Elfen Lied | Review } Pinnedupink.com

Elfen Lied

When someone thinks of anime, what usually comes to mind are comedic, vivid, lighthearted, but in-depth stories that speak to the soul. But of course, not all anime is like this, particularly those aimed at more mature audiences. How often does someone come across a Psychological Horror anime? Most of the time, unless they are specifically looking for one, they just won’t. But for fans who love the darker side of anime, there are some must-see titles out there definitely worth their time.

Elfen Lied, also known as Elfen Song or Elfic Song, is an anime that falls under the genres of Action, Horror, Psychological, Supernatural, Drama, Romance, and Seinen. It is a 13 episode TV anime series that started airing on 25th July and concluded on the 17th October as a Summer 2004 anime. The anime was produced by VAP and Genco, licensed by ADV Films, and brought to life by Studio Arms.

The series is rated R+ for mature audiences and features mild nudity. The series was adapted from the Elfen Lied Manga series, which spanned 12 Volumes from the 6th June 2002 to 25th August 2005 by Author and Artist Okamoto Lynn, serialized in Young Jump. A side story was released for the series as a single episode special titled “Elfen Lied: In the Passing Rain” (Elfen Lied: Tooriame nite Arui wa, Shoujo wa Ikani Shite Sono Shinjou ni Itatta ka? - Regenschauer) on 21st April 2005.

The anime series Elfen Lied is based on Lynn Okamoto's Seinen manga series of the same title, and it first premiered even while the manga was still in publication. The anime faithfully follows the source material manga throughout the first seven volumes but with several alterations to the story.

The ending, however, is anime exclusive. During an interview, Director Mamoru Kanbe expressed his distress about being forced to 'condense' the story into a mere 13 episodes and stated that he felt more episodes were required if they were to include essential plot details in the anime; all of which would have made the series much more emotional and striking.

The primary staff behind the production were Tamura Manabu (Producer), Shimizu Katsunori (Sound Director), Kanbe Mamoru (Director, Episode Director, Storyboard), and Sadohara Takeyuki (Episode Director, Storyboard).

The story is centered around protagonist Lucy, a special breed of human referred to as "Diclonius.” She was born with a short pair of horns and invisible telekinetic hands. These factors lead her to end up as a victim of inhumane scientific experimentation at the hands of the government. One fateful day, under the right circumstances, an opportunity for her to escape presented itself, and Lucy seized it.

But by this time, she was already vastly corrupted by the cruel confinement and torture, unleashing an indiscriminate torrent of bloodshed as she proceeds to escape her captors. During her gruesome breakout, she receives a crippling head injury that leaves her with a split personality, one with the mentality of a harmless child possessing limited speech capacity. Her path crosses with two unlikely college students, Kouta and his cousin Yuka in this state of turbulent instability.

The two unknowingly take the injured fugitive into their care with the best intentions, utterly unaware of her murderous tendencies stemming from the other half of her split personality. This one act of kindness will change their lives forever, as they soon find themselves tangled up in the grim and shadowy world of government, secrecy, and conspiracy with no way out.

Elfen Lied is infamous for being a brilliant but bloody mess of gore, cruelty and nudity. This hazardous combination would typically turn viewers away from it. However, many people still watch it, knowing to some extent what they're getting into, and overall, people end up satisfied with it. Depending on the viewer’s preferences, it can range from being a masterpiece, an erotic show, or a confusing series that left them flabbergasted.

The first episode itself starts with so much blood and nudity spanning over 10 minutes, the series probably broke a record here, but if this part can be stomached, then the remainder of the series isn’t going to pose much of a problem. It starts with a naked Lucy of the Diclonius race, a species of mutant humans with invisible 'arms' termed as Vectors, who is escaping from the facility, but it is more along the lines of her assaulting her way out.

She kills countless guards and everything that gets in her way on her desperate break for freedom. Once she finally reaches the outside, she ends up getting sniped, but this isn’t enough to kill her. Afterward, the two teenage cousins Kouta and Yuka, happen to discover her on a beach. Lucy had conveniently lost her memories and can only say "Nyu"; thus, Kouta and Yuka start calling her by that name. They then made the terrible decision of taking Nyu home.

From this point on, the story just goes back to being severe in its gore level and slowly proceeds to build up again throughout the remainder of the episodes. As if the gore itself wasn’t enough, cruel events unfold one after another, while more Diclonii and their tragic pasts are brought to light.

The innocent Nyuu switches between her alter personality as Lucy more and more frequently as the story progresses, so much so that by the end, she ultimately reverts to her old self. But amid all this chaos, a dim light shines through, as something is very likely preventing her from going completely psychotic…

The characters of Elfen Lied are all pretty decent, but they do tend to act stupid at times, making some ridiculous decisions. For example, if an average sane person finds a girl with horns lying on the beach, drenched in blood, taking her home and keeping her, there is probably a terrible idea.

On the other hand, all the characters have decent backstories, mostly filled to the brim with utter cruelty, gory blood, and complicated relationships. Relationships are a crucial aspect of the series, so much so that it seems to run on them. These are the main factors as to why the Diclonius are so cruel and messed up.

They are considered “Cruel" due to the heartless actions of ordinary humans. It is shown that Diclonius are only treated as mere research subjects and not as people. They end up being shunned by the very people who are supposed to take care of them and even killed off for ridiculous reasons.

There is a love triangle, broken promises, and bitter lies among the main trio of characters. Lies also play a massive part in this series as they molded the characters into who they are in the present, and incidents that occurred some years ago connect to their development in the present day. Bear in mind that the series is only 13 episodes long, and so much happens within that limited time.

The series thus feels rushed at times, and it does, in fact, move forward at a fast pace. Regardless, in the end, what viewers get is an excellent, really tragic, entertaining, enjoyable, and gory experience.

The artwork of Elfen Lied ranges from really good to average. The backgrounds and scenic detailing are meticulous and pleasing to the eyes, but the character designs are not at the same level and fall short in comparison.

The details are minimal, colors are bland, and they don’t fit into the surroundings at all—the camera angles, too, range from being pretty good decent at times. The artistic design of both the Opening and Ending themes is heavily inspired by the Austrian symbolist painter Gustav Klimt. Colors and patterns resembling his distinct style are used, and characters are even drawn to recreate several paintings from his golden period, including “The Kiss (Lovers).”

The sounds and music of Elfen Lied are decent as well. The Opening is "Lilium'' by Kumiko Noma, which is sung in Ecclesiastical Latin and perfectly fits the anime’s overall themes. It utilizes lyrics taken from The Bible, the Renaissance hymn “Ave Mundi Spes Maria,” and the alchemical compendium “Theatrum Chemicum.”

The Ending is "Be Your Girl" by Chieko Kawabe, which is a bit more cheerful and portrays the love triangle well. The background music and OSTs may feel repetitive at first, a set of instrumental variations of Lilium, but it improves as the series progresses.

Overall, Elfen Lied is an anime that features so much cruelty, gore, and nudity all in one short series. But in the end, it becomes evident that the anime wouldn't be the masterpiece that it is without these factors.

Take the Rating very seriously, though, as it is perfectly justified, and viewers have been warned! But once you get through this anime, you will probably be satisfied with the brilliance of it all, no matter how gory. It is a highly recommended anime for fans of the genres and any anime fan who can stomach the gore, blood, cruelty, and nudity (and fits the age rating).