The main reason I bought this Ultimate Fan Guide was its advertised links with the Big Eyes Small Mouth multi-genre anime role-playing system, also published by The Guardians of Order. Unfortunately, there is really rather little related information presented here. Of good use is the list of Appropriate Attributes and Appropriate Defects, as well as typical Mundane, Major, and Minor Items within the world of Serial Experiments Lain, but only two characters (Lain Iwakura and Massami Eiri) have been given BESM-based stats, and only three of the items in the series has similar BESM-based details. In fact, most of the BESM-related section of the book (the final twenty-plus pages) is filled not with information, but with sketches of characters, locations, and items from the Serial Experiments Lain series.

As eye candy or a source of obscure information for the Serial Experiments Lain series, this Ultimate Fan Guide is indeed a good buy. For those truly interested in using the series' "world" in a role-playing campaign, however, this Ultimate Fan Guide is really just a waste of money.


Fills a void in _lain_ artbooks   April 23, 2002
 6 out of 7 found this review helpful

This book is an excellent guide to the enigmatic and ambiguous anime series, _Serial Experiments: lain_. The bulk of the book is published in full color on high-gloss paper, reproducing a lot of screen-shots from the series. At the back, there are two pages of production credits (though there's no mention of the series' script superviser, Chiaki Konaka!).

Each episode is given a dense three-page summary, there are also character profiles at the back (though only Lain and Masami Eiri receive an extended profile). This is an excellent book to accompany your first or your fifth viewing of the anime series.

The publishers evidently have a deal with Pioneer to produce guides for many of their anime. I look forward to future volumes on _Dual_, _Trigun_ and _NieA_7_.

People interested in basing an RPG on the _lain_ world will probably find this book disappointing. While the book is full o f details about the series and its setting, there doesn't appear to be much in the book for supporting an RPG. However, as a book for fans of the anime, this is an excellent addition to your bookshelf.


Very good book   June 18, 2002
 6 out of 8 found this review helpful

First things first - If you buy this book, expecting it to explain everything to you, prepare for disapointment. It has summaries. Sometimes the information is wrong (not that you can be sure of much of anything in this series...), but that's rare. It does ocasionally theorize on some things, and provides background info on other things (like the Knights, the 7th Gen Protocol, the city-on-a-rock in Ego). It also has a LOT of snapshots, and some concept art (though nothing you can't find in the extras section of the DVDs). The BESM section provides some info for the series as well. I can't vouch for its worth as an RPG info source, but from what I hear from other reviewers, it's lacking (though that's no reason to give it 2 stars, BTW...). Oh, and the book's dimensions are large. Think one of those large coloring books you might have used as a child and you have the right idea. Conclusion - buy for artwork, buy for series synopsis, buy for a different perspective on what the hell hapened in this series, but don't buy for the BESM.


Colorful and informative, a must for any Lain fan...   August 27, 2002
 1 out of 7 found this review helpful

I've never seen the actual Lain series (yet mind you, yet. I'm still saving for some of the DVDs), so I'm afraid I'm a bit lacking when it comes to telling you how acurate this book is.
This doesn't seem to be a very good book for someone who has not seen the series, and if you are in that position I would not reccommend reading to the end of the book as it will totally spoil the whole series for you.
The book is very informative, and has plenty of drawings and screnshots from the series, it lays every part of the Lain world before you. As alot of questions go unanswered in the series itself the book is often at loss and presents theories to try and answer questions instead of actual answers.
The RPG section of the book seems quite lacking as the Lain world is a very difficult place to recreate in an RPG. Though I have not tryed playing it seems like a very fruitless endeavor.
I gave this book 5 stars because it is a great read and a very informative book.