Among the weirdest anime recommendations I've ever received is "If you liked Serial Experiments Lain then you must watch Bocchi the Rock". I am at the end of the first episode, and so far, I have no clue what prompted this strange connection, but I do see why quite a few people tried to convince me that I must watch it

It manages to combine its goofy-ass presentation with deep understanding and accurate representation of social anxiety in a way that shows a lot of compassion for the weird pink creature.

Overcoming isolation is a complicated process that requires a good deal of luck to even begin and a huge amount of effort to continue. The show presents both in a clear and realistic way.

I am reading tea leaves very hard here, but I think

And I don't mean just the fact that both are about teenage girls who hide from the real world on the web.

For one, in both of them, there is a split between reality and the protagonist's perception of it, albeit shown in different ways. The big difference is that in Lain, the delusion is not broken, and by the time there is someone to break it, it has already gone past the point of no return; In Bocchi the Rock, it is at first almost as perplexing as in Lain but overtime, both the viever and the characters of the show learn that "it's just Bocchi"

And can we talk about the ending? Bocchi the Rock ends on a positive note but with a great deal of uncertainly, which is imo perfect. There is a lot of work ahead of Hitori, and we don't know how it will turn out for her, but the most important part is over. No epilogue, no sequel is needed. I like it when anime end like this

The sort of Lain / Deus Ex 1 / Ghost in the Shell (and to some lesser extent Evangelion) y2k throwback stuff is interesting because that cultural moment wasn't kitsch, it wasn't oh what a quaint old time and a unique aesthetic, it was a time for genuinely thoughtful analysis of what happens to the self and to society under the condition of constant network access, and if we want to stay the same or if maybe it'd be better to change.

Good subject for actual hauntology - attempting to pick up where things left off, or imagine if things had proceeded in a different trajectory and then actualize that other momentum, rather than just a fancier word for nostalgia.

lain iwakura tbh creature

i made a cohost account because

1. this drawing :')
2. i was kindasorta thinking about it anyway

from episode 2