Serial Experiments Lain is an anime from 1999, about Lain Iwakura, a shy and timid 14 year-old girl. The show follows the gradual unraveling of her sense of self and reality as she goes deeper and deeper into the Wired, an internet-like global communication network.
While most likely unintentional, I found several Christian themes in the show that ultimately paint Lain as a Christ-like figure. Christ had two natures, a human nature and a divine nature. Likewise, Lain also has a human nature and a “divine” nature. Lain’s human nature manifested whenever she was outside of the Wired, where she was shy, timid, and meek. Her “divine” nature manifested whenever she was within the Wired, where she became assertive, confident, and brash.
Just as Christ sacrificed His human nature to save us from hell, Lain sacrificed her human nature to keep humanity from being uploaded into the Wired. I will relate her sacrifice of her human nature to another Christian idea/theme I found in the show: Theosis. Theosis is a relatively obscure concept within Christendom but is most present within Orthodoxy, and to be brief, it is the idea that through contemplation and prayer someone’s soul can become unified with God. Lain experiences Theosis at the climax of the series, when she becomes overcome with despair, loneliness, and selfishness; taking full control of the Wired and forcing the entire world to love her. It is worth noting that she was also driven to do this because of Eiri coercing her, so Eiri can be considered a representation of sin/temptation. Of course, that’s not real Theosis, and she realizes that that is not what she wants through her friend Alice’s unconditional love. She forgoes her ego and desires and leaves the physical world behind, finding peace and achieving Theosis.