ART AND WRITING IN GENERAL

I have to mention that the art is nicely done and pretty appealing in this anime. It’s peak nineties anime style and the actual design of Lain herself was well done. I have read that the artists and designers were very intentional with all aspects of Lain's design and the clothing she wears. She was to look kind of meek and cute, which definitely appeals to some people, and even her signature hairstyle has a purpose. I read on the Lain Wikipedia it was meant to keep spirits from speaking in her left ear. But also the character designer, Yashitoshi ABe imagined the hairstyle coming about by Lain cutting it herself. And I think a lot of girls might relate to that, I have known a lot of people, especially girls who have cut their hair or at least their own bangs. I had a period where I was cutting my hair constantly and there were always these imperfections that I would grab onto, and I have been surprised to talk to a bunch of people who have done the same. I think the imperfection of her hairstyle is kind of endearing in a way. It’s sort of messy and I think a lot of people kind of like this look, especially within alternative communities.

Lain looks cute and demure, but she is very much an average-looking character, she is more realistic than a lot of typical anime characters. She still has big eyes but they aren’t super large like some characters from the nineties. She has brown hair instead of some hyper-colored intricate hairstyle. She is fairly average-looking compared to more over-the-top character designs like Sailor Moon or Wedding Peach or something like that. Her friends also look like pretty average young people. I think this is sort of unique in the age of so many of the typical magical girl animes. I think this fact might endear a lot of people to the story and maybe feel more connected to it, Young people might see more of themselves in those characters, and older people are reminded of how people this age are still mostly children, which makes some of the events of the show more unsettling, but also endears you to the younger characters, especially Lain.

The backgrounds of the anime are static but they are eerie and along with the sound design it creates an atmosphere. The facial expressions become more and more exaggerated and strained as the series goes on, to the point of discomfort. The environment becomes claustrophobic and I think it almost becomes hypnotic to some people, it’s frightening and some people are transfixed by it and cannot look away. Some of the scenes are dull almost boring and it can lead you to believe you are in a lull, but the effect causes an almost liminal space many times in the show. I think there is definitely as you have probably seen a group of people who love imagery and images of liminal spaces, so this might be another thing that gets the series, such love.

But other imagery is just bizarre, there is blood dripping from power lines, shadows and phantom-like blobs watching Lain, aliens in Freddy Krueger sweaters show up, and Messages glow every so often on screen that talk about how “Everyone is connected” This is eerie, but keeps your interest.

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