Serial Experiments Lain — Episodes, Where to Watch & Characters

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Watch & episode guide

Episodes

#1Weird13 year old Lain Iwakura is a shy, quiet schoolgirl who pretty much kept to herself. Then one day, she receives an email from a schoolmate who just committed suicide. Instead of being horrified, she is curious. Soon, she…1998-07-06 · 23m

#2GirlsWhile out at The Cyberia, Alice, Julie and Reika are surprised to see a girl that looks remarkably like Lain toss a man. However, this girl's personality is exactly opposite from the Lain they know. Curious, Alice…1998-07-13 · 23m

#3PsycheThe events from Cyberia make the girls minor celebrities in their class. But for Lain, more mysterious events continue to occur. She receives a Psyche chip from a mysterious benefactor, strange Men In Black are following…1998-07-20 · 23m

#4ReligionA disturbing net game called PHANTOMa has deadly consequences for its players. As Lain investigates the deaths, her growing interest in the WIRED has her Father, Mika and Alice concerned.1998-07-27 · 23m

#5DistortionLain recieves cryptic messages about existence, God and a coming prophecy. While she ponders the meaning of this, Mika is about to start a very strange day. While on her way to school, she sees Lain in the middle of…1998-08-03 · 23m

#6KidsYoung children are acting strangely, arms outstretched and silently staring at the sky. A shocking vision suddenly appears in the skies; it looks like Lain! Determined to get to the bottom of this, Lain's investigations…1998-08-10 · 23m

#7SocietyAs the Knights activities make the evening news, a strange man named Nazumi wanders the city with machines strapped to his body. People on the WIRED are asking: ""Who is Lain"". Meanwhile, the two MIB agents take Lain to…1998-08-17 · 23m

#8RumorsStill shaken by the information she received from the Men In Black, Lain discovers that she is being blamed for spreading an ugly rumor in the WIRED. Is what the MIB said is true; is she another person in the WIRED? Or…1998-08-24 · 23m

#9ProtocolA documentary about Roswell gives Lain some valuable information about the pioneers of the WIRED. Later, at the Cyberia, J.J. tells Lain that she left something the day before and hands her an envelop with the Knight's…1998-08-31 · 23m

#10LoveLain struggles with her identity. Is she a human being, or just a hologram? And are the Knights responsible for the Evil Lain? Lain decides to deal with the Knights once and for all.1998-09-07 · 23m

#11InfornographyAlone and frightened, Lain immerses herself in the WIRED, processing the events of the past few weeks and searching for the truth of who she is.1998-09-14 · 23m

#12LandscapeTroubled by what she saw, Alice decides to visit Lain at home and find out what is going on. Meanwhile, the two MIB agents receive a terrible shock and Eiri reveals his real motive for removing the barrier between the…1998-09-21 · 23m

#13EgoThe world is crumbling, people are dying and Alice's sanity is threatened. To save humanity, there is only one thing Lain can do; she must make the ultimate personal sacrifice.1998-09-28 · 23m

Streaming availability via the Kitsu catalog. AnimeVerse does not host video: the Watch button opens the official rights-holder's platform, where a subscription may be required.

Quick facts

Episodes13

Seasons1

StatusFinished

Aired1998

Japanese title: シリアルエクスペリメンツレイン

Synopsis

Lain Iwakura, an awkward and introverted fourteen-year-old, is one of the many girls from her school to receive a disturbing email from her classmate Chisa Yomoda—the very same Chisa who recently committed suicide. Lain has neither the desire nor the experience to handle even basic technology; yet, when the technophobe opens the email, it leads her straight into the Wired, a virtual world of communication networks similar to what we know as the internet. Lain's life is turned upside down as she begins to encounter cryptic mysteries one after another. Strange men called the Men in Black begin to appear wherever she goes, asking her questions and somehow knowing more about her than even she herself knows. With the boundaries between reality and cyberspace rapidly blurring, Lain is plunged into more surreal and bizarre events where identity, consciousness, and perception are concepts that take on new meanings. Written by Chiaki J. Konaka, whose other works include Texhnolyze, Serial Experiments Lain is a psychological avant-garde mystery series that follows Lain as she makes crucial choices that will affect both the real world and the Wired. In closing one world and opening another, only Lain will realize the significance of their presence. \[Written by MAL Rewrite\]