Newbie Questions...

Genesis · 25-01-2002, 04:08 AM

Hiya's,

I got the 1st DVD to see what Lain was like and to me (an EVA fanatic) it was pretty confusing. First time i watched eps 1-4 i found some of it to be very dark and disturbing even. But yeah i watched it thru again and i've begun to understand it a bit more but here are some questions, spoilers r welcome...

1. What's with the red blotches in all the shadows everywhere?

2. Why was that little girl with the toy dog chasing those guys around, then later appears to Lain's classmates?

3. I've heard (and now assume) that Lain has a virtual family, so why do we see Lain's sister coming home by herself interacting with other people? (i.e the Men in Black when she comes home from school)

So those r just a few things i failed to work out. It's very probable that i'll get the rest of the series. Loved it 2nd time through. The opening theme is cool also!

Thanx,

heart havok · 25-01-2002, 04:45 PM

sorry, SPOILERS are not welcome in the Serial Experiments Lain forum. if you want to spoil things for yourself, then there are previous discussions concerning your questions that you could find all on your own.

Drizzten · 25-01-2002, 08:07 PM

I agree with heart havok. However, since you don't care about spoilers, I'll answer things...somewhat. Buy the rest of the series! If you aren't complaining after watching the first episodes, then I'm fairly certain you'll really enjoy the rest.

Quote:

Asks Genesis:
I got the 1st DVD to see what Lain was like and to me (an EVA fanatic) it was pretty confusing. First time i watched eps 1-4 i found some of it to be very dark and disturbing even. But yeah i watched it thru again and i've begun to understand it a bit more but here are some questions, spoilers r welcome...
I must say here that it's futile to understand this anime without watching it all the way through. It is so much more involving, intricate, and amazing when you discover it on your own, and then come back here to ask questions. But, if you insist...

*****SPOILERS FROM HERE ON OUT******

1. What's with the red blotches in all the shadows everywhere?
I don't know.

Search this forum for the word "shadow" and you'll find the best theories we have, which are pretty shallow. Not that they have to mean anything, but I believe they do. I just can't make the connection yet. The splotches are not always red, they are blue at times as well. And they happen almost with out exception only around Lain's house.

2. Why was that little girl with the toy dog chasing those guys around, then later appears to Lain's classmates?
They are playing a game, and unfortunately for the classmates, they lost. It's an indication of the breakdown between reality and the Wired.

3. I've heard (and now assume) that Lain has a virtual family, so why do we see Lain's sister coming home by herself interacting with other people? (i.e the Men in Black when she comes home from school)
You heard right, but not in the sense you think of. No more from me on that. Arisu (aka Alice) is as normal as you and I. Things change as the series moves along.

MP2100 · 26-01-2002, 03:23 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Genesis

3. I've heard (and now assume) that Lain has a virtual family, so why do we see Lain's sister coming home by herself interacting with other people? (i.e the Men in Black when she comes home from school)

***********spoiler*************

this is one of my problems.
Masami Eiri said that he gave Lain flesh so...........

1/ did Eiri also "make" the family flesh
OR
2/ use real ppl to act like her family

did Eiri HAVE the power to make "flesh"
OR
did he just say that to Lain to fool Lain into thinking he was that powerful, meaning Lain WAS a real person to begin with ???

this seems to be a big question for me to help clarify the series

Seventh Child · 26-01-2002, 09:34 AM

*spoiler*
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Somehow I feel that Mika is different from the rest of Lain's "family". There was quite a lot of focus on her in one of the eps (ep 5, I think it was), and near the end, she seemed to be losing it, further enforcing the breakdown of the line between reality and the Wired.

Shale · 26-01-2002, 12:51 PM

My thoughts on Mika's breakdown -

SPOILERS, OF COURSE
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Regardless of who created them (Eiri or Lain), Lain's family was created by a being of the Wired because Lain needed a family. Mika didn't know this, but realized it in layer 5, when the barrier between reality and the Wired broke down enough for her to begin seeing visions not unlike Lain's own - probably because, like Lain, she exists in both the Wired and the real world. With enough hallucinatory insight, Mika realizes why she exists, and the shock is too much for her mind.

That's my opinion, anyway.

iwakura · 27-01-2002, 11:39 AM

re: 1. What's with the red blotches in all the shadows everywhere?

I believe they represent that the seperation between the real world and the wired is breaking down.

re: Masami Eiri said
He said alot of things. Most of them were not true... He seemed to actually believe in some of them to massage his ego. There are multiple answers that work on these. Lain may have been created, she may have always been, but just became noticable when we had the prequisite data infrastructure or some kind of blend of these.

Drizzten · 28-01-2002, 12:54 AM

***SPOILERS***

Quote:

Asks MP2100:
this is one of my problems.
Masami Eiri said that he gave Lain flesh so...........

1/ did Eiri also "make" the family flesh
OR
2/ use real ppl to act like her family

did Eiri HAVE the power to make "flesh"
OR
did he just say that to Lain to fool Lain into thinking he was that powerful, meaning Lain WAS a real person to begin with ???

While I'm still undecided as to how Lain came into existence, I don't think Eiri gave her flesh. He only had power because people believed in him, because Lain believed in his abstract form.

MP2100 · 28-01-2002, 06:28 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Drizzten
***SPOILERS***

While I'm still undecided as to how Lain came into existence, I don't think Eiri gave her flesh. He only had power because people believed in him, because Lain believed in his abstract form.

that's what i think, but to continue on from that point, do you think "god" used eiri, like a precursor (without him knowing) to bring lain into the wired ??

heart havok · 28-01-2002, 06:42 AM

::deletes you all::