Serial Experiments Lain: The Nightmare of Fabrication

by Yoshitoshi Abe

The Nightmare of Fabrication is a beautifully drawn full-color manga from Yoshitoshi ABe. The 18 page short story can be found in the "an omnipresence in wired 'lain'" artbook.

It's a bonus story which apparently isn't related with either the anime nor the PS game. It shows characters who were included in the PS game but not in the TV series (like the psychiatrist), but also determinant characters from the anime who didn't appear in the video game (like Deus).

Genres: Manga, Horror, Science Fiction, Comics Manga, Sequential Art, Seinen, Mystery

18 pages, Paperback

First published May 1, 1998

About the author

A famous cover and character designer. Got a bearded dragon as a pet.

Reviews

[Mika · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was only a one-shot, so there wasn't that much to show, but I loved how it was psychological and eerie like the anime. But I think if one wouldn't have watched the anime they might be a bit confused when reading this.

[Nicolás · Rating 4 out of 5]

How can you prove me wrong? All you are is what you're aware of.

[nae · Rating 5 out of 5]

absolutely criminal that lain doesn’t have a complete manga series

[mel · Rating 3 out of 5]

this short manga was good and it makes me excited to start the anime

[Mikel]

A great synthesis of the basic elements that make the original serial experiments lain anime one of the greatest audiovisual works of art I've ever seen, with the beautiful art of Yoshitoshi Abe.

[milo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lain essence in a few page, very well done

[Claudia]

play station 1 lain deserved better

[Jess]

Interesting, disturbing snippet.

[George Dibble · Rating 5 out of 5]

5/5

How do you write so well, so complex, with characters with so much depth, in only such few pages. Wow.

Was extremely sad. Almost cried at the public library. Left me wanting more.

[lyz · Rating 5 out of 5]

no matter where you are, everyone is always connected.

a brilliant oneshot that perfectly complements the Serial Experiments Lain anime. incredibly short and yet heartwrenching, i've been thinking about this oneshot (and SEL in general) nonstop ever since i first read it a few days ago and how it all perfectly encapsulates our current reality. to connect to the internet is incredibly easy; to drown in it, neglect and scorn your corporeal existence in order to solely exist within the internet (or, shall i say, the Wired). yet, at the same time, finding true connection with others seems to be an almost Sisyphean task.

most of young people's socialization and identity manufacturing nowadays occurs within the internet (i would know - i am 21 and my chronically online brain cannot focus for more than 5 seconds at a time. 10, if i'm really trying. thanks, TikTok). we are all in a desperate pursuit to find ourselves, to find a very specific '-core' that fits what we wish to be perceived as as we then go on to reduce all of our experiences, thoughts and personality to fit said aesthetic. once we find others that do the same sort of box-fitting, reductionist artificial pinterest-coded imitating, we breathe a sigh of relief: we have finally found connection. and, if we happen to not indulge in the '-core' or, more extremely, forgo social media entirely, then. . . who are we?

if a girl isn't in the Wired, does she still make a sound?

Serial Experiments Lain has been analyzed to hell and back already by fans and foes alike, so i probably sound dull and/or repetitive to anyone who has read even a single review/analysis of Lain when i say these things, but. . . c'est la vie.

it is so uncanny and surreal how an anime produced in 1998 (and, by extension, this amazing 1999 manga oneshot) has flawlessly depicted the very specific type of anguish, desperation, loneliness and alienation that comes from being Connected 24/7. i will definitely be watching SEL and reading this manga again probably a few dozen times and then going right to Reddit or Youtube and reading/watching hours upon hours worth of Lain analysis and content, inadvertently further immersing myself in the echochamber that is the Wired. or maybe what i should do is go outside and, as the Twitter denizens often say, touch some grass.

. . . nah, i still prefer the first option (i'm more of a dark academia, pseudointellectual, tortured-artist-that-doesn't-actually-produce-art-anymore type of gal mixed with the goblincore aesthetic - rest in peace, goblincore. but hey, if you relate and want to connect, let's be friends!).

[Fatma · Rating 5 out of 5]

"If no one knows, it can be the same as if it never happened at all. So I'm secretly rewriting my memories. I've buried that scary dream. Because it never happened."


Serial Experiments Lain en sevdiğim animedir. Kısacık bir one-shot da olsa mutlu oldum. İnternet aleminde çok fazla tesadüfle karşılaştığımda, sokakta yürürken baktığım elektrik hatlarında ister istemez Lain'i hatırlarım. Wired'ın tanrısı yapayalnız Lain, seni çok seviyorum...

[Vera Kabushemeye · Rating 5 out of 5]

I recently reread this and it hit just as hard as the last time. This story is uncanny, eerie. The way that Abe draws the panels and even the expressions on the little girl's face - it was all very upsetting. I'm sure anyone who has contemplated their existence has landed in that frame of mind. Super spooky and a great intro to Yoshitoshi Abe's works, including the anime Serial Experiments Lain.

[Anu · Rating 5 out of 5]

Real

[Saving People, Hunting Things~ The Family Business · Rating 3 out of 5]

Beautiful art and thought-provoking. Through a couple of pages the author seeks to sow seeds of doubt in regards to the main character's memory, perception and sanity.

[Belle C · Rating 5 out of 5]

PRESENT DAY, PRESENT TIME! HEHHAHAHA

[Lain Iwakura · Rating 4 out of 5]

Present Day, heh... Present Time! Hahahahahahaha!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NfjsL...

[me · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very very short one-shot, but it's good.

[Lars Meijer · Rating 4 out of 5]

lainpilled