INSERT - TELEVISION SCREEN
A brief shot of a television screen with static.
WHITE SCREEN
The following text is typed on the screen (in Japanese) and is read aloud (in English) by a mocking voice:
PRESENT DAY,
PRESENT TIME!
TELEVISION SCREEN
Return to static television screen. Muffled "Mission Control" type voices can be heard, and the static is tuned this way and that. The face of LAIN briefly appears.
EXT. STREET - DAY
The opening credits consist of three elements: music, text, and visuals. The music is the song "Duvet" by the group Boa, performed in English:
And you don't seem to understand
A shame, you seemed an honest man
And all those fears you hold so dear
Will turn to whisper in your ear
And you know what they say might hurt you
And you know that it means so much
And you don't even feel a thing
I am falling . . .
I am fading . . .
I have lost it all . . .
I am falling . . .
I am fading . . .
I am drowning . . .
Help me to breathe . . .
I am hurting . . .
I have lost it all . . .
I am losing . . .
Help me to breathe . . .
Here are the credits:
PLANNING: production 2nd.
EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS: Taro Maki, Akihiro Kawamura
SERIES STRUCTURE/SCREENPLAY: Chiaki J. Konaka
ORIGINAL CHARACTER DESIGN: Yoshitoshi Abe
CHARACTER DESIGN: Takahiro Kishida
ART DIRECTOR: Masaru Satu
SETTING: Akihiro Hirasawa, Yoshinori Shioxawa
COLOR KEY: Michiyo Iriomote
DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY: Takashi Azuhata
EDITING: Takeshi Seyama
SOUND DIRECTOR: Youta Tsuruoka
MUSIC: Reiichi "CHABO" Nakaido (supported by Tatsunosuke)
2ND UNIT MUSIC & SOUND DESIGN: Akira Takemoto, Koji Kasamatsu
OPENING THEME: DUVET/music by BOA, Lyrics by Jasmine Rodgers, Performed by: BOA (Polystar)
PRODUCERS: Yasuyuki Ueda, Shojiro Abe
TV PROGRAMMING: Kiko Iwata (TV Tokyo)
DIRECTOR: Ryutaro Nakamura
The visuals consist of the following SERIES OF SHOTS:
ZOOM IN to back of LAIN's head. She is standing on a city street in daytime, wearing a pink jacket and cap. She turns to face us. There is the head of an animated bear on the cap.
A blue computer screen, with the blue word "lain" appearing in more and more random spots.
A quick pan of Lain's face on a screen.
The screen full of "lain"s resolves into a single large "lain".
Close-up of a crow turning to stare at us, a pink strand of something dangling from its beak.
Lain in street clothes standing on the street. There are a couple of cars in traffic and dozens of crows on electrical lines and near Lain. Only the crows are moving.
The screen of "lain"s.
View obscured by crows taking off.
Crows fly close to Lain, who holds up her arms to protect herself.
Lain's face as she turns to follow the crows.
The crows flying over a roof in formation.
A screen showing static with different-sized words moving. Easily visible are the phrases "make me" and "NO PLACE". Not so easy to see is the following poem:
Make me fly.
Johnny?
NOW you don't mind heart yourself.
so long days for us. THE sun sits and be showed
you never think you always free.
I see the wings of your arms to fly out this world.
If you go to the promised land,
I never go with you
I do not want any more simply you.
Lain looks at us through a faded screen.
Another screen with lots of moving text, not all of it is in English. Working from the largest phrases (closest to us) to the smallest (frequently obscured by closer phrases), you can see "NO RACE", "NO NATION", "NO POSITION", "1912", "mad", "feel alright", "lose the", "the next" (in reverse type), "LAIN 0X00A33E76" and "serial experiments". Lain fades into the scene wearing a red dress and black khakis. The static background is replaced by a white glow, and "what kind of a make do you like" appears in rainbow-colored text. She fixes us with a cold stare, then fades out as the words "break through" pass by. She fades back in in closeup ("invisible" and "incredible" written next to her face). She says something and behind her is the phrase "Close the door, open the nExt" (with the second part in reverse).
A group of sophisticates at a party, all watching a wide-screen television featuring Lain talking against the static background.
Faded-out Lain.
A boy is playing a video game on his TV while his mother cleans dishes behind him. Lain is on the screen and talking to him.
Faded-out Lain.
A couple is making out as Lain lectures them from a TV.
A flowery background with more moving phrases (most of them sideways): "scanner/radio gun", "wake-up ?", "no problem", "feel alright", and "Hello, lain".
Faded Lain.
More words: "make it cool", "not face", "way home", "you will". The background is an article about the CRAY computer (I can make out "The CRAY...series is a breakthrough product, said Silicon Graphics Chairman and CEO Rick Belluzzo.").
A computer screen with faded Lain on it.
A skewed photograph of highrises, a brick church, and a suspension bridge. Superimposed is Lain in the red dress walking in place. The image rotates and then pixelates into the (live-action) interior of a railway station as Lain continues to walk.
Inside of a (live-action) parking garage. Close-up of Lain's head fades in and turns to look behind her as the garage becomes a winter sky.
View up some (live-action) railway steps. Superimposed is Lain looking over her shoulder at us with a concerned look.
View stepping down the railway steps (now animated) towards Lain in the pink jacket and hat, who is looking at her feet. She looks past us up the stairs. We stay with her as she climbs up.
Faded Lain saying something.
Side-view of Lain taking the stairs.
Faded Lain.
Lain on a pedestrian walkway over the street, making her way to the other side.
Ground view as she walks away from us.
Faded Lain.
A tired Lain looks at us from a computer screen as an abstract 3-D landscape rushes by behind her.
Side view of Lain crossing the walkway. The wind suddenly hits her and she closes her eyes tight. She stops to struggle with the wind, and her hat flies off as a shadow crosses her head.
View from above the walkway as a crow suddenly flies into view. It freezes and the color fades out of the picture. The camera then pans across the frozen picture until it just reaches Lain. If you're careful with the frame advance, you can see that she's the only thing in color in the picture.
FADE TO:
Lain's face looking up at the crow. Its shadow is frozen on her face.
Lain shrugs her shoulders and turns to walk away (the world is once more in color). Her hat is frozen in mid-air.
View from above as she walks away. The hat is still there.
Lain in the 3-D landscape. She closes her eyes, lowers then shakes her head, and then, appearing faint, fades away into a rain of pixels. The lower half of a face appears to be visible behind her.
END SERIES OF SHOTS
FADE OUT
FADE IN:
EXT. STREET INTERSECTION - TOKYO - NIGHT
A busy street corner is bathed in a green light as pedestrians stroll across the crosswalks. Street sounds are heard, but are distorted.
INSERT - CROSSWALK SIGNAL
as the red "Don't Walk" signal lights up.
BLURRED VIEW OF CAR LIGHTS
View of the street signs of Tokyo, the numerous electrical and telephone poles and lines in silhouette. Masses of humanity pass by.
Female (V.O.)
Why? Why won't you come? I wish you would come here . . . .("You really should come here . . . .")
Cars cross the intersection and make their way around tardy pedestrians.
Dark clouds race above neon buildings and thick nets of overhead wires.
COMPUTER SCREEN
showing letters swirling across the screen until they form the word "WEIRD", which is also pronounced by an echoing computer-generated voice. The additional text "Layer:01" appears and is also pronounced. Variants of these two phrases and "serial experiments lain" fade in as well.
STREET
as various people stroll by (the sound distortion has stopped). The scene is so brightly lit that people and signs appear to be floating in a black void. Shadows are speckled with blood-red spots.
A school satchel drops to the ground. YOMODA CHISA, a middle-school girl still in her uniform, is out of breath and leaning against the darkness (presumably a wall). She has mousy brown hair and large glasses. Some TEENAGE GIRLS in street clothes point and laugh, although most of the other people don't even notice her as they walk past.
Teenage Girls
Look! Look at that!
One of the girls looks like a grown-up Lain with a butch haircut, the second could be Arisu, and the third appears to be Juri.
Chisa recovers herself and looks up the side of the building.
WATERY PSYCHEDELIC BACKGROUND
on which the words "Why should you do that, is something you should figure out for yourself." appear.
SKY, ELECTRIC WIRES, AND BUILDINGS
over which can be heard the hum of the power transformers. The buildings and sky fade out, leaving just the wires.
A laughing BUSINESS MAN and a YOUNGER WOMAN are walking arm in arm down the street.
Man
Gotcha!
EDGE OF BUILDING
Two feet are visible on the edge of a walkway, with the red-spotched darkness filling the rest of the scene. The man and woman can still be heard.
STREET
The man makes a pass at the woman.
Young Woman
Hey, cut it out!
Man
Why?
Young Woman
Don't!
Man
What's the problem? Don't play hard to get! Come on, let's go someplace happy.
EDGE OF BUILDING
Chisa calmly takes off her glasses. The wind blows the binding off of her hair so it flows freely.
PAN BACK to reveal she is standing on the edge of a rooftop, holding the railing behind her and reaching out with the hand holding the glasses. The only sound we can hear is the WIND. She is smiling and saying something we can't hear.
WATERY BACKGROUND
with the words "I don't need to stay in a place like this."
EDGE OF BUILDING
CLOSE-UP on Chisa's hand, as she slowly lets go of the rail.
Quick shot of two wires with the sound of RIPPING. The wires now have shreds of Chisa's skirt on them.
Chisa free-falls down the side of the building.
STREET
A street sign is suddenly SMASHED by the impact.
The kissing couple finally notice something. They turn to see the sign finish falling over.
From beneath the sign can be seen Chisa's arm and her hair. Blood is streaming into the puddle beneath her.
Bystanders (O.S.)
What the hell? What happened?!
The couple are frozen in shock.
Man (O.S.)
W-We don't know anything! W-We've got nothing to do with this!
Bystander
She came outta nowhere . . . Oh, no. Damn it . . . .
INSERT - ROOFTOP RAILING
Chisa's satchel sits where she left it overhanging the roof. A small toy figurine sways from the chain attached to the pack's handle. The shadow of the satchel is full of red spotches.
FADE OUT
FADE IN:
EXT. SUBURBAN NEIGHBORHOOD - DAY
A bright morning, dominated by the electrical wires and their hum. We can hear people talking, as if in a cafe, but see no one. The light in this scene is so bright than only shadows can be seen against the white. The only signs of color are the green fringes to the edges of bushes and trees, and the purple splashes and red splotches of the shadows on the sidewalk.
WATERY BACKGROUND
with the words "If you stay in a place like this, you might not be able to connect."
IWAKURA RESIDENCE
It is so bright that it is impossible to figure out what we are looking at.
A door opens in one section of whiteness, revealing itself to be a wall. Out of the door steps IWAKURA LAIN, a young girl wearing the same school uniform we earlier saw on Chisa. Lain has short red hair with a strand on the left side grown long and bound in an X-shaped pin. That is her only distinguishing characteristic.
Lain walks towards us, her motions revealing the existence of stairs leading away from the now-invisible door.
Lain looks up at us. She has brown eyes and very small pupils--perhaps the strange washed out view of the world we have been seeing is how she perceives reality.
As she walks down the sidewalk, Lain's shadow reveals hidden red splotches.
The neighborhood is particularly dense with overhead wires and their attendant hum.
CUT TO WHITE
FADE IN:
INT. RAILWAY CAR
Lain has her back to the railway doors and is staring forward. She is watching the electric wires out the other side of the car.
Many VOICES can be heard, but no one in the railway car is speaking. Lain is now facing the other way and looking at the wires on her side of the car.
Lain
What a racket . . . .
(beat)
Can't you be quiet?
The VOICES stop. The railway passengers look at her strangely, but she keeps staring out the doors.
EXT. OUTSIDE SCHOOL
A line of SCHOOLGIRLS of various ages walk down the street past a park. The end of the street leads into a spacious school campus, with lots of trees and tall buildings. Subtle DRUM patterns can be heard in the soundtrack.
Lain arrives at school. She stops by the stern bust of the school's founder to watch the moire patterns in her shadow.
Lain lifts her head to look at the students. Before her eyes they fade in the glare into penciled scribbles.
Everything is now pure white. Lain tries to make out any kind of detail in the overwhelming light.
WATERY BACKGROUND
with the words "Everybody, hurry . . . "
INT. CLASSROOM
We are finally able to see clearly again. There are a couple dozen students preparing for class. Lain puts her satchel on her desk, which is at the front of the room. She also has a toy attached to the handle, a yellow bear. Sitting down, she hears someone crying and turns her head.
Towards the back of the classroom, two girls confront a third who is sobbing at her desk. The crying student is KATO JURI (Julie in the dub), who has light brown hair and big fluffy ponytails. The girl on the left is MIZUKI ARISU (Alice in the dub), who has short black hair with two strands in front. The third girl is YAMAMOTO REIKA, who has long brown hair.
Arisu
Juri, don't make such a big deal about it.
Reika
Yeah, it's just some stupid prank.
Juri
B-But . . .
Arisu bends down to comfort Juri. Lain stands watching them, not knowing how to react.
Arisu
It'll be okay.
Lain turns back and starts removing books from her satchel.
Arisu
Lain? Did you get one, too?
Lain turns to see Arisu beside her.
Lain
Get what?
Arisu
E-mail! (The e-mail!)
Lain
E-mail?
Arisu
From Chisa Yomoda!
Lain
I . . . I'm not very good with computers.
Arisu
You should at least check your mail once a day.
Arisu
Well, it's up to you, I guess. (It's best to, you know.)
A smug Reika walks up beside Lain.
Reika
Lain's such a baby.
Lain looks back at Juri, who is now crying by herself.
Lain
(Poor Julie.) Why is she crying?
Reika
Because she got an e-mail from Chisa Yomoda, that's why!
Lain
Chisa? Who's that?
Reika
She was in class D (, in our second period). She killed herself last week by jumping off a building in Shibuya.
Reika
Come on, the teacher told everybody!
Arisu
It's not just Juri. Lots of people have gotten mail from her this week.
Lain
But she's . . .
Arisu
Right. You shouldn't be getting mail from a dead girl. But there it is. (It must be a prank.)
A MALE TEACHER is writing what appear to be programming notes on the chalkboard ("printf(''%c>%¥n''" and so on). Lain is the only one watching this--the other students are studying.
As Lain watches (and the sound of the chalk writing becomes louder and lounder), the images on the board waver and disintegrate. Lain squints at the board in an attempt to bring the equations back.
Giving up, Lain looks down at her notepad. She drops her pink automatic pencil (which has a bear head sticker on it) and looks at her hand.
Little holes open up in Lain's fingertips, and smoke WHOOSHES out. The sound of the chalk has been replaced by rhythmic DRUMMING.
Lain looks up to follow the patterns of smoke as it fills the room.
WATERY BACKGROUND
with the words "What's it like when you die?" This is then replaced by a response: "It really hurts! :)"
EXT. SUBURBAN NEIGHBORHOOD
It is now late afternoon, meaning that the light has faded enough to make out details in the world again. The electrical lines are still there (both visually and aurally).
Lain walks home through the lengthening speckled shadows. She is lost in thought. Before her is her home.
INT. HALLWAY WINDOW
as Lain looks out into the family room. The place is laid out as might be expected for a mid-level income family. It is also empty. Lain retreats into the shadows.
LAIN'S ROOM
as Lain enters. The large room is sparse, consisting of a cot bed on the floor near the window, a small cluttered desk and desk chair in a corner, and two lines of stuffed animals: one on the windowsill, and one where the bed meets the wall. It is fairly dim in here, with the only light coming from outside. Lain (who has changed her shoes for bear-themed slippers) walks to the desk.
She puts her satchel down and looks at the small COMPUTER which has been turned to face away from her. The rest of the desk is covered with animal-topped pencils in a cup, a stuffed bear and snowman, a traditional alarm clock (it's 6 p.m.), cute stationary and schoolbooks.
(NOTE: Even in this dim environment, Lain's pupils are still little more than pinholes.)
Lain sits on her bed and removes her jacket, then looks thoughtfully at the computer. Finally, she gets up, rearranges the items on her desk, and turns the computer around, donning a cap with bear ears on it. She looks at her reflection in the monitor for a few seconds, then presses the master switch.
The computer begins the boot up routine (Lain's reflection can still be seen). "Communication OS" is seen, plus a large "C" in a square box ("serial experiments lain" is also faintly visible). Text appears: "Powering up", "Working", "Just a little longer". Finally a screen appears with prompts in Japanese and English (the English one is "Enter ID").
Computer (V.O.)
Log in.
(beat)
Who are you? (Who is the user?)
Lain is a bit confused, then remembers the keyboard behind the computer. Pulling it out, she types her name.
"lain" appears in the prompt, and the dialog is replaced with another. The English prompt to this one is "Voice PassWord".
Computer (V.O.)
Lain. Please say your name.
Lain
La-i-n.
The wave pattern of Lain's response appears on screen.
Computer (V.O.)
Accepted. (Voice accepted.)
The word "Accepted" briefly appears.
Computer (V.O.)
You must be Lain. (Greetings to user Lain.)
(beat)
Lain has mail.
Lain
From who?
Computer (V.O.)
Chisa Yomoda.
(beat)
Do you wish to read your mail?
Lain presses a key on the keyboard.
The following appears on the screen a character at a time: "Hello, how are you?". As Lain looks closely at the screen, the voice of the computer reads the line aloud.
Computer (V.O.)
"Hello, how are you?"
The rest of the e-mail appears on the screen to be read by the computer.
Computer (V.O.)
"Lain, I walked home with you just once. Do you remember?--
Lain nods.
Computer (V.O.)
(continuing)
"--I have only given up my body. By doing this, I can explain to you that I am still alive. I wanted to let you know this, Lain, so I sent this e-mail to you. (I want the others to know, too, so I have sent them e-mail also.) Do you understand? It's okay if you can't right now. You will all understand soon. Everyone will.--
Lain
(interrupting)
Why did you die?
Computer (V.O.)
(continuing)
"--Rumor at school has it that this is a prank e-mail, but I want you to know that it isn't, Lain.--
Lain
(interrupting)
Why? Why did you die?
Spooky MUSIC kicks in.
Computer (V.O.)
(continuing)
"--God is here. (Here, there is a God.)
Lain
Huh?
Lain stares at the word "God" on the monitor.
INSERT - TELEVISION
A female anchor for the program "News Triangle" is reading the headlines. The volume is muted.
DINING ROOM
Lain is eating dinner silently with her mother and elder sister. IWAKURA MIHO is a beautiful middle-aged woman with a completely vacant expression. She has her brown hair up in a bun and is the only one wearing makeup. IWAKURA MIKA has long tan hair in a ponytail and a long strand on the right side of her face. She is clearly bored to be associating with her family.
Lain stirs her soup. A cup with a bear head on it is beside her. The reflection from the spoon glares in her eyes.
Mika
(getting up)
I ate lunch late today. I'm done.
Mika leaves. Miho doesn't even notice.
Lain
(summoning her courage)
Mom?
Miho
(monotone)
Yes?
Lain
I got an e-mail.
(beat)
From a girl who killed herself last week.
Miho continues eating. After waiting in vain for a response, Lain returns to her dinner.
LAIN'S ROOM - NIGHT
The computer is still on, the monitor's glow the only source of light in the room. Lain is sitting on her bed leaning against the wall. She is wearing bear-themed pajamas, including a bear-head hood that is over her head.
As she waits, a CAR can be heard pulling up outside. Someone gets out, WALKS to the front door, and OPENS it.
YASUO'S COMPUTER ROOM
IWAKURA YASUO, wearing his business clothes with slippers, reaches down to remove a PC expansion card (probably a modem card) from a box on the floor. Yasuo is a middle-aged businessman, distinguished physically by his glasses and in most other ways by his passion for computers. The box, by the way, is printed with a symbol that will later be associated with Tachibana Lab.
Yasuo looks at the card with satisfaction, then gets to work installing it in an opened tower PC. The large desk before him has six monitors (on the desk itself as well as a riser), plus a laser printer, all hooked up to a single keyboard, mouse, and touchpad. All of the monitors have various sticky notes attached. We can see Yasuo's coat and satchel thrown on a nearby couch--he obviously came straight here from the car.
Lain peeks in the open door at the other end of the room. She can't see Yasuo from where she's standing, and all she can hear are screws being adjusted.
Yasuo
(without looking up)
What is it, Lain?
(beat)
It's certainly unusual to see you in here. (You usually don't come to visit me in here. What is it?)
Lain walks in and removes her bear hood. She looks at the backs of the monitors, which currently block all view of her father.
Lain
I . . .
She looks down in frustration, then tries again.
Lain
I was wondering if you could buy me a new Navi . . . (You know that Navi . . . in my room? It's old now. Do you think that I . . .)
Yasuo completes the upgrade and puts the case back on the PC he was working on.
Yasuo
Finally caught the bug, huh?
He hits the master switch. Reflections from each of the monitors powering up can be seen in his glasses.
Yasuo
(staring at the screens)
You're in junior high now. Your friends are leaving you in the dust, right?
An "O Y" welcome box briefly appears in all of the monitors. Yasuo uses his mouse to launch a program called "Oyaji.exe" on the monitor right in front of him. The menu selections for this program are "File", "Edit", "Primitives", "Lights", "Materials", "Curves", "Selection" and "Show". Yasuo selects "File", then "Deformation Parameters" to get a dialog box (other File selections were "Automatic Envelope", "Local Envelope", "Global Envelope", "Rigid Envelope", "Envelope Assistant", "Deformation Curves" and "Fast Interaction"). The dialog box, "OYJ Module Editor", has Name set to "isosurface" with the note "isosurface is an OYJ mapper module. It is used to generate an 3D isosurface geometry." The dialog also has a host field (value "(local)") and a path field.
Yasuo next clicks "Primitives" from the main menu, bringing up an OYJ folder dialog containing icons for "PopOver.app", "MailHelper.app", "NetConv.app", "OmniImage.app", "NewsGrazer.app", "SystemConfig.app", "SysHelper.app", "OpenFind.app", "GatorFTP.app", "NetworkStart.login", "OmniWeb.app" and "CiaMap.app". He selects "NetworkStart.login", which brings up an "O Y" login prompt (labeled "Application Cyajiization System"). He types the phrase "Think Bule Count One Tow", which is apparently a password. This brings up a window showing four people spinning in a circle. Yasuo then sends this window to all of the other monitors. The circle windows are joined by boxes showing video of various people--this is a chat room of some kind. The videos are various well-dressed people without heads (the way people represent themselves on the Wired). There's a man in a purple tuxedo, a woman in a can-can costume, and another man in a green suit. Yasuo then begins typing.
Yasuo
(while he's doing all this)
I keep telling you that you should use a better machine. (You should upgrade that old Navi.) You know, Lain, in this world, whether it's here in the real world or in the Wired, people connect to each other, and that's how societies function. (You know, Lain, in the real world, or the Wired world, people are connected somehow. That's how societies are created.)
(beat)
(You should broaden your horizons. Make an effort to create friends. Take the initiative.) Even a girl like you can make friends right off the bat, Lain. (You can live and communicate in both worlds.) There's nothing to be afraid of. I wonder why your mother can't understand that . . . ?
Lain looks at Yasuo between the rows of monitors and mouths something. He continues typing furiously.
Lain
I'm not scared. (Not really.)
Yasuo
But why bring up your Navi all of a sudden? (So, why are you up so late? Bringing up your old Navi?)
Lain
There's a friend I want to see.
Yasuo cries out in triumph. Either he proved his new card is really good, or he scored a point over one of his online correspondents. Ignored, Lain continues to stand where she is.
FADE OUT.
FADE IN:
INT./EXT. RAILWAY CAR - DAY
View of the passing electrical lines and poles from inside the car.
Lain is staring out the door of the railway car, wearing her school uniform. The glow of sunlight is too bright to allow us to see outside.
Suddenly, the car is rocked and the SQUEAL of brakes can be heard. Lain is knocked to the floor as the train comes to a halt.
Passengers
What happened? Damn it . . .
Railway Announcer (V.O.)
We apologize for the inconvenience, ladies and gentlemen. The train is currently stopped due to an accident. (Please be patient.)
Passengers
What? Was someone hit? I can't believe this . . . .
Lain gets up and touches the door. She is shocked by what she sees.
VIEW THROUGH THE DOOR
The wires growl menacingly. A strong stream of blood runs down the wires and audibly DRIPS to the ground in front of Lain.
FADE TO WHITE.
Lain fades in, followed by her new surroundings:
BUSY CROSSWALK
Lain is standing in the middle of the crosswalk. The pedestrians passing her on either side are faded in appearance, while Lain and the surrounding buildings and trees are in full color (this is the first normally-lit daylight scene in the show). White cars pass between us and her, changing the scene to white.
BOTTOM OF RAILWAY STAIRS
Lain is now standing at the bottom of a wide flight of stairs leading from darkness to daylight. As the people above her reach the top of the stairs, they fade to penciled scribbles and disappear, leaving her alone. A slow DRUMBEAT is on the soundtrack.
Lain looks over her shoulder with a serious expression on her face.
COURTYARD
Lain is now standing in the middle of an abandoned courtyard, located in front of a large building. The scene is nearly drowned in white, with deep shadows under the awning of the building.
INT. IWAKURA LIVING ROOM/KITCHEN
Camera pans from an odd angle until it finds Lain, standing alone at the kitchen table.
Lain closes her eyes and drops her head.
INSERT - TRAIN CROSSING SIGNAL FLASHING
EXT. RAILWAY CROSSING - MOS
The railway crossing is dense with fog. The crossing signal is still flashing, but no sound (besides the DRUMS) can be heard.
Lain opens her eyes. The reflections of crossed electrical wires can be seen in them.
STREET OUTSIDE LAIN'S HOUSE
Lain is standing in the middle of the street looking at all of the telephone and electrical wires above her neighborhood. The nearby shadows are full of blue splotches.
As she stands there, fog rolls in from either side, completely obscuring the view.
RAILWAY CROSSING
The fog clears enough to see Lain, but it is so thick that she casts a shadow on it.
The crossing signal flashes.
Lain looks down to see a wooden plank and gravel at her feet. She's now standing on the train tracks. The rails stretch ahead of her into the fog.
The sound of the CROSSING SIGNAL can finally be faintly heard.
Lain turns to see a SCHOOLGIRL lift the crossing gates to gain access to the tracks. The fog is too thick to make out her face.
Lain hears the sounds of the train's HORN, and turns to see its lights approaching on the next track over.
The girl approaches. She has long brown hair blown over her face. The wind is blowing her clothes about.
(NOTE: Lain is not affected by the wind, even though she is even closer to the train than the girl is.)
Lain turns to the girl and shouts out a warning. Even though we can hear her feet SCAPE the gravel, no sound comes out of her lips.
The railway train rapidly approaches.
The girl skips out onto the tracks in front of the train.
Lain continues to shout inaudibly.
The girl's face comes into view. It seems to be shifting between a smiling expression, a scream, and a mask or skull riddled with holes.
The train RUSHES by a crouching Lain. It is drawn in a penciled style. Lain clutches her head.
FADE TO WHITE.
WHITENESS
The sudden silence gradually becomes the sound of something dripping on a soft surface.
FADE IN:
INT. CLASSROOM
Lain's notebook is stained by tears (or a cold sweat). She is still holding her dripping head.
Female Teacher (O.S.)
Miss Iwakura.
Lain comes to her senses with a start and looks around. A FEMALE TEACHER is in front of her desk while all of the other students have their heads down studying. Lain and the teacher are the only two characters in full color--the students are faded.
Female Teacher
Miss Iwakura.
Lain
Yes, ma'am.
Teacher
(Blackboard . . . . ) This will be on the test.
Lain squints as she tries to concentrate on the chalkboard. The lesson appears to be on English grammar. As she looks, the words wave, glow, and then fragment into particles, on which the phrase "Come to the Wired as soon as you can." materializes in chalk. As Lain stares, the letters become characters on a monitor display, then suddenly return to the class lesson ("When I came home, Mother was cooking.", "If you go", and "She is ill" are visible).
EXT. STREET
Lain is walking home, her head down. The humming wires are overhead, and the numerous shadows are full of blue splotches, making it look like Lain is walking in outer space. A plaintive MELODY can be heard on the soundtrack.
Lain walks by in a field of red splotches and purple and green patches on a sea of black.
Chisa walks past Lain in her school uniform, her head also down.
Lain raises her head in surprise. At that moment, Chisa suddenly disappears.
Lain stops for a moment, then looks behind her.
Chisa is now facing her, her head down, holding her satchel in both hands.
Lain gasps in recognition. She turns to face Chisa.
Lain
Chisa . . . ?
(beat)
Where are you? (So where . . . are you?)
Chisa smiles and looks up at Lain for a moment before dropping her head again.
Chisa starts glowing, brighter and brighter until she is composed entirely of light, then unravels like a coiled ribbon.
Lain
Wait!
The only reply is the HUM of the nearby power transformer.
On the screen appears the phrase "to Be continued".
FADE OUT.
INT. LAIN'S ALTERNATE BEDROOM - NIGHT
The closing credits consist of three elements: music, scrolling text, and visuals. The music is the song "A Distant Cry", by Reiichi "CHABO" Nakaido, performed in Japanese:
I thought I was innocent,
but I'm being punished.
I didn't start this,
but I have to finish it somehow.
I can't say I didn't know about it,
but I don't remember taking part in it.
I get the feeling my freedom cost me dearly,
but I don't remember selling my soul cheaply.
Hey, hey! Until I die and say goodbye . . .
Hey, hey! . . . no one will ever catch me.
You probably don't know
the eternal outlaws who wonder the distant night.
Here are the credits:
LAYOUT: Takahiro Kishida
KEY ANIMATION: Noriko Ozeki, Tatsuya Furukawa, Yuri Takasaki, Yuko Matsuo, Tomoaki Chishima, Mami Endo
PAINT CHECKER: Hiroshi Shirakawa
INBETWEENERS: Sung San Animation Production, Lee Eun Sil, Kim Myong Lan, Lee Yun Kyung, Ko Eun Joo, Yoon Yung Hee, Jang Young Kyuong, Kang Hyo Yoon, You Joo Hwan, Ha Seung Hee, Joen Hye Ryoun, Oh Hyon Hwa, Kim Jin Ah
COLOR KEY/CHECKER: Ryoko Hiraide
PAINT: Sung San Animation Production, Song You Ja, Lee Byoung Ae, Choi Eun Ha, You Joo Lyoung, Song In Ah, Kwak Nee Youn, Kim Myoung Ja, Sin Choong Sook
SPECIAL EFFECTS: Takashi Maekawa
BACKGROUND: Studio Biho, Yuka Ohashi, Yurika Kawano, Yuji Shimada, Izumi Hogi, Nami Kataoaka, Chieko Nezaki, Tatsuro Iono, Sohei Koizumi, Sei Ito, Kuniharu Kyoda
PHOTOGRAPHY: Azyuhata Production, Atsuo Tsukioka, Shinichi Sasano, Akiro Nishikawa, Kazusumi Takahashi
ASSISTANT EDITORS: Keiko Mizuta, Megumi Uchida, Kaoru Saito
CAST
Lain Iwakura - Kaori Shimizu
Yasuo Iwakura - Ryunosuke Obayashi
Miho Iwakura - Rei Igarashi
Mika Iwakura - Ayako Kawasumi
Arisu Mizuki - Yoko Asada
Reika Yamamoto - Chiharu Tezuka
Juri Kato - Manabi Mizuno
Chisa Yomoda - Kotomi Muto
Middle Aged Man - Jin Yamanoi
Old Man - Jin Horikawa
Young Girl's Voice - Tamiko Kawayoshi
Man - Suguru Hachinohe
Keiko Yoshii - Michiko Neya
Young Girl - Kayo Deguchi
DJ - Ari Morizumi
S - Mikiko Kurihawa
CASTING: Suguru Matsuoka
RECORDING STUDIO: Tokyo TV Center
RECORDING ENGINEER: Shoji Hata
SOUND PRODUCTION: Rakuonsha
ENDING THEME: "Toi Sakebi" / Reiichi "CHABO" Nakaido
Lyrics and Composition by: Reiichi "CHABO" Nakaido (TOSHIBA EMI)
OPENING/ENDING PRODUCTION
KEY ANIMATION: Koichi Arai, Noriyuki Matsutake, Hidenori Matsubara, Akihiro Yamashita, Hirofumi Suzuki, Toshiyuki Tsuru, Tomokazu Tokoro
PAINT CHECKERS: Masato Ujibe, Tomoko Miyata
ART: Studio Biho
DIGITAL OPERATION: Rare Trick, SR-12W
EDITING: Tsuyoshi Imai (JAY Film)
MUSIC PRODUCTION: 7th Mother Emi Ito, Koyousha, J-WORKS
MUSIC MARKETING: Akinori Ito
MUSIC PRODUCTION IN ASSOCIATION WITH: Toshiba EMI, Polystar, Fuji Pacific Music Publishing, TV TOKYO Music
LABORATORY: IMAGICA
VIDEO EDITING: Kumio Onaga (Active Cine Club), Mari Kobayashi (Active Cine Club), Yasumi Morimitsu (Supplex Inc.)
FILM: Eastman Kodak
TITLE LOGO: Maki Production
DIGITAL EFFECTS: Rare Trick, SR-12W, Active Cine Club
SUBTILE - PROGRAMMING & CG WORKS: Junshi Nakahara, Masahiko Takai, Satoru Takahashi, Koji Yamagiwa
GRAPHIC OPERATION: Mitsuru Sugiura
MAIN TITLE LOGO DESIGN: Akihisa Okuda (BALANCE of PROPORTION, INC.)
PHOTOGRAPHY IN ASSOCIATION WITH: Arito Yukawa
SETTING IN ASSOCIATION WITH: Hitoshi Kagiyama
ASSISTANT PRODUCER: Mie Ide
SETTING PRODUCER: Kazuharu Sato
PRODUCER DESK: Takashi Hirokawa
PRODUCTION ASSISTANT: Minako Shimoi
PROMOTION: Junya Ito
PRODUCED IN ASSOCIATION WITH: GENCO
PUBLISHED IN: AX (Sony Magazines)
ANIMATION PRODUCTION: Triangle Staff
ANIMATION DIRECTOR: Masahoro Sekiguchi
CONTINUITY - DIRECTION: Ryutaro Nakamura
ENGLISH DUBBED & SUBTITLED VERSION PRODUCED BY: PIONEER ENTERTAINMENT (USA) L.P.
IN ASSOCIATION WITH: ZRO LIMIT PRODUCTIONS & ANIMAZE...
PRODUCTION COORDINATOR: Osamu Maseba, Kei Onishi
TRANSLATION/SUBTITLE TIMING: David Fleming, ZRO LIMIT PRODUCTIONS
DIRECTOR: Lia Sargent
ENGLISH ADR SCRIPT WRITERS: Quint Lancaster (ep.#1), Gavin Glennon (ep.2-4)
RECORDING FACILITY: MAGNITUDE 8 POST, Les Claypool III
DIGITAL ADR TRACKING: Michael McCarty
FINAL MIX: Les Claypool III
ENGLISH DUB VOICE TALENTS: Alexis A. Edward, Bebe Elam, Celeste Burch, Christy Mathewson, Devon Michaels, Dorothy Melendez, Dylan Tully, Elliot Reynolds, Emily Brown, George C. Cole, Gil Starbery, Gracie Poletti, Heather Ashton, Horace Muckle, Ian Hawk, James Lyon, Jimmy Theodore, Katie Ashley, Lenore Zann, Lia Sargent, Marie Danielle, Melissa Williamson, Paul Stephen, PJ Lee, Robert Wicks, Rona Bellini, Ruby Marlowe, Sean Mitchell, Susan Chavez, Syd Fontana, Ty Webb
SUBTITLED BY: Captions, Inc.
ONLINE FACILITY: VDI Media West, Carl Segal - General Manager, Keri Winthers - Online Editor
EXECUTIVE PRODUCER: Hideki Goto
PRODUCER: Hiroe Tsukamoto, Yutaka Maseba, Haruyo Kanesaku
PRODUCED BY: PIONEER LDC
The visual is a slow ZOOM OUT of Lain, sleeping peacefully in a bed made of wires and devices. She's sleeping in a loose fetal position and not wearing anything other than her hair pin.
FADE OUT.
THE END