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i’d like to start this off by saying that i have no issues with nudity. i have no issues with stories tackling dark and uncomfortable content. in fact, the sole reason i decided to watch elfen lied is because it was recommended to me for being “disturbing”. i think i’ll need to have a stern talk with the person who suggested it to me if this is what he thought would be “right up my alley”.


elfen lied is what i would describe as “baby’s first messed up anime”. and i truly think that is the only reason why it is still so popular ... to this day— it’s surviving on nostalgia alone. i’m sure for many people it was their introduction to gore and horror in an anime. i’m sure i probably would have liked this anime if i had watched it at 13. but i didn’t watch it as an edgy teenager, i watched it as an adult who’s just getting back into their old interests. so far, i’ve really liked all the anime i’ve missed out on! until i got to this one. i only finished elfen lied because of its short run time and to be able to say i’ve seen it. though i’m honestly not sure if it was worth it in the end for me.


PROS:
- the opening is great. i love the music and animation.

- the first five to ten minutes really sucked me in. i mean, how could it not when a naked woman is running around slaughtering people left and right?

- i do actually enjoy the gory death scenes. the kills are bloody and brutal.

- i think the premise COULD have been great with a little extra tweaking.

- i really like lucy’s outfit at the end of the series.

- i did get a bit emotional during the final scenes with mariko and kurama. blame it on my father issues. it was the only time i felt anything real while watching this, aside from disgust or annoyance.

CONS:
- i don’t like the child nudity. and there is a LOT of it. now, i’ve been around for awhile. i’ve seen my fair share of porn. but every two or three episodes having up close shots of an underage girl’s chest and ass? come on now. it’s obvious from the framing this was done as fan service as well, which left a very bad taste in my mouth.

- which brings me to my next point. the writer’s barely disguised fetish. amputation? check. guro? check. incest? check. i felt like i was watching softcore hentai. because of this, the plot was extremely flimsy at best. i DO think it could have been great with more polishing, but we were more focused on showing a little girl being forced to strip for her father to get that, i’m afraid.

- everyone who isn’t lucy or nana just SUCK. boring, bland, stupid, or straight up annoying. admittedly, lucy isn’t much better as a whole, but i have a soft spot in my heart for yandere femcels, which lucy definitely is.

- most of the dub voice actors were… painful to listen to at best. ESPECIALLY the characters that were minors, and lucy in her “nyu” persona.

- this is a minor gripe, i know, but kouta and yuka calling lucy “nyu” for most of the show really pissed me off. you couldn’t think of anything better to call her? i know, inconsequential to the story as a whole, but DAMN it pissed me off.