[B5JMS] Congrats to JMS and a question

[b5jms-admin at cs.columbia.edu]

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From: Emmanuel Goldstein <emmanuel at panix.com>
Date: 24 Mar 2001 09:51:24 -0700
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Wow - every time I go away for a little while, there's always a
surprise waiting. But this is one of the best ones in a while.
Congrats JMS - you sure deserved this show of support from a
network that actually seems to appreciate good science fiction.
And I can't tell you how thrilled I am that I haven't seen the
last captivating story from the B5 universe. I'm always a bit
depressed when SiL airs, as it did a couple of weeks ago. I was
glad the story got to be told but really sad that it was over. Now
we have something to look forward to besides seeing how Berman
mucks up another ST series, or the plastic acting of EFC, or the
overall silliness of Andromeda. (I really SHOULD give Farscape a
try but I need more therapy to get over the Muppet phobia.)

My question concerns a completely different series from Japan that
a friend of mine told me about after I got him into B5. It's called
Serial Experiments: Lain and it really seems to be as special and 
thought-provoking to its fans as B5 was here. I was wondering if you had 
ever heard of it or seen it or, for that matter, if others were 
familiar with it. I have yet to see it but after reading the following 
review on IMDB, I'm going to try and make time:

"Last night I finally received the last of 4 DVDs in this mind-blowing 
series. This series is to anime in general what films like American 
Beauty are to movies in general. Don't let the word anime turn you 
off, folks. Doing so would be like comparing Schindler's List to 
The Kentucky Fried Movie...

"The story follows Lain, a shy, adolescent school girl. After 
receiving an email from a classmate who committed suicide a few days 
earlier, Lain begins to examine the world, society, god, self, 
technology, and how these concepts fit together. The fact that such 
an email could easily be faked is irrelevant, but instead we focus 
on how Lain's perspective changes as she learns to deal with life. 
This 13-part series, spanning 4 DVDs, is the best aspects of American 
Beauty, The Sixth Sense, 2001, and (to a lesser degree) The Matrix 
rolled into one subtle and beautiful story.

"Note that this is NOT an action-packed story, nor does it lessen itself 
by trying to cater to the lowest common denominator. Nor does it ever 
come straight out and explain itself or what is going on. That's not the 
purpose of the story. The purpose is to make you think about your own 
place in life, and how you deal with it. The story is never judgemental, 
it simply gives you things to think about. It raises more questions than 
could possibly be answered given the limitations of language. The answers 
can only be understood, never explained.

"In keeping true to the Zen Buddhist traditions of Japan, the animation 
style is often minimalistic, offset by the frenetic chaos of the computer 
animation added to it. This is an intentional counterpoint to the more 
natural looking animation, often consisting more of still paintings than 
movement, and the effect is stunning.

"So if you are looking for a thought-provoking way to spend about five 
and a half hours of your time, I cannot recommend this more. If you 
understood what made American Beauty such an incredible movie, you'll 
love Serial Experiments: Lain."


emmanuel



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From: jmsatb5 at aol.com (Jms at B5)
Date: 25 Mar 2001 23:59:54 -0700
Lines: 20

>My question concerns a completely different series from Japan that
>a friend of mine told me about after I got him into B5. It's called
>Serial Experiments: Lain and it really seems to be as special and 
>thought-provoking to its fans as B5 was here. I was wondering if you had 
>ever heard of it or seen it

No, wasn't aware of it...and as noted here elsewhere, I've tried to get into
anime, but just can't seem to pull it off.  So I doubt I'll be checking it out
anytime soon, though I'm glad you found it cool.

 jms

(jmsatb5 at aol.com)
(all message content (c) 2001 by synthetic worlds, ltd., 
permission to reprint specifically denied to SFX Magazine 
and don't send me story ideas)