Back to MrWho302's Profile MrWho302's Profile

There’s a situation in which the MC’s best friend (lowkey his side piece) will die if he doesn’t have sex imminently, and the MC decides to force his girlfriend to have sex with his friend, instead of manning up and spreading his own cheeks. Terrible guy.

Anyway, this show has no redeeming qualities. Not the characters, the animation, the music, the premise, nothing. It’s an immature, borderline-fetishistic story, filled with absurd characters and plot points. That might sound potentially fun, but it’s not. Most of the time, the story is simply dull or frustrating, only occasionally punctuated by brief insanity. Don’t waste your time.

“Hunt down…Eliminate… Black Lotus”

This show, like any piece of media, can technically be judged on its own. However, when one makes an entry into a series/franchise, it would be illogical to not consider that entry in relation to its series/franchise; otherwise, why not make it an original work? By this line of thought, I will primarily be reviewing Blade Runner: Black Lotus as a Blade Runner work; only light mentions will be made as to how this show stands on its own as independent media (There will be a dedicated subheading for this section, so you can skip to that if that’s all you want). ... (Extremely Minor Spoilers).

Like many of the great science fiction worlds out there, the world of Blade Runner has a distinct and unique style and feel. While Blade Runner (1982) and Blade Runner 2049 (2017) have several stylistic distinctions, they ultimately still maintain the “DNA” of the world. So, what is the “DNA” of Blade Runner, and does Black Lotus contain it? The answer to this my vary per person, largely depending on how much they gleaned from/connected to the world, but my answer is this:

-Blade Runner is quiet; at times there is noise, but it remains the background to loneliness and isolation.
-Blade Runner is pensive; great stretches of time are dedicated to building ideas and emotion in the audience and characters.
-Blade Runner is beautiful; life and desolation, mood and atmosphere, color and light.
-Blade Runner has signature questions; What constitutes life? Do we make choices? What is the value of a memory? What makes love real? Who are you?

Black Lotus has some of these genetic sequences; it’d be hard to make anything resembling Blade Runner without them. Unfortunately, Black Lotus’ engagement with these ideas and stylistic signatures largely remains surface level and, at times, is completely absent.

-Music-
While some of the tracks present within Black Lotus connect with the distinctive score of Vangelis, the vast majority of tracks (especially the end of episode stings) are a complete tonal departure for the series. The music ends up not just out of place with the larger world, but also a jumbled mish mash that fails to help this entry form a concise identity of its own.

-Action-
Action in Blade Runner is typically fast, efficient, and highly lethal, with action only being drawn-out when it is punctuated by long segments of tension building (ultimately again met with a rapid conclusion). Action in Black Lotus is often sluggish and floaty, failing to convey the decisive brutality that usually punctuates combat with Replicant and Blade Runners. Even when an action scene is “quick” in duration, the fighting itself usually remains somewhat slow. The most “showy” action ends up seriously straining credulity; one such scene ends with an huge explosion that sees both characters caught in the blast completely unscathed, one of whom flies out of a skyscraper-high building.

-Characters-
Between the original, 2049, and Black Lotus, all three have largely remained focused on their protagonist, with room for a handful of interesting side characters. Thus, there is something of a significant burden on this main protagonist, as they have to guide us not only through the world, but make us interested in their journey. Not much is known about them prior to the events of each story, but their journey and conclusion is meant to leave a mark. Trying to understand and connect with Deckard and K is part of the appeal of Blade Runner; they are themselves, but we could be them, too. Elle is a character with no memory; considering the importance of memories to the Blade Runner world, this is a fairly interesting set up. Unfortunately, even by the end of the anime, Elle has very little to show for herself. According to Black Lotus, not having any memory means you have no character traits, personality, or capacity for reflection and thought, leaving us with a character who has nothing to connect to and little to offer the narrative beyond a killing machine who pushes the plot along at a snail's pace. Additionally screen time in Black Lotus is haphazardly allocated among the cast, with characters like Officer Davis taking up a significant amount of the story, only to ultimately be so inconsequential that removing her from the story would legitimately have no impact whatsoever.

-Themes and Questions-
Does Black Lotus address the themes and questions of Blade Runner, or at least pose ones of its own? Barely. While some questions return in some form (ex. Memory, love, choice), nothing new or memorable is espoused on these topics. Further, the show fails to consider much about itself; Black Lotus’ ideas only exist to service events in the narrative, not the other way around.

-Lore and connection-
How does Black Lotus fit in between the two main films and incorporate the world? Eh. It doesn’t need to exist, and the incredibly short (15min) animation “Blade Runner: Black Out 2022” actually does a better job of being a connecting piece if that's important. On another note, some aspects of the Blade Runner lore are either underplayed, absent, or straight up incorrect; To name a couple, the effects of the Blackout are largely unexplored, despite only being a decade prior, and the show straight up retcons/gets the source of Niander Wallace’s blindness wrong (in 2049 he was born blind, in Black Lotus he has normal vision until being slashed with a sword). You may consider these things largely inconsequential, but to me it suggests little diligence and care in creating a fitting entry into the Blade Runner world.

—On its own—
Black Lotus is a largely boring, barely thoughtful, tedious piece of science fiction. It’s fairly tasteless, and can really only be enjoyed if you appreciate it at surface level, which is coincidentally the only level it offers. If you want cheap action, skim the episodes for the fight scenes, determine if you like them, and dump most the rest. The only mood this show created in me was apathy, and the only atmosphere stale air. There are a couple of redeemable moments, 1 character, and maybe one whole episode, but this show is largely a monotonous mess where life is meaningless and you’ll be wishing for the death Black Lotus is dealing out.

I could have said more, about Blade Runner, about the performances, even about positives, but we both know this is long enough. TL;DR, avoid this show if you see something special in Blade Runner, and avoid it if you have taste in science fiction. If neither are applicable to you, perhaps you’ll find some morsel for your consumption.

Watching Serial Experiments Lain is a lot like emptying a fascinating puzzle box onto the floor, only to eventually find that you're short some pieces and others are from different boxes. Can you still make a picture from this?

It is my belief that media is simultaneously definitive and subjective; what the creator(s) intend(s) and what you make of it.
In regards to the former, there is a clear limit to what can be said with certainty about Serial Experiments Lain. For both 1998 and at the time of writing this, Lain boasts a fairly distinct and uncommon style (in many regards), of which few shows ... can lay claim to any similarity. The art style is at times simplistic and static, other times detailed and oozing feeling; while I and many others believe the art not only holds up but also is a true standout, it doesn't connect with everyone. The voice performances in both Japanese and English are solid, though I ultimately went with the dub for Bridget Hoffman's excellent performance of the titular character, Lain. The characters are few and the screen time allocated to them lopsided, but a good few manage to make their mark before the curtain closes. The storytelling is non-linear and generally eclectic; scenes will be cut off abruptly, drag on inexplicably, or appear at strange points in the timeline. Often times you'll be left wondering, "What is happening right now?" and "What is this supposed to mean?". While the show does offer some morsels of clarity here and there, a great deal will be left deliberately ambiguous. According to the Wiki, producer Yasuyuki Ueda has described Lain as a culture piece, one meant to stir up discussion about the differences (and ultimately the similarities) between the Japanese and American perspective on the philosophical subjects at hand. It can be agreed that Lain raises a number of philosophical, psychological, and cultural topics with its narrative, though the level of depth actually reached by this effort is less apparent.

With all that being said, what people actually make of this show is extremely subjective, perhaps more-so than most anime. This belief largely stems from the pervasive ambiguity and bizarre way in which the narrative is presented. Much of this show's meaning and value can be debated endlessly. From, this point on, most of what I'll be saying are my own thoughts regarding Lain.

Overall, I like Lain; it is an interesting show with a unique style and food for thought. However, I do not think Lain executes its themes and concepts in a strong or compelling manner, much less in the exceptional way this show's reputation seems to suggest. A lot can be said about what this show is "about", but seemingly much less can be said about what this show actually "thinks". Much of the story and themes at play here almost read off like bullet points on a list, rather than fleshed out, manifested ideas. In combination with this, it also feels like large sections of episodes or scenes straight up waste the viewers time (and by that I mean contributing little if anything to the themes, topics, characters, or atmosphere whilst also consuming a lot of run time). Hell, there's one episode that's almost entirely replayed scenes from previous episodes with little new information or ideas to re-contextualize them. The characters largely felt empty and distant, which actually serves the vibe of the show and the position of Lain (though somehow I've seen reviewers claim the side characters are deep and meaningful in their individual stories (did we watch the same show?)). I have a shortlist of other gripes regarding how the show handles specific story elements/ideas, but I won't include them here, so you can message me if you want details.

Before I bring this to a close, I'll mention a few more things I enjoyed. The atmosphere is weighty and moody. The power lines radiate thought. The moments when this show dips into horror are excellent. Watching Lain is a one of a kind experience.

If this show leads you to more engagement with philosophy and contemplation, I'm glad to hear it. Ultimately, if a piece of media can get people thinking, that's some undeniable value. Whether you're already interested in the topics within or are completely disconnected, you can likely pull something out of here if you want to. In spite of that, Lain is a Frankenstein of ideas, some that mesh, others that don't, some with flesh, others with bone.