Serial Experiments Lain
TV Show • 1998 • Animation
ReportLain is an avant-garde anime influenced by philosophical subjects such as reality, identity, and communication. The series focuses on Lain Iwakura, an adolescent girl living in suburban Japan, and her introduction to the Wired, a global communications network similar to the Internet.
This tv show contains 45 potentially triggering events.
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Both
Yes
No
Your Triggers
Yes
0
No
23
Abandonment
Yes
4
No
1
Yes
12
No
0
Yes
0
No
6
Abuse
Yes
7
No
0
Yes
0
No
5
Is someone stalked?
24 supporters
Yes
27
No
0
3
OneirosDream
Sort of? Lain is followed/ watched/observed by men in black wearing wires and sunglasses.
2 comments | Add comment
Is there domestic violence?
National Domestic Violence Hotline (1-800-799-7233)
85 supporters
Add comment
Yes
0
No
19
Yes
0
No
6
Does the abused become the abuser?
National Domestic Violence Hotline (1-800-799-7233)
33 supporters
Add comment
Yes
0
No
7
Is someone gaslighted?
34 supporters
Yes
20
No
0
2
poppiswap
The entire show is about Lain doubting her own reality and her existence, and how several different groups and characters are trying to shape her perception of reality, sometimes in extremely invasive ways.
1 comment | Add comment
Yes
0
No
5
Yes
18
No
5
2
neoballs
Lain is neglected and gaslit by her parents
1 comment | Add comment
Addiction
Yes
31
No
0
4
Lexichae
In episode 2, a character uses a fake drug
2 comments | Add comment
Yes
2
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11
Yes
1
No
17
Animal
Yes
0
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7
Yes
0
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18
Yes
0
No
19
Are animals abused?
211 supporters
Yes
1
No
19
1
teapotcutie
A real life experiment is mentioned that involved abuse towards dolphins, but is not depicted or implied in the show.
1 comment | Add comment
Yes
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18
Yes
0
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17
Yes
0
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6
Yes
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6
Yes
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19
Yes
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8
Yes
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19
Yes
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17
Yes
0
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6
Yes
0
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17
Yes
0
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6
Yes
0
No
17
Assault
Does a woman get slapped?
National Domestic Violence Hotline (1-800-799-7233)
24 supporters
Add comment
Yes
0
No
4
Yes
2
No
4
Is there pedophilia?
138 supporters
Yes
3
No
4
0
Kayv
S1
No intended pedophilia, though a side characters statement towards the main character could be (mis)interpreted as such.
2 comments | Add comment
Yes
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6
Yes
0
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7
Yes
0
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6
Yes
0
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6
Yes
9
No
14
6
pomegranate_seeds
Unsure if it counts, but an implied-to-be masturbating character finds out that they're being watched while doing so and becomes extremely distraught. The perpetrator doesn't touch them whatsoever, but does taunt and ridicule them verbally.
2 comments | Add comment
Yes
3
No
0
Yes
0
No
6
Yes
0
No
11
Bodily Harm
Yes
2
No
16
Yes
0
No
4
Yes
2
No
3
Yes
1
No
3
Does someone struggle to breathe?
28 supporters
Yes
1
No
13
1
pomegranate_seeds
Lain attempts to strangle a version of herself, but said version of Lain doesn't struggle to breathe or seem to be in pain.
1 comment | Add comment
Yes
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5
Yes
0
No
18
Yes
0
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6
Yes
7
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Yes
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15
Yes
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18
Yes
5
No
3
Yes
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14
Yes
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15
Yes
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8
Yes
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Yes
1
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6
Yes
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13
Yes
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Yes
16
No
1
Yes
1
No
14
Yes
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No
17
Yes
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15
Yes
0
No
15
Yes
0
No
7
Does someone fall to their death?
12 supporters
Yes
38
No
0
4
Anonymous
The opening scene (and sort of the setup for the show) is a classmate of the main character's suicide - she jumps from a building to her death.
1 comment | Add comment
Yes
0
No
15
Yes
0
No
4
Is there excessive gore?
104 supporters
Yes
3
No
8
2
17poprocks
S1
E12
AKIRA style morphing of a body, it's a little unsettling.
1 comment | Add comment
Children
Yes
0
No
6
Does a kid die?
61 supporters
Yes
33
No
0
1
Stressedtoimpress
The show opens with the suicide of a middle school student
1 comment | Add comment
Is a minor sexualized?
118 supporters
Yes
8
No
6
5
poppiswap
Lain’s friend is depicted fantasizing about her teacher in a sexual way. It’s unclear if this was actually reciprocated or if it’s just the girl fantasizing about it, but the idea, real or not, is shown to the audience regardless.
3 comments | Add comment
Creepy Crawly
Yes
0
No
5
Death
Does someone sacrifice themselves?
13 supporters
Yes
9
No
0
1
Stressedtoimpress
Lain could be considered to have sacrificed herself at the end. She lives, but she sacrifices all of her relationships and her life as she knows it
1 comment | Add comment
Yes
1
No
5
Yes
1
No
5
Does someone die?
14 supporters
Yes
8
No
0
1
qweirdfishes
someone dies from suicide
2 comments | Add comment
Disability
Yes
0
No
6
Yes
0
No
10
Drugs/Alcohol
Yes
0
No
7
Family
Does a family member die?
22 supporters
Yes
1
No
5
0
kai
no, but
SPOILER
they lose nearly all mental functions because of the sci-fi reasons.
SPOILER
they lose nearly all mental functions because of the sci-fi reasons.
1 comment | Add comment
Does a parent die?
23 supporters
Yes
19
No
6
3
teapotcutie
A background character dies without her son realizing.
1 comment | Add comment
Yes
0
No
14
Yes
0
No
17
Yes
0
No
18
Fear
Yes
21
No
0
Yes
21
No
1
Yes
0
No
18
Yes
0
No
4
Yes
0
No
15
Yes
19
No
2
Yes
0
No
6
Yes
0
No
7
Yes
3
No
5
Gross
Yes
0
No
17
Yes
0
No
12
Yes
0
No
6
Yes
0
No
6
Yes
0
No
6
Yes
0
No
16
Yes
0
No
10
Large-scale Violence
Yes
0
No
8
Law Enforcement
Yes
0
No
13
Yes
0
No
4
LGBTQ+
Yes
0
No
5
Yes
0
No
6
Yes
0
No
6
Yes
0
No
6
Yes
0
No
5
Loss
Yes
0
No
5
Medical
Yes
0
No
16
Yes
2
No
12
Yes
0
No
18
Yes
0
No
15
Yes
0
No
4
Yes
0
No
17
Mental Health
Yes
7
No
0
Yes
6
No
12
0
Lexichae
Not necessarily, but there’s a few scenes of dissociation. (Not self harm, but worth mentioning)
1 comment | Add comment
Yes
0
No
6
Yes
1
No
9
Yes
6
No
0
0
basically the entire show is about it so yes
1 comment | Add comment
Is there D.I.D. misrepresentation?
23 supporters
Yes
0
No
6
1
bonzaichips
No.
Some people interpret that Lain has OSDD, but these people are in fact mostly systems theirselves ^^
So that's not misinterpretation, just theories/headcanons of ppl
Some people interpret that Lain has OSDD, but these people are in fact mostly systems theirselves ^^
So that's not misinterpretation, just theories/headcanons of ppl
2 comments | Add comment
Is there autism specific abuse?
53 supporters
Yes
4
No
17
7
Stressedtoimpress
Technically no, but a lot of people interpret Lain as autistic, and relate the way the other students treat her to a kind of bullying due to autistic behavior
1 comment | Add comment
Does someone attempt suicide?
National Suicide Prevention Lifeline (1-800-273-8255)
79 supporters
Add comment
Yes
11
No
0
Yes
6
No
0
Yes
4
No
0
Is there misophonia?
33 supporters
Yes
15
No
0
5
teapotcutie
Not sure if it fully counts but the show is filled with power line white noise that can be annoying or ominous.
4 comments | Add comment
Are there anxiety attacks?
23 supporters
Yes
12
No
11
1
Kermit
S1
E13
3 minutes into episode 13, Mizuki has what seems to be a panic attack
1 comment | Add comment
Yes
0
No
6
Does someone say "I'll kill myself"?
National Suicide Prevention Lifeline (1-800-273-8255)
31 supporters
Yes
16
No
0
4
teapotcutie
Lain says a similar phrase in the episode Rumors.
2 comments | Add comment
Yes
2
No
5
Is there body dysmorphia?
27 supporters
Yes
21
No
1
3
teapotcutie
Lain is shown to have out of body experiences where smoke comes out of her hands and not feeling real in her body.
2 comments | Add comment
Is there a claustrophobic scene?
18 supporters
Yes
20
No
0
2
Sapstre
Some scenes are designed to make the viewer feel as if they are in an oppressive space
2 comments | Add comment
Yes
0
No
17
Yes
38
No
0
4
marleej
the first episode starts with a girl jumping off a building, then later in the episode lain sees a girl walk over and voluntarily stand on railroad tracks while a train speeds towards her (don’t see anything actually happen but it’s implied that the train would’ve hit her). also, at the club in the second episode, a guy shoots himself and dies
6 comments | Add comment
Does someone suffer from PTSD?
0 supporters
Yes
2
No
6
2
OneirosDream
No, Lain rewrites/reprograms the world to forget about her and everything that happened, so Alice (Arisu) doesn't get PTSD from her trauma.
1 comment | Add comment
Noxious
Yes
0
No
5
Yes
5
No
1
Yes
4
No
9
Yes
0
No
13
Yes
4
No
0
Yes
0
No
5
Yes
23
No
0
Paranoia
Yes
6
No
1
Is the fourth wall broken?
0 supporters
Yes
12
No
0
2
Kermit
S1
E13
at the start of episode 13 Lain is presumably talking directly to the viewer, this happens again towards the end of the episode.
smaller fourth wall breaks are littered throughout.
smaller fourth wall breaks are littered throughout.
3 comments | Add comment
Pregnancy
Yes
0
No
11
Yes
0
No
17
Yes
0
No
10
Yes
0
No
18
Yes
0
No
17
Yes
0
No
17
Prejudice
Yes
0
No
16
Yes
1
No
18
Yes
0
No
18
Yes
0
No
17
Yes
0
No
14
Yes
0
No
18
Yes
0
No
18
Yes
0
No
16
Yes
0
No
6
Yes
0
No
7
Yes
0
No
20
Yes
0
No
18
Race
Yes
0
No
4
Relationships
Is there a large age gap?
40 supporters
Yes
6
No
5
2
poppiswap
An underage girl is shown to have a crush on her teacher, and a rumour is spread around her school that they were involved in some way; however it’s not clear if anything actually happened and it could easily be argued that it was just false gossip that simply evolved from the girl’s crush being outed.
3 comments | Add comment
Religious
Yes
6
No
0
Yes
0
No
4
Sex
Are there nude scenes?
53 supporters
Yes
9
No
3
1
BloodTuna
at the end credits, we can see a picture of lain naked.
1 comment | Add comment
Yes
0
No
7
Yes
0
No
6
Yes
1
No
7
Are there incestuous relationships?
National Sexual Assault Hotline 800.656.4673
94 supporters
Add comment
Yes
0
No
23
Is there sexual content?
65 supporters
Yes
25
No
1
5
pomegranate_seeds
Implied masturbation, but there's no nudity shown and no sexual audio - it is only depicted to portray a breach of privacy.
5 comments | Add comment
Yes
0
No
5
Sexism
Yes
0
No
9
Sickness
Yes
0
No
4
Yes
0
No
6
Yes
0
No
7
Is there dementia/Alzheimer's?
1 supporters
Yes
3
No
4
0
kai
SPOILER
a prominent character loses nearly all mental functions because of the sci-fi reasons
a prominent character loses nearly all mental functions because of the sci-fi reasons
1 comment | Add comment
Social
Yes
0
No
5
Yes
0
No
7
Yes
5
No
1
Yes
0
No
5
Spoiler
Yes
0
No
18
Yes
1
No
3
Does it have a sad ending?
59 supporters
Yes
26
No
0
3
OneirosDream
Not exactly super sad, but not happy either (despite the happy music playing)... It's a bittersweet ending? A girl loves her friend so much she rewrites the world for her, to spare her trauma, and erases everyone's memories of her. She still exists, but no one remembers her. She sacrifices her identity and role in the life of the person who mattered most to her. She visits her in later years to see that her friend is happy.
2 comments | Add comment
Vehicular
Does a car honk or tires screech?
1 supporters
Yes
7
No
1
0
17poprocks
S1
At the beginning of every episode, there are city-sounds that includes cars honking and some tire screeches.
1 comment | Add comment
Yes
1
No
14
Yes
0
No
16
Is someone hit by a car?
1 supporters
Yes
7
No
10
2
mjane
the automated driving systems in cars glitch out early in episode five and it’s mentioned that there were accidents and a fatality, but the most you see is a car speeding towards a bunch of people
1 comment | Add comment
Violence
Yes
0
No
14
Is there blood/gore?
60 supporters
Yes
20
No
0
3
Lexichae
Although rare, there is a few scenes. The 1st episode has a suicide and the 2nd has a shooting.
2 comments | Add comment
Yes
1
No
15
Is there gun violence?
29 supporters
Yes
28
No
0
5
Lexichae
The second episode has a shooting
2 comments | Add comment