Why is this show so praised? It's pretty mediocre

Babby's first intellectual overtones

2deep4me, etc.

>>152695131
Compare to what?

>>152695131
you don't seem to understand

Beats me. Haibane Renmei is much better.

>>152695605
For a SoL character drama most of the cast is pretty forgettable, Reki is the only interesting character

>>152695719
it can't be sol it actually has a plot

>>152695746
kind of. the second half does. most sol have some sort of plot

>>152695131
It's praised mostly by underaged and hipsters who need 2deep4u entries for their 3x3.

>>152695131
It's not even popular in Japan: it sold quite poorly there. It's mostly popular in the West for some reason.

>>152695131
you got trolled now kys

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Serious answer:

OP were you alive to experience the internet in the 1990's? Lain is very much dated given how technology has changed since then (specifically the ubiquity of smartphones), and so many of the references, concepts, and even the look of hardware don't make register as sci-fi -cool anymore. It's a safe bet that the majority of people who have watched the anime did not 'understand' it, but many of them liked it because of the style, the references, and the music. Note that the use of light and shadow is especially gorgeous, and in about half of the episodes the depiction of space and distance is some of the best work you'll ever see in a TV anime.

Second, it's highly praised because it includes lots of complicated things that are rare in anime: unreliable narrators, non-linear stories, irrelevant tangents and red herrings, changing perspectives, and an extremely complex storyline. Altogether Lain is a really strange anime because it is definitely NOT a commercially viable product, it does not pander to a particular audience, and that fact that anyone paid to produce such a wacky project at all is a miracle.

And third: when you actually wrap your head around what happens in the show and follow what's going on it's a really neat story and
complex enough to be satisfying when you figure it out.

/lit/fag here with your daily reminder that fans of Lain need to read R. D. Laing's book of poetry called 'Do You Love Me?'

>>152695605
Also, the setting for Haibane was largely inspired by a Haruki Murakami novel: Hardboiled Wonderland and the End of the World. It's a fun book, you should read it.

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let's all love lain!

>>152695881
She's like a God right?

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>>152696002
Basically. She has control over the Wired, and through it all human consciousness because of Eiri linking it to the Schumann resonance of the Earth. Part of the idea of SEL is that reality is constructed only by the consensus between minds, so in SEL's universe that means she's also omnipotent, at least regarding humanity.

>>152695131
And you don't seem to understand.

>>152696710
>Part of the idea of SEL is that reality is constructed only by the consensus between minds
But isn't that actually the case? I mean, let's take something dumb: the majority of people see a clear midday sky as blue-colored. If someone were to be color-blind and see the sky as green, how would we know he's not actually true?
Because majority takes precedence and the term "objective" actually means "which has been observed by the masses".

>>152696864
She brings more than one person back from the dead.

>>152695131
alright OP tell us what it was about

>mediocre

Even that is praising it too much. It's pure avant-garde 2deep4u bullshit. SEL is the only anime I've ever finished that I actually hate.

>>152696945
are you implying all avant-garde arthouse-type shows are bad? Because that sounds like a very angry and ill-informed opinion. Your comment almost reminds me of MAL reviews that are essentially "I disliked this, so I'll write my review in a way that sounds credible instead of actually trying to make an attempt to understand why people like it"

>>152695795
Which is ironic given the thing about the director thinking western audiences would not connect to it.

If that was even true, there's just so much bullshit floating around about anime popular in the late 90s I never know what to trust.

>>152695881
>And third: when you actually wrap your head around what happens in the show and follow what's going on it's a really neat story and complex enough to be satisfying when you figure it out.

It's just about trolls on the internet and Lain relinquishing her status as the queen of trolls after becoming the queen of trolls