Elfen Lied - An Overall Review -
Sunday 24 December 2006 @ 9:11 pm | By Abraham 'Velcor' DuarteIf you're new here and you like what you see, you may want to subscribe to our RSS feed, and browse around for more fun stuff. Thanks for visiting!
Celebrating Christmas I specially thought of a romantic, lovey-dovey anime series for all of you to read about. . . NOT!
Elfen Lied’s the name, and I conceive it as one of the first, if not THE first anime series to feature great quantities of blood and gore being directed to the main public. So come now, enjoy yor Turkey, Ham, Chicken, or Hot-dog and check this out!
Made by Genco and VAP studios in 2004, this 13 + 1 OVA series made a new standard on what could be imagined, what could be drawn, and what would make the audience go “wow”, without going to puke the second they see some gallons of blood spurting around.
GENRE
It would be. . . hmmm. . . Gore / Horror, and Action since guns appear now and then.
STORY
The anime starts with something that seems like a military bunker, and the emergency button was pushed. Next thing we see is a naked girl with a helmet that starts killing EVERYONE IN HER PATH. She’s trying to escape, but she doesn’t get out without a scratch: A bullet hit her head (not perforated) and made the bad girl turn to a pseudo-catgirl that talks in “Nyuu”. That’s all you need to know, anyways you are watching this for the blood!
The character design is aceptable, not too big eyes, fit for the plot of the story, because having MELON EYES would make you take this anime lightly, and having eyes too realistic would just. . .well, it would ALSO make you take the plot lightly!
A thing that I think they made strategically to call more viewers would be the bright colors on the action scenes, or the anime in general, except for the OP and ED. The gore scenes are just too bright! I don’t like it! If I wanna watch blood it’s in a bad-lit room! It just takes the fear-factor away!It’s like watching only the last 2 minutes of Star Wars Ep. III. Where are the things that surround what everybody wants to see? Or better yet, it’s like watching Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey with ANY OTHER SOUNDTRACK on the “Also Sprach Zaratustra” parts. It takes the feeling away pretty bad.
On the good part, and something I really appreciated, is that some animation sequences for the opening are copied from Austrian painter Gustav Klimt, here are some pictures:
There are 2 more, but this is a supposed PG-13 page (bummer.).
SOUND & MUSIC
The opening song (LILIUM) is in the form of secular chant, that means it’s a melody that’s sung by all the choir, with the slight alteration of introducing some soft strings every now and then. Still, it’s pretty cool, and there is a male version and a female version (female for the OP).
Sound effects are overall-good; bones crushing, blood gushing out under high-pressure, gunshots, etc.
OVERALL
A pretty interesting approach of violence-filled animation to a wider audience, starting from 13 year-olds. I just hope these small fries always realize the difference between real and fake. . . and the damn animators realize the difference between bright and dark. . .
STORY
GRAPHICS
SOUND & MUSIC
OVERALL 
8.5/10 Diamonds
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Abraham 'Velcor' Duarte
Amy Fairchild
Ben 'FBINinja' Schmidt
Chris 'Taco' Martinkovic
David 'KidKobun' Bruno
Ivan 'Nahu' Lozano
Random J
tskiller
Vekter
Hello
MY name is melanie.I have there sometimes one asks: In which follows they kiss each other? (Unfortunately, I have that, however, follows already seen I have forgotten it in which it before comes).
I hope I agree fast answer.
bye bye
Many greets melanie
Yeah, I’ll use Anemone as my alias, anyway, good review, I love this anime, and also agree with the brightness of the blood just..made..it, well not as scary, it looked like bright red paint. The end was soo sad, I cried, I love the theme song. I’m still not sure aobut the eyes, a little um…ordinary like most animes, unlike Eureka SeveN which has interesting character designs, unlike anything I’ve ever seen, either way, Elfen Lied rocks!
just great the killer has my name anyway elfin lied rocks the blood could of been better and the eyes kinda make it look like all the others apart from that its great
The anime is much more than just blood and gore, it has comedy, action, nudity, romance, and a beautiful story line, the perfect combination for the perfect anime ;)
this review has completely failed to capture the true meaning behind this series
this anime isnt based around the violence and gore, there is so much more depth in this story plot
this story is based around a diclonius girl named Lucy who was completely isolated from the world due to her horns, and a boy named Kouta, the angel that saves her from this hell
this story talks about the strong affectionate bond between these two and the obstacles that prevent them from ever being together
Honestly, if you’re just watching this for the blood
Quote from Review “anyways you are watching this for the blood!”
Then don’t watch it at all
Muffin: That would be like saying love hina is a beautiful story about a guy comming to terms with the feelings in his heart as he passes from a boy to a man. That is just the cover, love hina is about the fan service and so is elfen lied about the blood and gore! Lighten up!
Nahu: The review above is directed at the story and it was his review of the story that i was commenting on.
As you said Love Hina is about
Quote “a guy comming to terms with the feelings in his heart as he passes from a boy to a man.”
but the purpose of the anime as being fan-service has nothing to do with the story plot
as blood and gore is not part of the story plot but rather just there to enhance the mood of the story
But in Velcor’s review, violence and gore was his main focus of this anime as you can see in his genre section
Quote Velcor’s Review “It would be. . . hmmm. . . Gore / Horror, and Action since guns appear now and then.”
This violence mainly the attempt to kill lucy (sry to spoil it for those who havent watched it) only serve as obstacles for the main focus of the story which is as i said before the love between the diclonius female, lucy and the human boy, Kouta.
This violence is only symbolism for the obstruction in their love and could well have taken form as other things, such as family matters.
And in his entire review he has made completely no hints of this story having anything to do with love.
His review is completely based on what he sees and not the meaning behind it.
Quote “Next thing we see is a naked girl with a helmet that starts killing EVERYONE IN HER PATH.”
Well, in teh first episode, she DID kill EVERYONE* in her path. The thing is, Muffin, that I focus my review on the violence because, think about it. . .would Elfen Lied get the fanbase it has right now if Lucy hadn’t had her Diclonius powers and severly bipolar personality? Nope, not at all.
Be it as it may, yes. . . Elfen Lied focused part of the plot on a love story, and then a lot of other subplots, mainly ocnsisting of painful flashbacks, but really. . .if you can say it’s a love story then Nana should be the main character (If you’ve seen the entire show, you’ll know why)
…And I think Kouta’s “love” for Lucy is more towards “Imouto Love” (little sister) or even a “Pet Love” (since most of the time Lucy was in her Nyuu form) I really think it was just to do something with the male character.
And now that I think of it, take out Kouta of the scene and we get an even better series. Oh but we wouldn’t want that, we don’t want another AVENGER (*shivers*).
It was just the same ‘ol formula with blood and gore in it, whcih made it special. Take out the violence and we get not even Love Hina, nor Kanon, we get a cheap ass cliche story about a girl with amnesia and a guy that feels sorry and takes care of her.
Velcor: I can see your point about violence making this anime truly unique.
But I’d have to disagree with you saying the love between Kouta and Lucy is a little sister type of love. It is becuase during that time, Kouta has lost all memory of that incident during his childhood, and Nyuu has no recollection of her being Lucy. The love that I was talking about was the one developed during their childhood only to re-emerge at the last 2 episodes.
And Kouta still loves her after she had slain his family. Thats some strong love. It was this in the anime that truly captured me.
right i agree its cute bute its also funny how he can love her she did kill his family but it was his falt in the first place
i think this storie is much about love sins in alost every episod its frnship and lov in it, but its not a love store iter i meen it blood in every sigel episod, but it the love and sorinet thi i loved the most, i almost began to cry in the last episod. but then i got more sed when i find out it was the last episod… mann the hurst.