Yet another case of an anime (like Evangelion) being overhyped just for being different from other anime, with deep themes that aren't as complicated as the creator thinks they are. When your story can boil down to essentially The Matrix meets Pulse with weirdly a dash of Code Lyoko, you need to do a lot to make it unique. I think, other than the style of presentation, this hits beats I've seen over and over again especially in "artsy" anime (Paranoia Agent this ain't). The constant shots of Lain's dead, blank face end up feeling like a joke after a while and mirror the art school equivalent of "Aha, if I put long, empty pauses in, people will think it's smart and deep!" It also doesn't help that I do not like the art style one bit, with the strange lumpy faces and huge doll eyes being uncomfortable to watch. To again go back to Satoshi Kon, the detail and realism of his character's designs help to show a subtlety in expression and mood that's sorely lacking here. However, the presentation is still unique, and certain aspects (the blinding white of sunny scenes and the eclectic soundtrack) keep me from totally hating this. Ultimately, another case of hype deflation for me.