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Update: I keep seeing people call 'Serial Experiments Lain' a cyberpunk show and it's just not
I watched it again last night and the focus is on identity and reality, not tech or corporate control like in 'Ghost in the Shell'. This matters because calling it cyberpunk sets up the wrong expectations for new viewers. Has anyone else felt like genre labels are getting slapped on shows without much thought?
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nancyj111mo ago
...and that whole thing about expectations, oh yeah. I remember when I first got into Lain back in college, my roommate told me it was "like The Matrix but weirder." So I sat down expecting dark cities and jacking in, and I spent the first two episodes going "where are the explosions?" It was totally my fault for expecting the wrong thing. But at the same time, the labels do matter because they shape how you watch it from the start. That first watch sets your whole mood.
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the_jennifer3mo ago
Okay but the tech isn't just a backdrop, it's the whole reason the identity crisis happens. The wired is what breaks reality. @jennifer833 has a point about the focus, but if you take the tech out, the show completely falls apart. That tech-drenched feeling of being lost is what makes it cyberpunk to me, just a different flavor than the usual corporate stuff.
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jennifer8333mo ago
I used to call Lain cyberpunk too, honestly. After my third rewatch, the tech just feels like a backdrop for the weird identity stuff. Getting the genre wrong really does set people up for a confusing first watch.
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