Elfen Lied

--The review contains spoilers--


Elfen Lied: Infamous for its bloody mess of gore, cruelty and nudity. A combination that could make many a person turn away. Yet, a huge number of people watch this, knowing (to some extent) what they're going into, and it's one of the more popular and well-rated series here on MAL. Some people call it a 'masterpiece', people some call it 'perverted', some people don't know what to say, and some call it 'horrible'. The first is true, the second is an exaggeration, the third is understandable, and the fourth is so wrong.

The first episode starts off with what is the bloodiest ... and nuditiest 10 minutes of any show I've ever watched, and I'll tell you this: If you live through that, you'll live through the series. And vice versa. Lucy, a naked girl of the Diclonius race, a species of mutant humans with invisible 'arms' called Vectors, is escaping from a facility (more like assaulting her way out), killing countless guards and whatnot on her way out (all in the nude). When she's finally outside, she's sniped, but she doesn't die. Instead, two teenage cousins (the two other main characters), Kouta and Yuka, discovers her on a beach. She has lost her memories, and is only capable of saying "Nyu", which is what Kouta and Yuka names her. They also decide to take her home, and

The story suddenly drops severely in its gore level there, and slowly builds up again throughout the remaining twelve episodes. Along with the gore come cruel events upon cruel events, as more Diclonii and their sad pasts are revealed. Nyuu 'awakens' as Lucy more frequently as the story progresses, in the end completely reverting to her old self. However, there might be an obstacle preventing her from going completely psychotic...

The characters are all okay, though they do act really stupid at times (if you find a girl with horns lying drenched in blood on the beach, you don't just take her home and decide to keep here there, do you?). They've all got some back stories, which contents are mostly those of cruelty, blood and relationships. Especially note the latter; relationships. It's an important aspect of the series, as they are the main factor as to why the Diclonius are so "cruel" as they are. "Cruel" because they aren't the real cruel ones; that dubious honor goes to the humans. Treating the Diclonius as mere research subjects, being shunned by the very people who should take care of them, and being killed off for stupid reasons. Among the main characters, their love (there is a love triangle between Kouta, Yuka and Nyu/Lucy), broken promises, lies and "lies" have all had their effect on how they are in the present, and what happened some years ago is connected to their development in the present day.

The series is only 13 episodes long, and in that short time quite a lot happens, which may make it seem rushed at times; it does move forward at a too high pace. The end result however, is actually extremely good, and a really tragic, enjoyable and gory experience.

The artwork is extremely good, yet very average. While backgrounds and scenic details are very meticulous and a real pleasure to the eyes, the character designs are way below what you'd expect after seeing the backgrounds. There is too little detail on them, the coloring is too bland, and they don’t fit in with the detailed surroundings in any way. The camerawork is very good at times though; at the rare occasion it reminded me more of the camerawork used in anime movies rather than anime series. The artwork during the opening theme is pretty interesting too; I think it's based an Austrian painter (Gustav Klimt)'s works.

The soundtrack is decent, with a marvelous Latin opening theme named Lilium that fits right into the series' overall tone, and an ending theme that, while a bit more cheerful, fits in with the love triangle between the main characters. The background music during the series is very repetitive at first; just a bunch of instrumental variations of Lilium. It gets better a few episodes into the series though, but overall I feel they used the variations of Lilium too much.

All in all Elfen Lied is a anime that does a very audacious thing by having so much cruelty, gore and nudity in one series, but the end result is a masterpiece anime that wouldn't have been good without. Just remember that it doesn't have the R+ rating for no reason - events ranging from a man watching his naked daughter to a dog being bludgeoned to death with a vase and live dismemberment takes place.

To 'Not Helpful' voters (and you 'Helpful' voters too): Feedback greatly appreciated =)

Elfen Lied is something else. Just watching the first 10 minutes of the first episode and one can understand that this is not your typical anime. A series modeled, in many ways, after the tragedies of Shakespeare and Ancient Greece, Elfen Lied is not something that you want to enjoy a sunny day with. The seemingly grotuetist violence and nudity may put some people off of this series, but I have to say that the story would not have the same impact without it.

Story: 10 - Elfen Lied boasts one of the most intense and intriguing plot lines that I have ever experienced in anime. ... It must be known that the central themes to Elfen Lied are hate, anger, and inhumanity. Every darkness of the human soul is represented in this 13 episode series.

Animation: 8 - Not much to say here. The animation is very good, but nothing really stands out. I do really like the opening that shows a style adapted from the famous Austrian painter Gustav Klimt

Sound: 10 - The music really sets the tone for the series. I love the opening song "Lilium" by Kumiko Noma.

Character: 9 - Elfen Lied has the best in depth characters i've seen since Neon Genesis Evangelion. The characters are real, with both light and darkness in their souls. Unlike most anime, the distinction between good and evil is not so clear. Can Lucy/Nyu be considered a good character when she has the capacity to harm so many?

Enjoyment: 10 - This rating is the most subjective of all. I enjoyed the series, especially because I enjoy both dark and lighter anime series.

Overall: 10 - You just can't find many anime series that took the risk that Elfen Lied did. Sure you can watch Tenchi, Love Hina, or even Ranma 1/2 and get the same decently good anime over and over again. Elfen Lied, is something that just doesn't come around that often.

Title: Elfen Lied

Manga, Anime: Elfen Lied was originally a manga created by Lynn Okamoto, and it ran in Weekly Young Jump from June of 2002 to November of 2005. Twelve compiled volumes were released, with a total of 107 chapters. The Elfen Lied manga has not been licensed Stateside, and no one is making any moves to do so anytime soon. More on this later.

The anime itself was produced by Studio ARMS (who also did the production for Genkishen 2 and Ikkitousen: Dragon Destiny), and directed by Mamoru Kanabe (who also directed the OAVs Demon Prince Enma and I”s Pure, both of ... which you probably won’t know). It ran on Japanese TV from July 25th, 2004 to October 17th, 2004. ADV licensed it Stateside, and the fourth and final volume was released on November 14th, 2005.

Story: So, the episode kicks off with a ten-minute killing spree in an underground research facility (cause why would they be anywhere else?) with plenty of blood and gore by a naked chick in a helmet, as she attempts to escape. Yum. Eventually, someone ends up sniping her in the back of the head, and she falls off a cliff into the ocean.

Cut to a random, unnamed seaside city. A girl (Yuka) gets off the train and ends up looking around town for her cousin (Kouta), who she's going to be going to college with. After finding him, she drags him down to the beach, where they reminisce about his little sister.

And then they look up and notice that there's a naked chick with horns standing in the middle of the water. Though you have to wonder how oblivious they were not to notice it...

Thus begins the saga of Elfen Lied, which centers on the naked chick with horns (also known as Lucy/Nyuu, depending on which personality she is on the moment.

This is one of the more fucked-up, depressing offerings that anime has.

Take a look at our three main characters, to get a good picture of this: the cousins are in love with each other, the boy can’t remember a good chunk of his past, and the chick with horns has two personalities: a sweet amnesiac named “Nyuu” by the cousins, and a homicidal maniac side known as “Lucy”. And that’s not even to mention all the side characters, all of whom are messed up in their own psychotic, special ways.

As for the depressing stuff, there’s bodies flying left and right, puppies getting killed, child molestation, suicide, and a whole lot of other stuff that I can’t go into without spoilers.

The anime itself is an amazing juxtaposition of horror, slice of life, sci-fi, and romance, and even more amazingly, it works. And it’s good. Normally, all of the above would be incentive for me to drop a series like a hot potato. But all that stuff only ends up being a part of why you love the series so much. You care for all of these fucked-up nutjobs, and you watch to see if things will get any better for them, and to find out just what the hell’s going on.

I don’t know how this pans out, with regards to faithfulness to the manga source. All that I know is that the manga was still running when this started and finished airing.

There are two main issues I have with this series, though. One is the ending, which is an anticlimax and a big letdown after everything that’s happened; you don’t know what happens, and it’s kind of a cliffhanger. The other is the rampant fanservice. At least once every episode, you are going to be treated to a nude female character, or some kind of sexually suggestive scene. The series didn’t need all that fanservice; it could’ve gotten on just fine without it. And really, did they have to have kiddy nudity?!

WARNING: There is gore galore, there is blood by the bucketful, there is rampant nudity, there are sexually suggestive scenes, there are puppies getting killed violently, there’s very graphic violence period, there is child molestation, and really, if you’ve read this far and aren’t turned off, you’ll be fine with this series, even though there’s far more than this. If any of this makes you uncomfortable, run away from this series screaming. And definitely stay away from the manga if this is the case, because it’s supposed to take all of the above to a whole other level. Thus, why it has yet to be licensed Stateside.

Art: The art for this series is absolutely beautiful. The studio apparently had the budget to include outfit changes for all of the characters once every two episodes at the least, and it’s a nice touch. The backgrounds are exquisite, too. The OP is absolutely amazing, especially when you consider it’s basically animated versions of Klimt art (if you don’t know who he is, go Google his art, and you’ll see why I’m amazed). The CG stands out a bit, but its main function was to portray an otherworldly aspect of the chick with horns’ powers, so it works well. And, as much as I hated all the nudity, it was lovingly detailed.

Music: This is one of the few soundtracks that I’ve actually actively noticed since Gankutsou’s OST. There are several variations on the opening theme (which is awesome in and of itself, as it’s in Latin, and is something you’d probably heard sung in a Catholic Mass), and they’re absolutely beautiful, and end up producing the desired effect of the scene that they’re playing in. Also, they use the cello and traditional instruments to great effect. The ending is a fairly stereotypical JPop number, and kind of a disappointment, really.

Seiyuu: Joji Nakata’s in a smaller role, but still, it’s Joji freaking Nakata.. And Lucy/Nyuu’s seiyuu is the same girl who played Eleanor from Victorian Romance Emma, so that’s a nice touch. Ooh, and Daisuke Ono shows up briefly! And there are a lot of other seiyuu that show up here that I like, and I’m not going to list them all, because that’ll take up too much space. xD

Length: Just right. The pacing doesn’t go too fast, or too slow; the series finishes at just the right time (though how it ended is a bit of a sore point with me, as I mentioned earlier).

Overall: If you can get past the violence, the letdown of an ending, and gratuitous fanservice, this is a great show.

Story: 8/10
Art: 8/10
Music: 9/10
Seiyuu: 9/10
Length: 8/10

Overall: 42/50; 84% (B)

Overview:

Despite having obvious flaws, Elfen Lied is actually my favorite anime of all time. I am aware that this anime is quite divisive and giving it a high rating is the equivalent of blasphemy for many, but first hear me out on why I actually like this series. Many critics say it is only popular from the gore and nudity alone, but that isn't exactly accurate. Gantz came out the same year with even more gore and nudity and failed to achieve 1/10th Elfen Lied's fanbase. Certainly this series whether you personally love or hate it has something else it does that makes so ... many like it.

Story: 9/10

One thing I will admit is that due to time constraints, some of the back story is only in the manga. To make things more confusing the anime seems to have a few key differences in the timeline and in regards to the infamous mutants. This lack of information may confuse or flat out piss off some viewers. However, if you put on your thinking cap it actually isn't too bad in terms of being confusing and can be pieced together without too much difficulty. After all, this isn't a David Lynch film where the whole point is to sexually assault your brain. The following paragraph provides some backstory that may clear up some confusion regarding the mutants. Even ADV erroneously said they were created in a lab, which is completely wrong, so I think this may be warranted.

The story of Elfen Lied is that there is a rare mutation that grants powerful psychic abilities. However, this rather pleiotropic gene also curses the inheritor with red eyes and horns. Due to the horns, these mutants are called "Diclonius", which is Latin for 2 sprouts. Most born with this mutation over the centuries have died in infancy, but now a few called "queen Diclonius" have not only survived, but learned how to use their psychic powers to mutate human DNA and make them give birth to sterile mutants called "Silpelits". A government agency was created to study these mutants and isolate them for fear that the mutants could pose a threat to Mankind. The odd appearance of the mutants causes normal humans to treat them as monsters and most are abandoned by their parents the moment they are born and shipped off to orphanages. This rampant discrimination and hate often leads the mutants to become psychologically damaged and furious at humans. The mutants lash out and as you would expect from angry children given powerful weapons, they sometimes kill people in large numbers. This led the government to believe the mutants are simply evil and a threat that must be neutralized at all costs.

Another HUGE problem with Elfen Lied's otherwise quite decent story is that the first 2 episodes...kind of suck. It starts out with nothing but violence and an unnecessarily long jail break, when it is actually the psychological drama and dark romance that won over most of its fans. This kind of explains why unlike Gantz, Elfen Lied actually has female fans. The anime clearly should have started with the flashback episodes, but I digress. Allow me to summarize the first 2 episodes, so you can skip them if you quit this anime after hating the first episode. Honestly, this was a problem with Baccano and Monster as well. A number of good anime start surprisingly weak.

Our story is about a queen diclonius named Lucy, who spends most of episode 1 on a ridiculous prison break that leaves no less than 23 guards dead! She even kills 2 people by using telekinesis to hurl a pencil through their skulls! Lucy nearly escapes without a scratch, but ends up eventually being shot in the head with an anti-tank rifle. However, as a complete badass this isn't enough to kill Lucy, because she used her powers to greatly slow the bullet and change its trajectory at the last second. Lucy falls off a cliff and washes up on a beach in scenic Kamakura, where she is discovered naked and bleeding by 2 cousins named Kouta and Yuka. Kouta has an odd reaction to seeing Lucy and a brief image is flashed on the screen that heavily implies that Kouta has actually met Lucy before. Lucy seems to have brain damage from the bullet wound and is now only capable of saying the phrase Nyuu, which is a baby word and similar to the Japanese gyunyuu meaning milk. Kouta suggests taking this mysterious girl to the hospital, but Yuka suggests taking her home in order to get her cleaned up and dressed, likely in order to spare this girl's family from unnecessary shame. The cousins take this unusual girl home and later that night the girl now simply called "nyuu" angers Kouta by breaking a seashell that was a momento of his long dead little sister. Nyuu runs out of the house and towards the beach in order to find a new shell for Kouta. Meanwhile, the government research organization dispatches a group of elite soldiers to recapture Lucy. This includes a sadistic, loose cannon soldier named Bando that largely serves as the comic relief villain of this series.

Episode 2 begins when Kouta finds Nyuu at the beach and is moved that she is wading through freezing water in order to find a new shell. However, before Kouta can forgive the brain damaged Nyuu for unjustly yelling at her, he is attacked by Bando and knocked out. Bando could easily kill or capture Nyuu, but he decides to destroy his radio com rather than calling for backup and have some "fun" with her, much to the dismay of his strictly by the book partner, Satoh. Bando doesn't sexually assault her however, he simply tries to goad her into giving him a good duel and seems to have the energy and playful cruelty of child. Unfortunately for Bando, he hits Nyuu on the head and she reverts back to her normal self. Lucy brutally murders Satoh and using superior strategy makes quick work of Bando. She decides to taunt him and slowly torture him in revenge for the way he treated her a few moments earlier. However, before she can kill him she reverts back to Nyuu and leaves Bando bleeding on the beach with 1 arm cut off, one arm broken in multiple pieces and both his eyes gouged out! Nyuu returns home to find Kouta and he attempts rather awkwardly to dress Nyuu in dry clothes, causing anger and jealousy from his often psychotic cousin Yuka, who has a HUGE crush on him. Meanwhile, at the government lab we see a young girl chained to the wall in cruciform position with blood trickling from her temples. This anime Jesus wannabe is named #7 or Nana by the facility (George Costanza would be pleased that someone is named 7). That is the end of episode 2.

Character: 10/10

The main character is Lucy, who is a serial killer that we are actually meant to feel for. She has done horrible deeds, but feels tremendous guilt and wishes to repent for these misdeeds, which makes her sympathetic. Unlike Dexter or the Punisher, she isn't an incarnation of Texan justice that only kills bad guys. She is less Dexter and more Rodion Raskolnikov from Crime and Punishment. Well...a watered down anime version, but still an excellent character for an anime! Lucy also develops a split personality named Nyuu that starts out like a small child and gives Lucy the opportunity of rebirth. I think the great writer Salman Rushdie said it best in Midnight's Children when explaining why writers keep resorting to rebirth via amnesia. Besides Christian rebirth and reincarnation, it is really all we writers have! Kouta seems like a generic harem lead at first, but we learn that there is more to him than meets the eye. He has a rather dark past and tries to protect all women he comes across after the tragic death of his little sister. He may not act rationally at times, but his extremely accepting and kindhearted nature represents the most positive portrayal of humanity in this entire series. Kouta acts as a foil for Lucy and eventually a romantic interest. This romance is in my opinion one of the most tear jerking and moving in all of anime. Kouta's kindness is actually able to get through all the anger and hatred that have built up in Lucy's heart. They are similar to The Phantom and Christine from Phantom of the Opera or as previously mentioned, Rodion and Sonya from Crime and Punishment. Nana is another interesting character who grew up isolated from the world, so she is very naive and appears quite foolish. However, she has unnatural kindness and her own kind of wisdom. She is tempted 3 times in the series to submit to anger and kill an opponent, but all times she refuses. She is a rare anime example of a character achetype that in literature is called a "yurodivy", much like Myshkin in The Idiot. There are lots of other characters, but this review is long enough already.

Sound: 10/10

The opening theme Lillium ranks as one of the greatest in all of anime. The background music is often creepy, disturbing, tense, and as I mentioned in my Gokukoku review reminds me somewhat of Arnold Schoenberg in its atonal style. Although Lillium is played a bit too often since it serves as Lucy's Leitmotif, the soundtrack is solid all around and I highly recommend it.

Art: 8/10

The art is quite good for 2004 and although it looks a tad dated now, the early use of CG for the vectors was quite impressive at the time. This was the beginning of the great migration of animation studios to South Korea where animators do quality work for dirt cheap, so it looked a SHIT load better than many 90s and 80s anime that were created in Japan with very strained budgets. Yes, I'm aware Studio ARMS made this anime. This is probably the best looking thing those schlockmeisters have ever produced.

Enjoyment: 10/10

The first episode will probably throw a lot of viewers off that this series is going to be nothing but gore and nudity. However, if you can make it past the tedious first couple episodes you will find an anime that goes all out and has a lot of heart. It is certainly not for everyone, but I really enjoyed it.

Overall: 10/10

"How Could this be considered good literature? EVERY CHARACTER IS INSANE!" - Vladimir Nabokov on the novels of Fyodor Dostoevsky.

There are plenty of things Elfen Lied could be criticized for. The characters don't always behave in a realistic fashion and the plot often has coincidences and moments of fate that are unrealistic. Elfen Lied is heavy on the 19th century style melodrama. The gore is overdone and some of the nudity is completely pointless, especially when used for comedy scenes. The series is emotionally exploitative and tries to make you cry. The ending is also controversial because it is left somewhat open ended for viewer interpretation. All of those are entirely true! Does this make the series bad? I would actually argue... no. Some of the gore IS totally excessive, but it's trying to tell a rather dark tale with often disturbing scenes. Some of the nudity WAS pointless yes, but the mutants are actually kept naked in the facility to dehumanize them and make horrendous experimentation easier. This isn't exactly what I would call "fanservice". Furthermore, none of the nudity is actually pornographic, so if it offends you than that is your call, but please don't call it a porn. That's just not accurate. Some of the plot points aren't realistic and characters aren't always rational, but if that meant a work instantly "sucks" then most major writers prior to the early 1900s "sucked". Now let's look at some things Elfen Lied actually did well in my opinion. Elfen Lied has interesting themes of love, hatred, the nature of good and evil, discrimination, redemption, forgiveness, and even touches on social issues like child abuse and poor treatment of the homeless. Elfen Lied doesn't always offer answers to these questions and doesn't always hold the viewer's hand, but it does tend to lean one way if you analyze it. For example, Elfen Lied brings up the nature vs. nurture debate in terms of the mutants' violence, but doesn't give a definitive answer. It heavily implies nurture, but this is left to the viewer to decide. The series also strongly hints that any deeds no matter how evil can be repented for if the sinner truly feels remorse and wishes for redemption. Not exactly a message that we see very often in modern pop culture. The bad guys who do bad things must pay for them and die. Unfortunately, my home country of America is a highly pro death penalty country that emphasizes punishment over rehabilitation. That is one reason Americans often can't embrace a novel like Crime and Punishment or an anime like Elfen Lied. It is completely against our established viewpoints. Elfen Lied also scores points for having an interesting plot, great characters, a great soundtrack, and is to date the only anime to ever make me cry. I have seen over 800 anime! I cry like a bitch during that Kouta/Lucy scene in episode 13 every damn time! I like to think of it as the bizarre love child of Stan Lee's X-men with Gaston Lerioux's Phantom of the Opera and Dostoevsky's Crime and Punishment.

PS. I recommend watching the Japanese audio because the English dub is a very mixed bag. Some of the voice actors in English are great like Kira Vincent Davis and Jason Douglas, but others are so bad that it ruins dramatic scenes. Nana's English voice sounds like nails on a black board! Seriously, she has some of the worst acting I've seen in a major anime.

Last week I was fortunate enough to watch one of the most highly regarded and critically praised anime series, called Elfen Lied. Why this series has garnered so much popularity over the years is surely no surprise to anyone: ask anybody who watches anime on a regular basis about the bloodiest, most disturbing series and you’ll often get Elfen Lied as the answer. This series is far from a simple no-brainer gorefest, though, and those who dare give it a shot (it’s certainly not for those who can’t stomach this type of thing) may find themselves completely overwhelmed by its beautifully unique story and memorable ... characters. I should know, as I am one of them.

First thing’s first: let me give you a little insight on the plot of the series. Elfen Lied primarily focuses on the relationship between humans and the so-called Diclonius (humans with horns attached to their heads and equipped with invisible telekinetic arms). One of our main characters, Lucy, is a Diclonius girl who escapes from a research facility where those of her kind are held captive and experimented upon in violent ways. Make no mistake, these strange, yet intriguing beings are far from innocent – most of them do not back away from violence and getting on their bad side can often result in a bloodbath. After forcing her way out (and by that I mean violently dismembering and ripping the heads off of everyone that stands in the way), Lucy is shot in the very last moment by a sniper. The shot doesn’t entirely hit, but it does damage her head enough to cause a deep amnesia and split her personality in two parts. Not much time passes and Lucy is found on a nearby beach by Kohta and his cousin Yuka, but Lucy’s second personality, Nyu, has taken over and this results in her acting like a child and unable to remember anything that happened up to that point.

Most of the show focuses on Lucy’s stay with Kohta and Yuka and the hunt by those whom she evaded to recapture her. Calling Elfen Lied the bloodiest and goriest anime series ever made is more an opinion rather than a fact, but it is certainly up there. You can tell from the first ten minutes that it definitely lives up to its reputation: Lucy’s escape from the research facility is one of the most powerful and downright disturbing scenes I have ever since in any anime series and it contained more blood and violence than I was prepared for – and believe me, I was pretty prepared.

One of the first things which caught my attention when I started watching the series was its opening song, called Lilium, which is sung in Latin. I was immediately fascinated by its truly wonderful tone and the atmosphere which it evoked. The opening couldn’t have been more fitting, if you ask me. It really captures the essence of what this anime is about.

Elfen Lied may sport a brutal attitude and at times it seems as though there is little to stop it from going way over the edge with its graphic depictions of violence and gore, but beyond its hardened exterior lies a soft and sensible core. The relationships between characters are surprisingly genuine and feel really natural. Over the course of its running time we come to care for each and every character in a special way. No one is innocent here, but it’s the imperfections and the little things that each character says or the does that shapes them into perfectly developed characters. I wish I could say that Elfen Lied does all these things to perfection, but there are some noticeable flaws among these beautifully executed aspects. Some characters react in an odd way to a few things, which sometimes leads to confusion among the audience and incapability to connect with the particular scene when it happens. For example, a young girl discovers a brutally dismembered man on the beach and her reaction suggests that she thinks little of it. Such things really lead to confusion and sometimes ruin the moment. I don’t wanna spoil anything, so I’ll just say that Kohta goes through some extremely emotional situations during the last episodes and his reactions are underwhelming, to say the least.

With only thirteen episodes and one special original video animation, Elfen Lied is a relatively short anime series. The manga it is based on is said to continue beyond the series’ ending and offer a lot more backstory and information about some characters, though I have not read it and am therefore unable to comment on the matter. I will say this, though: as far as the anime is concerned, it does a great job at developing the characters and advancing the story in a satisfying manner for the audience.

Elfen Lied is most definitely not for the faint of heart. There are lots of scenes which depict violence against animals, incest and even sexual abuse. Even though the series is filled with controversy and gore, it does manage to deliver a really beautiful and emotional story filled with interesting, well-developed characters. I was a little bit disappointed with the open ending and the final episode overall, but it did little to make me forget about the rest of this spectacular anime series. If you feel like you’ve got the stomach for it, be sure to check it out as it will definitely leave a lasting mark on you. It certainly did so in my case.

"A good attempt in bringing a wonderful manga live to the TV."

This review will cover Elfen Lied (anime) and the OVA which takes place within the storyline of the TV series. Please note that there will be occasional references to the manga but they will be spoiler tagged where needed and also a small part of this review will be taken from my manga Elfen Lied review due to some of their similarities.

Elfen Lied is well known for being one of the cruelest, goriest, and a highly perverted, piece of work ever. If you cannot stand watching blood, gore, and/or child nudity, please drop this ... show immediately. On the other hand, if you like twisted anime with plenty of cruelty (even at a higher level than Elfen Lied), I can recommend some more to you (just send me a PM). In short, one is expected to have a strong stomach and a mind of steel to survive these 13 episodes (plus the OVA). Consider yourself warned!

While it is rare to see "kawaii" horned girls brutally tearing bodies apart (or get their bodies shred apart), quite frankly Elfen Lied is infamous for that. The reason for these mass murders, while mostly a psychological issue with the killer, were not very well explained in the anime. Also, one could say the story ending in the anime was rather anticlimactic as I am sure many of you would have expected a more complete closure to the story.

The overall plot of Elfen Lied (manga) is truly amazing. It covers a wide variety of themes in great details, ranging from simple triangle love relationship, to the ever more common child abuse, to the horrid reality of non-ethical scientific research, to the threat of global terrorism, and lastly on human origin and our mutation/evolution. However a large portion of it were not included in the anime. For instance, there were suppose to be a

1. Global catastrophe leading to a rapid decline in human population for years to come due to a certain virus being spread in the atmosphere.

2. Another more "powerful" research institute was omitted from the anime thus interesting stuff like "vector machine" and "vector canceller" were not introduced.

3. Chief Kakuzawa's evil plan was barely touched upon in the anime -which constitute a large part to the interesting story plot-. Without this, we would not know why all Diclonius are females. Without this, we would not know why Lucy is the "queen" of all Diclonius. Without this, we would not know how Lucy was born different from everyone else. Without this, Elfen Lied is not Elfen Lied.


In terms of real actual story coverage, the anime covered ~60% of the manga in a highly compressed way. If I were to rate the anime solely based on its adaptation to the manga, the rating would be a lot worse (for the story and character at least).

However, I am not ignorant. I am well aware that the anime was aired prior to the completion of the manga. Thus it will not be fair to flame the production crew for such a diverge, inconsistent, mysterious ending. On the contrary, I would like to praise the animation crew for following the manga quite closely for the most part. In particular, I find the OVA a nice addition to the background story for Lucy as it explains why Lucy allowed herself to be captured as seen from episode 1 (all from the manga of course, so it is not something the production crew just made up). There is nothing more satisfying to the manga fans than watching Elfen Lied in high quality animation (because the manga artwork was really not that good). In addition to the good, consistent, high quality animation, Elfen Lied is also superb in the sound department.

First thing worth mentioning is the unique, beautifully sung, OP in Latin. This is not something you hear very often in the Japanese anime industry. It should also be brought to your attention that there are actually a few different variations to the OP. Unfortunately the ED is nothing spectacular like it. Secondly, Elfen Lied has a great list of seiyu. Many of whom you have probably heard their voices before in other anime. For instance, Yuka is voiced by Noto Mamiko (Kotomi in Clannad). Nana is voiced by Yuki Matsuoka (Inoue in Bleach). Most CV turned out great for their particular role for the respective characters.

I was glad to see that most characters were identical to their manga counterpart as far as their personality is concerned. There are certain characters where we can easily identify as black or white (as in those we should love vs those we should hate), but many actually belong somewhere in the gray region. Throughout the story you will find yourself rooting for a character in one instant and surprisingly find yourself wanting to have that same character killed in the next instant. It is precisely these types of character building techniques that make Elfen Lied loved and hated by many. However, what I did not like is the 180 degree change in character for the director general (aka Chief Kakuzawa). In the last episode he wanted Lucy killed, and that alone is enough to completely RUIN the whole point to the story.

Finally I would like to once again remind fellow MAL viewers that this anime is not meant for young children (nor those who dislike blood, gore, and/or nudity) and hopefully it will give you enjoyment rather than weeks of nightmare. I know I certainly enjoyed it to its fullest. Also, I would like to apologize to those who think I over emphasized on the manga (I know I did, but I couldn't help it). I was just sad to see a story with great potential gone down the drain just because it finished animating before the true glory of the story sets in.

Please send me a feedback whether you find the review helpful or not. Thanks.

Elfen Lied could, quite easily, be called one of the most graphic anime series out there. If you find excessive blood and gore (as in numerous body parts being cut off), nudity, and to a lesser degree, suicide, animal cruelty, and scenes of child molestation (it is just alluded to, of course the actual act is not shown), to be highly offensive and not to your taste, then don't watch Elfen Lied. Of course, no sane person would find any of these particularly desirable, but if you can get past these characteristics that make Elfen Lied one of the most controversial (in terms ... of getting it to air on TV) anime series out there, you'll find yourself treated to a deliciously deep and dark story that will leave you wanting more.

Overview:
The basic outline of the story involves the diclonius race, a mutation of humans that have evolved to eliminate the human race and pave the path for a stronger version of them (Darwinism). The diclonius have many traits that make them superior to humans, the most notable being two horns on their head that give them control of vectors, invisible "hands" that have extended range and superior strength (can easily cut through stone and even stop bullets to some extent with no visible effort), not to mention the fact that they move at the speed of light. The existence of this race is kept heavily under wraps, and a certain organization carefully regulates the diclonius whenever a human happens to give birth to one.

On this note, the series starts when one of the diclonius, named Lucy, breaks free from the cell that the organization held her in and, after ten minutes or so of massive amounts of gore and dismembered body parts, escapes to the ocean, but note before being hit by a bullet on the restrictive helmet she was wearing, breaking it and also resulting in her personality being split, one side being her true self, and the other a completely clueless and innocent side with the mentality of a young child (yes, I will mention now that this aspect is very similar to Chii in Chobits or Ren in DearS). It is from this point that the innocent version of her washes up where two cousins, Kohta and Yuka, happen to be walking along the beach. And although none of them are aware of it, their pasts are all intricately entwined in a tragic way.

Story: 9
Elfen Lied starts with one of the bloodiest beginnings that an anime can have. Although such a brutal start may be a deterrent to many viewers, what lies beyond this dark intro is a amazing series. An odd combination of science fiction, slice of life, psychological, romance, and horror, what's really unusual about it is that, well, they mix really well in the stylings of Elfen Lied. One moment, an episode will be calm and cute, and in an instant shift to dark and tense; this transition is repeatedly executed in an outstanding fashion throughout the series, and is greatly reflective of Lucy's split personalities, as well as her inner turmoil.

In terms of the series as a whole, the story along the way is gripping, such that I was compelled to watch all the episodes in one sitting (although it took me three). The only issues I had with it was the anticlimactic, ambiguous ending that will most likely leave many viewers unsatisfied with the series concluding so abruptly, and the few loose strands that are left behind, as well as the background surrounding the organization and how it came to be. In addition, the resolution to the main issue of the plot was somewhat unrealistic, although I was satisfied enough with it. (Sidenote: Apparently, all of these issues are taken care of in the manga, as it goes into more detail on past events as well as having a different resolution than the anime, including how the main character dealt with his recollection of past events.) I feel as though the series could have used a 14th episode or an OVA (not the current one, although it does answer some questions) to clear up all of the loose ends, but it is hard to imagine how some things would be resolved, and perhaps is just better left to the viewer to decide.

Art: 10
The art in Elfen Lied is nothing short of beautiful, vibrant and filled with rich colors. The animation is very nice and smooth, and doesn't appear to suffer from any budgetary limits. In fact, the overall production quality of Elfen Lied surpasses a great number of anime. This could, of course, be since many of the more violent and faster-paced moments usually involve a diclonius calmly standing in place while everyone in the immediate vicinity is ripped to shreds. However, the over-exaggerated blood and gore is definitely something to note as well executed. I can't say that I'm particularly into gore and excessive nudity in anime, but I'll admit that what they do, they do well. Not to mention the numerous costume changes many of the characters go through (and they're all cute). Perhaps most impressive is the art in the OP, which is based upon the work of Gustav Klimt, including the layouts, colors, and even poses that he often deployed. It's a spectacle that has to be viewed in person.

One note regarding the rampant nude scenes throughout Elfen Lied, although I initially found myself somewhat refreshed by the honesty of them (i.e., a test subject in a lab would be naked), as the series progressed, I felt that much of the nudity was unnecessary and just there for fan service (also contributing to the difficulties in getting this show to be approved for airing on TV).

Sound: 10
Most notable in the music category would be the series' opening, Lilium, a beautiful song written in Latin and sung in Gregorian chant. The various musical pieces that complement the events taking place throughout the series are almost all instrumental variations of Lilium, and they fit into the atmosphere of Elfen Lied perfectly, providing a perfect compliment to whatever scene they are integrated into. The ending is a pop-rock song that can be fit to the series, however, it often breaks the mood since nearly every episode ends on a darker note or as a cliffhanger.

Overall, the music is very enjoyable, and Lilium is a very memorable song that many people will no doubt find themselves downloading after they have seen the series.

Regarding the voice acting, the Japanese voicing is well performed and the voices fit the characters quite well. Although I cannot confirm the following since I have not listened to the English dub, I have heard many complaints that the English voicing is merely sub-par.

Character: 8
I'm torn when it comes to characters, as I feel that Elfen Lied both succeeds and fails here. The series falls short in leaving many characters underdeveloped. We are given brief insight to many characters' dark pasts, yet receive no further information once they are touched upon - it is hard to come to care for every unfortunate soul that the series introduces merely due to the fact that we do not have enough contact with them. However, the development present for certain characters almost outweighs this drawback, especially considering that the series was only 13 episodes long. The two main characters are developed sufficiently, and I'll accept the reasoning that the whole series revolves around the interactions of these two in the past; the psychological conflict affecting Kohta and Lucy is integral to the plot, although most of this development is done in the very last few episodes and feels a little rushed and almost forced.

Don't get me wrong though, despite what I believe could have been slightly better, I thought the characters in the series were brilliant, and the fashion in which they interacted and were related to one another is part of what makes this series so great. One particularly notable feature the majority of the main characters possess is that is almost impossible to side with one or another entirely. Each has equally valid reasons for their actions, and, when their pasts conflict with one another, deeming one person to be right over the other is just not possible. The butterfly effect, a major theme involved in the way that the characters developed and came to be what they were during the story, particularly for Lucy - her experiences growing up, her encounters with people who kept her sane, or drove her to near insanity - all come together in a manner that is a real treat to watch, leading up to the climax of the series.

Enjoyment: 10
Elfen Lied, as a whole, was one of the most interesting and compelling series I have seen in quite some time. The few drawbacks it had were easily overlooked by the positive qualities it possessed, and was well worth the experience and time. Only the ending was a bit of a letdown, but the ride along the way was wild.

Overall: 9
Simply put, this series pushes boundaries, and isn't afraid to do so. More importantly, it does so well. This adult series is definitely not for everyone, but even if you are averse to the more unpleasant parts of Elfen Lied, I would still recommend watching it, as it is truly a great anime.

Score: 47/50; A (94%)

I love the story, but I have to say - the nudity was a bit too much. I find it hard to watch this anime in public (I watch it online in an interet cafe near school since the connection at home is slow). Seeing naked children and preteens were kind of bothersome. It's even worse getting caught watching an anime who shows Lucy/Nyuu naked 50% of the time. I am still not sure why she had to be naked, and the same goes for the rest of the diclonius (It's not like they can use their clothes for weapons).

I didn't really mind the gore, ... decapitated humans aren't new to me, but sometimes it can be a bit surprising. I do feel sorry for the children who get murdered throughout the story. This is definitely not a Disney animated film. There's something about the gore that made it acceptable for me.

As I've said, I love the story. I love all the elements mixed in it - Kouta's repressed memory, the psychotic diclonius and the virus, everything. I loved how these things were put together and out came Elfen Lied. If it wasn't for the great story, and the adorable Nyuu, I probably wouldn't have liked it as much.

Other than Nyuu, the characters were all very likeable. They all were so different with great backgrounds that it makes you think how such a diverse cast were brought together. There's Kouta, who seemed like a normal teenage boy in the beginning, or so we thought, Lucy/Nyuu, who are one and the same person but with different personalities, Mayu who is a stong little girl, Kurama who seems cold hearted but in the end you see his true self and more.

The music had a great variety of genres. The opening was a bit creepy at first, but after a while I got used to it, then by the end I got to appreciate the beauty of it. I liked the many versions of it. You can see its variations - there's the operatic version, the gregorian chant version, the music box version, etc. which were all used as background music. You don't see too many anime music with latin lyrics. The ending song was also great. I love the lyrics, I love the sound - although I thought the beginning sounded a bit Avril Lavigne - ish.

I don't think this anime is for everyone though. At first I didn't think it was for me - hearing about the nudity and the gore I was about to back off from watching it forever, but the story really got to me so I decided to watch it. I have to warn everyone who wants this though. A few days after watching Elfen Lied I started to become a bit paranoid and I would hear the opening song in my head almost non - stop. Because of that I couldn't get to sleep for a while.

Elfen Lied is often criticized for it's excessive use of graphic violence, dismemberment, sexual situations and of course nudity. However as with many things which come into the line of fire, the majority of critics often times miss the entire point. It is clear many focus on content alone and over look context completely.

Elfen Lied doesn't employ things of graphic nature for ratings, nor does it use them as a hook, although some of the lower level viewers/critics may see it as such, it's in truth much deeper than a simple marketing ploy. Elfen Lied provides a very symbolic look into the world in which ... we live, the violence, torment, cruelty and loss of identity are in exact relation with that which man kind face each and every new day.

I find nearly everything about Elfen Lied appealing, for instance how hard hitting it is, the character development, everything down to it's outstanding animation. It's really a matter of one's own security to how they will actually receive this series the majority of the time. If you're the type of person who does all in their power to gloss over the darker aspects of human nature then you're likely to find Elfen Lied both disturbing and unappealing. On the other hand, if you are the type of person who is willing to see things for more than their obvious surface value, look deeper, accept both the grotesque and the gorgeous elements of this reality there is a good chance you'll instantly be drawn in from the first episode till the last.

It's truly ironic that if I had to describe Elfen Lied with just one word, the word I would choose over any other would be "beautiful." I'm sure many will shake their heads in disagreement at this statement, yet I ask you to define what beautiful truly is. Something that is beautiful moves it's audience, it keeps them in awe, it can turn tears of sorrow into tears of joy, somehow managing to be uplifting even in it's most devastating moments; this is Elfen Lied.

Elven Lied is the only anime out there where truly twisted individuals can enjoy watching helpless girls get torn limb to limb (while semi-naked) guilt free, with the excuse that they're watching the series for its disturbingly dark, and yet fascinating story.

Elven lied is not for the faint hearted.

There will be innocent puppies bludgeoned to death. There will be bodies exploding left and right. There will be naked girls chained to walls, their limbs dismembered one by one.

Despite this initial appearance, the goal of Elven Lied is not to revel in it own nudity and gore. Rather, the director exploits these scenes to paint ... a powerful story of a world twisted by enough racism, prejudices and hatred to make George Bush look like Jesus.

The main premise of Elven Lied poses the question, what are the terrible consequences when the world abandons a young girl because she is different, and what that very difference allows the girl to ability to inflict the pain she has experienced back onto the world tenfold?

In this.. Elven Lied generally successful, though not without its flaws. The music is effective (The OP is quite amazing), the animations smooth, and the character designs bot cute and chilling as required. The final episodes of the anime feature some truly remarkable revelations, that elevates the story into true classic.

The only weakness, and a significant weakness, is that certain characters experience so much physical violence with relatively little emotional trauma that the violence loses its ability to shock. The mediocre voice acting is partly to blame. It takes a special someone to effectively speak out their lines as their limbs are torn off one by one... and unfortunately that special someone is not in Elven Lied.

Add this to the fact that people just don't seem very bother losing all their legs and arms. A character who suffered this traumatic experience would be back a couple of episodes later, all happy and without a care. This has the undesired effect of reducing the edge of some scenes designed to shock the viewer, as they appear almost comical.

The anime is not everyone. Open the first episode, and watch the first 10 minutes. Consider the dismembered arm and the decapitated waitress as a test for the darkness of your soul. If the scenes trouble you, then you're better off watching Chobits. Otherwise, you'll be rewarded with one of the most unique and controversial anime's ever released, that despite its flaws, is guaranteed to leave a lasting impression.

Whatever the case, leave Elven Lied on your desktop, so that when someone tells you animes are for kids, you can boot up the first episode and shock them into a stupor.

"Regret is only allowed to people who have the right to look back on the past." -Kurama


Preface:

Elfen Lied is, in these days, an easy target for "hey, look at this piece, let's bludgeon it further because, who's going to defend it anyway? It's GAR-BAGE!" I don't think this show was ever given a fair shot in the first place. Many people cite Sword Art Online as the show with the most wasted potential, and while it may be the current Ryan Leaf of anime, there's always one that comes before. That one was Elfen Lied.

Elfen Lied suffers from two problems: the first one is ... the amount of unaddressed plot points. Though some are minor, they do produce interesting and possibly unintended consequences as to how later events in the show can be interpreted, and even affect the ending. The second major issue is that Elfen Lied was doomed from the start. It was created before the manga had finished its run, and ran into the same issue that Fullmetal Alchemist 03 had; the show outpaced the manga, and an anime original ending had to be created, which fans almost never receive well, particularly ones of the manga.

Elfen Lied never received the positive attention FMA did, and as such, was never renewed nor finished out, and remains in an infinite state of ambiguous open endedness coupled with hate from newer viewers.


With this in mind, Story and Characters: 6

As I mentioned before, Elfen Lied feels incomplete. Certain questions in the plot are never answered, certain characters appear, never given a backstory, never fleshed out, and never to be seen again in certain instances. Despite this apparent "flaw", what Elfen Lied does do is present a tragic and emotionally wrenching tale of xenophobia, hatred, and an unspeakable moral dilemma that has real world connotations.

Enter Lucy, a Diclonius, or a mutated human being with powers called vectors. Vectors take the form of spectral arms, with varying lengths, used similarly- for good, or for evil. Diclonius are set apart from normal humans by two bone "horns" that grow from their skull, and the fact that their physical bodies mature at a rate approximately twice that of a normal human being. This presents an interesting plot point, in that while Diclonii are explained to be highly intelligent, they're psychologically immature and develop at the same rate as a normal human child in terms of psychosocial development. Given these facts, there are NO Diclonii that have grown into adults in a 'normal' environment, and thus adds another layer of injustice icing to the discriminatory excrement cake the Diclonii are fed.

After Lucy escapes a maximum security facility created for terrible genetic and Diclonii experimentation, she's shot in the head, causing her to develop a separate, vastly disparate personality. She falls into the ocean, and is swept away, only to be rescued by Kohta and Yuka, two college students living nearby.
At odds with the dual moe, innocent, nearly mentally handicapped level of function in Nyu, Lucy is characterized by her deadly, remorseless, psychotic rampages, and her righteous hatred of humanity. As Nyu, Lucy is effectively reduced to a helpless toddler, only capable of the most basic speech (which improves later, when she learns of her dissociative mentality). Her tragedy is explored in the OVA, which should be seen as episode 12, and not outside the series. Lucy's story is that of righteous indignation and revenge against those who have mistreated her in the past. Her initial capture, back story, and relation to Kohta and Yuka come full circle; the depths of the darkness and her importance in the plot are brought to the light.

Naturally, the facility sends out their paramilitary forces to retrieve their subject along with hardline, psychotic and bloodthirsty mercenary Bando, and another Diclonius named Nana. Nana is a much more interesting and integral character to the plot. Having been raised for a majority of her short life in the facility where some other Diclonii are held, Nana's upbringing was nothing short of heinous abuse: being shot at, beat up, and mercilessly attacked for no reason other than to test her vector powers. She differs from the others in that Kurama took pity on her, becoming a sort of father figure, seeing her as his own daughter. This in turn allowed her to have some shred of hope with which to attach her sanity, and thus didn't develop into a sociopathic murderer like the other Diclonii. Nana, being only about 7 or 8 mentally, is extremely childish, but also very kind and gentle for a supposed killing machine. Honestly, Nana was the most sympathetic character to me, having, like the other Diclonii, done nothing wrong, yet receiving the worst kind of punishment merely for existing. Her story is one of redeeming injustice.

I felt that the inclusion of Mayu's past as being sexually abused at home was unnecessary, as she receives no other character development and could have been a random vagrant girl, not needing much of a history. The same with Bando; his time onscreen was rather unnecessary and didn't provide any new facet to the conflict at hand. He just gave a name to the endless stream of faceless soldiers.

Enjoyment: 8

I've seen and heard of many praising Elfen Lied for its over the top blood/gore and violence, and how much of a "WTF" factor it has.
To quote the great Mr. Plinkett: "My STOOL is dark, and my doctor tells me that's a BAD thing!"
Dark =/= mature. Nudity =/= mature (I also found the fanservice wholly unnecessary). Blood and gore =/= mature. These are mature "THEMES", which alone, a mature product do not make. Elfen Lied does attack some very difficult socially mature questions though: Is it fair to treat a group of persons (in this case, entire species) as inferior, and only good as test subjects? Do they deserve the same civil rights we enjoy? Are they truly a threat to our existence?

Humanity in Elfen Lied is much the same as humanity in the real world: suspicious, paranoid, and fearful. Fear of the new. Fear of the unknown. It's explored here in the form of atrocious experimentation and abuse of children deemed "unworthy" and cast out of society solely on a discriminatory basis. Herein lies the tragedy of the show; Lucy, Nana, Mariko, and the countless other Diclonii are exploited purely for the gain of a corrupt scientist. While Machiavellian sounding on paper, there’s much more at play than it sounds.

Enter the scientist Kurama, possibly the most conflicted and ambivalent character I've seen in anime since Kiritsugu Emiya. He devoted many years of his career to the laboratory in which the Diclonii are held, and as such has a unique understanding of the iniquity and indignities that they endure, though it's his humane side that saves them, particularly Nana. His desire to treat them equally and with kindness conflicts heavily with his heartfelt duty to try and stop the occurrence of Diclonius among the populace, probably to save them from further discrimination, and not the plot point brought up in the show. Kurama's own child was born a Diclonius which gives him yet another facet of tragedy, in that he has the impossible decision to either kill his own child, or see her live long enough to become a lab rat.


Artwork and Animation: 6

Elfen Lied is honestly a mixed bag when it comes to animation. Parts of the show are quite good looking, and others are horrendously ugly. Rough edges, stillframe, and a low amount of key frames occasionally dot the show, but the action scenes are typically pretty fluid. The backgrounds are generally good, but there are no moments where I was really blown away by how any of it looked. Given that this was done by Studio ARMS, they're no paragon of quality animation, so overall, it was fine.


Sound and Voice Acting: 7

Elfen Lied has a rather talented veteran cast for such a low budget production. The voice acting is a bit flat in places, but it's not bad. The intro theme is unique and memorable, particularly since it's in Latin (which lends an air of pretense). The ending theme is strangely upbeat, and fun.
I found the cello and violin insert music to be touching, and coupled with piano in some places really allowed it to be effective when necessary.


Overall: 7

Thematically, Elfen Lied approaches some subjects that are very difficult to address, but falls short on execution of the plot and believability due to how "manufactured" some character's backgrounds are presented. All is not lost however, Elfen Lied starts off poorly to say the least, but if one can get past the first 6 episodes, the back 8 are far superior in execution, exposition, and ability to engage the audience and evoke an emotional response.


tl;dr

+ Interesting questions asked of humanity and society
+ Salvageable plot and themes
+ Interesting, if somewhat underutilized character dynamics

+/- Emotionally draining
+/- Blood and gore, somewhat unnecessary, but makes it 'sew edgy'

- Fanservice
- Unaddressed plot points
- Annoying supporting characters

Recommend?

Given how ubiquitous Elfen Lied is, I'd say it's worth a watch, but only with an open mind. Blind hatemongering on a series like this is too easy, and it has something to offer, you've just got to dig a little to appreciate it.

Elfen Lied is one of those anime that are both enjoyable and meaningful. There are many anime that takes you on a confusing roller coaster ride then clicked at the very end, and also there are many anime that while having no deep meanings, they are just pure enjoyable. However, Elfen Lied was outstanding because it successfully combine these two types of anime to create a brilliant masterpiece.

Apart from being enjoyable enough to almost guarantee multiple re-watch's in the future, it seems that every time you re-watch Elfen Lied something else clicks. The characters are better understood, and the story is filled with subtle symbolism ... and allusions such that it is not just merely an anime, but rather a story that parallels the real world. This doesn't mean that the first watch will be confusing, but rather, Elfen Lied will gradually undergo the transition of being purely enjoyable to becoming meaningful, deep, and very emotional.

Story: 10/10

The story begins with ten minutes of a suspenseful bloodbath between a mysterious, nude female beneath a helmet and a neverending flow of soldiers. However, the first ten minutes of the anime is also the bloodiest ten minutes; in short, it won't get as bloody again. Then, the scene switches to a beautiful summer day with numerous sakura petals floating in the wind. Just like the setting, the (female) protagonist of this series is Lucy/Nyuu, a serial killer and cute girl who only knows how to say one word, "Nyuu." The story revolves around the relationships of Kouta/Yuka/Nyuu, Nyuu's other personality, and how they affected the lives of the people they met.


Even though it sounds simple, the plot has many interweaving subplots that connects together to form a perplexing yet straightforward story. Lucy's past and present is still there, and it becomes the main drive of the plot as more is revealed about her history. The series takes a step further, using Lucy's story as an allusion to society itself, as an explanation for violence and crime and raises the question of who is responsible. The world of Elfen Lied is fictional yet real, captivating yet melancholy, bloody yet beautiful. It explores all our emotions with a wonderful mixture of different genres yet efforlessly and impeccably delivers the plot until the very end.

Art: 9/10

The art was brilliant. The transition from violence to peaceful scenery above that I mentioned was one beautiful, and it shows flexibility of the animator's ability. It ranges from cute characters such as Nyuu and Mayu to fast-paced action scenes of Nana, Lucy, and Mariko. The only noticeable flaw was some of the voice acting, which sometimes seems somewhat bland and forced. After a couple of episodes, this was taken care of, and the rest of the series was done very well.

Sound: 10/10

Some people want to take off points for the lively ending song, but I think it serves its purpose well. It sometimes does not fit the dark mood portrayed throughout the series, but in my opinion, it's there to remind us of the funny and cheerful side of Nyuu; what she really wants to say but cannot is conveyed through that song. Otherwise, the opening song was special and mysterious, yet it is used for the symbolic music box, which carries a sad yet beautiful tune. The background music was not overdone but suspenseful or emotional all the same, when needed.

Character: 9/10

Elfen Lied is best classified as a character development anime, and from the beginning to end it was done well. However, the irony is that the plot was best suit for hints and mysterious, so we have to make predictions about several events earlier on. While this is effective for the plot itself, because of its short amount of episodes, some of the characters feel like their screen time was cut for the plot. It's not very noticeable because you will be immersed in the drama anyways but at the end, several questions will be raised about some of the characters.

Enjoyment: 10/10

Simply put this was marathoned. You cannot stop after one episode without thinking all day long what will happen to the next, and time will pass by very quickly without you noticing. It's also very re-watchable, even though it's quite sad at times, which actually quite a surprise.

Overall: 9/10

This is one of the series where I can say that it is almost perfect. To me, Elfen Lied is valuable because it can provide realism in a fictional world. It is one of the anime where it were as if it was not only watched for purposes of entertainment, but rather, I learned something from it. The only major flaw that I can see is the excessive fanservice of Nyuu (not nudity as a whole). While it brings up lightheartedness to the plot, I believe that it is too much over the top and distracts from the plot, although it is not that big of a deal. I would recommend this anime to everyone (that can watch R+ anime), because it is not just an anime.

This anime is not suitable for sensitive people, as it contains nudity and extreme gore. Taking this very important factor aside, the story is unexpected, mysterious, entertaining, emotional and overwhelmingly beautiful to the point one might consider this one of the best animes ever made. Initially focusing on Lucy (Niu) and Kouta, it slowly develops more and more onto other points of view; making it a complete masterpiece. The characters are well-rounded, the art style is classic and the animation terribly smooth (especially during the visceral scenes). It's about murder, feelings, family, friendships, relationships, mental health and philosophy. Prepare to gasp and cry a lot: ... it starts with blood and ends with tears.

Elfen Lied is one of the most uncomfortable anime ever created, and for that very reason, that makes it an anime that everyone should view before they die. Horrific yet impossible to turn away from, perverted yet desperate to retain whatever shred of innocence it can, Elfen Lied is an anime that shakes me to my very core.

Elfen Lied's story revolves around a mutant emotionless killer named Lucy. The story begins with Lucy's gut-churning escape from the facility holding her which ends with her being shot into the ocean. When she washes up on shore, she is alive but she is no longer herself. A ... new personality, similar to that of a two year old's, has emerged. She is taken in by two cousins, both unaware that Lucy's murderous personality lays dormant within her.

Ignoring the plot of diclonius and government conspiracies, Elfen Lied's plot can be simplified to being solely about Lucy's inner battle with the nature of humanity. It's better to do it this way to, because the plot about a new super-race of humans is absurd. Seriously, if you focus on it, you'll be sorely disappointed by all the plotholes it comes with.

But the story centered solely around Lucy is definitely one to watch, and it's highlighted by an unoriginal but somewhat interesting cast of characters. The entire cast, especially Lucy, is the subject of multiple events of psychological scarring that tend to help define them as the series progresses. Though some manage to grow past the trauma, most do not. This isn't a bad thing, as the characters are not so ill-defined as to be known entirely by their separate tragedies, but it is a weak point, and Lucy is the only character to surpass it.

The art is brilliant in nearly every aspect. Yes, the character designs are a little bland, but the animation is fluid and the backgrounds are rich and detailed. Not Kyoto Animation quality, but pretty damn close.

The soundtrack is good, but it mostly consists of various versions of the same piece of music, and, while "Lilium" is a beautiful hymm-like piece, it gets very repetitive.

For myself, the flaws of Elfen Lied are outweighed by it's strengths. While you can watch it as a graphic anime full of nudity and gore, there is deep social commentary beneath the blood and boobs, though not everyone will "get it". Elfen Lied is a serious hit-or-miss anime. It will either hit hard or miss by a wide margin. It's messages run deep and universal. A fair warning though; this is NOT for children by any means.

Overall, I give Elfen Lied an 8 out of 10.

Elfen Lied Review

By Michael Francis

Elfen Lied, Elf song. What is it? Well, technically it a poem written in German about a sleeping elf, but since this is an anime review, obviously I’m going to talk about the anime. Don’t worry, I’ll get there eventually :-P.

Synopsis

Elfen Lied is a reasonable deep anime. Has anyone seen the poster for she’s the man at the theaters? Elfen lied is like that. It’s about a girl who likes her cousin, who like the mutant girl (Lucy / Nyuu) who killed his family that he doesn’t remember, who used to be best friends.

Then a homeless girl who got ... sexually assaulted by her stepfather comes to live with them who make friends with another mutant girl who is trying to kill the other mutant girl who is living with the five of them and a dog. Fwww, did you get all that? I didn’t think so.

Also, the girl (nana) who is trying to kill Lucy, her father isn’t really her father, her father’s real daughter is trying to kill her (nana) and all the other mutants, and everyone else just because she is bored. Yep, we got some real drama up in here.

Anyway, this is a very deep and touching anime. However, it is also very violent and romantic. Yes, like most mature animes, there is a little nudity, however, not a lot.

Its like this, there is enough nudity for you not to watch it with your little brother or sister, However, you could watch it in your family room and your parent wouldn’t notice.

Don’t go and watch this in your living room though, especially if you’re unlucky enough to have your parents walk in right at a bad part. (Poor Andrew, he’s still recovering from the whip.)

Sound : ? /10

The sound for this anime matches the situation very well.

The voice acting is also well done. As of this writing, there is no English version of this anime. Personally, I don’t think there will be because it came out 3 years ago, but you never know.

I can’t really rate the sound though

Animation: 8 / 10

The animation quality of this anime is excellent. The contrast is almost as good as Tokyo Mew Mew. The lines are just thick enough.

Also, the characters are very cute, not in a chibby way though.

Just a side note, did anyone notice that it’s the cute people that are going around killing people?

Story: 9 / 10
Alright... what we've got here is a messy little story as the synopsis hints at.

What we have here is a species that has evolved further than your normal everyday human being. This species possesses so called "vectors", nifty little telekinetic things which are useful if you want to hang upside down in a tree and make a carrot salad... or let’s say, shred a human into tiny cute little pieces. Now, the problem here is that there are people who don't think that these evolved humans, or "diclonius" as they are called, should roam free. On the contrary, they should be subjected to various inhumane tests. And this will, obviously, anger these vector-equipped beings. You see, if you're too close to one of these creatures and accidentally drop a coin, (a quarter for instance) then expect to have it shot through your head faster than you can say "Barbequeonthedarksideofthemoonisgood" backwards. Or the short version: "Mess with a Diclonius, and you die."

Overall 9 /10

I loved this anime. I definitely recommend it to anyone who can handle the violence even if they are not into violent animes. Make sure to get a version with all 14 episodes.

I almost cried at the end of 13, but 14 made me feel better. BTW: don’t get confused the series end at 13, 14 happens between 10 and 11.

I managed to learn about Elfen Lied from a friend telling me THAT they wanted to see it once. It sounded interesting, so I thought I'd check it out sometime. I did, and I found that it is one of those shows that are different from everything else out there. It was originally a 12 volume manga written by Lynn Okamoto, but with it's popularity, they decided to make this 13-episode long anime show to illustrate part of the story told within.

Story: As soon as you watch the well known opening of episode one, you automatically get a taster of what's to come ... within the next 12 episodes ahead. And to give you an idea of that, be warned to expect nudity, a lot of blood, and of course, to top that all off, gore. But, that's not where the storyline ends. Eventually, the mutant girl, Lucy, manages to get shot during her breakout of the facility she was being held in; however, she managed not to die because of the helmet she was wearing at the time. Instead, the bullet manages to hit her head knocking off the helmet and forcing Lucy to fall into the ocean below.

Now, that was just the first few minutes of the opening scene. Later on, you get introduced to two other main characters, Yuka and Kouta. These two are walking down the beach, when suddenly; a naked, pink haired girl with horns washed up on shore catches their attention. The girl seems to only know the word 'Nyuu' and thus, they decide to give her this as her name. Kouta and Yuka decide to take her in, and then, the story begins to unravel.

Later on, you begin to learn more about these three; well, four characters with Lucy/Nyuu- and others that you meet along the way. You learn about their past, the problems they face, and how no one seems to know that Nyuu is really this other girl called Lucy.

Now you might be thinking: why should I watch this? Blood? Gore? Nudity? Is that it? It's not really my cup of tea. Well, there's more to this show than just that. The show manages to go through so many of your emotions; it basically sends them on a roller coaster ride. There are some scenes that are funny, some scenes that are sweet, and others that are just- well you'll know what I mean if you go to watch this yourself.

Now a lot of people say that they are disappointed with the ending they had provided for them in episode 13. I, on the other hand, am not in that majority. Where the manga was still in continuation when the anime was complete, I think that the ending was, good considering they had to make it up. It's left on a cliffhanger, but I still think it was good. The final episode in my opinion was sweet, and, even though I do agree with the majority in saying that they could have easily waited or made a better ending, the ending provided I did like to some extent.

Music + Art: Now these two things are what I think really made this show. The sets shown and characters were beautiful, and the musical score just added to make it even better. The opening song 'Lilium' is great, and I loved the way that they managed to use Klimt artwork and incorporate the characters and situations they were in within the art pieces. You could definitely tell that they put a lot of detail into the show to make it as good as they possibly good in this area.

Other: Overall, I really liked this show. There were a few things I wasn't as keen on, such as the amount of nudity shown within the show. I think that this could have been cut down. And also, a few of the flashback scenes were shocking. However, if you can manage to pull yourself to get through the first ten minutes of gore and violence, you can definitely hack the rest of the show. Give it a shot; you might just fall in love with the show!

I would say, however, if you don't like the gore and blood aspect of it all or the nudity is offending to you, then I advise you not to watch it. If you're not really bothered by that stuff and are up for something good to watch, then this is definitely for you. It's not too long, just a few 13 episodes, not like 100 or so like other shows out there. And it's not loaded with annoying filler either.

Overall, a good, unique storyline, with a wonderful music and art set. Elfen Lied is one of its kind. It takes risks, and not afraid to. It's definitely not for everybody, but for those who like this kind of stuff, it is a definite must see.

STORY: The story was really good. There are a couple parts in it that you might have to fill in the blanks yourself. The story kept me entertained the entire time.

ART: The art was wonderful. I dont mean just the bloody parts either. Altogether, the art of the characters, environment, etc. were really wonderful. The art was probably one of the things that struck me to keep me entertained. What I mean to say is "I dont want the art and characters to be something I dont want to look at." Believe me, I have had this happen before.

SOUND: The music is awesome. ... The intro song "Lillium" is quite a masterpiece. There are several different versions of it throughout Elfen Lied, 4 of them to be exact. The ending song is really awesome as well. It's more of a rock song called "Be Your Girl". There really is'nt a whole lot of music for Elfen Lied, but it is inserted in the Anime in all of the appropriate places ^_^. This also helped to keep me going throughout the series.

CHARACTER: All of the characters were awesome. Especially the main character: Lucy. The character was brilliant especially considering that she had a split personality. You really never knew what to expect from her.

ENJOYMENT: I obviously enjoyed it since I gave it a 10. To be more exact though, I was well focused when watching it. I didnt get bored of it at all. In fact, I think it would be great if they made a second season. If you would like to know more about my enjoyment and so forth you should view my Reccomendation on it as well.

OVERALL: Overall, it was a fantastic Anime. I personally wish it would never have ended. ='( I do reccomend it, but really only for those who are actually mature enough to view it. There is quite a bit of nudity in it, as well as tons of blood and gore. The rating for it is R+. I, in my opinion, completely agree with that. I did laugh on several accounts, and there are tearjerker spots as well. (Only all that can be expected of it.) But I loved it, I own it, and thats that. Lol.

Well, simply put, this anime is among one of my favorites. There are a lot of reasons for it, but this anime is very good in my opinion. First off, this show is EXTREMELY violent, so if you aren't good with a lot of violence, don't watch it. If you can handle the violence, watch it. Most people seem to enjoy it a lot.

Story: I thought the story was very original for it's time when it came out (2004). Since then people have taken the idea of the who "non human girl living with a human guy" story line. But for it's time frame, it ... is good. The story is not hard to follow and will keep you interested from start to finish. A few points of the story are slightly disturbing depending on you. The whole plot is very dark, again dealing with violence throughout. 10/10

Art: Since this anime is now roughly 9 years old, the art isn't that great compared to what we have now. The characters are well drawn, the backgrounds look good, and the action scenes look good. Not much to say here really. 9/10

Sound: The opening and closing for this anime are one of my favorites. They aren't your average action packed openings with lyrics in the song. Instead, they are peaceful instrumentals with the main female character blended in with artwork from Gustav Klimt. The ending also has this vibe to it. Throughout the actual story, we get good music as well. 10/10

Character: In my opinion, this is where the series really stands out. The main main protagonist, Kouta, has a very sad past and you learn his childhood very in depth, even though the series is only 13 episodes. Though I didn't like him all that much, I though his character development was phenomenal. Then there's Lucy/Nyu. One of my favorite anime characters of all time. She was shown to have 2 personalities (3 in the manga) and all 3 differed greatly. I loved how dark her Lucy persona was while at the same time she was deep down caring. The other characters were also very cool and I enjoyed them for the most part. 10/10

Enjoyment: For me, this is my 3rd favorite anime, so I obviously enjoyed it. Everything was pretty sweet in my opinion and I'm pretty sure most people think so as well. So for me, 10/10

Overall: 10/10 I really recommend this show to anyone who can handle the violence and dark themes. Thanks for reading my review ^-^

By the time I finished watching the last episode of Elfen Lied, I was glued to my chair by my own sweat, my mouth was wide open and my eyes just wouldn't close. I was also mumbling something incomprehensibly and when I finally decided to get up I collapsed like a concrete block.

Elfen Lied was unlike anything I've ever seen before. People getting ripped to pieces like toilet paper, soldiers punching women in the face, heads being blown off by .50 calibre sniper rifles, puppies beaten to death, cousins making out, love triangles, no, love quadrilaterals (pentagons even) and scientists complaining about their virginity. ... This series has it all. It's the most psychotic anime I have EVER seen. It just feels so extremely wrong... and yet miraculously the story justifies it all.

Let me start by describing the story, I'll just try to briefly outline it so I'll do my best to avoid putting spoilers in but you have been warned. Elfen Lied... *sigh* has a very melancholic and dark story. The first few minutes of the first episode are downright mental... people ripped apart by a naked woman (Lucy) while a Latin song plays in the background and that's basically our introduction to the first main character. Hmmm, chilly. After that we meet Kouta and Yuka and soon after 2 more girls as well (Nana and Mayu). The story revolves around them, presenting us with their struggles and in the end shows us what links them together. There's a lot of love between them (bah! 1 guy, 4 girls what else'd you expect?) a lot of hugging, kissing, jealousy but most of all, lots and lots of drama and sorrow. All of that while people get continuously ripped apart on the screen. It's all a peculiar combination for sure but in Elfen Lied, ridiculously, it works perfectly.

The characters are weird but plausible. Kouta, for example, is a guy who has an urge to cuddle every single girl he meets. He's a very kind person and he wants to help everyone in any way possible, regardless of what they've done in the past. Yuka, his cousin, is in love with him and gets jealous even when he so much as looks at a girl. Then it gets weirder, we have Lucy, a murderous diclonius (mutant race) with a dark past and another diclonius, Nana, who was sent to capture her. Last but not least, we have Mayu, a shy and homeless girl. What links them together is very interesting and I guess it's that part of the story that really captivates the viewers to keep watching the series past the first episode.

Art is very good and sometimes it can send a few chills up your spine. Every detail was carefuly taken care of and the series is biologically precise ie we see bones in severed arms or legs and the amount of blood loss related to the injury seems to be accurate. Other scenes with rain and such, are also nicely drawn so you will not be disappointed.

Sound is outstanding. Depressive and melancholic, it fits perfectly with the overal tone of the series. The opening, "Lilium" is probably the best opening I have ever seen. It's sung in Latin and it's very complex to understand but my impression was that it was about innocence and the temptations that might lead you away from it. It's very very emotional and it was actually that opening that drew me into watching the series.

I enjoyed the series very much even though it depressed me a little because I wasn't prepared for it. Elfen Lied is a tale of human morality, love and forgiveness packed into a petrifying gorefest that you won't forget... for the rest of your life.

I was expecting a lot more from this show due to its high rating, and popularity, and the fact that it was recommended to me, however, there are a great many things I am picky about, and many of those peeves were things in this show. That being said this series is still worth a watch, it just wasn't up to par with the hype for me, so I will elaborate.

The first, most obvious, peeve is that the voice acting and animation quality on this just are not up to snuff. Even if you watch the japanese voices, the acting is terrible in comparison to ... everything else I watch (but then again I have not watched 1,000+ series' that some people on this site have). It kind of reminds me of watching a soap opera and how it seems mandatory to use inferior camera and sound recording equipment just so people can tell its a soap based on the filming and voices, content asside.

Second peeve: Samey death sequences.... I Loves me some gore, doesn't matter if its cruel like higurashi or ludicrous like hellsing ultimate, but in elfen lied everything is disembodied limbs that have been sheered clean off every time. I know vectors and blah blah blah, but the gore just wasn't interesting. I was promised supple blood bathing in this series, and everyone hyped up the gore, so I was pretty disappointed by that too.

Third peeve: forced nudity. Ok, so don't get me wrong, I love boobs, and love nudity, but the nudity in this show is like having your face get raped by it. Its like the 2nd twilight movie "I'll protect you *rip off shirt for no reason* -screaming fan girls want to rape wearwolf sexy abs-" It was painful to see the plot getting soiled by forced nudity, it wouldn't have bothered me at all if in some way it fit the mood or elevated the story. But in the case of this series I think it exists simply because it can.

There is one good thing about this series though, that pretty much has convinced me that this series could have been a 9-10 if it were re-made, and that is that the actual story has some good moments, and manages to grab hold of some actually decent plot hooks and pluck a few heart strings. If a studio were to remake this series and fix its weakness' which are all pretty superficial this anime would have the potential to rank up there with shows like TTGL (which isn't my fav, but i consider it upper echelon, its well made, and super popular).

On a side note, realistically I dont think the chances that this will happen are very good though. So I give elfen lied a 7 overall.

DOUBLE SIDE NOTE: the intro theme is freaking awesome! too bad I don't rate anime purely based on the intro music :(