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- Title
When the Machines Stop: Fantasy, Reality and Terminal Identity in Neon Genesis Evangelion and Serial Experiments Lain.
- Authors
Napier, Susan J.
- Abstract
This article examines two major works in recent Japanese anime, the science-fiction series "Neon Genesis Evangelion" (1997) and "Serial Experiments Lain" (1999) in terms of their exploration of the human subject vis-à-vis an apocalyptic vision of technology and the real at the end of the twentieth century. While a number of popular anime have dealt with this subject since the 1970s, "Evangelion" and "Lain" are characterized by a unique approach: a concern with what happens to human identity when the machines stop—i.e., is there still subjectivity outside of technology? "Evangelion" answers the question in ambiguous fashion, highlighting the artifice inherent in animation itself to suggest a world of infinite possibilities, where the "real" is simply what the imagination creates. "Lain" seems more pessimistic, giving its protagonist no choice but to erase herself from reality in order to save it. While they are both groundbreaking works, they are also analyzed in relation to key issues in contemporary Japanese culture, in particular its own increasingly problematic relationship with the real.
- Subjects
JAPAN; ANIMATED television programs; SERIAL Experiments Lain (TV program); NEON Genesis Evangelion (Film); JAPANESE science fiction
- Publication
Science Fiction Studies, 2002, Vol 29, Issue 3, p418
- ISSN
0091-7729
- Publication type
Literary Criticism