|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
||
|
|
|
|
|
|
||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Layer Four: Indifference
The Iwakura Family - Iwakura Yasuo and Miho, and Lain's older sister, Iwakura Mika. When we first meet Lain's family, there is a strong sense of indifference; each member of the family is distant from everyone else, and in fact barely act like a family. In reality, it is because they aren't a real family; just a set of actors who were hired by Tachibana Labs to act as Lain's family until she was old enough to fend for herself. It is my belief that the three (Yasuo, Miho, and Mika) were all a real family, simply hired to care for Lain, as if she were a foster child.
Iwakura Yasuo (pictured above, left) is Lain's father, and the only one in the Iwakura household who shows real affection for Lain. He used to work with Tachibana Labs, and when he is introduced in episode 1 (Layer one: Weird) he is shown in front of a multitude of monitors -- it is him who gives Lain her updated, top of the line Navi that allows her access into the Wired. But as Lain delves farther and farther into the Wired, it is also her father who sternly tells her that the real and wired worlds must never collide. Little did Lain know that her father was indeed warning her, maybe even trying to prevent her from becoming what she was destined to become. As Lain slips away from the real world, we see her father watching her through the crack of her bedroom door, secretly dreading but hoping for the end of the charade...
Lain's mother, Iwakura Miho appears to be a cold, distant woman. Her eyes and expression are always indifferent, her tone always dry and monotone. She seems to be little than a figurehead of a mother, since she seems to care little for Lain and Mika. She scolds Mika a few times, on account of her language and asks her about her schooling; but is seems like Miho is simply asking because she is trying to make conversation, or because she has to, being a mother. Often, Miho says nothing when Lain asks her things, and in truth, Miho seems like she couldn't care less whether or not Lain existed..
Iwakura Mika, Lain's sister becomes the focus of episode 5 (Layer five: Distortion). Mika is aloof and almost snobby at times, and tries to rebel a few times -- her mother speaks to her once about her language, and when she is alone, she sneaks a sip of alcohol. Mika is fairly indifferent to Lain, and even makes fun of the fact that Lain is pretty much friendless (she makes a crack about Lain talking to an imaginary friend). It is Mika who notices the change in Lain; she brings up the subject of Lain's sudden affinity for computers to her father, who dismisses it. But Mika becomes a victim of the Knights, as her soul is separated from her body in episode 5 (Layer five: Distortion) -- after receiving a strange message.
"The other side is overcrowded.
The dead will have no where to go."
After receiving this message, Mika is plagued with a series of terrifying images and a sense of overwhelming paranoia... and at the end of it all, Mika becomes just another person who was lost in the Wired. Someone who didn't make the full transition to either the real or Wired world, but someone who had a piece of themself stranded on either side. After this, Mika becomes a shadow of a human being, reduced to a zombie like state, and being only able to make dial tone noises: "Beep beep, gaaah...". Unable to "connect" to herself in the Wired, Mika wastes away in the real world, just another plaything used and discarded by the Knights...
(( back to external connections ))
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Marionette is © 2000-2007 Rose Panzo. SEL is © Yoshitoshi Abe, Chiaki J. Konaka, and its respective creators. Please do not reproduce the contents found here without permission.