Elfen Lied

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.

It is an anime series divided in 13 episodes including a DVD special OVA episode for the fans. What you can say about the anime itself is that the story is one of the deepest most touching ones i have ever encountered. If you see the series i can promise you that you will not be disappointed. This epic tale includes everything you could ever wish for. Love, Betrayal, Hate, Revenge, Friendship, Action and more. I'ts story is based on a girl named Lucy with a horrifying past witch has left her life and many others in ruins due to her special abilities. Her tale about herself and her love is one of the best ones ever by my opinion. The series itself is specially directed to you with an open mind due to the strenght of the series. Understand embrace and finally love this anime who has been given a place among the top 5 in the world of anime for it's beauty, passion and strenght. Enjoy.

Elfen Lied is notorious, at least among fans of anime, for its graphic violence and frequent nudity. However, these aspects are merely part of what is in fact an excellent series. More than just an unsettling mix of cute little girls and intense gore, Elfen Lied is a series about nature vs. nurture, love vs. hate, the future of humanity, and similar themes. Yes, the show is quite violent, but this violence underscores these themes well and as we later learn, is not merely just a product of instinctual brutality. With only thirteen episodes in total, Elfen Lied is short but sweet and well worth watching. Just remember, you'll never look at cat-girls the same way again.

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.