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.
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Nov 22, 2007
Elfen Lied
(Anime)
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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 ... |
