Fan-Made ‘Serial Experiments Lain’ OVA ‘Protocol 7’ Raises Five Times Its Funding Goal

This new story places Lain in an era of digital twins and generative AI.

The creators of lain: Protocol 7 have raised 10,815,507 yen through crowdfunding, which is about $68,500. The initial goal was only 2 million yen. After crossing the 10 million yen mark, the team confirmed plans to produce a 4K master and a new opening animation for the visual novel. The developers previously announced the game itself when funding surpassed 5 million yen.

Protocol 7 is a 60-minute fan OVA based on the Serial Experiments Lain anime. The project is being developed under the rules of the TTL 2019-2028 program, which allows fans to use the universe under specific conditions.

The creators want to translate the themes of the original anime into the realities of the 2020s. In the story, Lain Iwakura receives a message from a deceased schoolgirl and gradually uncovers the trail of the Protocol 7 experiment, a system that collects voices, search queries, message drafts, and health data to build a digital copy of a person. The central theme explores whether a model that knows more about its prototype than the person can remember can still be considered human.

Independent teams Studio Jiyu and Studio Kingyo-iro are working on the OVA. Maki Ito serves as the director, writer, and visual lead for the project. Production utilizes hand-drawn and digital animation, live-action footage, 3D models, and generative AI. The team applies Adobe Firefly to organize materials, select compositions, and create individual elements. At the same time, human staff handle the direction, staging, editing, and final post-processing.

The next funding goal is 15 million yen. If the campaign reaches this milestone, the team will create lain: Protocol 7 Complete Edition. This extended version will feature a new cut and more than 10 minutes of additional scenes.

An exact release date has not been announced yet. The digital version of the OVA is scheduled to be delivered to Japanese backers in April 2027.