MovieChat Forums > Serial Experiments Lain (1999) Discussion > The Origin/Nature of Lain

The Origin/Nature of Lain

posted 18 years ago by joshua-a-mcknight
17 replies | jump to latest

DEFINITE SPOILERS HERE

So after a lot of watching and pondering I've come up with my own running theory on the origin and nature of Lain, and I'd like to post it to help others understand/appreciate SE:Lain and especially to get others to post their own ideas.

DEFINITE SPOILERS HERE

There are basically 3 Lains, 2 of which are real.

1st Lain) A normal, shy, somewhat cute, love-starved 13 year-old girl.

2nd Lain) An entity that has existed since the beginning of the Wired (the Internet), that exists within the Wired World and the body of Lain Iwakura, and that is omnipresent, omniscient, and omnipotent within the Wired.

3rd Lain) A Lain that acts completely opposite of the 1st Lain, and that is spotted in Cyberia.

ORIGINS OF LAINS

OK, so let's go with the simple one first

3RD LAIN (Cyberia Lain) This Lain was created by the Knights using sound in Cyberia (specifically Track 44) to alter the sub-concious and memories of those inside the club. Thus this Lain doesn't actually exist, but is a fiction written into the minds of the clubbers of Cyberia.

A little more interesting than the origin of this Lain is its purpose. The Knights, who worshipped and served Masami Eri in the Wired as their God, were trying to help Eri to get the real Lain (1st Lain) to commit suicide, give up her body, and transfer over to the Wired World completely. I will not discuss the reason for this at present. Suffice it to say that as time went on, the 1st Lain becomes more and more confused about her identity, and eventually Eri uses the master argument that she is merely a hologram of the real Lain (he alludes to Lain 2) to tempt her to serve him and come over to The Wired. Logically this argument is much more convincing because of this "other Lain" that has appeared in Cyberia, in the Real World, whereas the phenomenon of another Lain that appeared only in the Wired could easily be a hoax.

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And now come the toughies....

Still, though, easiest first...

1ST LAIN) This is Lain Iwakura, 13 years old, eigth grade student, friend of Alice, Reika, and Juri, wearer of bear-suits, owner of stuffed animals, shy, somewhat cute, and love-starved. She is real. She has a physical body. She has normal 13 year-old feelings and reactions towards what's going on around her (and inside of her). This is the Lain that we meet at the beginning and whose life, progress, and personal development we follow throughout the show. This is the only Lain that deserves to be called Lain with a capital L.

Her origin, as we begin to discover, is very mysterious. We know that her parents, at least, are imposters in a kind of forced adoption of Lain. Masami Eri would have her believe that he created her, and that she is nothing more than a hologram, a mere shell, of the 2nd lain, the Wired lain. He tells her that she is software, an application, an executable program, the means of uniting the Wired with the Real World.

I think that the show demonstrates sufficiently that some of Eri's claims are true, but laced with lies as well. First of all, she WAS created by Eri. How this came to pass, I believe, was artificially, whether using a human egg cell, or stem cells, or what have you. At one point towards the end of the show there appears briefly the text "Tachibana General Labs reports to have mapped the human genome." Eri worked for Tachibana, used it to create the 7th-gen protocol, and later was the head of a conspiracy inside the same to monitor and further manipulate Lain. I think that Eri used the mapped human genome to create Lain. He called her a homonculus, a collection of artificial ribosomes. Perhaps she was a test-tube baby. She could also have been artificially created inside the womb of the fake Iwakura mother, although I find that less likely because I think she would have more of a mother's connection and love with Lain if that were the case. In any case, she was created, in one sense or another, by Eri. He created her as the physical manifestation of the Wired lain, lain 2. She was born with the lain 2 in her head, along with all its powers. How he did this still remains a mystery to me, and I think it will always remain so. I believe that Lain's lock of hair tied up with string in the form of an X is symbolism that indicates Lain's uniqueness from the normal people, and could apply to her having been artificially created.

(* important note * ) The fact that Lain and lain 2 co-exist within the same organism is crucial to understanding the series, at least from my perspective. There is one big evidence supporting this view and many other small ones that I won't post right now. The big one involves layer 2 (or 3?), when Mika over-hears Lain talking to her Navi. She walks in and sees Lain in her bear suit, says something important that we don't realize is important at first, closes the door, and then says that Lain will be late again. That somethings important is: (rephrased) 'I thought you were talking to your imiginary friend again... or something like that...'. It is definitely sure that Lain and Mika grew up together and apparently Lain often spoke to an "imaginary" friend. There are no coincidences in this. It must be that second lain that only she could hear or understand, obvoiusly, because she dwelt within her all along. It is the same being that she converses with at the end of the show when she has erased herself from everyone's memory.

What Masami Eri did not predict, however, is that this artificial Lain would grow and be just like a normal little girl. Apparently it wasn't possible for him to just create a shell, a robot, a true homonculus, but upon creating Lain she also gained/received/was granted (won't go into this here, either) her consciousness/identity/self/lifespark/whatevayacallit. So in essence Eri set out to create a human robot/program to do his bidding, but what he got was a little girl with a little girl mind and with little girl maturity and understanding. Of course, she did still have lain 2 in there as well, but Lain (Lain 1) was apparently dominant. I think that Eri probably set up Lain's fake family only after discovering this and realizing that she could not serve him without the passage of time, her maturing, and lots of manipulation.

Thus, Lain was born. The little, VERY, VERY, VERY mis-understood girl who had the power inside her to unite the Wired with the Real World, travel anywhere she pleases, know anything she pleases, and do anything she pleases to do, without even knowing it. With time she matures, discovers Eri, his lies and half-truths, and begins to see, feel, and embrace the latent powers she has through lain 2. However, she decides that that is not the right thing, and slowly gains control of lain 2, learning self control on a whole new level.

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Well its very late. I've thoroughly enjoyed this but i'm afraid the last part, the origins of LAIN 2, must wait for another post...

Hope you enjoy and PLEASE, any ideas, discussion, theories, etc. are wanted in this thread and will be very much appreciated. Thanks!

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Random TV Reporter - "Let's all love Lain! Love Lain, Love Lain, Love Lain, Love Lain, Love Lain..."

[–] wilchan 18 years ago

nice analysis, waiting for your next post ^.~

[–] 18 years ago

[deleted]

[–] Scarlet_Illuminati 18 years ago

Bump...

"Two weeks ago, I said I was gonna be here in two weeks and that was two weeks ago."

[–] goyaboy-1 18 years ago

This goes a long way at an explanation that's as good as any, but still emphasizes mind/consciousness/whatever over the physicality of body which is also very important, and, I would argue, is what ultimately "defeats" Eiri. After all, Eiri is trying to assert that bodies don't matter, but bodies do matter (pun intended). He has given up on bodies and ends up more or less imploding when he tries to conjure one for himself. And it's Lain's relationship with Alice (who is key is the climatic struggles with Eiri) that brings about both a discovery of this truth in the face of Eiri's lies and a discovery of bonds of love born of hearts AND bodies. The short live-action "devices" between episodes which features body parts of Lain's voice actress underscore this importance of physical bodies as interfaces (devices) through which the world is known and through which people interact.

[–] joshua-a-mcknight 18 years ago

Yes. Certainly one of the major 'morals' (as you might put it) of SE:Lain is exactly as you have said: the importance of our physical selves. However my post addresses the origin/nature of Lain as a character within the context of the series, and further analysis of the series is beyond that scope. I definitely have not ever attempted a full-blown analysis of SE: Lain and if that ever happens it will not be posted here under 'The Origin/Nature of Lain.'

If anyone would like to address other topics I suggest that you do so in another thread with another title. Otherwise this thread will be bogged down with somewhat-connected-yet-not-exactly-relevant posts.

I would extremely like it, however, if someone were to post their own theories and/or ideas about this topic (the origins of Lain and her nature)... especially those that shed more light than I have done or that give a different view. I am sure that my 'explanation' is ok as far as an explanation given by one twenty-one year old can be, but it is only one explanation and hardly perfect. The whole point of starting a discussion like this is to refine our viewpoints to acheive a more complete and correct understanding.

[–] 18 years ago

[deleted]

[–] stevie_y2004 18 years ago

For the most part I agree with your post. There is one thing I think is not quite right though. I don't think we see the true Lain, the "living" Lain in the show until near the very end. Why? Because from what I can understand and know from the video game is that the Lain in the video game is the first Lain. The Lain we see in the show is what happens after the games completion.

Also there are a few bits of infirmation scattered about other forms of media. The Manga, where she is even younger and talks to Masami Eri for the first time (well it isn't the first time, but since she couldn't remember it previously it is considered the first). Also in a magazine where it shows clips of the last show and has little subtitles and notes underneath it. In the final scene it says something about her remembering being there before, she doesn't remember it with her mind but with all of her senses.

[–] joshua-a-mcknight 18 years ago

I've never played the video game unfortunately :(. If you explained a bit more about what you mean I'd appreciate it, especially because the idea that the real Lain isn't in the show until near the end seems very strange and unlikely to me.

About the Manga - is that the same as the manga in the artbook? If so I have it but its still in Japanese :P. Please, explain more!

[–] stevie_y2004 17 years ago

I don't want to ruin the end of the game so here's a youtube link with a montage of it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=boPR-ZGtKME

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UkpvESrgfKA

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b_9ta3pC4w8&NR

The first two are AMV's but it gives you a very good idea of what the game is about and what happens. Personally I suggest looking at the second one if you want a more indepth view on it.

The third one is actual gameplay but if you don't understand Japanese I don't know how much it will help so just follow the pictures like I have been.

The entire game is pretty much about finding out what had happened to Lain. You find out her memories. This should explain my theory.

Also I outlined it a bit on gameFaqs.

http://boards.gamefaqs.com/gfaqs/genmessage.php?board=574938&topic=12193418

Myself and others have tried to peice together the connections between the two.

Watching the show again I feel that the Lain in the Anime and Lain in the show are connected. The Lain that is shown in the begining, the gentle, sweet Lain is her good side, her innocent side. The "Evil" Lain is her dark side. In the second last episode of the show it is said how Lain was spread across the net and was put together by him (Eri something....).

I feel that they are fragments of who the origonal Lain was for the Lain in the game is much darker than the one in the show. And in the manga she is much more innocent.

Hope this helps

[–] joshua-a-mcknight 17 years ago

So I've done some reading/watching, and found out some about the game...

Turns out the game's story was actually written before the show's. Problem is, the Lain of the game cannot possibly exist within the universe of the show, because she is supposed to be an older, teenage Lain. How could Lain have the life and story depicted in the game if she deleted herself from everyone's memory and exists only within the wired?

From this and many, many other descrepancies I get the feeling that in the end the two, while they might be loosely connected, cannot really be seen as cohesive. I've abandoned the notion that the games shed light on what the show's characters and story are about... the show is its own work - a finished, coherent, and brilliant one - and imo it is to be understood apart from anything else (except perhaps the manga i found in my lain artbook).

The game stands apart, and while the characters and story are superficially very similar, in reality they are very very different. In fact, the differences are downright irreconcilable.

[–] demikain 17 years ago

"Thus this Lain doesn't actually exist, but is a fiction written into the minds of the clubbers of Cyberia."

Not entirely sure about this. This Lain is supposed to be the loud, extrovert Lain, right? Don't we also see her later on, when she laughs in Arisu's room about spreading rumours on the Wired?

I got the impression that Lain of the Wired was more similar to the real life Lain, whereas the Lain created by the Knights was the one that Taro wanted to date, the one that JJ wanted to rave again with. This Lain seems like the one who talked about Arisu playing with herself while thinking about the teacher, but it didn't happen in Cyberia and there was no Track 44.

I'm probably just getting confused (it's a confusing subject!) but this is what I got from it. Great analysis though, really helped my understanding.

[–] joshua-a-mcknight 16 years ago

Here I think you've hit on something related to the Wired Lain, or Lain 2... Remember, this is the Lain that is so antagonistic towards the real Lain, and whom the real Lain tries to strangle in one scene. I'm pretty sure this is the lain that appears in Arisu's room and has been causing so much havoc all along...

It's been quite a while since I last saw the series (about 6 months) and I think I'll be watching it again... who knows, maybe I'll complete my post. ;)

[–] BobFlame 15 years ago

The Wired Lain is the sexualized ,independent , somewhat apathetic Lain.Other than the "goddess" Lain , I don`t count the copies.The reason being the three main Lains make a perfect trinity:
The shy , innocent , tomboyish Lain of The Real World represents The Ego.
The sexualized , independent , somewhat apathetic Lain of The Wired & Cyberia represents The Id.
The "goddess" Lain of The Wired represents The Superego.
I`m counting the "goddess"Lain as she was the only of Eiri`s copies to actually represent a part of the real Lain`s psyche rather than just being in the heads of other "people".Also , remember at this point , The Wired/Cyberia Lain was basically a "goddess" , as well , at least in the sense of being omnipresent & virtually all-powerful.Ya see , three real Lains & a bunch o` copies.

[–] stevie_y2004 17 years ago

Upon actually playing the game I do not believe that they are the same Lain as in....same physical Lain. It may make sense if she had been reborn or just simply "found". I had played the game and how I see this is that the Lain you control throughout the game is "a" Lain of the Wired trying to figure out what had happened to the real Lain. If you had watched the cutscenes you have seen what had happened to the real Lain in the game.

Now where I draw the connections are from the age gap. The Lain in the game movies ranges from young to slightly younger than the Lain in the TV show. The Lain that you control in the game is older (She looks around 15 or 16). The Lain in the TV show is 13 if I remember correctly.

When reading interviews from the directors, writers, etc they explained how they wanted to tell the story of Lain through different mediums. The manga shows her first meeting with "God", the backflashes in the game shows her young years, the Lain you control in the game is an older Lain. The Lain in the TV show I feel has a number of possiblities.

The Lain in the TV show could have been Lain "reborn". She was a depressed but brilliant girl in the game who was struggling with many things but something was special about her. How she is "reborn" is where my theory begins to fall. She could have been reborn from a metaphysical sense as in what the "acting God" (I think his name was Masami Eiri was trying to acheive from her killing herself. Another could be that the "wired" is somehow connected (or is) "heaven" and she was found through a gateway that was created to connect the wired to the collective unconscious.

My theory is backed SLIGHTLY by the TV show in a scene that stays vivid in my mind. The kid who kisses her (I think his name was Taro?) makes a comment after finding something on the wired. The comment was something along the lines of "If what I found is true, I kissed an angel". If this is a litteral or metaphoric statement I need to watch the series a few more times to learn his character more but he seems like someone who is very straight to the point. The game, seeing as how I do not speak japanese and only understand the basic basics of it does not back up my theory much unless I try to think about it from a sideways angle.

All in all this is just my theory, I'd like to think that there is one Lain but she had been fragmented. The Lain in the TV show and half of the game was very sweet and innocent confused child. Where as the Lain in the Wired and the latter half of the game seemed cold and angry.

The possibility of the Lain from the Manga, TV series and video game all being the same is very miniscule I will admit. The most likely explanation is that the game is just a retelling of her story. The only difference is that the show is present tense where as the game is past tense but I suppose in the grand scheme of things that does not matter much.

I appologize for the length of text given the small amount of new information I have written I will try to clean this up when I am not swamped with work.

[–] joshua-a-mcknight 16 years ago

I appreciate your post - and don't worry - you shouldn't feel long-winded.

I agree that the Lains spanning the manga, videogames, and show are all related in some author's mind and history somewhere, but as a finished whole I think we have to keep them distinct. I prefer to think of SE:Lain the television show as its own cohesive work.

About Taro... it's important to remember that Taro, while not being a full-fledged member of the Knights, was certainly some kind of acolyte. He adored them, and it was through him that the Knights implanted the track at Cyberia in the first place, which is why Lain confronts him about it. Within this context, it makes sense to me that he would say "I just kissed an angel!" because he's aware, as the Knights are, of the Wired Lain (lain 2), and associates her with what Eri has undoubtedly taught them... that she is the goddess of the wired and extremely powerful.

[–] 16 years ago

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[–] boyd-colin 12 years ago

>>She was born with the lain 2 in her head, along with all its powers. How he did this still remains a mystery to me, and I think it will always remain so.<<

I think that's what the shuman resonance was about. A way to directly link human minds to the Wired. And Lain was the first such link. And that's how he mind in the Wired, and her mind in RL Lain would be synchronized.