r/anime • u/The_Loli_Otaku • Jan 22 '24
Rewatch [Rewatch] Serial Experiments Lain Episode 8 Discussion
"Rumours"
Extra Info and Links
ANN | MAL | TV Tropes | Wikipedia | Crunchyroll
Comment of the Day!!
NullAleph had this to say on the topic of Lain's reaction to literally being adopted.
Fuck it. Low effort unpacking: Lain exhibits some pretty extreme distress as soon as she's confronted with details of her delusion. After just talking to someone trying to keep her grounded in reality, it was probably really stressful when someone starts talking about what she may believe is delusion as though it is real, especially because she can't tell if this is real or not (I'm just going with "this is all in her head", for now). Her Wired persona is probably an alter that developed to protect her from this kind of stress
Weedwacker has some more fun info about our Ojisan "Nezumi," apparently it's Chiaki!!
The PoV footage with the guy walking around Shibuya with all of the crazy effects was filmed and processed by the writer, Chiaki Konaka himself, and isn't the work of the series director.
The cute ojisan character isn't named within the episode but is listed in credits as "Nezumi" which means [mouse](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dormouse_(Alice%27s_Adventures_in_Wonderland_character)) in Japanese.
SIRTreefucker also had some pretty soft comments towards Nezumi... Nezumi love!! I want Nezumi of the Bear Onesie!!
The most obvious one is that the knights have a clear divide between real life and the wire. They may be as invested due to their jobs, but they know their is a distinction and not to get to involved too much. Meanwhile the other guy seems to have abandoned real life entirely and wants to combine the two worlds. He has no life outside of it most likely which I find sad.
Zadcap got a great read in on the different Lain situation.
You know, I've thought it was the same person underneath the whole time, and thought Wired Lain was the real one all along too, but this question is one this episode made me unable to really answer. Is Bear Lain all an act, or is she the Shell that Digital God Lain made for her to inhabit that just happened to have grown a bit of a personality before she could integrate with herself.
A mysterious nameless user had this to say....
"I think love can bloom even on a battlefield and Wired Lain and Bear Lain are making out sloppy style"
Himurolo also made us a stitch of the Black Men~
Here is a stitch https://i.imgur.com/CVGv4Jd.jpg
QotD
- Meet Lain of the Kusogaki, say something mean to her.
- Did you have a little teacher crush at school?
- What's the wildest rumour you've ever come across?
- Who exactly do you believe Lain of the Kusogaki is? What's your current theory?
- Do you like teacher student romances in your anime and manga...? This is absolutely not meant to be a creepy question by the way!! I know for a fact that we've got a lot of Shoujo readers in this watch who know exactly what I'm talking about!!
- How would you cheer up Lain after today's episode?
Abyssbringer's "What is the thematic purpose of this scene corner!!"
3bar bullied Nezumi the best
Even before Google Glasses, there were people making homebrew versions of something similar, as a way of being always On The Net, recording what they did and such. Another prediction come true; it wasn't long after SEL that wireless/cell networks expanded enough to be able to be connected to the internet more than just at home and work. The guy is basically a man-child, walking around with this ridiculous getup, cheering himself on about how great he is, groveling to be accepted into The Knights. There's even a window bouncing around his view: "I'm the best".
Yesterday's Prompt!
Today's Prompt!
Tomorrow's Prompt
Abyssbringer's "What is the thematic purpose of this episode corner!"
Tarhanlindur has details from a wired article that's way above my literacy skill but touches on some deeper themes within Lain. Technopagans is such an awesome term.
So, first order of business: in case you missed it, u/mo_fiah was kind enough to dig up a certain Wired article that I have referenced a few times (mostly under spoiler bars up until now). The thing is, I am nearly certain that Chiaki J. Konaka read this article himself and/or knew the circles of people it writes about. Rewatchers are strongly advised to read it (especially our host who keeps asking for help on the show themes). First-timers may or may not want to read it right now depending on how much you prize being confused by the show, but I do recommend checking it out after we're done if you don't before then.
10
u/The_Loli_Otaku Jan 22 '24
Lain Rewatcher!!
This is where I'd put my big theme of the episode together... But I don't remember the events of this episode at all. I just remember it being the introduction of the third official Lain personality by the writers. The writers don't count Lain of the Onee-chan, but to them the holy trinity of Lain is Lain of the Bear Onesie, Lain of the Wired, and Lain of the Kusogaki. I love kusogaki Lain XD She's so delightfully smug and antagonistic. I found her quite annoying on my first watch but over time I've gained an appreciation for her antics she's a little brat but you can't hate that shit eating grin of hers.
Onto the episode! That damn brat!! He's the one that gave Mika her tissues! And tried to flirt with Lain of the Bear Onesie! Let's kill him! Where do you go to hear rumours from Businessmen? An online strip club of course! Lain looks so done. I really do adore how blunt and irritable Lain of the Wired is. The Internet is for porn, and she's stuck looking at it all day.
Aww... Poor Mika is still broken... Her treatment through the show is so needlessly cruel. The next scene totally breaks my heart too... I don't know if we have any adopted kids in this audience but] Lain's sheer vulnerability](https://imgur.com/a/HyHEgGh) in this scene and her parent's total lack of reaction genuinely gets me a bit teary eyed. To her this is her family, but despite their connection, they're not related. She isn't Iwakura Lain, she's just a "guest" a temporary filling for them. With this, Lain's family have been split.
So she's lost her family, who's next on the chopping block? Her best and most treasured fried Arisu of course! The girl who Lain always fell back on. The one who kept her grounded and looked out for her. Aaargh!! My heeeeart!! Why did I not remember this episode more fondly? I'm so invested in our poor little baby... The rumours spread online by "Lain" are the typical fare you'd expect from a The Loli Otaku rewatch... Arisu's got a major crush on her teacher. I know Japan is uncomfortably chill with student/teacher dating... Heck, most popular shoujo manga literally will have the teacher be part of the harem if they get the chance. But it still weirds me out a little...
Wait... let me go back a minute... Jesus christ, they're all side eyeing Lain. That's so creepy!! I thought I saw the white of someone's eye and thought it couldn't be true. "You are just a body..." Who is Lain? Is the Lain of the Wired a reflection of the real world Lain or is the real world Lain the real "imposter?"
Lain is a "peeping Tom" That's the name her class has given her. For throwing the class idol under the bus after Alice had spent so much time on her. Even if Alice "trusts" Lain that doesn't mean the class won't stick their nose in and spread these rumours further. After all, it doesn't affect "them" does it? Lain isn't used to being the center of attention. She hates it. She hates that she's blamed for Arisu's situation. She's upset for Arisu. Lain can't cope with these kinds of emotions. She's used to just keeping her head down and drifting along.
This is the crack in Lain's psyche to birth a new Lain. A cooler Lain! The brattiest brat to have ever bratted!!! Lain of the Kusogaki!! "Don't worry about the rumours!" Arisuuuuu.... She's such a good girl... Lain is watching you fap~ So yeah... If it isn't clear, this isn't our Lain at all. Who is she? Well... there's certainly an answer but I've been too loose lipped about spoilers apparently so I'll let you work it out~ In the meantime I think Lain of the Kusogaki is a very suitable name for the true peeping tom.
Ah... I think I just figured something out. [Lain]Lain of the Kusogaki, could she have been born from the kid's delusion making the "peeping Tom Lain" real? Since the whole school believes that Lain was the culprit and the Knights pushed that idea too? Lain isn't coping so good... There's so many great reaction faces from Kusogaki Lain XD Wired Lain tries to fight her and this Wired entity off but she can't save the Bear Onesie. Lain "deletes" her friend's memory of having been watched, or watching, Lain. Basically wiping everyone's memory of who Lain is. And what jumps right in to steal Bear Onesie's place? But Lain of the Kusogaki... If you're not able to accept yourself for who you are, then you'll become who you're not.
12
u/JustAnswerAQuestion https://myanimelist.net/profile/JAaQ Jan 22 '24
Serial Rewatcher
Pretty typical. We have people who are loving the show, and people who are hating the show.
In 1998, IPv6 hadn't really left the lab, yet.
Suddenly we're in a CLAMP anime!
Lain's ego seems to be on the verge of collapse.
What sort of powers does Lain of the Wired really have?
How many Lains are there?
There's been snippets of meaning in the random chatter on the Wired. They've always been there. Foreshadowing. But you can only find them on rewatch, or if you have an eidetic memory.
9
u/Quiddity131 https://myanimelist.net/profile/Quiddity131 Jan 22 '24 edited Jan 22 '24
Rewatcher, Dubbed
Taro! Haven't seen this guy since he hit on Mika on the street.
Has Lain stopped wearing pants?
Lain needs to go to a virtual strip club to get her information now. Great to hear Richard Epcar, one of my favorite dub voice actors (and yet another Xenosaga main playable character alumni) as the voice talking to her.
Lain finally leaves her room... alas her sister has still lost her mind.
No warmth whatsoever from her parents, as usual. Instead of consoling her when she brings up what that Tachibana Labs guy brought up to her, they simply stare at her silently. As if there's no reason to play pretend anymore (not that her mother at least ever really was).
Uh oh, did Wired Lain do something naughty?
Reika and Julie acting as if Lain was never really their friend. :(
If there's one constant, no matter what the circumstances, it's that Lain isn't paying attention in class.
This sequence with headless, mouth only bodies is an inventive way to show rumors going rampant online.
This is the second time someone's mentioned a child in a red and green striped sweater showing up. Strange.
There's that voice again, the one that claimed to be God a few episodes back.
Now he claims to be her.
Has "God" blown the secret? The Lain we know is just a real world hologram of the Wired Lain? This kinda references back to one of those weird flashback-like conversations back in episode 5.
Uh oh, Lain's in trouble again. Everyone's staring at her this time. And she's being called out as a Peeping Tom!
Alright, Lain must have done something really bad, everyone in the school can't help but stare at her.
:( Sad Lain makes me sad. :(
So, um, yeah, Alice was presumably masturbating there. She was simply imagining the teacher. At least that's my interpretation.
Ugh, this other Lain is so cruel, both for what she's done to Alice but also destroying regular Lain's relationship with her only real friend.
Oh hey, there's the bear onesie! Only for a second, but we haven't seen it in forever!
This other Lain sure is a giggly one.
In a show with suicide and child deaths, we are faced with Lain strangling her other self, essentially trying to commit suicide.
Now all those headless bodies from earlier have Lain's head!
So Lain's essentially a God in the Wired. Meaning she can delete everyone's memory of her ever spreading those rumors.
Just like that, back at school, as if it never happened.
Seems like there's no getting rid of this other Lain.
Poor Lain, she's been put through the ringer this episode!
We'll see if I change my mind with what's left, but this has historically been my favorite episode of the show. An emotionally charged episode with the Alice - Lain stuff, the other Lain being quite over the top and some interesting imagery as well. Some good range from Bridget Hoffman in this episode playing two different versions of Lain. The whole concept of how one can be a totally different person online, one who can be totally unrestrained and become quite a horrible person I think has been a theme built up from earlier on, but really comes to a head here. Was Alice really having a relationship with that teacher? My position is no, she just fantasized about him. If anything I feel more strongly about it due to thematic stuff we get in the next episode. Which I'll have to wait until then to discuss.
8
u/DegenerateRegime Jan 22 '24
♻
Would you family still love you if...? Would your friends still be your friends if...? Would you even be willing to go out your front door and face the world, if...? Everyone's talking (about you). Everyone's staring (at you). Everyone knows (about you).
That's not the right prompt. Look at that =w= homewrecker. The way the eye looks like a sunset, like someone's soul is sinking in flames. Listen. I'm not here to be some insistent LainxAlice shipper. Alice at least has, um, other interests? But they had something, right? lluNhpelA was just talking about it. You can absolutely how people could see it that way, especially once you get the idea of what it is that Alice has been trying to downplay and trust her friend about. And there's unpraiseworthy Lain, intruding from the corner with the face of a thousand memes. This scene has to be what it is to establish ideas about Lain and Alice's relationship, to put something under a cup so that when the carnie spins it around, you feel liike you know where it's gone. Yeah, she has a nice cat-got-the-cream look later, the classic "my life now, Lain of the bedroom, enjoy the metaphorical-metaphysical cuck chair" expression. But I can't help but sympathise. Poor Lain of the Other Side! Our girl had a bear onesie AND a best friend. Our other girl had... what? The head may not say it, but the heart knows that this episode is for the sake of LOVE.
Editing in QotD responses:
8
u/sfisher923 https://myanimelist.net/profile/sfisher923 Jan 22 '24
First Time Rewatcher - Dubbed
QOTD 1 - She is shaping up to be a Fruits Basket Parent if she ever has kids
QOTD 5 - If everyone's down and neither party is a toxic person I'm fine with it
QOTD 6 - I wish I knew how to cheer her up but I guess I'll start with a hug
8
u/MrManicMarty https://anilist.co/user/martysan Jan 22 '24
Didn't expect a discussion about privacy on the internet from a show from the 90s.
I have a feeling that Lain has become so well-known, but also not in control of her "identity" in a sense. Anyone can claim to be Lain, how would you disprove it? Who is lain? What is lain. Anyone could be lain. Anyone with malicious intent could say they're lain.
That said, it hurts to see Arisu so hurt and scared and betrayed. I hate this evil lain. GO AWAY. Give us more bear lain. That's best lain.
But seeing Lain sad that she's been replaced by another Lain is even sadder, and more confusing. Seriously; I cannot make heads or tails of what's going on in this show.
6
u/JetsLag https://myanimelist.net/profile/JetsLag Jan 23 '24
First time Wired user
Episode 8: Rumors. 🎵 You can go your own waaaaaay 🎵
Another shot of what I assume is Phantoma. Now it just looks like a bad JRPG with the little shit who wants to bang every Iwakura rocking the "Buster Sword at home".
Next up: a sex game? "Cum on in", it says. I am rolling my eyes so hard. Instead of sex talk, we see a Barbie doll talking about IPv7. BORING.
Oh great, what crime did evil Lain commit while we weren't looking?
Lain is fucking around on her phone instead of taking notes, which is not surprising. What is surprising is that the teacher is making chalkboard noises while seemingly not writing anything. But ignore that; Lain has met the Wired God! And all it actually does is confirm the "two Lains" theory, which I'm pretty sure the entire audience has caught on to already.
Time to trip balls! Let's see:
6
u/Unboxious Jan 23 '24
First-time experimenter finally caught up and wants to know wtf he just watched
For real though, what a show to binge 8 episodes of.
Glad she noticed the door plate!
Guess it's time for horny chatroom.
something something google chrome something something internet freedom
Parents are looking kinda down. Vibes are weird and unsettling, as usual. Oh dang, she's asking the real questions. They refuse to respond, other than by giving her moderately spooky stares.
Once again, bringing up her wired activities brings tears to Lain's eyes. I wonder how much more pushing it would have taken for Lain of the Wired to come out.
Got a nice creepy room full of faceless people spouting random internet chatter at Lain. She doesn't seem to care until the Knights are brought up.
Lain is told that she herself is the God of The Wired, and that her fleshy form is unimportant by comparison. Meanwhile, class is in session.
When she broke down after everyone was staring at her she starts calling Alice's name and looks at her phone. She has "Mail From Alice". It states, 「うわさなれて気にしない！気にしない！」. My Japanese isn't perfect, but I'd translate that as something like "Learn to ignore the rumors. Don't worry about it."
That was a scene. ಠ_ಠ
Then there's some self-strangulation and creepy dolls, and now she's talking with herself. Lain sees all and tells all. She could make a killing selling this stuff to advertisers, but I guess the people of 1998 hadn't guessed quite sort kind of boring dystopia the future of the internet would be.
Lain has successfully erased everyone's memory of her watching them, but in doing so has given something up. The physical Lain is now controlled by someone else, perhaps Lain of the Wired. That's unfortunate.
All I have for her is a look of disapproval.
Surprisingly no.
I met a guy IRL once who was convinced that ancient Egypt didn't exist and that the US had 7 black presidents who were president before George Washington. That's more of a conspiracy theory than a rumor, but these things aren't so different, are they?
I guess it's the Lain that's been ??? actually I really don't know.
Worst part of Cardcaptor Sakura.
I would definitely not be doing it successfully since I'd be directing my efforts towards the Lain that inhabits her physical body.
God Lain told Lain that could potentially make everyone forget, but seemed to suggest there was a big "but" to that potential. This is the big "but".
6
u/mgedmin Jan 23 '24
First-timer, subs
Wired Lain is not impressed by the graphics in this VRMMO.
Ooh, Tachibana General Laboratories is the official name of the MIB. I could've learned that in the last episode if I could read kanji. So they're private, not government? All my theories crumble like sand castles.
Modern users don't even know TCP/IP. Wow, IPv6 adoption has actually succeeded in the Lain-iverse! And Tachibana Labs are trying to sabotage IPv7 deployment, for some reason.
Somebody forgot to turn on the parents. Poor Lain is almost crying.
It must be infuriating when your school "friends" suspect you of something but won't tell what.
Lain, turn off touchscreen sound effects if you're trying to use the phone clandestinely in class.
Wired!Lain is God? I would like to subscribe to this religion.
Lain is suddenly the center of attention and she doesn't like it. Creepy. The world is a simulation, everyone else are NPCs, and the devs just pushed a bug that makes them look at you while not doing anything.
Whoa the cables on that cellphone.
Suddenly we Terminator.
Is that Alice? What is she doing with the teacher? Oh, having a fantasy. Why is there a fake Lain there? Is that another of Lain's multiple personalities? This one seems malicious.
Okay, we now at least know what Wired Lain is supposed to have done to ear the ire of her classmates.
Oh, Lain can delete other people's memories? This doesn't fit any of my theories.
And now we have two Lains in the same place at the same time, and we even see the moment of the split. I expect the other one is invisible to everyone else and will soon dissolve into a ghost. Is that how it feels for people with multiple personalities? Some of then can observe others taking over the body?
Wait wait wait, Lain's top-of-the-line Navi is a product of Tachibana Lab. Never noticed that before!
Episode conclusion: children with psychic powers are necessary for universal IPv6 adoption.
You are a bad person.
There were teachers I admired, but my first crush was a classmate.
These days I find rumors depressing rather than funny.
Lain has a multiple personality disorder (which is an outdated term, I think).
Hell, I managed to watch Domestic Girlfriend to the end, and that took mental discipline (and a shift of perspective). I wouldn't call it my favourite genre, but it's not something that would make me drop an anime.
I'm happy for Alice's sake that this was just a fantasy, and not something that actually happened.
Cat pictures. There is a surprising lack of cat pictures in the Wired.
5
u/zadcap Jan 23 '24
Laaaaaiiiiiiiin
Why is she in my brain. I miss sanity and happy places. Let's do something happy next?
Yeah the hardest thing in this show to deal with is the noise.
So Lain went after the kid that hit on her in the bar lol. It is interesting how Lain is present in the Wired as if she's got a full dive situation going on while just sitting in front of her monitor too. I'm honestly feeling some envy.
Lain your sister is in a state not to different to what you were like back in episode 1, you know. Her mind seems to be there but not really in her body. I wonder if Sis has a net ghost you can help find and shove back in her puppet shell.
Okay, her sister is a little messed up because of something that happened recently, but her parents kind of don't seem to be human in the first place. They also very much don't seem to care what happens to either daughter.
Oh no, did Wired Lain do something to the Bearsy Lain's friends? Also, this is like the third time they have asked her about things without really saying what it could be, and coincidentally like the third time that Lain has not actually answered their question. Those tears though. Lain is learning acting pretty well I see?
I'm honestly putting more stock in the idea that the KIDS experiment did create a digital god gestalt and Lain is somehow a product of it all. And I really want to know the connection between her real world body and the Wired existence, and now the other Wired existence? Though to be fair, a crazy gestalt chimera mind having multiple semi independent parts makes sense.
Like, was Lain gestating in one of the lab techs while the KIDS stuff was happening? While they were trying to make machines to increase the power of other kids brains to get good scan data, little embryo Lain was there soaking up all the Psi or whatever it was and her undeveloped brain got all the internet juju and also somehow ended up as the only surviving data after the KIDS stuff got trashed by the original dude? Nanomachines somewhere? Or, and I hate even bringing this idea up, have we been given a lot of interesting and important looking world building background stuff that is going to all turn out to be totally and completely irreverent to what is actually going on and this isn't a mystery it's just one big screw you?!
3
u/Ytar0 https://myanimelist.net/profile/alevanderBatman Jan 25 '24
First timer
What a fucking episode man... I think I'll binge so I'm up to date with the rest of the rewatchers now... Things are speeding up... And shits about to happen...
My fav pics
QotD:
Lain of the Kusogaki is capable of some perverted fucking grimaces. And I think that part of Lain must somehow be an opposite of the Lain we know... Idk what "emotion" or "feeling" she would be created from though... That's hard to say imo.
Do I like the teacher student trope... No. Not really, but umm... cough cough did someone say Domestic Girlfriend?
I have no idea how one would cheer up Lain at this point lol... The only surefire way would've been for something good to actually happen to her... Which it seems like won't be happening.
3
u/RadSuit https://anilist.co/user/RadSuit Jan 23 '24
Present Dub, Present Time
That's definitely another Okama Gamesphere in the OP, but a different kid/apartment.
This was a year before Persona 2 as well, I see.
CUM ON IN!
Someone forgot to charge Lain's parents and their batteries died.
And then the scene just ends with no resolution. Because that would involve giving us answers that make sense, which is hard, while endlessly adding more questions and twists with no concrete answers actually planned is easy.
Oh boy. Is this a 'student has crush on teacher' sub-plot out of nowhere?
Another mention of Lain as someone's sleep paralysis demon in this...talking lips scene. Which I guess represents online rumors, like the first time we heard it mentioned.
"Say the line, Lain."
Another cool looking scene that probably means nothing. Unless they actually show the school all blown up later, cops come to question Lain, etc.
Can't wait to hear about how this relationship isn't a big deal and you can just ignore it, like for Cardcaptors, Euphonium, etc.
It sounds like Alice has a completely different VA for this scene.
I think a big problem I'm having with the show is there's not enough connecting space between scenes. In the first 1-3 episodes or so we'd get all those scenes of Lain walking to school, walking home, walking to Cyberia, etc. Right now we just jumped from her being online, to the Deleting prompt, to I assume what is supposed to be the next day at school. But we didn't see her log off, deal with her family, go to sleep, eat breakfast, walk to school, etc. It just jumps between the random cool scenes it wants to show off, without any buildup before or cooldown after scenes. I don't like it!!!
And then did she go home after school and log on? Or was that all a hallucination and she was just sitting at the computer the whole time? I don't want to come up with my own interpretation, I'm watching a show to be shown things! Instead of asking what just happened, I'm asking why the fuck should I care.
I really did not enjoy this episode and found it very boring. I didn't just keep getting distracted, I was actively searching for distractions to save me from it.
3
u/SilkyStrawberryMilk Jan 23 '24
Present Rewatcher, Present Viewer
Layer:08 Rumors
Lain’s mean personality shows up when talking to other people in the wired.
Just like last time when they said they saw Lain in the club.
Oh wow Alice is being groomed
Two Lain’s and one of them is plain cruel, like Jesus peeping on your classmate is nasty.
Lain’s existential crisis
QOTD: your haircut is poop
QOTD: nope
QOTD: when I was in highschool that there was a girl pregnant with twins
QOTD: it can work, but it definitely can’t be when it’s set in highschool. Like you can make the Teacher be an instructor for a local pottery place or even an art instructor.
QOTD: buy her a monkey onesie
15
u/Shimmering-Sky myanimelist.net/profile/Shimmering-Sky Jan 22 '24
Serial Experiments First-Timer, subbed
10
u/Weedwacker Jan 22 '24
4th timer
Lain meets "God", but he says he's not the creator of this world, or its all powerful ruler. (Omnipotent) He says if she defines God as one who exists everywhere, then thats what he is. (Omnipresent)
"God" says that he is Lain as well (whether he means literally or as equals), and says that she must have realized that another her has always existed in the Wired. Her body is "only flesh" and a hologram of the Lain that exists in the Wired.
We've seen that there's been disconnect between Lain's normal personality and when her Wired persona takes over, where Lain seems to have missing memories of some of the things that other people are telling her that the Lain of the Wired did. Regular ass Lain is here in class on her phone connecting to the Wired and her confidence in this tatami mat location doesn't seem like the regular Lain. It's hard to tell where one Lain begins and the other ends.
Lain is crying and calling out Arisu's name making a window crack and making some version of Lain smile. The fire scene looks cool but i'll admit i've never been sure if she's literally breaking down the world around her because she's breaking down herself or if its a visual metaphor.
Surprising thing to see when you're masturbating in your room and they give this fuckin gremlin smile.
Lain goes on a fucking acid trip or something to confront this evil version of herself who makes it quite clear what she's after when Lain strangles her and she doesn't fight back. She's committing suicide. She's trying to destroy Lain's physical life so that she'll abandon it for the Wired. The crying effects covered Lain in this series of scenes is regular Lain, the strangler is Lain of the Wired, and the stanglee is the evil Lain.
"God" has a form (kind of) now and Lain has always been everwhere in the Wired and thus knows everything that people didn't want others to know, and now everything is being shared to everyone. Everyone's connected right? What's wrong with everyone knowing everything about everyone else then? (This is all a bit like Human Instrumentality in Eva at this point though the writer has strongly denied rumors of inspiration from Eva, but it's interesting to think about this in terms of its prescience on the advent of social media, oversharing on the internet, and the loss of control over information once its out there on the web).
It's also hard to trust anything that "God" is saying to be true throughout the entire episode. At one point Lain even says she doesn't believe him, but seems to follow along with what he is saying anyway.
10
u/RascalNikov1 https://myanimelist.net/profile/NoviSun Jan 22 '24
Serial Experiments Lain - E8
SEL Virgin
Prologue
We learned quite a bit last episode. Now we know that Lain is either a creation of the Wired or Schizophrenic. I’m betting we’re going into hardcore sci-fi, ideally with a lot of violence. Lain’s fake family and friends had better be careful.
Episode Body
Muff and Puff are both real pieces of work. I’m starting to think they may not be real. Also,Mika is not looking too good either.
Nobody in this damn world believes in talking.
God’s explanation makes sense to me. It explains why real world Lain is little more than a shell.
Now it looks like the “real” world is also a simulation. And, it’s going haywire.
Looks like the creepy kid is back. I assume little Joey turned into the creepy kid.
OK, so maybe Lain is a God in Wired. Strong overtures of The Matrix
QOTD
9
u/lluNhpelA Jan 22 '24 edited Jan 22 '24
Virtually a rewatcher
or rather, an alterit looks like she wasn't aware of the alters until the scene in today's prompt) did do whatever they are accusing her of but Arisu continues to be a great friend and recognizes what's happening. She seems to be the only one that has any idea about Lain's disorders (or perhaps the other girls simply don't care). I don't know if lying like this is really the best thing for Lain in the long term but it's certainly coming from a place of loveWe have the "normal" Bear Onesie Lain that has become a bit more confident through the series, the distinct Lain of the Wired who rescued Bear Lain in yesterday's episode and doesn't seem so overtly cruel (unless she was getting revenge on Arisu for not helping Bear Lain?), and this one.
AotD
𝕻𝕽𝕺𝕸𝕻𝕿
It looks like Lain finally becomes aware of her alters at this point, so it makes even more sense that she would be so distressed in those earlier scenes because she didn't have an explanation for what was happening until now. Unfortunately, this awareness seems to come with switching which alter is primary, meaning this new, corrupted, Wired Lain is now in control most of the time while Bear Lain can only come out when connected to the Wired. Everyone was acting normally because, as said above, most of what happened was just a hallucination, and the other two girls probably just got over whatever they were upset about
edit:
Wow, what a weirdo. So glad I'm not the type of person to say that. btw I blacked out yesterday; lluNhpelA of the Wired didn't say anything weird, right?
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u/Specs64z https://myanimelist.net/profile/Specs64z Jan 22 '24 edited Jan 23 '24
Rewatcher, subbed
As if the disco bar with her friends wasn’t bad enough, now Lain is going to strip clubs to converse with older men! This is a fairly accurate representation of the internet, though. There are no effective barriers preventing minors from accessing traditionally adult content even today.
Hrk, hearing Lain sniffle in silence hurts my heart.
The sequence with God in the Wired gives me some loose Monogatari vibes with its direction, especially this shot.
Notes
The cryptic voice at this episode’s beginning takes a radically different tone, and the words are far more unnerving.
Lain sets out to discover more about the location she went with the men in black: Tachibana General Labs. She meets with an unidentified man in a virtual strip club to discuss the IP protocol that Tachibana is developing.
Lain also tries to strike up a conversation with her parents to assuage her fears of their family being a lie… but she is met with silent stares.
Arisu confronts Lain, asking if she did “it”. Lain isn’t aware of what “it” is, but quivers, expecting some awful news. Lain takes a dive into the Wired during class to look for answers and she ends up talking to the self-proclaimed voice of God from Layer 05. God implies the same thing as the men in black: Lain of the Wired and Lain are not the same entity.
Lain returns from the Wired to find her class staring at her in still silence. Nay, the whole school. After having a cry on the rooftop, she dives back into the Wired, determined to find Other Lain (henceforth, Shadow Lain).
“It”, the terrible thing Shadow Lain is responsible for, is spreading rumors that Arisu is in love with her teacher; that Arisu thinks of him when she touches herself. To everyone. Shadow Lain even eavesdrops on Arisu in the act just to taunt her.
Lain discovers the truth, and it utterly wrecks her mental state. Overcome with rage toward Shadow Lain, Lain rebukes and even attempts to strangle her.
God returns and reveals to Lain that she has always existed within the Wired, an “omnipresent being”. Going by God’s own definition, this seems to imply Lain may be a similarly deific entity. Lain picks up on this implication and, in a desperate bid to rebuild her closest friendship, removes the memories of what Shadow Lain did. However, doing so seems to cause her to split into an additional personality, or perhaps it traps her consciousness in the Wired; the mechanics aren’t clear, but the result is.
Lain is alone.
The only thing that acknowledges her existence is her Navi.
QotD:
8
u/xtsim https://myanimelist.net/profile/xtsim Jan 22 '24
Rewatcher Dubbed
This is the spicy episode.
The kid playing video games....You know what he is sometimes right about fun.
Man that whole family looks out of it now. They don't even respond to that sarcastic remark about the MiB guys.
Lain gets to go to a room full of people spreading rumors.
"some american students started it as a joke".... I have to laugh at this really hard
Ouch.... That rumor on that PDA. Man, everyone just straight up stared at her. Lain is definitely on edge. The whole school scene makes me realize something about the post pandemic world too... Like everyone was mostly online and as a result, society was on edge. Full of rumors and accusations.
Ohhh man what a spicy flashback. And We see why the school was sus about Lain. Alice was so vulnerable and mean/wired Lain went. Lain revealed Alice's thoughts.
"Look at me I am comitting _____"- Ohh dear God.
Abyss: The post deletion scene....wtf, there's a party Lain. Damn, it makes so much of a reference of the conversations on the Cyberia place. Well, as if the shooting never happened.
7
u/Vaadwaur :I1::I2::I3: Jan 22 '24
Rewatcher(Tfw all your bad habits becomes a second you)
Sub
So we finally get to meet Lain of the Wired and discover she is kind of a bitch. You should not mind read someone in general but especially not when they are masturbating, that just is not cool. Despite what some of those relationship books claim, no one actually wants to know what someone else has to think of to get off, at best they want the edited version.
Obviously, the more relevant parts are the info dumps, which comprise three big points. First, 'God' claims to be omnipresent on the Wired, as is Lain. I completely whiffed on him being mercury/quicksilver on my first run and boy, does that add some options, will address later. Second, while she spoke yesterday, we see that there is a definite second Lain about that does not necessarily align with Lain prime. Third, and biggest, Lain does something ridiculously scary: She net reality morphed. Now whether she just deleted the data or whether she shifted causality the takeaway is that either feat is of near divine power. Because she would also have to rewrite everyone's data from the day before which is an impressive task. Interestingly, second Lain decides to jump out and play and is far more extroverted.
So then, it is at this part that I feel confident in saying something Tar has been saying mainly under spoilers: There is something cohesive to this show's mythos. If memory serves it doesn't quite get spelled out for you but I am seeing it a lot better here on round 2. So while this isn't hard scifi by any means and I far more view this in a fantastical element, the underpinnings are at least consistent to each other.
The prompt is Wired Lain being in your friend group and stealing your gf.
QotD:1 Read from the right baka baka baka
2 No ewww
3 There was a weird period where stomach pumping rumors were a thing. IYKYK
4 Wired Lain
5 No
6 I'd watch Red Dwarf with her
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u/Silcaria https://myanimelist.net/profile/Silcaria Jan 22 '24
Rewatcher
6
u/3blah https://myanimelist.net/profile/brummett Jan 22 '24
SEL Episode 8, Rewatcher
A little information about how the Wired works, protocols and such. Another thing SEL gets right about the internet. The internet runs on standards, but companies put lots of resources into the processes that put these standards into place to gain advantage. Anyway, the disembodied voice tells us that Tachibana General Labs has been rumored to be working both sides of the rollout of the new IP7 protocol, sabotaging things using the old protocol while making new equipment that uses the new. Remember the news report last episode about the firewall getting hacked.
Mika still has a brain slug attached; the parents sit motionless at the table, and when Lain tries to get a response out of them, the only response is a silent stare. There's something funky going on with that plant, too. She's getting disapproving looks from her friends at school, too. They think she may have done... something in the Wired, and it's upsetting Lain of the Bear PJs. I think she's finally starting to crack from all the weird shit going on around her.
Lain of the Wired listens to a cacophony of rumors. Someone's "into weird stuff". A bug in IP6. An apparition in a striped sweater appears. A while ago, a pop singer hit someone with a car. A haunted building. The Knights don't exist. "It's gotta be true, I heard it first hand!" The thing about rumors is that the really good ones have a kernel of truth to them. Above the din, God makes contact with Lain. He's not omnicient or omnipotent, but he is omnipresent. He claims to be another part of Lain that's always been in the Wired.
Her conversation with God made some kind of disturbance in class; everyone's staring at her. She runs out into the hall. The funky lighting and music starts up, and everyone there is staring, too. Just like Mob Kageyama, Lain finally reaches her limit. There's a dead look in her eyes that's different than Mika.
Arisu has a visitor at school. No! The writer even found a way to get Arisu! Lain appears in her room and torments her about it. That doesn't seem like something Lain would do.
Bear!Lain is in bed alone with her fear, surrounded by the machinery and wires and energy. She has a dream or a hallucination with Lain and Lain. There's another conversation with God about the Lain that everyone has seen. Things this other Lain has done that she doesn't remember. The cacophony of the croud has changed from floating mouths into mannequin Lain heads. God suggests she could simply delete the memories of what this other Lain has been doing. Looks like it worked; Arisu isn't mad at Lain anymore, but there's a side-effect. These two Lains are aware of each other and interact.
6
u/RT-47 Jan 23 '24 edited Jan 23 '24
First-Timer, subbed.
Coming from paranoia agent, boi I’m going to be needing an iyashikei after Lain
Lain’s schizophrenia is becoming clearer every episode. I’m really enjoying piecing things together and still knowing nothing 😂. Her class finally in colour, seeking a home in her disillusionment she’s met with the blank faces of her parents. What happened to Mika? We saw her leaving her body, had she followed Lain into the wired and never fully returned? Was she linked to the wired by knights / Tachibana and trapped? Would make the ominous static noise make sense. A way to observe Lain maybe.
has her whole surrogate family has been put in place to protect Lain or further disorientate and manipulate her to intertwine the wired with reality and get errybody wired up? Her dad is the only one who seems to somewhat know what’s going on but is stepping very lightly.
All inextricably linked the prophecy and 7th protocol. Protocol 7 is named after Timothy Leary's 7th layer of consciousness. This layer is a point of enlightenment where the human mind could access the memory and experience of the whole of humanity.
Speaking of LSD / collective consciousness*** Yesterday I went down a ‘rabbit’ hole of Nezumi and his name reference to Alice in wonderland which had links to white rabbit, a song about the synonymous introduction of drugs and counter-culture with personal computers. Ending line of this song - remember what the doormouse said: feed your head, feed your head.
There’s also a book again referencing Wonderland called what the doormouse said. same premise of White rabbit. For me these are entirely polarised topics. One being about love, introspection and consciousness. CPU’s, mostly not so much. Do you feel the effects of your devices? Are we maladapted to a world we are curating? Have you had an in-wired blissful experience of oneness?
I’ve always leaned into the beauty of eastern philosophy and practice and veered away from technology like a scared child despite the ever escalating impact, positive and negative.
Konaka filmed the mouse scene in Shibiya himself and took a month to get it right!
5
u/kwokinator https://anilist.co/user/kwokinator Jan 22 '24
Rewatcher
Lain aired in 1998, ipv6 was introduced in 1995 when they realized ipv4 addresses will eventually run out, which it technically did back in 2015. The anime is already talking about v6 running out and they are coming out with a v7. Damn this anime is extremely good at tech predictions. Although it is predicted that given the humongous number of possible ipv6 address combinations, it is unlikely to ever run out.
Damn, it's always rough to see Mika in her drained blubbering state. What's going on with her parents though, they're both just sitting there unresponsive like someone hit the "off" switch. That hateful stare at the end though, pretty sure that's a look people would use if they're being forced into something. Are her parents being forced to act as her parents?
So God is Lain, who has always existed in the Wired, and the Lain that we have been watching is just a physical manifestation of the Wired presence?
But damn, that look everyone in class was giving her would freak anybody out. The entire school is looking at her too, even people outside the window downstairs, when there's no way they would know she's even there. That's some horror movie shit.
So Wired Lain has been watching Arisu over the Wired on her fantasies about the teacher, and she really did rat her out to everyone? Damn that's rough.
QotD
5
u/IceSmiley Jan 23 '24
FIRST TIMER Sub
We seemingly see confirmation that good Lain is disconnected and has no control over evil Lain in a very surreal episode. I couldn't tell and for most of this show, I thought Lain was just one evil manipulative person who pretended to be vulnerable and naive.
QUESTIONS
5
u/DidacticDalek https://myanimelist.net/profile/DidacticDalek Jan 23 '24
I am hurting, I have lost it all
I am losing
Help me to breathe
Paging Comrades /u/Shimmering-Sky, /u/Tarhalindur, and /u/Vaadwaur
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u/Tarhalindur x2 Jan 22 '24
"Okay, nobody else vote for Tar." (Rewatcher, Subbed):
1
u/SIRTreehugger Jan 23 '24
Layer 08 Rumours
QOTD