Elfen Lied

It's hard to describe Elfen Lied to someone who hasn't heard of it; the closest I can think of is a strange mix of extreme violence, romance and drama. To those of you who haven't witnessed it, you're probably wondering how these are all incorporated into the one piece coherently. Those that have though, are instead pondering why they haven't been put together sooner. Such is the quality and flow of this odd hybrid of an anime.

The real area that Elfen Lied shines is it's narrative - its hard not to be enthralled by its weaving course and diversity. A Violent and gory encounter will perhaps gives way to another with a contrasting lighter moment. Emotive drama gives way to bloodshed and then back again, only this time bring you close to tears as it does so. It's a strange combination, where you as the viewer are thrown about and manipulated like those in the story line itself, but one that works surprisingly well. It does this all the while without feeling disjointed, it has an elegance and clever subtly when it makes these strong transitions leading to a very mesmorising piece as a whole.

This is carefully finished with a truly memorable musical score, which in my opinion is another great strength. The opening 'Lilium' is particularly powerful, and differing versions feature prominently throughout - lending its intensity to emotive scenes. However, regarding music there's an off kilter over-happy pop song that plays over the credits after each episode. It feels out of place, but never the less is adequate enough, and it could be argued adds a good contrast to what is at times quite a depressing anime.

I must reiterate however, that the violence is somewhat extreme, and I advise you to be prepared for it if you are faint hearted. However by no means avoid this because of it, there's a lot more to it than the violence, and you will be denying yourself a truly wondrous experience by not watching it. It is to any fan of the medium unmissable; a weird cocktail of conflicting ideas - that on paper shouldn't work, but some how is pulled off in spectacular fashion, gripping you from the start to it's brutal conclusion.

Still not convinced? Well ask yourself this; Is there anything else out there that can lay claim to being disturbing and yet at the same time profoundly beautiful? It's worth watching on that premise alone.

From the first episode where, in a dreamlike atmosphere, we see a nude girl with an iron mask on her head escaping a high-security facility and in the process, magically tearing apart a bunch of armed guards, to the very last episode, blood continues to flow (and nudity continues to be shown). This does not mean that the movie is distasteful, on the contrary, there is some kind of strange beauty associated with the violence which results in a mix of sadness and melancholy that stays with one long after watching the movie.

I did not see too many anime to have an authoritative opinion on this, but I believe that the excellent soundtrack is also one of the sources of the emotional blend of sweet and bitter atmosphere in the movie. The theme of the anime is sung in Latin, has a heavenly sweet voice sing a deeply sad song. The theme is associated with the intro and ending clips, which being symbolically very rich, adds a strong sense of magic and mystery to it.

One of the nice parts, and maybe also of the sources of strong emotions associated with the movie is the way in which the director develops some of the main characters in such a way that they are complete. They have good parts and they have bad parts, they love and they hate. You love them at times and then you hate them at other times. And because you get to know them pretty well, you will eventually get involved to the point that you really fear for their fate.

Besides being complete, the characters are idealized and put in deep emotionally situations: they risk their lives for their loved ones, they die for their loved ones, they hurt for their lost ones, they cry, they laugh with joy and everything at the highest level of involvement. Maybe this is why we like them: in a way they are so much more alive than us!

Inocence and pain, beauty and menace, death and love, blood and hope, all these make from Elfen Lied an addictive series which will leave a long-lasting impression on you. And be prepared to watch all the episodes together, it might be hard to stop before the last one!

I just watched the whole series (1-13 episodes + the OVA) today, the anime from episode one hooks you until the very end, I wasn't expecting the storyline to be as compelling or as emotional as it was but this wasn't the first anime that surprised me this way and i'm sure it wont be the last.

Lucy is a Diclonius (two - horned human with telekinetic arms called vectors) hell bent on destroying man-kind to create the next race. Nyu is Lucy's alter-ego / personality whatever you wish to call it, if anyone has seen Chobits just picture Chii and you'll pretty much have a perfect match to Nyu.

Without going into too much detail and spoiling the anime for you, I will offer a little warning this anime isn't for the faint of heart / stomach or children under 16.

There is a lot of nudity, blood, guts and violence, and should be watched at your own risk don't say I didn't warn you.

I hope you enjoy Elfen Lied as much as I did and I hope you find this summary helpful.

I saw the first episode of Elfen Lied and thought it looked pretty cool, so I went and bought the rest of the series. It was even better than I thought it would be, much better. Even with only 13 episodes, This series is awesome. Elfen Lied is sad, moving, violent, has some great characters, emotion, and it is completely enjoyable. The first episodes aren't brilliant, but this is a series that gets better and better as it progresses, and the last two DVDs are a joy to behold. If you don't puke at the sight of blood, this is a series you should most certainly see, and you'll know why once you've watched it to the end. A must have for anime fans!

First of all, I don't presume myself to be an Otaku or some sort of Anime/Manga Highlord, however this is THE single best anime I have ever seen and I have seen quite a few. If you are like me and enjoy animes that are not as long (Only 13 episodes plus a 25 min OVA!) and can stand some violence and can look at female nudity without going all childish and horny about it this anime is for you. It has a very deep story, along with the best anime song I have ever heard... after watching the anime I got into reading the manga and all, it is a very rich story and it is very beautifully directed. Also if you got nothing to do one day you can easily watch it in its entirety, fall in love, laugh, and cry with the characters. If you enjoyed Evangelion you will most certainly enjoy this, and it is better than Evangelion.