Anime Review: Elfen Lied, Complete Series

Elfen Lied is based off a manga series of the same name. Released in a 3 disk DVD thinpack ‘perfect collection’ by ADV, the 13-episode anime series is really worth watching as many episodes at a time as possible. Rachel, Chikashi, Tomonori and I watched the series in two screenings over the course of a week – which was a lot of fun. We all have differing views of the series, but I stepped forward to review this one!

Story

Elfen Lied starts off with a bang. Lucy – a Diclonius – manages to breaks out of a super-maximum security laboratory. All Diclonius entities have been captured by the government and housed in secure ‘vaults’, which allows a team of scientists to continually experiment on them.

What are Diclonius? Well, they’re mutated humans with telekinetic powers. Their identifying characteristic are two horns – which look kinda like cat ears. They’re supposedly ‘the destructor of mankind’. I’m not too sure about them being ‘the destructor’, but they certainly are dangerous. Their telekinesis powers include the ability to rip, tear and destroy limbs, torsos, heads and everything in between. They can also sense other Diclonius.

As Lucy attempts to escape, she kills a lot of lab people (while naked) and causes quite a bit of destruction. I don’t know how many bullets were used up trying to stop her, but it’s a lot! As she escapes, one of the security force members shoots her protective helmet thing off, which hits her in the head (a near miss). She falls into the ocean, where she washes ashore and is discovered by Kouta (an average teenage boy) and his cousin Yuka (who likes her cousin Kouta a lot *wink wink*).

It turns out Lucy has lost her memory and can only say ‘nyuu-nyuu’ and be all moé. So Kouta and Yuka decide to take Lucy home where they care for her. During the course of the series, Lucy switches back and forth between her destructive, violent self and her ‘Nyuu’ personality, which is cute, kinda helpless and only wants to please Kouta. In later episodes, we meet a few other characters – including more Diclonius girls (one who looks just like Lucy), a guy with a robot arm, a puppy and lots of people for Lucy to (as Rachel would say) “make go ’splode”.

Beware! There’s lots and lots of nudity (mostly boobs) and lots/lots/lots of violence in Elfen Lied. It’s less realistic violence than in a show like GANTz, but it’s disturbing anyway. By the end of the series, you might be gasping for air and hoping you don’t have to see another head or arm fly through the air (in slow motion).

Characters

Elfen Lied is full of both normal and unusual characters. Some are kind-hearted, others are pretty evil. Here are the main characters:

• Lucy/Nyuu is a Diclonius who has broken free from the lab and lives with Kouta and Yuka.
• Kouta is an average boy who finds himself in the middle of an unusual situation.
• Yuka is Kouta’s cousin (and has the ‘hots’ for him).
• Kanae is Kouta’s little sister.
• Mayu has a puppy and lives with Kouta, Yuka and Lucy.
• Nana is another Diclonius who has a major battle with Lucy. I like her character a lot.
• Professor Kakuzawa Yu is director of the lab that Lucy broke out of.
• Bandou is a killer with a fake arm and an attitude. He’s really annoying.
• Kurama is one of the head scientists and responsible for Lucy’s escape.
• Mariko is another Diclonius who is über-powerful. You’ll see what I mean…

Design

I give Elfen Lied the official The Anime Blog Stamp of Approval ™. The color palette is bright and cheery – which provides stark contrast to the brutal fight scenes. Character designs were original and I really like the viual contrast between Lucy with her scowl and hidden eyes and Nyuu, who has what I’m now calling ‘big moe eyes’ .

Production

The production of the series is excellent. With only 13 episodes to tell the story, the producers were able to maximize their budget (and maintain consistency – applaud). We watched the series in it’s original Japanese with English subtitles where the voice acting, music and sound quality are all top-notch.

Members of the production team include:

• Director: Mamoru Kanbe
• Series Composition: Takao Yoshioka
• Script: Takao Yoshioka
• Music: Kayo Konishi, Moka, Yukio Kondoh
• Original Creator: Lynn Okamoto
• Character Design: Seiji Kishimoto
• Art Director: Akira Itoh (eps 1-13), Kiyoshi Ito
• Chief Animation Director: Seiji Kishimoto
• Mechanical Design: Hiroyuki Ogawa, Hiroyuki Taiga (eps 1-13)
• Art Design: Tomoyuki Aoki
• Color Design: Ryota Nakada

Music/Sound

The music was appropriately soft during the quiet moments and builds tension as things get more dramatic. The themes to the show are:

• Opening Theme: “Lilium” by Kumiko Noma
• Ending Theme: “Be Your Girl” by Chieko Kawabe

Conclusion

I really enjoyed Elfen Lied. The story it told pretty tightly in 13 episodes and the characters, plot and production were all appealing to me. I was a bit turned off by the level of violence, but it did make me help create a sense of danger to the series. I’d certainly recommend it to fans of show like GANTz, but I’d also suggest it to those of you who are into character-driven, action series!

Rating

7.5/10 (or 3.5/5) Gummies!

We’d like to say thanks to the find folks at ADV for letting us screen Elfen Lied!