I saw your message on Litnerd's page and interestingly enough I asked him a similar question a month ago, here's his answer.
"Elfen Lied is the anime that had the strongest impact on me personally. I went from reading and watching fantasy series with a very black/white view of good and evil to actually feeling sympathy for this serial killer who has done all these horrible things yet wishes to find redemption. It was not only emotionally impactful for me, but helped change how I view media and what kinds of stories I gravitate towards. The fact it is a flawed series only made it more appealing for me, inviting me to fill in gaps and insert my own ideas into it. I kept wanting to rewatch it and kept getting new things out of it. I helped edit a wikia for the first time. I collected all the fanart I possibly could. I wrote fanfiction for the first time. It was a massive bridge for me that helped my tastes evolve as a reader and viewer.
Do I think it's objectively the best anime of all time? FUCK no! I could list 10 pages of stuff that's wrong in the Elfen Lied anime. That's not even getting into the manga, which is actual garbage. To be honest though, I don't think there is an objectively best anime for all people at all stages of life. If we were to try wander into purely objective territory, I don't think the best anime are anywhere close to the best films, let alone the best books. We are anime fans because of the emotional and psychological impact that anime had on us as individuals.
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May I know how you reached that conclusion?
"Elfen Lied is the anime that had the strongest impact on me personally. I went from reading and watching fantasy series with a very black/white view of good and evil to actually feeling sympathy for this serial killer who has done all these horrible things yet wishes to find redemption. It was not only emotionally impactful for me, but helped change how I view media and what kinds of stories I gravitate towards. The fact it is a flawed series only made it more appealing for me, inviting me to fill in gaps and insert my own ideas into it. I kept wanting to rewatch it and kept getting new things out of it. I helped edit a wikia for the first time. I collected all the fanart I possibly could. I wrote fanfiction for the first time. It was a massive bridge for me that helped my tastes evolve as a reader and viewer.
Do I think it's objectively the best anime of all time? FUCK no! I could list 10 pages of stuff that's wrong in the Elfen Lied anime. That's not even getting into the manga, which is actual garbage. To be honest though, I don't think there is an objectively best anime for all people at all stages of life. If we were to try wander into purely objective territory, I don't think the best anime are anywhere close to the best films, let alone the best books. We are anime fans because of the emotional and psychological impact that anime had on us as individuals.
If you want great Japanese cinema that academics would say is objectively good, check this out: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uvl_LiktelA"