutshell and I love it.

Gas all nerds

>>145114731
Nice blog, kill yourself you cunt

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Hey OP can you link the essay? I haven't watch Lain in years and would like to brush up on it before my next rewatch.

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Everytime.

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>>145113054
You're so close Anon. So close.

>>145112770
Philosophy and critical thinking is too hard for you.

>>145117204
t. American

>>145112998
A shame you seemed an honest man.

>>145116711
I want someone to make an anime about gnosticism now
>>145117345
t. buttblasted loser nerd

>>145114044
Why are people so hostile to reviews and essays here? What's wrong with wanting to refine an opinion by seeing what other people interpreted out of it?

>>145112770
You don't need a 12 page to understand it.
My personal reasons for liking the show revolves around the dense atmosphere built through lighting, shadow, and silence.

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Goddamn everyone in this thread is mostly retarded. The show isn't that hard to understand IF you have a fairly good background knowledge about a lot of somewhat random IT trivia and concepts. The trouble with Lain comes from two main problems.

1. The show is set up very experimentally. Like really experimentally. Like so much so that Chiaki J. Konaka had to make the first episode and pitch it to the studio because he and Yoshitoshi ABe weren't entirely sure their idea could be made into a show. And it's fairly obvious there is very little character narrative so the plot of the show has to rely mainly on non visual cues. And even they the plot of the show has very little to do with what the show is actually about. The plot is about a middle school girl trying to make friends and find out how to fit in to society. What the show is about is how Technology connects people (and has always connected people) the dangers of said connection, and what should be done to protect users from those dangers and what if any etiquette should be used when connecting with people over means other than face to face.


2. The show relies on a lot of somewhat obscure (but important) references to different IT concepts. I won't lie I had to look up some myself, like Vannevar Bush and his work on Memex and his general contributions to Hypertext as a concept. That's why a lot of techonphiles like the show (at least I think).


Anyway I don't think it's fair to dismiss people who had to look up concepts or even summaries of the show to help them understand what it was about. But at the same time I don't think anyone should expect to really understand or enjoy the show after just one watch. I recommend watching the show 3 times (that's when I personally started to figure out the show and actually like it) Either way though if you don't like the show it shouldn't be something to hold against someone. and any interpretation of the show is valid according to the creators.

>>145117566
It's called the Matrix.

>>145117578
This, but I really liked the basic philosophical ideas it touches on. The main thread isn't as good as its parts but each episode having a small self contained story worked well with the atmosphere.

>>145112770
I love the atmosphere and how weird it is
It's unique and cool

>>145114299
He isn't giving anything all he wants to do is take.
>Let me insult a show like a child because I can't understand it.
>let me offend everyone who disagrees
Why won't anyone help me?

>>145112770
Because it's old enough to be considered old for millenials

>>145118475

What this people don't understand is that any work of art doesn't exist as a logical puzzle, to be solved in order to feel intelligent.

This show is complex, this show uses visual language as heavily if not more than acutual orality and as a result of that it is ambiguous.

All these stupid fucks saying "I understood lain after the 7th episode, I have an IQ of 105!" are a laugh.

>>145117566
not an anime but Aeon Flux is a cartoon about Gnosticism

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>>145118838
I have an IQ of 120 and undrestood Lain on my first watch, and there is nothing you can do about it.

>>145118475
noice pasto

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>lainfags claim to be intellectual
>they just shitpost and tell each other to fuck off
Like poetry
fuck off all of you

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>>145119186

>>145119161
So you also an Christian? Hardly to believe.

You have to be atheist, agnostic or diest to understand the LAIN

>>145119104
Aeon Flux is great, seconding this.
>>145119248
As opposed to your in-depth essay?

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I'm retarded and lazy af so enlighten me my fellow anons. Why the fuck Lain's sister went crazy after seeing herself, and how did she saw that, and also how did she saw Lain in the middle of the street? It's a metaphorical representation of the two worlds being connected or something?

>>145119272
>You have to be atheist, agnostic or diest to understand the LAIN
No, not really.

>>145119272
I could tell you my beliefs, but belief for its own sake is worthless.

>>145113543
Is a fucking anime. Is not that deep.

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>>145119466
>Why the fuck Lain's sister went crazy after seeing herself?

I think the knights put a program or hacked (for less of a better word) in her mind and made her sabotage lains computer set up. After they were done with her, her conscious got separated and she went crazy and became a brainless bumbling shell of a person, which is why she was tripping out in the episode.

>>145119710
Books is words on a page, is not that deep. Nothing is deep.

>>145114529
>literature course
>to understand FUCKING anime

This is why you are close to your 30s and still unable to find emotional, financial and personal success.

>>145119731
I thought she had suffered from exposition to Lain who was "waking up" into the wired, which I guess might have something to do with the prophecy the rumors talked about.

>>145117574
>Why are people so hostile to reviews and essays here?

Because that is the equivalent of being spoonfed. You did not pay attention, take the time to understand the story and form your own opinion about it.

By reading reviews, you digested someone else's interpretation of the plot and it's themes. Willingly nodding your head in agreement, despite not understanding anything at all and thinking to himself that he has something worthy of saying.

You have nothing to contribute, there was no effort on your end and it shows, you're immature because you despise this show while everyone else enjoys it.

You just have to watch the show again and try harder. Pay attention. It's worth it. Trust me.

I was where you were.

ITT elitist faggots who speed read in high school and insult everyone they think they're smarter than everyone because they don't pay attention to detail
Sage this piece of shit sekret intellectual thread
>t. retard who can't understand simple plot xDDD
Fuck off elitist trash

>>145119768
>Le Slovenian sniffer meme.

Reddit is your place.

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>>145119808
You know people make anime, right? Like, actual people. With thoughts, emotions, lives of their own, just as complex and unique as yours. Crazy huh, the Chinese cartoons aren't shat out by elfs eating candy or something like that, who'd have thought? Y'know what's crazier? It takes a lot of work. Hundreds of people drawing, painting, writing, voice acting, story boarding, directing, and so on, and all on often too tight schedule for a meager pay. I bet you've done much better than that though, that's why you're shaming people trying to have fun appreciating a show on the internet. It's not because you're prejudiced, angry or entitled.

>>145119808
You can apply most of the style and method of literary discourse to other forms of media fairly easily.

>>145120045
You can consume reviews and essays without being a fucking sheep.

>>145120045
You are literally being intellectually spoonfed since the day you were born. Your opinions are not yours, you formulate them thanks to culture's input. You are not special.

>>145119272
What the actually fuck. How the fuck does that make any sense. Are you trying to go after after intelligence?

>>145120156
>telling someone to lurk more because he doesn't like youre favorite 2deep shit
Simply epic, friend :^)

>>145120045
Why fucking hang out on an anime board for discussing opinions.

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>>145112770
I never understood how people find this anime deep. Same thing for eva btw

The whole point of the show, and by extension, why it's so great, is that it is entirely up to one's interpretation. It truly is an art piece and no anime has come even close to evoking the feelings this one does. That is impressive in its own right.

People who dismiss this as pseudo-intellectual garbage are letting themselves be baited and trolled by people who like to make themselves feel smart.
If you didn't take away anything from this show, that's fine. That is the nature of art.

No, it's really not that complex.

It's a mixture of mysticism and lonerism. Lain is a God turn teenage girl that is one with the Wired. She discovers this after a much more outgoing part of herself is discovered to have caused trouble in her name. Before she accepts what she is, she's very upset and makes the whole world love her because she doesn't want to feel like she isn't a person. I can't say much more because I haven't seen it in three years.

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>>145120331
Clearly. That's why we have this thread with posts like yours right you fucking shitter?

>>145120388
Maybe it's all just flying over your head?

>>145120448
Yes maybe.

>>145120393
This. Not everyone who likes Lain is a self righteous retard who needs to use his perception of the show to tell others they're mentally inept.

>>145120388
What does deep mean anyway? The fact that something tackles abstract concepts?

>>145120393
Exactly. I have like three possible interpretations for the story and I believe all of them simultaneously. It's truly wonderful.

>>145120388
What do you even mean by "deep"? Seriously, who even calls these shows "deep"? I've seen people bitch about this with Eva since forever, but not even ONCE call it that sincerely, it's always people saying other people call it that.

>>145120254
Forgot to say ''at least''

>>145119606
>>145119582
filthy religiouness

>>145119606
>but belief for its own sake is worthless.
Not at all.

>>145120502
I guess new and out of the box applicable ideas and is consequently hard to understand.
I would call Psycho-Pass deep because it dealt with layers upon layers of insane philosophical points, and every analysis I've read doesn't even cover half of the shit Psycho-Pass tackles.

>>145120205
I never said I was. My point is to put effort into watching the show and forming a personal opinion about it, without resorting to reading someone else's and then parroting it.

Yes, many of us will all reach the same conclusion, which is why a lot people consider the show great. But someone out of nowhere can offer a opinion that not many have considered.

We've seen this before where a piece of work was dismissed but years down the road, someone reevaluates their opinion on it, and low and behold, people have found a new found appreciation for it.

Don't encourage people to be lazy and boldly claim that there is no more that needs to be said about a show. You never know.

>>145120393
>The whole point of the show, and by extension, why it's so great, is that it is entirely up to one's interpretation.
i.e. it has nothing to say at all and can be dismissed as meaningless garbage.

>>145120632
I consider myself very religious. Make of that what you will.

>>145120654
Yes at all. Saying you believe in something means nothing in almost any situation. It's often just chest beating.

Why does it matter that you believe in God, for example? Your intentional belief has little to do with its existence.

>>145120334
Yes, let's keep parroting the same shit over and over and over again. Hey? Why are these threads so boring? I've already heard this before? What more needs to be said?

>>145120757
No one is saying that no more needs to be said about anything. You can take in the opinions of others and still formulate your own opinion in the end.
In fact, this post pretty much supports reviews and essays, since if you have a new idea about something one of the better ways to go in depth about that idea and share it is through an essay or review.

>>145120849
>it means nothing so thats bad

Something I rarely see in Lain thread is discussion about how the game fits into the narrative. I understand that, yeah, it's a game, take it to /v/. You ever try starting a Lain thread in /v/?

The creators have made clear that any interpretation is valid. If you want that in troper meme terms, "death of the author" is "word of god".

Anyway, I actually have physical copies of the PS1 game, and have beat it several times. I interpret it as a prequel to the anime. It catalogs how and why she cut her hair the way she does, how she collected the parts that eventually make up her Wired presence, stored them online, and, well, see for yourself
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fRGhfGFXME0

>>145120843
You're most likely baiting, but do you not understand how art works at all?

>>145120989
If you want to beat your chest that's fine, just don't try to disguise it as something else.

>>145120843
>It's open ended, therefore it's shit
I can understand disliking inconclusive/logically flawed/inconsistent plots, but endings that leave the interpretation to the viewer are great.

>>145121093
Except it's not chestbeating; why do you lie about being religious? You're a blatant /pol/tard that is only religious as a means to an end.

>>145120849
>can't even get into diest race
>your intentional belief has little to do with its existence
>little do to
>little
>still beliving
So knowing/''thinking'' that ''god'' exist will not make it out for you for thinking lain is cyber god.

Existence of the thought of believing that something there is merely a programming that our brain produces for the living creature. You think you ''believe'' in God, even though you can believe in lain. You think you see whats in there.

Religion is pathetic

>inb4 tips fedoras leddit memes

>>145121037
It was not entirely bait. I don't subscribe to Beuys. Art is primarily defined by the ability of the artist that transcends mere craftsmanship, not by the intent. Art need not necessarily be a medium to transmit anything but aesthetics. In fact, visual arts are pretty bad at transmitting anything but that. If you have something to say you consider important you should do so in a manner that gets it across non-ambiguously.

>>145121212
God?

>the wired is teh internet and it's everywhere
>little girl starts to hang out with hackers
>she becomes the god of the wired
>being god is hard, what even is existence, tfw not even a human, etc...
>somehow there's also aliens and experimentation with little kids involved in all this, probably rumors, not really relevant
>PLOT TWEEST: Lain was a tool being used by some mad scientist to become god of the wired
>friendship always wins, also not lesbians I swear...
>little girl unfucks everyone's shit up only to roam the earth alone as an espectator
>I gyess it can't be helped...THE END

That was it, what's so fucking hard to understand, maybe you could enjoy a lot more if you are not an oblivious pleb.

>>145121398
>she becomes the god of the wired
She was already god of the wired. She got ripped out and given a body/family. See >>145120991

>>145121212
Shh, ESL-kun.

>>145121221
Interesting, but I don't agree at all.
Art is about expressing oneself, not trying to communicate a point.
If one had something to say they considered important, they would write an essay because that is the most clear medium for communication.
People create visual art where mere words fail to capture an idea.
Or, they are unable to express that feeling through said medium because they're not good at it.
Or, they want to connect with others and they want people to use their work as a vehicle for their own ideas.
Art isn't always about making statements. It sometimes can ask questions. I believe this is the case with SEL.

>>145115463
>shit i do ruins a site you visit
>why visit it?
I choose to believe you died soon after posting this making the world a little bit better

>>145121872
>If one had something to say they considered important, they would write an essay because that is the most clear medium for communication.
So the important things are better said clearly and non-ambiguously? We're in agreement then.

>People create visual art where mere words fail to capture an idea.
While I agree that there are things that are better expressed visually, it should be considered that these aren't the 'important things'. Visual art can possibly communicate certain atmospheres or feelings better than words might do - in the sense that they directly communicate to the viewer's senses, but you're not going to find a proper discussion of moral philosophy in a painting.

>>145121576
It's not ESLism, It's inteligenisim and philosopilism

>>145122465
You aren't intelligent and what you are posting isn't philosophy.

>>145122244
>you're not going to find a proper discussion of moral philosophy in a painting
Ah, but a painting has the ability to spark that discussion. Is that not what we're doing in this thread?
Serial Experiments Lain presents an avenue for people to think about and discuss technology, religion, and so much more in a manner that would be difficult to express in a non-visual medium.
It presents ideas and concepts, not answers. Should everything be presented in essays just because it is more clear? That wouldn't be interesting and would close more doors than it would open.

>>145120632
You're retarded man.
I say this as an atheist who makes fun of his friends' religion

>>145122811
Your friends are infinitely more intelligent than you, you intellectual deadweight.

>rewatching something to understand it better
>somehow bad and/or pretentious

It's one of the few anime that give you enough things to think about while leaving you enough space to do it properly.

>>145122676
>a painting has the ability to spark that discussion
The point is that it's not going to make a clear-cut argument. Ambiguity is in its nature. In the end, it's an intellectual circlejerk but not necessarily one that gets something done.

Not that I'm opposed to it - people are free to draw and discuss whatever they want.

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>>145112770
>the fact that there's no coherent story
That's not a fact. That's your opinion, and it's an incorrect opinion to have.

Anachronistic and symbolic stories aren't incoherent by default, and you not understanding how a scene fits in with the overarching narrative doesn't mean that it doesn't.

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>>145122639
ayes I am and it's beyond philosophy.

This is beyond comprehension than you ever could understand.

>>145122811
haha what

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>>145121398
>completely fails to comprehend core concepts such as who Lain or Mika or the Knights even are
>That was it, what's so fucking hard to understand
Every fucking time.

>>145123356
So basically you're saying that art that is ambiguous is inherently less valuable than art that is clear-cut because the former doesn't "get something done"?

>>145123645
When it comes to getting a 'message' across? Yes. The primary aspect of visual art is the aesthetic impression, not some 'deep' meaning that might be hidden inside.

>>145124014
Lain is not attempting to get a message across you STEMsperg.

>>145124080
>Lain is not attempting to get a message across
Not a conclusive moral lesson perhaps, but it is delivering many messages of various kinds.

>>145124014
Right, aesthetics are first and foremost, but that doesn't mean that it can't have a deeper meaning.
I don't understand what you're trying to argue anymore though.

>>145121170
Okay Anon. I'm clearly the liar, not you who's assuming something about someone you don't know at all, defending the existence of things you can't know. I'm obviously lying to you for... some reason.

>why do you lie about being religious?
I'm more knowledgeable on religion, than most people. I'm more interested in religion as a set of practices rather than a way of escaping responsibility, than most people. I don't go around talking or thinking about how being like this makes me better than anybody else. I don't judge others for not being like me, knowing they're simply people and owe me nothing. I understand and accept my nature as a finite, incomplete being. I don't care for your opinion or anyone else's to motivate me. I want to help others around me regardless of any of this.

If for you religion for you requires nothing of the above, but does require that one postrates before a figure of authority in servitude, and get indignant towards anyone who refuses to do the same, then no, you can't call me religious, can you? I want nothing to do with such a religiosity though.

>>145124477
>I'm more knowledgeable on religion, than most people
You are not, you are a liar.

>>145124284
I'm trying to argue that people shouldn't attribute all too much meaning to what they believe to have found in allegory and especially not consider their own interpretation to be absolute. If the message was the important aspect, they would have chosen a different (non-ambiguous) medium.

>>145124569
I don't see why that is a problem.

This shit is boring garbage. Usually with this pseudo intellectual shit the art and direction is interesting but they couldn't even manage to do that.

>>145124573
I agree with that, how did you get the idea that I didn't?
I never said in my original post that people's own interpretations are absolute, and I never said that SEL has a distinct message.

>>145123612

Please, complicate things even further for us, explain what is it that you think you know about them, hopefully is not something that I already know or heard about before.

>>145124477
And people say that only other people that debunking religion are annoying, even though ''kill the women who fucks with a animal but men are fine to fuck animals'' bullcrap

I LOVE LAIN

but this thread is shit.

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>>145124872
Let's just look at one episode for an example:
Each episode starts with a title and narration by which the rest is to be interpreted. From episode 5 onwards, this idea is expounded upon.

05 DISTORTION: There are several scenes where Lain talks with images in her room. These seem like pseudo-philosophical ramblings, but each of them precedes a scene that it is designed to make sense of.

For every event there is first a prophecy. The knights have caused a traffic accident. We see the knights are involved with the alteration of Mika – a malicious package of information sent to her. It’s the knights that have made prophecies about Lain, and it’s the Knights that are trying to alter history so that the prophecies they have predicted can be fulfilled. Mika then sees Lain whispering as though Lain is guiding the traffic. In fact, she then sees Lain everywhere she looks, as though Lain is in the place of everything that could be conceived to be directed by the internet.

“The prophecy is being fulfilled, Lain.” History is a series of points that are made to connect. Lain asks who it is that connects them:

The next face shown is… Mika. That’s all we get. Just an image of Mika.

Lain is then blamed for the hacking stunt that Lain has no awareness of doing.

Mika finds herself sitting in traffic. Everything goes out of focus. She is surrounded by the Knights.

(1/2)

>>145124772
>how did you get the idea that I didn't?
Who said I had that idea? My point was made completely independently from anything you've said.

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>>145125676
(2/2)

Let’s take some of these events out of order:

Alice is sitting in a café and receives a spam message on her phone. What does the spam say? ‘Fulfil the prophecy’. She deletes it.

“It’s reasonable to see the Wired as an upper layer of the real world”

Mika is sitting in a café and receives a message. What does it say? ‘Fulfil the prophecy’. Suddenly, everyone around her is deleted. The whole scene is deleted.

Mika is alone in the bathroom when the lights go out and she loses the ability to receive messages. When the lights come back on she sees a wall full of them.

Mika arrives home, distraught and shuddering. She discovers that she has been replaced by another ‘Mika’. The prophecy has been fulfilled.

The Knights shut down one Mika with something similar to a DDOSS attack and had some involvement with her replacement. We watch as Lain forgets about the old Mika, erasing her from existence.

Now if you've managed to follow along with all of that: who - or what - is Mika?

Video of previously described events for reference:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q_d-dRXi05s

>>145125741
That should read as DDoS*

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>>145119268

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>>145126691
That looks gorgeous!

Fuck this thread. Despera when? Its been 7 years...

>>145127134
never, Ryūtarō Nakamura died and they haven't found a new director after all these years.

>>145127710
>At Overload 2014, ABe announced that a new director was found to continue working on Despera.
It's apparently in this video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ajHzTITR4c

It's been two years since and no other word has risen lately so who knows whats actually going on with this project.

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>>145125676
>>145125741
>going to all that effort to explain the plot to an anon

>>145129443
autism

>>145114731
>these people on /a/ are insufferable pseudo-intellectuals that cannot in logical detail explain their opinion and just accuse others of being idiots

Nice projecting.

>>145120045
This has to be one of the worst posts I have seen in a while.

You are basically saying that when you take someone else's opinion, you absolutely cannot change that opinion and you absolutely have to take it complately without any alterations and the ONLY way of making up your own opinions is not to know, nor be even aware of other's thoughtsm because then you are just becoming a mindless follower of someone else.

That is absolutely contrary to how this actually operates. You are supposed to pick up other people's opinions to get better information, to have more actually more possible interpretations and THEN jufge them by yourself and correlate them to the actualy work it's suppose to relate to, it's the exact opposite of the echo chamber, because you are actually allowing other people to chime in and change your narration, instead you're suggesting people should indulge in a one man echo chamber without allowing anyone in, which is the epitome of intellectual laziness and close mindness.

And guess what might happen if you listen to other people? You might get to know new things, you interpretation, concepts that you wouldn't be capable of thinking on your own. Maybe you missed something, maybe someone else has different background and think they can add someone outside your point of view, because you are not an infallible program, even if you might think you are.

>>145114731
This guy literally just explained the whole reason wrong with this thread and people are trying to shit on him.

Also Lain was fantastic, I really loved it because it's themes are nostalgic and interesting. Plus it's quite original, I can't think of too many other cyberpunk/physiological thrillers

How do people not understand lain? It's not that difficult.

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>>145112770
Serial Experiments Lain is SHIT. Always has been.

It's the epitome of trying too hard, just vague for the sake of being vague, with nothing interesting or entertaining ever happening. This is every fedora's favorite anime because they think they're intelligent special snowflakes for liking an anime no one cares about. If the main character was an old man instead of a little girl /a/ wouldn't give a fuck about this. It's just technological nonsense you see in every JRPG except presented in anime form with bland forgettable characters in a boring story. On top of that the animation isn't even good. Jesus fuck, it's garbage on every level possible.

>>145118475
Finally, a quality post

>>145125328
>even though ''kill the women who fucks with a animal but men are fine to fuck animals'' bullcrap
What?

there are two types of anonymous users: anons and lainon.
people who get it and people who don't.
It's not self aggrandizement,
it's just fact.

>>145131956
That's the thing though, the character could have been anyone and the story would have still worked (albeit some things revolve around her being a middle schooler, but I digress). Even if Lain was a middle aged man I feel that they could still work just about every scene if they replaced the kids with adults in their 20's.

I can understand if you didn't like the show because of its themes, that cool man, we all have different tastes, but don't try to shit on the opinions of a very opinion driven story.

I like Lain because in the 90's when cyberpunk was bigger, I had always wondered what the eventual power of the internet would culminate to. I involved many things I was interested in and had a shit ton of references to the pre-2000's internet myths and rumors. If you're into that kinda stuff I'd recommend looking up essays/reviews on it if you have watched it already but missed the deeper themes and references.

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>tfw I watch this show at least 3 times a years
>tfw I usually do all 3 runs in a row
>tfw it still continuously peels my mind back

best anime ever.

>>145132988
>Even if Lain was a middle aged man I feel that they could still work just about every scene if they replaced the kids with adults in their 20's.
Actually her relationship to her father would have to be pretty different, her awkwardness and inexperience would be less justifiable, and the Gnostic interpretation wouldn't work if she was either a man or a mature woman. Let's not forget the show is also a coming-of-age story on a metaphysical scale.

Eh, Lain is just part of that awkward 90s cyber existentialism fad that spawned the likes the Matrix and a few other works. It was a time when a bunch of clueless scifi authors prophesied how the internet would become some safe haven where social misfits and misunderstood intellectuals could break free from the confines of the physical world and enter into a realm of limitless data and knowledge. And in time, they thought, this would cause the line between the internet and reality to blur. By today's standards, it's a hokey escapist fantasy that doesn't hold much water.

Has anybody tried watching this on any sort of psychedelics? A friend of mine said it blew his mind when he did, but I barely could follow this when watching it sober.

>>145112770
I thought i was the only one. Nah, don't listen to any of these retards "2deep14u watch it again bro xD". If something needs to be watched 10 times to finally get an idea of what the hell it even means, it's shit.

>>145113867
Kill yourself.

>>145112770
I watched it last week. I felt like it was about an AI assuming the position of godhood in the Wired. I also think it was neat about how runaway our online personas can be.

PRESENT DAY

>>145134144
PRESENT TIME

AHAHAhAHAHAHA

>>145133268
I realize that, but I'm saying that you could delete the whole coming of age story and replace it with a self deprecating lonely faggot it wouldn't effect many of the themes

>>145134213
Wasn't the coming of age thing the whole point of Lain's character arc, though? Like, isn't she just supposed to be an AI taking part in a machine learning experiment?

>>145134426
Nope, she's the collective unconscious, she explicitly denies being created when she confronts Eiri, she's something that was already there.

>>145134617
That's dumb as hell, though. You can't just take the organic memories of people and slap them onto an electronic medium. Human brains don't work like machines - yet.

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>>145134850
Why not? What's stopping it from becoming conscious on such a high level of technology? Seriously, if you think about it it's not so different than with many place on the internet, they all have their "personalities". Ultimately it's all just data.

>>145133799
I watched the whole series really high the first time. Then sober the next two. If you're looking to understand the deeper references than watch it sober, but the animation is really trippy when high, the mix between all of the 90's themed styles and random patches of bad animation really fuck with you, especially during long silent sequences where the only things to focus on are visual cues.

>>145134426
I didn't think that the coming of age was necessary to further the story, it could be replace with a middle aged man "awakening" or something of equal ignorance. The coming of age is probably the easiest and more interesting, I was just saying that it could be something else and still made the story flow.

>>145134850
But that's the irrelevant, it's a cyberpunk theme, most of the shit in the anime is unrealistic.
>>145135001
This guy gets it

>>145135301
>it could be replace with a middle aged man "awakening" or something of equal ignorance.
Sure, but it would murk with the fact Lain is (and represents) something completely new. A middle age awakening has very different implications on the character's inner world as well.

>>145135001
Well, we're not talking about a plain old self-aware AI here. We're talking about an AI which represents the supposed collective unconscious - a thing that, by nature, is impossible to track or replicate. The former concept is way more plausible: take an AI with complex machine learning capabilities, seed it with a simulated environment of a school, family, and other stuff, and watch it go from there. Granted, it still doesn't explain how Lain can just pop up as a physical being out of the blue, but hey, it's a start.

See? This is why cyberpunk died. It's dumb and nonsensical.

>>145135520
>a thing that, by nature, is impossible to track or replicate
Which they didn't. Again she was already there and takes the shackles off when she realizes what she is. Lain wasn't created, she was temporarily caught, the necessary restraint for her to acquire being. And lastly it's impossible for *humans* to conceive it; machines much more advanced than a human mind need not necessarily have that limitation.

>>145135492
I agree completely, the way they have it was the best way to tell the story. Yet again, I was just saying it wasn't the only situation that drove the anime

>>145135520
>Cyberpunk is dumb and nonsensical
I have always viewed the cyberpunk theme as a more specific branch of sci Fi, so it doesn't need to make total logical sense. It died because technology and computers are no longer "mysterious" if you get what I'm saying. When Lain came out in (1998 or 1999?) Computers were just becoming more commonplace, yet people were not 100% sure or trusting of them, do you guys not remember that everyone thought computers would all turn on us and launch every nuke when the year 2000 came? People were unaware of how far technology could go. Now that every faggot and their grandma has a quad core computer the size of a wallet in their pockets, they're not scared of technology anymore. That's why cyberpunk died, although I really wish it hadn't.

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>>145136994
That's what we have vaporwave for, my man.

>>145112770
I know that you are a fan of HaibaneRenmei, though the fans of Haibane disparage Lain, NieA, Texhnolyze, N/H/K....in Japan.

>>145137194
>vaporwave
>>>/tumblr/

get cancer on the way aswell

>>145112770
Just because you didn't understand doesn't mean the shoe is pretentious. You either didn't pay enough attention or you simply didn't have the know how to put the pieces together.

>>145139556
Look Anon, you can't just point people to other sites every time they do something you don't like, first because it devaluates the insult, second because it actually doesn't make them go away.

>>145113196
>>145113076
>>145112857
>>145113201
I consider myself enough intelligent to understand what's going on in a visual medium the first time I watch it.
If I don't it means the writing is bad.

That being said I'm not giving a judgement on Lain right now, simply because I don't remember a thing about it except some few things. I remember it was slow as fuck and incoherent if you don't have previous knowledge.


Bet you guys all "got" Tenshi no Tamago as well, right?

>>145113054
Shutter Island is shit.

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>>145140385
vaporwave, do you listen to vaporwave? vaporwave so real vapors like ur WaVeS

This kind of trash this community contains lol

>>145119808
>wanting to deeply understand things makes you unfit to live a fulfilling life

This one here is a big truth.

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>>145140494
holy shit take your autism meds fampai

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>>145140570
If you don't like it you can go somewhere else or explain why people should behave otherwise. It's funny though, that you're telling people to leave a place you don't seem to like because they bother you. Why are you here?

>>145125676
>>145125735
Only good posts in this thread. I really need to rewatch Lain. I've forgotten it after watching it so long ago.

>>145140810
bait me stronger faggot, this is not your fucking safe place

>>145113867
I had to do this for the Chrollo vs Hisoka fight. Couldn't understand a thing at first.
>>145115463
>>145114890
>>145115079
My reason is that I'm a masochist.
>>145114731
>>145115140
>>145115316
This is very true and I'm also at fault.
>>145119161
If you were really a genius you wouldn't post a pic of DFW, you're just autistic.

>>145120045
>You just have to watch the show again and try harder. Pay attention. It's worth it. Trust me.
>try harder
>just be yourself
What the fuck are you, an 80's teenage movie?

>>145121037
>>145120393
That's not how art works at all. Art has a base meaning to which the user can add meaning. Getting to understand art means filtering it through one's own sensibility.
If it has no meaning it's not art.

>>145140681
I won't take any meds that will make me not special anymore.

>>145120393
You could say this about any story. Even a story with an explicit meaning can be interpreted differently than the author intended. The question is, do those interpretations hold up to scrutiny? You can't just point to one or two scenes and say Lain is about the plastics industry, you'd have to go through the whole series, scene by scene and line by line, to back up your reading. And if it doesn't fit most scenes and lines, it's a shit interpretation.

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>>145140866
Oh, it's yours then?

>>145141014
Why would a genius care about the opinion of someone other than himself? What makes you think understanding one (1) television show and having an IQ slightly above average makes someone a genius?

>>145141667
If you weren't an autist you would have understood that
1. My post was a joke.
2. You hardly can measure intelligence and IQ is a retarded way to do it.

>>145137194
Vaporware is a meme

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>>145141757
Oh good, we're both having fun then!

>>145141813
Vaporwave™ is a way of life™.

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>>145142121
Imagine Lain's soundtrack completely replaced by vaporwave

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what a creep

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>>145112770

>>145142363
Lain's OST is already pretty electonic/industrial, it's fine as it is. Now a vaporwave album using on the OST... that could be something.

>And you don't seem to understand
>It's all in your hands

>>145147281
Hush little Lain, Don't you cry
The Wired gonna sing you a lullaby
Daddy's gonna build you a big machine
It'll be so fun it might make you scream
You've heard of the knights, yes it's true
Don't be a puppet on their tennis shoe
Now mommy and sissy have to go
And daddy's gonna let you end the show

>>145120168
That's honestly amazing how much work goes into the smallest things.

>>145120168
That's LWA, right?

>>145112770
And it looks like you weren't able to comprehend

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I liked it. Top 5.

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Some day, One day

Lain will have a good thread

>>145112770
bear suit lain, do i have to say more?

One more month of summer hold me /a/

>>145112770
>no coherent story
Get a load of this guy.

>>145113448
>it's about technology
I mean really, GET a load of this guy

>>145114731
Not all threads are like this. They have become particularly awful lately. I suppose some people watched it recently thus the renaissance of shit posting.
Maybe it was because I jokingly used her as a counter to some reality warpers in a power wank thread. It stands to reason that those two audiences wouldn't intersect well.

>>145118838
>IQ of 105
Kek, if you're 95 to 110 are basically the same in terms of out put. 120 is where the real effort to output curve begins.
t.119
Too smart to be simple. Too simple to be smart. The 111-119 is a horrible place.

>>145120388
Eva was never 'deep' per se. EVA was evocative. It delivers a message people often over look, but in terms of concepts it's pseudo-psychology.

>>145121398
>wired is the internet
How do people pretend they aren't retards when they can't even watch the show. Internet exists in Lain. Wired is something else. This is VERY explicitly shown.

>>145133042
It really does have a lot of layers and little throw away concepts. I hardly see people follow the neoteny lead here and while it's not vital comprehension as a whole it contextualises a lot of things.

>>145128075
it's probably canceled at this point.

>>145133987
It's not about the Wired. Neither narratively or symbolically. It does have a lot to say about technology and how it interacts with humanity but the meaning behind that interaction is the main focus of the series rather than the external cause of the interaction (the wired).

>>145152252
It has had its share already, they're just few and far between. It's hard to have a good Lain thread. Either it's derailed by people bitching at it who haven't seen it or didn't bother paying attention OR it's meme'd on OR people say they like it and aren't willing to get into the meaty discussion due to their own constraints.

Every so often though there can be some invested conversation about themes, narrative, symbolism and other core elements and interpretations.

>>145154196
That would be pretty awful.

Ye Olde Lain Mediafire Folder that contains everything from soundtracks to artbooks to fangames to the manga

https://www.mediafire.com/folder/w5pnm62i46i36/Lain

Did used to have a copypasta formatted for Lain threads with everything, but that was years ago and lost to time.

>>145155530
In anycase, thanks for the link. I've seen a lot of the extra content but not all of it. I certainly don't have it all saved so this is a pleasant surprise.

>>145155530
thank you desu