Lain Iwakura

Lain Iwakura is the titular main protagonist of the 1998 anime series Serial Experiments Lain.
She is a sentient computer program designed to sever the barrier between the material world and the wired, introduced as a shy Japanese girl in middle school at the beginning of the series. After receiving an e-mail from Chisa Yomoda who had committed suicide, Lain discovers the virtual world of The Wired. Throughout the series, Lain is subjected to hallucinations by the Knights in order to make her lose her sense of self and attempt to find solace in the Wired, in order to fulfill the Knights' prophecy of the arrival of the goddess of the Wired. This would allow Masami Eiri to transcend the wired and become a true god.
Lain's human form is created by taking the frequency of the Earth itself and giving a body. Lain's true form, however, seems to have existed long before the events of the anime as she tells Eiri this, and later says so herself. She even states that she sees all memories from the past present and future. 
At one point she thinks steam is coming out of her hands, in an interview director Chiaki J. Konaka said that this means that she's mentally ill.
She was designed to look like her Japanese voice actress Kaori Shimizu. In the English dub, she is voiced by Bridget Hoffman.
==Appearance==
Lain is a 14 year old girl with brown eyes and short brown hair. She has a lock of hair that is tied with an X shaped clip. She is seen wearing multiple outfits such as her school uniform which is a white dress shirt with a dark green skirt and a red bow. This outfit is usually seen along with a grey coat with a badge on it.
Lain is also seen wearing a white nightgown, a brown bear onesie, a black turtleneck, a beige sweater with a bear beanie, a white sweatshirt, a blue nightgown, and a beige nightgown. In the video game adaptation, she wears an intricate navy blue dress that has a blue zigzagged zipper and a grey cape-like article of clothing.
==Personality==
Lain is quiet and doesn't talk much, which leads to her being a bit of a social outcast. She often hallucinates and sees things that aren’t real. Due to the wired bringing things from the internet into reality, some of Lain's online personalities become real. This includes an evil version of herself that is psychotic and is attempting to ruin her life. This version of herself was most likely influenced by the Knights.
Lain of the Wired is a personality in which Lain is very blunt and rude. This version of herself mostly appears online, however she has used it in reality as well. 
Lain also has a mysterious personality which isn't seen often. When Lain transcends the wired and ascends to godhood, she faces a version of herself who seems to be very joyful, yet eerie. This personality seems to have existed before the wired existed, and was possibly the being that created the wired due to her knowledge of life before it. This personality doesn't seem to take anything seriously.
==Other Media==
Lain appears in the Ps1 video game adaptation of Serial Experiments Lain that goes by the same name. The game portrays the same events of the anime, however in this timeline, Lain has no one to love her. This causes Lain to become absorbed in the wired without any help. In The Nightmare of Fabrication, a one-shot manga that takes place in the timeline of the game, Eiri is still controlling her behind the scenes.
The guidebook/artbook An Omnipresence in the Wired has a side-story that concludes the anime. At the end of the anime series Lain is in a heavenly realm speaking to her father. Her father offers her madeleines, which are an allegory for the power of memory. In the side-story, Lain is trying to assess whether or not she had created a projection of her father with her newfound omnipotence, or if her father is a being higher than her that can exist without her intervention. As Lain takes a bight of the madeleine, she realizes that everything that she is experiencing is just a memory inside of her mind and that she is truly alone as God. This causes her to break down and cry.
The light novel Despera, which is described to be a sequel/prequel to Lain, also seems to have many connections to the main series. The main character of Despera is a girl named Ain, who not only has a similar name to Lain, but an almost identical appearance, and is even shown wearing the same clothing. Ain is a godlike being who is an eternal part of the collective unconscious just as Lain is. Ain gave humanity advanced technology. Ain is seen creating the same Father machine that Lain creates in the video game. Ain also creates future reading CRTs that Lain uses in the video game as well. Ain transcends to godhood at the end of the novel, just as Lain does. A guidebook of Despera does connect the two together, implying that Ain was the version of Lain that was mentioned in the anime that existed before the wired came to be.
Lain's most recent official appearance was in the controversial online ARG known as AI Lain. This ARG seems to have been profiting off of NFTs which caused a lot of controversy and contention around the project. The project concluded on January 8th 2024.
Category:Anime Heroes
Category:Manga Heroes
Category:Horror Heroes
Category:Female
Category:Teenagers
Category:Science Fiction Heroes
Category:Deities
Category:Mysterious
Category:Mentally Ill
Category:Titular
Category:Insecure
Category:Suicidal
Category:Reality-Warpers
Category:Unwanted
Category:Related to Villain
Category:Inconclusive
Category:Artificial Intelligence
Category:The Hero
Category:Protectors
Category:Genius
Category:Anti-Heroes
Category:Dissociative
Category:Controversial
Category:Omnipotents
Category:Passionate Learners
Category:Non-Action
Category:Status Dependent on Version
Category:Creations
Category:Pawn of the Villain
Category:Tragic
Category:Humanoid
Category:Psychics
Category:In Love
Category:Protectors of Innocence