Elfen Lied gets 6 thumbs up!!!

[Digitalex]

I didn't want to discuss EL on the anime recommendations thread because of spoiler questions...

In any case, DAMN!!! I absolutely LOVED it! Now I know what the hoopla was all about. I love the way they told the story and tied everything back. It was so gripping. I couldn't get enough of it. The violence was definitely graphic but I think it worked well for this type of story so I didn't see any problem with it. It definitely heightened the impact of certain scenes like when Lucy first became aware of her inner self after her puppy was harmed.

I really felt for all the characters. Each one definitely had a sad story. Mayu and her abuse, Yuka and her hidden love for Kohta, Nana and her innocence, etc... Each character definitely had a background that moved me.

It's funny to think that the core of this anime is a love story. That is, love from a romantic and familial perspective. I must say that I've been happy that there are anime out there like this. As with Eva and Gunslinger Girls, Elfen Lied made my all-time favorite lists.

Of course the anime did have it's flaws like the out of control SAT soldier. He was too brash and over the top in my opinion. The series definitely had a little bit of comedy to temper the angst and drama though. It was used sparingly and it did add a nice little contrast to the constant dark atmosphere.

As for the music, that gets a 10. I love the melancholic piano pieces. I also love the way it added to the mood. I could feel the sadness throughout the episodes. It reminded me of a lot of the Tsukihime music which helped convey the dysphoria throughout the show.

As for the ending it was very touching that Lucy and Kohta had some level of closure. I am curious about one thing...

Was Lucy at the door??? I am hoping that it was her.

Oh...if someone ever asks for any recommended harem anime, I will have to put this on top of the list. :twisted:

[TsubasaNoKoikokoro]

I know I haven't posted in so long but I just needed to reply to this thread.

It's ambigious, the ending however does have some notable things:

The clock starts working and the music box stops. The clock moving is a symbol that time is back in motion again and the music box was a symbol of the horror of the diclonious killing and their torture. The music box stopping is a symbol that the horror is over. The clock stopped and the music box started when Kouta met Lucy and Kouta's and Lucy's torture began. It means that the torture is over.

Now is it Lucy? It is left to the mind of the viewer to figure that out. ;) However, the figure is oddly feminine.

[Mr. Tines]

I guess I'm a bit of a cynical old grouch, but I though the title worked (was good, but not great) despite a list of characters straight out of central casting, down to the token abuse victim. And despite the fact that I find the harem situation very hard on my suspension of disbelief, and the fact that I abhor the rom-com concept.

For all that, it's one of the few titles I've recommended to friends (for the gratuitous gore, you understand).

Of course it was Lucy at the end - why else would they be playing her tune?

Oh...if someone ever asks for any recommended harem anime, I will have to put this on top of the list. :twisted:

I'd do the same too.

Have you seen the special episode (effectively episode 10.5 or so - may need to P2P it)? That adds in another slice of character interplay (even if it does have the OTT SAT guy being OTT humorously).

EDIT - 1000th post, by George!

[Digitalex]

I guess I'm a bit of a cynical old grouch, but I though the title worked (was good, but not great) despite a list of characters straight out of central casting, down to the token abuse victim. And despite the fact that I find the harem situation very hard on my suspension of disbelief, and the fact that I abhor the rom-com concept.

For all that, it's one of the few titles I've recommended to friends (for the gratuitous gore, you understand).

Haha I see. You are right about the casting. I can see the standard elements (token characters) in this series but the execution was fantastic in my opinion. I guess I expect and (in some cases welcome it) when I watch anime.

Of course it was Lucy at the end - why else would they be playing her tune?

True true. Even though they left the ending open I find TsubasaNoKoikokoro's notes interesting. In any case I do believe it is Lucy. I mean, who else could it be? They even set a place for her to eat.

Have you seen the special episode (effectively episode 10.5 or so - may need to P2P it)? That adds in another slice of character interplay (even if it does have the OTT SAT guy being OTT humorously).

I did not see this yet. Can you tell me what I need to search for? My interest has been piqued. EDIT: I found a place to get it...thanks for mentioning of the episode's existence!

EDIT - 1000th post, by George!

Congrats you postwhore!

[Ryo]

Well, well! Welcome to the club, Digit!

What Mr. Koikokoro posted kinda makes sense, too - but I still don't know why she returned, after saying things like "Please forget about everything" and "Go live in that house with Kouta and your friends. I want you to do... what I cannot." Maybe the soldiers left her alone after her horn was destroyed, but then again, the Director General seemed quite intent on either capturing her or letting her bite the dust once and for all. Or maybe she...

Meh. Whatever, it's still one of the greatest shows I've ever seen.

[Digitalex]

Well, well! Welcome to the club, Digit!

Hehe thanks. I have to say, it's really refreshing to watch anime that hits hard and instantly makes my list of favorites. I always think that there will never be anything else that I would love as much as anime X,Y, or Z. It's so awesome when something like this comes along.

What Mr. Koikokoro posted kinda makes sense, too - but I still don't know why she returned, after saying things like "Please forget about everything" and "Go live in that house with Kouta and your friends. I want you to do... what I cannot." Maybe the soldiers left her alone after her horn was destroyed, but then again, the Director General seemed quite intent on either capturing her or letting her bite the dust once and for all. Or maybe she...

Yeah, I was wondering about that too! I think Lucy just loves him too much to not see him again. I am still feeling the after-effects of watching the series. I am going to go through it again this weekend. Damn it's so addicting LOL!

Meh. Whatever, it's still one of the greatest shows I've ever seen.

hahaha...a huge DITTO for me.

[Ryo]

I am still feeling the after-effects of watching the series. I am going to go through it again this weekend. Damn it's so addicting LOL!

You tell me, I've watched it four times already.

[Heidroch]

Wa-hoo! An Elfen Lied thread! Only a matter of time before this show gets its own section, eh?

Many interesting points brought up in this thread..

My own opinion as to Lucy's nature and so forth, with an attempt placed on summing it up:

Throughout the series, Lucy is very independant. It seemed to me that she has an outlook on social interaction very similar to that of Asuka- She utterly detests it. All Lucy wants to do, like Asuka, is escape her situation, escape her memories, and find her own place far away. Although Lucy takes this all up a step from Asuka: She wants this so badly, that she has no problem with killing anything in her way, even if it is a member of her own species.

She does not think much of fellow diclonious, and she utterly detests every human there ever was, and most likely ever will be. That is, except one- Khota. Khota was the only person to ever show her friendship and compassion. As Lucy says herself, her days with Khota were by far the happiest memories she has ever had, and most likely will ever have.

Then came that fateful carnival event. Lucy goes and sees Khota there, only to see him not with a male cousin(like he told her) but with a female one. Lucy is immediately overcome with feelings of betrayal. This is Lucy's worst nightmare, exemplified when she is speaking with her instinct:
"why dont you just kill him? You know he is just going to break your heart."
"Noo! He won't do that!"

Khota lied to her about this sensitive subject, which in turn broke her heart x10. Lucy now goes back to feeling totally abandoned, and accepts the embrace of her diclonious instinct. Now she wants revenge. For her revenge, she plans to kill all of Khota's family.

After she kills Khota's sister and father in front of him, something happens that she didnt quite expect: Khota's plea/mental breakdown. It plants the seeds that she will carry for years to come- regret over what she did to him.

Tied and caged up in the compound, that is most likely what she feels, coupled with her deep grudges against the humans whom have caged her: Her regret from what she did to Khota. He was the nicest person she has ever known, and to thank him, she kills his sister and father before his eyes. This thought only serves to torment her for years to come.

Skip ahead a few years- She escapes the facility. All is going well, until an anti-tank rifle round comes crashing in. Nyu is created. Nyu ends up living with Khota and company.
When Lucy is awoken, and realizes that her alter-ego is in fact living with Khota, what does she do? She walks away. She does not even try to talk to Khota, for she does not think that he could ever forgive her for what she has done to him.

Once she is out and about, Lucy continues trying to achieve her freedom, through means of killing anyone in her way. She will also seek out people she knows that are following her, just to make it so they will never try the mistake of following her again. Case in point, when she sets out to kill Mariko.

It is all the way up to Lucy's final conversation with Nana that she carries this mentality. After making peace with Nana(most likely due to her connections with Khota), she leaves to bid farewell to Khota. But again, Khota does something she does not expect: He forgives her, and he wants to be with Lucy again, just like old times.

This is where Lucy makes the decision to end the violence. She also wants to be with Khota again, just like old times. But there is only one obstacle in this path: The remaining SAT squads that were sent out to terminate her. So, in classic Lucy fashion, she goes out to kill them before they can try to kill her. But with one change: She allows them to shoot off her last remaining horn. Without her horns, she has lost the most distinctive feature that tells diclonious from human. To me this symbolizes her final decision to leave her diclonius instinct, and live a normal life with Khota and co.

With the final SAT squads dealt with, and her last horn shot off, she goes to a life that before seemed to be only an unachieveable dream: To live with Khota. This is taken from what she tells to Nana:
"I want you to do what I cannot... Go live with Khota in that house"
It is in her meeting with Khota that she learns she can indeed live in that house. And for the first time, we see Lucy smile. She is finally happy.

As for Nyu... Well, one can see how Nyu is sort of fading. Near the end of the series it no longer takes a bump to the head to awaken Lucy, and we can even see Nyu reacting to Lucy's memories that pop into her head. It will only be a matter of time before the Nyu persona disappears completely into that of Lucy's.

I brought this up because it came across my mind that; if it was Lucy at the door, wouldn't Nana react? Diclonious can sense each other, after all. Then it came to me- Did she in fact react to Lucy? Recall, that right before Mayu's dog barked at whomever was at the door, Mayu did become quite thankful and tearful about how great the world is, with the main images running through her head being that of Nyu/Lucy. For now, I'll just settle on the idea that that was Nana noticing Lucy approaching.

Whew. What a long post. Believe it or not, that was me summarizing my thoughts on this great show. If anyone has any specific questions, please ask me to elaborate. 8)

*Note: I have never read the Elfen Lied manga, or any manga for that matter. I have no idea how close the anime is to it. This is all just my humble opinion after watching the show a few times, subbed and dubbed.

[chiefen]

I don't think one should watch this as a serious show. More like a satire and parody over general anime/manga. Haven't read the manga, though.

[Ryo]

Really? What makes you think so? It didn't seem like a parody or satire to me, at least.

[Digitalex]

I don't think one should watch this as a serious show. More like a satire and parody over general anime/manga. Haven't read the manga, though.

Why do you say that? If that were the case, I should treat NGE in the same manner.

I certainly didn't see it that way. Although the elements used to convey the story were very over the top so to speak the underlying story was very serious.

BTW, Heidroch, very nice summary. I do have some of your points I'd like to discuss but I'll wait until I watch it again to reply.

[The Eva Monkey]

Elfen Lied is teh awesome. Everyone should go watch it, and come back with Lucy avatars. But make sure they're not as awesome as mine. My avatar rules. 8)

Just kidding.

I like to point out as much as possible that the Opening and Ending animation are inspired by the austrian symbolist painter Gustav Klimt. There used to be a very nice comparison on a fairly good Elfen Lied fansite, but the webmaster discontinued the page due to excessive traffic.

http://images.google.com/images?q=gustav+klimt&hl=en

Check out some of Klimt's artwork, you'll see the parallels fairly easily. He's an amazing artist, it's just a shame a lot of his art was lost.

[Heidroch]

Also let us not forget the actual Elfenlied, one of several Lieder written by Austrian composer Hugo Wolf. I think one can easily find a few connections:

Elfenlied
At night in the village the watchman cried "Eleven!"
A very small elf was asleep in the wood -
just at eleven! -
And he thinks that the nightingale
must have called him by name from the valley,
or Silpelit might have sent for him.

So the elf rubs his eyes,
comes out of his snail-shell house,
and is like a drunken man,
his nap was not finished;
and he hobbles down, tip tap,
through the hazel wood into the valley,
slips right up to the wall;
there sits the glow-worm, light on light.

"What are those bright windows?
There must be a wedding inside;
the little people are sitting at the feast,
and dancing about in the ballroom.
So I'll just take a peep in!"

Shame! he hits his head on hard stone!
Well, elf, had enough, have you?
Cuckoo! Cuckoo!

Source -Here you can also read the original german version, if you're really a purist. 8)

[Digitalex]

Elfen Lied is teh awesome. Everyone should go watch it, and come back with Lucy avatars. But make sure they're not as awesome as mine. My avatar rules. 8)

LOL! Yes, a few of us have been infected by the Diclonius.

I like to point out as much as possible that the Opening and Ending animation are inspired by the austrian symbolist painter Gustav Klimt. There used to be a very nice comparison on a fairly good Elfen Lied fansite, but the webmaster discontinued the page due to excessive traffic.

http://images.google.com/images?q=gustav+klimt&hl=en

Check out some of Klimt's artwork, you'll see the parallels fairly easily. He's an amazing artist, it's just a shame a lot of his art was lost.

Yes! I know of Klimt's work! You just confirmed my suspicions! I used to have a few of his works as small posters in my room back in college. It works so well in the OP and ED.

[Ryo]

Elfen Lied is teh awesome. Everyone should go watch it, and come back with Lucy avatars.

Your avatar may rule, but m4 1337 d3skt0p pwns j00rz.

Now that I think of it, the first user here who had an Elfen Lied avatar was probably Dave. I used to look at it and think, "creepy stuff." It was very similar to Heidroch's, I think. But that was in the good old days (february 05)...

[The Eva Monkey]

Your avatar may rule, but m4 1337 d3skt0p pwns j00rz.

Mine is currently sporting this one:

http://images.animanga.nu/fanart/4226/wallpaper.elfen.lied.lucy_ah.jpg

[Ryo]

Edit: Lucy is a scary kid, indeed.

Btw, Elfen Lied is actually hentai. Betcha didn't know! Now, all we need is some captions...

[Digitalex]

Edit: Lucy is a scary kid, indeed.

Btw, Elfen Lied is actually hentai. Betcha didn't know! Now, all we need is some captions...

Hehe, nice way to take a scene out of context.

Lucy is indeed scary but at the same time eerily attractive. If I had to be dismembered, I'd ask Lucy to be the one.

[Heidroch]

Edit: Lucy is a scary kid, indeed.

Btw, Elfen Lied is actually hentai. Betcha didn't know! Now, all we need is some captions...

There is a more incriminating image to prove your claim earlier in the series- (The shot where khota has to take the pants off a topless Nyu)

I have heard something similar that Hentai rumor somewhere before- but what I heard is that the company that made the Elfen Lied anime does have a few hentai titles under it's belt. Which isnt surprising, given what is shown in Elfen Lied.

Oh and Ryo, can you post that wallpaper image of yours? Without your desktop icons? 8)

[Ryo]

There is a more incriminating image to prove your claim earlier in the series- (The shot where khota has to take the pants off a topless Nyu)

Naw, that was a little too obvious, wasn't it? I spotted the above example by chance - and I shopped the little blush there, just for emphasis.

Oh and Ryo, can you post that wallpaper image of yours? Without your desktop icons?

One kickass wallpaper w/o desktop icons, coming right up!

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v635/Ryo_TD/elfenlied07.jpg

How about some fries with that?