Rating: 
Summary: Dull Dull DULL
Review: After reading the highly praising reviews, I took the plunge and bought the entire series. Big mistake!Lain tries to be something its not, in a vain attempt it tries to be arty and intelligent. But it ends up looking like a first year film students F grade mess. It is incredibly slow to get off the ground and when it does, you really have to ask yourself was it worth wasting 5-6 hours watching it. If you are still intent on buying this DVD, then buy the last in the set, as it explains to some degree what has transcended. Dull and disappointing.
Rating: 
Summary: Amazing! Totally terrific series!
Review: After watching all of the Lain DVDs I can confidently say that this series has soared to my #3 favorite anime series of all time. Lain is basically a show of metaphores concerning the Internet, so if you don't have a firm grasp over the concepts of computers and the Internet or "wired" (as the series terms it) world such as what hackers, chips, etc. are you may not enjoy it. The art is really different and beautiful - every frame looks like a painting, with interesting use of colors and negative space. These episodes really need to be watched in order, so make sure you start with the first volume. The last episode literally had me crying! Lain's world is totally absorbing and not just a little bit creepy, and although you don't get all the answers at the end of this series, the last volume has a sufficiant wrap-up, leaving a jumping off point for the viewer's imagination. I reccomend this to everyone who can stand a little intelligence in their anime!
Rating:
Summary: strange but interesting
Review: An off beat ending to the Lain series. It will tempt you with treats to please the visual senses and still give you that "unexplained" feeling that the rest of the series focused on. A well put together conclusion to a wonderfully disturbing tale!
Rating:
Summary: Close the DVD - txen eht nepO
Review: I have to warn you, if you're planing on buying LAIN. I bought the whole series without knowing what I was in for, but odds are one of two things will happen. Either you will think "what a load of crap" and then try hastilly to forget how much money you spent on it, or you will find yourself completely hooked and addicted to Lain, feeling those greedy eyes watching you get more and more lost in the complex universe of this twisted series. Ahem. Anyway, that's what hapened to me. I strongly recommend watching this series in it's entirety (probably twice or three times) if you're into stuff that makes you think. Don't o.d. though. Enjoy it in small doses as it has a tendency to pickle your brain if consumed in large quantities. It's like a mix of X-files, the Maxx, Perfect Blue, And perhaps most of all: Alice in wonderland/through the looking glass. And of course it's filled with mythical stuff. I guess it could be interpreted as a modern techno version of the bible with an all new cyber Christ told though colourful images and an amazing soundtrack. Anime style. Or maybe it's just too original to describe properly. God knows how many have tried and failed. Guess, LAIN is something you just have to see for yourself.
Rating:
Summary: Close the DVD - txen eht nepO
Review: I have to warn you, if you're planing on buying LAIN. I bought the whole series without knowing what I was in for, but odds are one of two things will happen. Either you will think "what a load of crap" and then try hastilly to forget how much money you spent on it, or you will find yourself completely hooked and addicted to Lain, feeling those greedy eyes watching you get more and more lost in the complex universe of this twisted series. Ahem. Anyway, that's what hapened to me. I strongly recommend watching this series in it's entirety (probably twice or three times) if you're into stuff that makes you think. Don't o.d. though. Enjoy it in small doses as it has a tendency to pickle your brain if consumed in large quantities. It's like a mix of X-files, the Maxx, Perfect Blue, And perhaps most of all: Alice in wonderland/through the looking glass. And of course it's filled with mythical stuff. I guess it could be interpreted as a modern techno version of the bible with an all new cyber Christ told though colourful images and an amazing soundtrack. Anime style. Or maybe it's just too original to describe properly. God knows how many have tried and failed. Guess, LAIN is something you just have to see for yourself.
Rating:
Summary: Close the DVD - txen eht nepO
Review: I have to warn you, if you're planing on buying LAIN. I bought the whole series without knowing what I was in for, but odds are one of two things will happen. Either you will think "what a load of crap" and then try hastilly to forget how much money you spent on it, or you will find yourself completely hooked and addicted to Lain, feeling those greedy eyes watching you get more and more lost in the complex universe of this twisted series. Ahem. Anyway, that's what hapened to me. I strongly recommend watching this series in it's entirety (probably twice or three times) if you're into stuff that makes you think. Don't o.d. though. Enjoy it in small doses as it has a tendency to pickle your brain if consumed in large quantities. It's like a mix of X-files, the Maxx, Perfect Blue, And perhaps most of all: Alice in wonderland/through the looking glass. And of course it's filled with mythical stuff. I guess it could be interpreted as a modern techno version of the bible with an all new cyber Christ told though colourful images and an amazing soundtrack. Anime style. Or maybe it's just too original to describe properly. God knows how many have tried and failed. Guess, LAIN is something you just have to see for yourself.
Rating:
Summary: Incredible
Review: Incredible. Just give yourself time to recover. I wouldn't recommend watching more than three episodes at a time.
Rating:
Summary: Intense, Ambiguous, Artistic and Ultimately Satisfying
Review: Indeed, the pacing of the Lain series is somewhat slow, but it's slow in the same peculiarly satisfying way that a Wong Kar Wai film is slow. Every lingering shot and mysterious word is obtuse (at least to begin with), but still stunning. And as the series progresses, the vaporous bits and pieces begin to congeal and condense into something increasingly meaningful and powerful. The series is undoubtedly high-concept, but rarely falls into overblown presumptuousness. There is a strange emotional gravity to Lain; a synergystic effect of its characters and its abundant atmosphere. But that same gravity, more than any other single piece of Lain, is what separates this work from the droves of unengaging anime films. To my mind, only Akira can match the sense of resonance of Lain. It truly astounds me as an American that such an ambitious, complex and subtle piece of work could actually find air time on television. There is absolutely no way that this sort of thing would ever run on American network telelvision, and little chance we'd ever see it in American film, animated or otherwise. Perhaps that's why the experience of soaking in the Lain series for all 6 hours, regardless of its pace, is so mindblowing. Lain provides inventive and thought-provoking science-fiction, the likes of which an American audience is used to only seeing in print form (that is, if anyone in America still reads books). Lain, much like Akira and Ghost in the Shell before it, represents the anime genre at its best. Upon reaching the conclusion of the series, there are some questions left unanswered. Some of these ambiguities lend greatly to the air of the piece and others simply engender frustration after the time and emotional investment asked of its viewer. There are also some notable problems with the quality of the animation (although from what little I've read about the series, it seems this was due to under-budgeting rather than just shoddy craftsmanship), but thankfully they are rare. The soundtrack is astonishingly uneven, but used so sparingly that it hardly matters. DVD extras are minimal, but the subtitling is fantastic and picture and sound quality are great.
Rating:
Summary: Intense, Ambiguous, Artistic and Ultimately Satisfying
Review: Lain is a deeply thought provoking series, packed with wierd and sometimes disturbing imagery. The ending leaves everything up in the air, yet somehow concludes it all. Hard to explain, you have to see it. This last disc is probably the best of the lot, but you have to have watched the rest of the series before it would make any sense. This is not your typical anime series, it has no action, no real explanations, and it makes a perfect companion to such movies as Ghost in the Shell and Bladerunner. Want more questions than answers, than watch this series.
Rating:
Summary: The End of An Epic
Review: Lain is a deeply thought provoking series, packed with wierd and sometimes disturbing imagery. The ending leaves everything up in the air, yet somehow concludes it all. Hard to explain, you have to see it. This last disc is probably the best of the lot, but you have to have watched the rest of the series before it would make any sense. This is not your typical anime series, it has no action, no real explanations, and it makes a perfect companion to such movies as Ghost in the Shell and Bladerunner. Want more questions than answers, than watch this series.
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