Serial Experiments Lain anime announces an Alternate Reality Game on its 25th anniversary

The avant-garde sci-fi anime series Serial Experiments Lain, which aired from July 6, 1998, to September 28, 1998, is nearing its 25th anniversary. For that occasion, the series has announced the arrival of a new Alternate Reality Game (ARG). The newly created website has all the information fans need to know about the upcoming game.

Featuring original characters designed by Yoshitoshi Abe, Serial Experiments Lain was directed by Ryūtarō Nakamura. The show's screenplay is written by Chiaki J. Konaka, under the production of Triangle Staff.

The show had a total of 13 episodes and is widely considered to be one of the most unique anime series in history. It is a show that plays with a slew of philosophical ideas and concepts warped into a mindboggling sci-fi narrative.

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Serial Experiments Lain announces celebratory ARG game for its 25th anniversary

On the eve of its 25th anniversary, the anime series Serial Experiments Lain will unveil a website for a new ARG to celebrate the occasion. The game is called "Layer 3301: De-Cipher" and is scheduled to come out sometime in June 2023. The new website introduces the game as “an immersive gaming experience that provides fans with a unique opportunity to engage with the enigmatic world of Lain”

The website design is reminiscent of the aesthetic of the original series. It also provides a brief introduction about what the game is and explains the reason for its creation. It says that Serial Experiments Lain is an anime that was broadcast in the year 1998. The website added that despite the internet not being as popular when the anime was released, it "accurately foretold" how the internet was used in the present and in the future.

It also quotes a cryptic line from the series, which says:

“No matter where you go, everyone's connected.”

The website then adds that as the anime is fast approaching its 25th anniversary, they have decided to assemble Lain's past, present, and future in a "WIRED of our own creation." It further says:

"Join us and experience the evolution of human connections.”

Yasuyuki Ueda, a producer in the original anime, is also working on the game, under the production of Anique Corporation in association with the animation studio Kasagi. The website also provides directions to access the game which can only be done with Protocol Keys that will be available soon. Players will also be rewarded with several digital, physical, and ‘phygital’ memorabilia, once they clear the game.

Here is how the story of Serial Experiments Lain is summarized on the official Crunchyroll website:

Acclaimed artist Yoshitoshi Abe (Haibane Renmei, Texhnolyze) brings to life the existential classic that paved the way for blockbuster films such as The Matrix. Follow along as fourteen year old Lain—driven by the abrupt suicide of a classmate—logs on to the Wired and promptly loses herself in a twisted mass of hallucinations, memories, and interconnected-psyches.

The anime received a lot of attention for being a bizarre and strange visual experience, which was a product of a novel animation style.

It was lauded for its bold experimentation and out-of-the-box thematic and stylistic elements that were employed to present a fresh take on the science fiction genre.

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Stay tuned for more updates on Serial Experiments Lain and "Layer 3301: De-Cipher," and other manga and anime like Attack on Titan, My Hero Academia, Demon Slayer, Jujutsu Kaisen, One Punch Man, and more.