Line #106 Characters/SerialExperimentsLain


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11
12	[[foldercontrol]]
13
14	!Main Characters
15
16
17	[[folder:Lain Iwakura ('''UNMARKED SPOILERS''')]]
18
19	!!Lain Iwakura
20
21	[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/lain_iwakura_serial_experiments_lain_37174570_300_450.png]]
22	[[caption-width-right:300:No matter where you go, everyone's connected.]]
23
24
25	->'''Voiced By:''' ''Creator/KaoriShimizu'' (JP), ''Creator/BridgetHoffman'' (EN)[[labelnote: Foreign [=VAs=]]] ''Lucila Gómez'' (LAS), ''Assumpta Navascués'' (ES) [[/labelnote]]
26
27	--> ''"Lain is Lain."''
28
29	Titular character and protagonist of the series. Lain is initially portrayed as a emotionless fourteen year old girl being raised by her ineffectual mother and computer obsessed father in a cyberpunk Japan. After receiving a mysterious email from a recently deceased classmate she is thrown into a conspiracy that causes her to question the foundations of her existence.
30
31	-----
32	* AmbiguouslyBi: Lain declares her love for Alice during the climax of the series, though it isn't specified whether it is romantic or platonic. Lain also expresses a subtle attraction towards Taro, who she had gone on a "date" with in Layer 09, and later manifests herself on his portable computer as a kind of goodbye after resetting the world.
33	* AndroidsArePeopleToo: Despite Lain's main personality being "software" created in the Wired implanted into an artificial body, what she wants for herself is little more than to be loved by her family and friends the way a normal fourteen year old girl is. It is the acceptance of her by Alice (and to a lesser extent her father) regardless of who or what she is that keeps her from fully losing her sanity at the end of the anime.
34	* AnimalMotifs: A bear, as seen in her kigurumi (onesie), slippers, beanie hat, and stationery. As well as just being cute, it makes sense for a bear to be Lain's motif, as they symbolise evolution and strength.
35	* AntiAntichrist: According to Eiri, Lain's purpose for existing is to merge the real world with the world of The Wired creating a single consciousness on Earth that would ultimately eliminate individuality. Lain rejects this in favor of resetting the present timeline where all her friends and family live normal lives without her.
36	* ApocalypseMaiden: She's the center of an AssimilationPlot.
37	* ArtificialHuman: Lain is an artificially produced God created by Masami Eiri to push humanity into the next stage of human evolution by linking all humanity into a god-like collective consciousness.
38	* AscendToAHigherPlaneOfExistence: What she does at the end of the series after resetting the world.
39	* [[BecomeARealBoy Become A Real Girl]]: Played with. The idea of Lain coming out of her EmotionlessGirl shell and making friends is a plot point, but what ''really'' goes on is far more bizarre.
40	* BarefootLoon: One of the traits adopted at the kickstart of her character development, along with the ditching of most clothing while in her HackerCave. It is justified by being indoors, but it seems to highlight how detached she becomes from the real world and, conversely, how secure she feels when in her domains, which are now treated as an extension of her room, with her avatars in the Wired being similarly barefoot. No attention is given, though, to the fact that she has the floor of her HackerCave flooded in coolant and it would be ridiculously easy to suffer an electrical accident with all of those cables, which might be the greatest sign of her mental absence.
41	* BoyishShortHair: Lain's hair is cropped short except for a thick sidelock held together by an X-shaped hairclip. According to Yoshitoshi Abe, the unconventional style is supposed to represent Lain's unstable nature, and the [[AllThereInTheManual videogame]] explains that the sidelock is supposed to stop evil spirits and bad luck entering through the left ear.
42	* BrainUploading: What some of the groups in the story want her to do. Of course, in this world, doing so would likely consist of committing suicide. In the game, she goes through with it.
43	* CovertPervert: Her alternate/evil personality is voyeuristic towards her friend Alice.
44	* CreepyChild: Her blank stare, quiet demeanor and cryptic words make her this to a certain extent. A good example is her interaction with the junkie in the night club in LAYER 02.
45	* CreepyMonotone: She speaks in a constant low tone. Except when she's in the Wired. Or angry.
46	* DespairEventHorizon: She has a few, but the most prominent one is driving Alice almost insane by showing her the truth.
47	* DullEyesOfUnhappiness: Gains this over the course of the series as she gets more and more connected to The Wired.
48	* EmotionlessGirl: Her primary aspect is this. The others, not so much.
49	* FakeMemories: Lain's memories about her life and family are all fabrications of The Wired.
50	* FirstKiss: With Taro on their "date".
51	* HackerCave: Lain creates a massively complicated one in her room over the series, to point where it actually ''spills'' out her window.
52	* HeroicBSOD: Caused by her realization that she is not human, but a "program".
53	* IAmWho: A critical part of her nature. "Who is Lain?", she asks. A computer program? An artificial human? A delusional schizophrenic? The Wired? God?
54	* IdentityBreakdown: She's interrogated by TheMenInBlack in episode 8,during which they ask her "[[ArmorPiercingQuestion Who are you? Are your parents really your parents?]]" These questions, along with the silent confirmation from her parents when Lain brings this up with them, causes Lain to spiral for the next couple of episodes, peaking with TheReveal that her digital self [[TomatoInTheMirror is her true self]], causing a HeroicBSOD.
55	* IJustWantToHaveFriends: Her friends, especially Alice, are what makes her most happy.
56	* IWantMyBelovedToBeHappy: Lain personally "resets" the world for Alice at the expense of her own existence.
57	* InformedLoner: She has friends, but they have to make a conscious effort to get her to do much with them outside of school.
58	* LittleMissAlmighty: Lain is a god-like being that can alter reality.
59	* MeaningfulName: Lain is an reference to the religious act of "Laining", which means to read from The Torah. Depending on how it is spelled, it is also a homophone to the English word "line", as in online.
60	* MessianicArchetype: Lain is essentially a omniscient being in mortal form who must struggle between her humanity and her divinity.
61	* MyGodWhatHaveIDone: After Alice goes catatonic with fear after witnessing Eiri try to manifest in the real world, Lain cries and decides to reset time to spare Alice from all the pain she inadvertently caused her.
62	* NiceGirl: Lain's primary personality is a demure, shy girl who wouldn't hurt a fly and values her friendships. Her "Wired" personality retains (most of) her morals, but is otherwise too assertive and ruthless to qualify, and Evil Lain is a sadistic gadfly who only seems to exist [[ForTheEvulz to make Lain and everyone around her miserable]].
63	* NiceJobBreakingItHero: After being harassed by the group for several weeks Lain exposes the identities of the Knights of the Eastern Calculus on The Wired. She immediately regrets her decision after witnessing the dozens of suicides and assassinations that it causes.
64	* NoSocialSkills: Or technical skills, or academic skills, or much of anything, at first.
65	* NotSoStoic: Lain's Wired alter-ego is expressive, passionate and emotional.
66	* ObliviousAdoption: Her "family" are actually a part of an experiment conducted to control the Wired.
67	* OlderThanTheyLook: Zigzagged. Despite being fourteen Lain can pass off as a grade school child as long as she's wearing the right clothes. However, she's also [[YoungerThanTheyLook mistaken for an adult at times by the patrons of Cyberia]] when her assertive personality is in control.
68	* ParentalAbandonment: Lain's family abandons her in Layer 11 revealing that they were never her actual family, but were simply acting to observe her behavior.
69	* ParentalNeglect: Her mother constantly ignores and neglects her. It makes sense when we find out she's not really her mother. Maybe.
70	* PhysicalGod: She is the '''true''' Goddess of the Wired, but she doesn't realize it till near the end of the series.
71	* ThePeepingTom: Her alternate/evil personality enjoys spying on Alice masturbating.
72	* PsychoticSmirk: This is pretty much her "evil" personality's default expression.
73	* RealityWarper: Lain is essentially a God and is capable of rewriting all of history at will.
74	* RecurringDreams: In the game, Lain's dreams include some mysterious "it" related to her hallucinations. While the dreams come and go, them returning never precipitates anything good.
75	* ReiAyanamiExpy: And in a MindScrew-laden series, [[Anime/NeonGenesisEvangelion too.]] An unintentional example, since the creators hadn't watched ''Evangelion'' till after the fourth episode of Lain.
76	* RetGone: In the anime she rewrites reality so that Eiri never conceives his plan to assimilate reality into the Wired and removes all traces of herself from the physical world. By the end the only people who seem to have any memory of Lain's existence are her father, Taro, and Alice, and even then it is closer to them having the ''feeling'' of forgetting someone they once knew rather than a true recollection of who she is.
77	* SanitySlippage: Over the course of the series she becomes more and more unhinged from reality. Likewise reality itself becomes more and more unhinged as she is effectively a PhysicalGod.
78	* SplitPersonalities: A major plot point in the series focuses on Lain's split personalities. There are three "Lains": The Lain that exists in the "Real World" who is introverted and child-like, Lain when she is on The Wired who is assertive and inquisitive and the Evil Lain who presents Lain's archetypal Shadow being malicious, violent and extremely sadistic (and it's implied to be working for the Knights).
79	* SplitPersonalityMerge: In Layer 13, Lain is able to overcome and absorb the personality of Evil!Lain.
80	* TheStoic: Doesn't speak or emote much, and only interacts with a few people. In the real world, that is.
81	* {{Technopath}}: Lain is essentially the Goddess of The Wired.
82	* TechnoWizard: And how! She outstrips her father within episodes of getting a computer.
83	* TeenGenius: Despite being fourteen Lain is able to construct a custom made NAVI supercomputer.
84	* TerribleArtist: You get to see her doodling in class: it's nothing but an extremely wobbly spiral.
85	* ThousandYardStare: Lain's default blank expression comes complete with huge staring eyes.
86	* TomatoInTheMirror: Lain struggles about whether she's real or just a "program".
87	* {{Transhuman}}: One interpretation of her, if she was actually human at the start.
88	* VirtualGhost: Lain of the Wired.
89	* WeirdnessMagnet: Lain is brought into a massive conspiracy involving the collective unconsciousness, TheMenInBlack, and an online cult.
90	* {{Yandere}}: Evil Lain displays this towards Alice and casually stalks her by manifesting in her room to watch her masturbate.
91
92	[[/folder]]
93
94	[[folder:Alice Mizuki]]
95
96	!!Alice Mizuki
97
98	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/alice_1.png]]
99	[[caption-width-right:350: If you aren't remembered, then you never existed.]]
100
101	->'''Voiced by:''' ''Creator/YokoAsada'' (JP), ''Emilie Brown'' (EN)[[labelnote: Foreign [=VAs=]]]''Valeria Gómez'' (LAS), ''Creator/AriadnaJimenez'' (ES) [[/labelnote]]
102
103
104	Alice is a fourteen year old who attends the same school as Lain Iwakura. During the series Alice attempts to befriend Lain in hopes of helping her come out of her shell. She soon becomes Lain's close friend.
105
106	-----
107	* AliceAllusion: Confirmed by the writer to be named after that Alice; this is a recurring trope in his works.
108	* GoMadFromTheRevelation: Alice is unable to comprehend the events that involve [[spoiler:Lain's divinity,]] culminating in her losing it when she sees Eiri's attempt at physical manifestation (also due to how horrific it is).
109	* HeroicBSOD: She has a couple, the first being when [[spoiler:Evil Lain]] tells her that she exposed her crush on the Wired, and upon finding out the truth about Lain and the Wired.
110	* HopeSpot: She gets through to Lain, thinking she can finally help her, and then [[spoiler:Lain starts talking to God.]]
111	* LockedOutOfTheLoop: She has literally no idea about what's going on in Lain's life till the penultimate episode.
112	* LivingEmotionalCrutch: Serves as one to Lain.
113	* MuggleBestFriend: She's Lain's closest friend, and is completely oblivious to what Lain is.
114	* NiceGirl: A kind girl who just wants to help an introverted classmate.
115	* OrdinaryHighSchoolStudent: Nothing out of the ordinary.
116	* PrecociousCrush: On her teacher.
117	* WeirdnessCensor: She discusses this trope with her friends, wondering if they aren't too desensitized to the strange happenings around them.
118	* WeirdnessMagnet: Her friendship with Lain causes her be in the eye of a cyclone of surreal events.
119	* YouAreNotAlone: She tries this with Lain to bring her back to reality. It works, then [[FromBadToWorse it gets worse]].
120
121	[[/folder]]
122
123	[[folder:Touko Yonera]]
124
125	!!Touko Yonera
126
127	Exclusive to the video game, Touko is a 27-year-old counselor/psychiatrist working for Tachibana General Labs. She spent some years as a transfer student in America, where she met her boyfriend, Takashi. Now returned to Japan, she's taken on Lain as her first client.
128
129	-----
130	* CriticalPsychoanalysisFailure: The more their counseling sessions go on, the more Touko becomes the subject of Lain's prying questions, eventually driving her into a state of mental instability. Of course, Lain isn't exactly a normal patient.
131	* GirlsLoveStuffedAnimals: It wasn't stuffed, but she had a dragon-shaped bank she loved a lot and talked to as a kid.
132	* HopelessSuitor: It comes very much as a surprise to Touko when she hears rumors that Takashi is getting married. Turns out all the times he told her he was busy were him trying to blow her off. She tries to justify it as him waiting for the right time to tell her he's not interested anymore.
133	* IJustWantToBeLoved: Touko realizes eventually that she's like this, namely following the news that Takashi is getting married and considering the attraction she'd felt to her coworker, Yoshida.
134	* SanitySlippage: Despite being tasked with counseling Lain, as their sessions go on, it becomes clear that Touko is suffering from mental instability of her own. Even her diagnostic reports come to better describe her own deteriorating mental state.
135	* SpellMyNameWithAnS: The fan translation swaps between spelling her name as Touko or Toko, and even extends her surname to Younera. Her boyfriend Takashi/Takeshi gets some of this, too.
136
137	[[/folder]]
138
139	!Lain's Family
140
141	[[folder:Yasuo Iwakura]]
142
143	!!Yasuo Iwakura
144
145	->'''Voiced by:''' ''Ryusuke Obayashi'' (JP), ''Barry Stigler'' (EN)[[labelnote: Foreign [=VAs=]]]''Marcelo Armand'' (LAS), ''Francesc Belda'' (ES) [[/labelnote]]
146
147	Lain's computer obsessed father who first introduces her to the world of The Wired. Compared to his wife, Miho, he is much more affectionate towards Lain and seems to legitimately care for her. It is revealed in Layer 10: Love that neither he or the rest of the Iwakura family are really her family, but regardless Yasuo still loved Lain like a daughter.
148
149	-----
150	* ActOfTrueLove: He deliberately disobeys [[spoiler:Eiri's]] orders to [[spoiler:tell Lain goodbye and that he loved her]] despite the personal risks involved in disobeying.
151	* DotingParent: Yasuo is a subtle example of this trope: though he doesn't go out of his way to praise Lain, he is well aware of her capabilities and passively encourages her.
152	* IAmNotYourFather: Subverted. Lain [[spoiler:doesn't have a biological father in the strict sense (Eiri claims to have created her and given her a body, but even that's in doubt as he's a serial liar)]], however Yasuo ''does'' somewhat see her as his child. He seems rather somber about leaving Lain in Layer 11, but knows it has to be done. [[spoiler:He even comforts her in the end of the series when Lain finally achieves Godhood.]]
153	* NiceGuy: Despite being a bit subdued, he does care for Lain and even encourages her interests in computers. [[spoiler:Even when it's revealed he's not Lain's father, he still treats her like one in the final Layer, even comforting her.]]
154	* ParentalNeglect: Towards Mika. [[spoiler:He never notices anything wrong with her despite her being left an EmptyShell.]]
155	* SalaryMan: He works as this.
156	* ScaryShinyGlasses: Yasuo is often shown with them, showing his morally ambiguous nature.
157	* SoProudOfYou: Yasuo visits Lain for one last time to tell her that despite the fact that even though [[spoiler:she was just an experiment, he truly thought of her as his daughter.]]
158	* TechnoWizard: He is adept at using the Wired. That's probably why he got the job [[spoiler:of being Lain's "father".]]
159
160	[[/folder]]
161
162	[[folder:Miho Iwakura]]
163
164	!!Miho Iwakura
165
166	->'''Voiced by:''' ''Creator/ReiIgarashi'' (JP), ''Petrea Burchard'' (EN)[[labelnote: Foreign [=VAs=]]]''Silvia Aira'' (LAS), ''Susana Damas'' (ES) [[/labelnote]]
167
168	Lain and Mika's apathetic stay at home mother. Miho is completely indifferent to the lives and feelings of her daughters.
169
170	-----
171	* GiveHimANormalLife: Towards her elder daughter Mika.
172	* HouseWife: Her role, and not much else. Unlike Yasuo, she has no interest in the story, and is just performing a job.
173	* ParentalNeglect: Miho is completely unconcerned about the well being of her youngest daughter Lain and isn't much better towards Mika, [[spoiler:discarding her along with the rest of the garbage she left behind after abandoning Lain.]] She flat out even asks how is Lain alive after the events of Layer 2.
174	* ResentfulGuardian: She seems to legitimately hate Lain going so far as to refuse to interact with her for more than a few seconds. [[spoiler:It is later revealed this is because Lain is an omnipresent "program" that was placed into the Iwakura's care.]]
175
176	[[/folder]]
177
178	[[folder:Mika Iwakura]]
179
180	!!Mika Iwakura
181
182	->'''Voiced by:''' ''Creator/AyakoKawasumi'' (JP), ''Creator/PatriciaJaLee'' (EN)[[labelnote: Foreign [=VAs=]]]''Yamila Garreta'' (LAS), ''unknown'' (ES) [[/labelnote]]
183
184	Lain's arrogant older sister. Throughout the early portion of the series she is apathetic towards Lain and her peculiar behavior.
185
186	-----
187	* AmbiguousSituation: It can only be speculated why [[spoiler:she is targeted by and tortured by the Knights]]. Whether they consider her a potential threat to their plan, they [[StuffedIntoTheFridge simply want to find a way to distress Lain]], or some other reason is the cause, it isn't expanded on.
188	* BigSisterBully: Downplayed, but she's rude and cold towards Lain, even ignoring her seemingly being trapped in the middle of dense traffic.
189	* BrattyTeenageDaughter: She's aloof and dismissive, especially towards her sister.
190	* ButtMonkey: She ends up getting abused by the Knights of the Eastern Calculus.
191	* DespairEventHorizon: [[spoiler:After her MindRape and imprisonment in the Wired.]]
192	* DeathOfPersonality: [[spoiler:The Knights attack her and leave her body an EmptyShell after her mind realizes it's been disconnected from it.]]
193	* EmptyShell: [[spoiler:Her mind is trapped in the Wired, leaving her body capable of only repeating a dial-tone.]]
194	* GhostlyWail: [[spoiler:As she realizes her mind's been disconnected from her body she assumes a ghostlike form and takes a wailing pose, though her scream itself is completely inaudible before she disappears.]]
195	* GoMadFromTheRevelation: TheReveal that she's been [[spoiler:disconnected from her body]] causes Mika to go mad.
196	* KilledToUpholdTheMasquerade: Possibly. WordOfGod is Mika [[spoiler:tried to delve into the Wired like Lain, which made her the Knights' target.]]
197	* LikesOlderMen: She's shown dressing herself in her school uniform at at older man's apartment in Layer 5, suggesting they were having sex.
198	* JerkAss: She's so apathetic towards her sister she ignores Lain seemingly standing in the middle of traffic, doing nothing to help her.
199	* MadnessMantra: The above mentioned dial-tone.
200	* MindRape: [[spoiler:By the Knights of the Eastern Calculus.]]
201	---> ''"Beep... Beep... Beep..."''
202	* OrdinaryHighSchoolStudent: She doesn't seem to know what is really going on. [[spoiler:That's probably why the Knights MindRape her, in order to help destroy Lain's family life.]]
203	* ScreamDiscretionShot: Inverted. We see Mika [[spoiler:wailing in terror and possibly pain before she disappears, but the scream itself is inaudible.]]
204	* SexSignalsDeath: At the start of Layer 5 she's implied to be having sex with an older man. She [[spoiler:dies that same Layer.]]
205	* WeHardlyKnewYe: [[spoiler:She essentially dies in Layer 5, leaving her an EmptyShell for the rest of the series.]]
206
207	[[/folder]]
208
209	!Antagonists
210
211	[[folder:The God of the Wired ('''UNMARKED SPOILERS''')]]
212
213	!!Masami Eiri
214
215	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/masami_eiri_2.jpg]]
216	[[caption-width-right:350:I am God.]]
217
218	->'''Voiced by:''' ''Creator/ShowHayami'' (JP), ''Creator/KirkThornton'' (EN)[[labelnote: Foreign [=VAs=]]]''Ricardo Alanis'' (LAS), ''unknown'' (ES) [[/labelnote]]
219
220	Masami Eiri was the project director at Tachibana Laboratories where he worked with the experimental Protocol 7. Eiri was fired from his position at Tachibana after it was uncovered he'd been secretly inserting foreign code into the the Wired. He was found dead the next day, allegedly by suicide. In reality, Eiri had uploaded his entire consciousnesses onto the Wired, declaring himself "God of the Wired". His goal is to accelerate human evolution into its next stage by merging the collective human unconscious with the Wired, creating a godlike being.
221	-----
222	* AbusiveParents: If one takes his word that he created Lain at face value, he's a grossly abusive parent who abandoned Lain, then gaslights and manipulates her into fulfilling his desires.
223	* ApocalypseCult: The Knights worship him as a deity and help him in merging the real world with the Wired.
224	* BrainUploading: Eiri uploads his consciousness onto the Wired, believing it to be a higher plane of existence.
225	* BigBad: Of the series, trying to merge everyone's consciousness with the Wired and rule over them as a god.
226	* BodyHorror: Though it's not seen, his death was implied to have been grisly with his torso bisected and limbs severed under train wheels. The audience, however, does see his attempt to manifest into the real world in episode 12. It's a disgustingly nightmarish blob of flesh, organs, and technology that lashes out at Lain and Alice.
227	* DarkMessiah: He wants to accelerate human evolution by dubious means.
228	* DeathByLookingUp: Eiri dies after trying to absorb Lain's servers and wiring into himself and they fall on him, crushing his newly-formed body to death instead.
229	* DigitizedHacker: He uploaded his consciousness onto the Wired to further his plans.
230	* EarlyBirdCameo: One that isn't even on-screen. When Eiri is formally introduced during the exposition sequence, it's mentioned that, after being fired from Tachibana, he committed suicide on the train line. Now go back to the beginning of the series and notice that the train Lain was riding on in episode 1 is stopped due to an unspecified but abrupt accident.
231	* EeriePaleSkinnedBrunette: A male example, as shown in the picture.
232	* EvilSoundsDeep: Mainly in the Japanese. It's especially jarring to hear him use feminine speech while talking in such a deep voice.
233	* FromNobodyToNightmare: Eiri presumably started off as an ordinary, overworked programmer before his interactions with the Wired transformed him into [[HumanoidAbomination whatever he is now]]. After Lain hits the ResetButton, Eiri is set back to his "nobody" status; without the Wired, Eiri is nothing but a grumbling, clock-punching office drone.
234	* {{Gaslighting}}: Does this to Lain to the point she doubts her own sanity. This makes it all the more satisfying when she gives him a metaphorical kick in the nuts towards the end of the series.
235	* AGodAmI: Eiri refers to himself as The God of The Wired.
236	* HalfTheManHeUsedToBe: Never stated outright, but implied by the fact that Eiri has what looks like duct tape wrapped around his elbows and torso. Knowing that he threw himself under a train and seeing that multiple markers were placed around the scene, we can gather that Eiri was [[{{Squick}} rather gruesomely]] bisected by the train wheels.
237	* IAmYourFather: Eiri reveals to have created Lain as a "program" to merge the real world with The Wired.
238	* LongHairedPrettyBoy: Eiri has long, dark, wavy hair and keeps his shirt open at all times.
239	* ManipulativeBastard: He is good at manipulating Lain. Although he ultimately fails.
240	* NoShirtLongJacket: If it weren't for the fact that he dresses this way (combined with the deep voice), you'd be forgiven for thinking he was a woman.
241	* PhysicalGod: When the real world and The Wired merge. Not that it stops him from dying after being crushed by Lain's computers.
242	* SissyVillain: During his first few conversations with Lain, he talks in a feminine manner. A rare case of it actually making him ''more'' intimidating.
243	* SoulCrushingDeskJob: In the rebooted reality, Eiri seems to regard his programmer job as this. Without his delusions of godhood he's just a salaryman working a job he hates.
244	* UndeadBarefooter: He's a ghost who appears in an unshod and half-clothed state. Being barefoot might be a sort of evil reflection of Lain's virtual avatar trait - or vice versa, if he really did create Lain.
245	* VirtualGhost: He killed himself and exists in the Wired as a PhysicalGod.
246	* WalkingSpoiler: There's numerous talk early on about a god being in the Wired. It isn't until late in the series that Lain manages to force him to reveal himself to her.
247
248	[[/folder]]
249
250	[[folder:Knights of the Eastern Calculus]]
251	!!The Knights of the Eastern Calculus
252
253	The Knights are a rogue hacker group with a dubious agenda. Gradually it's revealed that they view Masami Eiri as a God and work to bring about his goal of merging the Wired with reality.
254	----
255	* DrivenToSuicide: Lain doxxes the organization and with their identities going public [[spoiler:all of the Knights either commit suicide or are killed by the Men in Black and made to look like they committed suicide.]]
256	* ForTheEvulz: They [[spoiler:MindRape Lain's sister and trap her mind in The Wired for no apparent reason but because they can.]]
257	* KnightTemplar: The Knights perform all manner of privacy violations, mental attacks, and even murder in an effort to make their goals a reality. They're even stated to have descended from the historic Knights Templar.
258	-->'''Taro''': "The Knights are users that are fighting to make the only truth there is into a reality. - The truth has power because it's the truth. And because it's the truth that makes it just."
259	* RealityWarper: Due to the boundaries between reality and the Wired beginning to blur, they've developed the power to influence reality itself through hacking.
260	* TheyLookJustLikeEveryoneElse: [[spoiler:Their numbers include an executive, a bored housewife, and a basement dwelling NEET.]]
261	[[/folder]]
262
263	!Secondary Characters
264
265	[[folder:The Men in Black]]
266	!!The Men in Black
267
268	->'''Voiced by:''' Karl: Creator/JojiNakata (JP), Creator/JamiesonPrice (EN). Lin: Creator/TakumiYamazaki (JP), Bob Buchholz (EN)
269
270	A duo of suited men with hi-tech eyepieces. They are stalking Lain for unknown reasons and seek to bring about the end of the Knights. Their employer works for Tachibana Laboratories and their allegiance to the company (be it as workers or mercenaries hired out) is ambiguous.
271	-----
272	* AmbiguouslyEvil: Their morality is up in the air. They oppose the Knights and go to lethal extremes to take them down but unlike the Knights they're never shown to attack innocent people. As the series progresses, they're portrayed more as [[AntiHero anti-heroes.]] They believe in keeping the digital and real worlds separate and rejecting "gods" digital or otherwise [[spoiler:but their boss is a secret believer in Eiri and he betrays them.]]
273	* AmbiguousSituation: What Karl means exactly with his LoveConfession [[spoiler:to Lain]] that goes nowhere is left deliberately ambiguous. Is he referring to parental love? Romantic love? Or is he undergoing SanitySlippage from the disturbing circumstances he's in? He himself doesn't seem to know what he means and remarks [[LampshadeHanging that emotions are funny that way.]]
274	* GermanicDepressives: Karl Haushofer, an extremely stoic and serious man.
275	* IcyBlueEyes: Karl sports unsettling blue eyes that frighten Lain the first time she makes eye contact with him.
276	* TheMenInBlack: It's even their name. The dark suits and air of mystery make them a strange force in the story. Though in a twist they're not affiliated with the government.
277	* NoNameGiven: Subverted. Their boss says they have no names but not two minutes later calls the taller one Karl. They are credited as Karl Haushofer (the tall one) and Lin Sui-Xi (the short one).
278	* OnlySaneMan: Karl immediately pegs Lain as dangerous and doesn't want to let her roam around freely. [[spoiler:Unfortunately for Karl, his boss is working with "God" and demands he let her go even though it goes contrary to his stated goals.]] He also figures out their boss is working for [[spoiler:Masami Eiri and that Eiri isn't really dead, though he comes to the realization too late to save himself or his partner.]]
279	* SinisterShades: They wear a pair of hi-tech eye-obscuring dark glasses with a red laser that often clues people in to something sinister being afoot. With the Wired being seen as a kind of "upper layer" to the real world, their eye-wear seems to grant them vision that can pierce through said layers. Notably, when they finally take them off to speak to Lain they seem much less threatening.
280	* StalkerWithACrush: [[spoiler:Karl somberly admits to have fallen in love with Lain and is part of the group stalking her, though it's unclear what kind of love exactly he means and [[BrainwashedAndCrazy whether that love's been coerced from him or not.]]]]
281	* TokenWhite: Karl Haushofer is the one white man among the rest of the Japanese cast, [[PhenotypeStereotype towering over the rest of the cast and sporting icy blue eyes and dark blond hair.]]
282	* TheStoic: Karl is much quieter and much less emotive than Lin. Lin can sometimes be seen cackling to himself while Karl remains pensive.
283	* UnwittingPawn: [[spoiler:Their boss is secretly working for "God" and disposes of them once they've killed the Knights.]]
284	* YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness: [[spoiler:Their boss soon disposes of them after the Knights are dealt with.]]
285	[[/folder]]
286
287	[[folder:Taro]]
288	A young patron of Cyberia who recognizes Lain.
289	----
290	* AllLoveIsUnrequited: Myu-Myu has a crush on him that he's completely indifferent to while he's in love with Lain, [[spoiler:who confesses her love to Alice.]]
291	* AmnesiacLover: [[spoiler:After Lain erases herself, she still speaks to Taro through his NAVI, and while he doesn't remember her he's wistful about their encounters, feeling as though he should know who she is.]]
292	* BlackShirt: While he's not an official Knight member because he's just a kid, he's sympathetic to their cause and willing to help them commit acts of terrorism.
293	* DirtyKid: He tries to coerce the "wild" Lain into going on a date with him and steals Lain's SacredFirstKiss.
294	* {{Kidanova}}: Myu-Myu has a hopeless crush on him, he briefly hits on Mika after spilling soda on her accidentally, and he manages to get Lain to agree to go on a date with him (to grill him for information, but still).
295	* MistakenForTerrorist: PlayedForDrama. Lain begins to suspect [[TheMole he might be one of the Knights]] and accepts his date just to trap him in her HackerCave and threaten his life.
296	* TheMole: Subverted. He's presented as extremely suspicious and Lain begins to believe he's feeding information about her to the Knights, but while he's sympathetic to their cause he's not a member and he hasn't given up anything about Lain.
297	* SacredFirstKiss: He steals a kiss from Lain at the end of their date, leaving her stunned.
298	* TeenGenius: He's a natural savant with computers and knows everything about the strange technology being gifted to Lain. He's such a savant he's on the fringes of being accepted into the Knights, though he apparently can't join because he's JustAKid.
299	* TroublingUnchildlikeBehavior: He's first met hanging out in Cyberia, a club, and [[DirtyKid hits on Lain immediately.]]
300	* UnwittingPawn: He spilled soda on Mika's sleeve which made her vulnerable to a cyberattack by the Knights, but doesn't seem to have known what they were going to do to her.
301	* WistfulAmnesia: [[spoiler:Lain still speaks to him through his NAVI after erasing herself. He's not quite sure who she is but has a sense of having known her.]]
302	* YouWillBeSpared: He's the only affiliate of the Knights that seems to have escaped Lain's doxxing and purge of them, presumably because he helped her out.
303
304	[[/folder]]
305	%%!OtherCharacters
306

Context Characters / SerialExperimentsLain