My Discussion: Elfen Lied (Anime)

My Discussion: Elfen Lied (Anime)

My Expectation:

From the title I had assumed that Elfen Lied was going to be something to do with elves and whatnot and because I assumed it was somewhat Germanic I thought of European fairy tales and whatnot.

It's NOT like this.

I looked at the 'Lied' bit and wondered about it and even looked

it up on Wikipedia but I had forgotten what I had read until I eventually watched the anime. I looked forward to supernatural creatures created in the

image of elves.

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My Initial Reaction:

So I realised just

how WRONG my expectation was when it came to Elfen Lied. I started the first

episode and I was like 'oh, she does look elf-like' and 'I recognise these

paintings'.

As I tried to remember the name of the artist I just listened to the soft intro and thought it was different from most openings which show a lot more of the anime plot and characters in it. AND THEN it all started… the first ten minutes was just limbs being ripped from people and I sat in front of the large TV screen with this look on my face: O_O.

What I eventually looked like.

I had often been a little annoyed with the lack of blood in action anime such as Fairy Tail and Sailor Moon Crystal where they have R18+ jokes but their cuts are just pink lines and their serious injuries didn't yield much internal damage; Elfen Lied was not shy with gore. Not shy at all. I sat and reflected on the first episode when it had finished and couldn't tell if I was a little creeped out or excited. Of course the next episode went on fifteen minutes later so I must have been more excited.

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My Beginning Response:

I wasn't exactly hooked in straight away. I got to the third episode and stopped watching it. In the early episodes though, I couldn't help but just wonder what the point of her existence was and why she just killed whenever and whatever but when I saw what they'd done to Nana I just responded with; 'you know what, f@$# you humans. F@$# you'.

I also cringed quite a bit when Bando smashed a woman across

the face for walking behind him. I wanted him to die quite soon after that but as he was being dismembered a small pocket in my heart opened up for him and I hoped he would survive because his character was quite interesting and I thought it would be nice for him to be in future episodes.

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My Half-Way Response:

I watched episode four at one point and then binged on the remainder of the series the other night. I thought that Nana was quite naïve and was looking forward to Lucy destroying her but at the same time I didn't want them to kill each other and so was grateful that she was only left dismembered.

When it came to show Lucy's past I was intrigued as I had assumed she was born in the facility like the others. When I saw just how tragic it was for her and how her inner-mind tormented her alongside the humans; there was many 'feels'.

When I saw that the only friend she had managed to make before Kohta, a stray dog, and that the bullies had found it, I cried heavily on the inside. It made me sick and even though it was just an anime, I felt that I should've wept in a corner.

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My Ending Response:

I was satisfied with the ending of Elfen Lied. Nana and Lucy had made up mostly and Nana was now free to live with Mayu and the others. There was resolution between Kohta and Lucy after he regained his memories and I saw the 'Lucy' side as less of a unnecessary killing machine. Kurama's past was also interesting to watch and the way that the Diclonious' spread their species was a shock to me. I did like how he preferred Mayu over Mariko because I felt that Mariko was just a monster.

I DID however love how she killed the woman that looked after her after saying that she wasn't her mother. I wanted there to be a proper showdown between Mariko and Lucy and a proper declaration that Lucy was the 'Queen' as I was left confused by it. I did like the ending how the music box and the shadow collaborated to leave the impression that Lucy was still alive and at the door.

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My Impression of the Characters:

Lucy/Nyu/Kaede - I liked that she had a split personality after being shot in the head and I like the way her character was built around her childhood. I feel that had people not been cruel to her because of her horns, she would have grown up to be like Nana. I love that despite her vectors being weaker than the others' in certain aspects, she was still stronger than most.

Mayu - I was shocked when I saw the reason she ran away and again; Elfen Lied was not shy about revealing immoral acts. I like her relationship with Nana. I didn't dislike her but there wasn't anything I really loved about her either except her resilience.

Nana - I liked everything about Nana except for her stubbornness when it came to something she thought she knew, like money and the nature of Nyu/Lucy, and her suddenly confident self when it came to killing Lucy. I didn't really care that she got dismembered but after she returned I didn't mind her. I like that she hadn't killed humans and that she wasn't too afraid to show she just wanted to love and be loved. The moment when she used her arm to punch Bando was pretty cool.

Yuka - she bothered me a lot. Every time she'd get jealous over Nyu I would just narrow my eyes and sigh. It was annoying even more because I shipped Khota and Lucy/Nyu although from the start I just found that I disagreed with her for some reason.

Kohta - I found Kohta kinda boring and annoying at times. I preferred his childhood self much better than his older self. I didn't really had too much of a draw to him but accepted him as the main guy. His kissing with Yuka and then kissing with Lucy annoyed me.

Bando - I disliked him at first because he hit a girl without reason and was just viscous but he started to grow on me. I think it was because he was such a smartarse that he grew on me. I love villains that are sassy.

Mariko - poor thing- no wait- fuck her.

Kurama - It took me to his memory episode to understand him and maybe even like him a little but even then I couldn't sympathise with him too much. I did like that he was attached to Nana and even embraced Mariko in order to save the others. His initial reaction to what was being done to the Dicloni was also nice but his hatred of Lucy bugged me.

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My Favourite Character:

I think it would have to be Lucy. The suggestion that she is the 'queen diclinous', her tragic past and her thrilling escape from the facility all piled onto my 'pros' list when I thought about it. Her different personalities and original reluctance to kill and realisation she had become so natural with it were all parts of her that I really like. Her badass nature, her dim-witted innocence and her past self were all characters that I liked.

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My Worst Character:

Mariko - she just pissed me off. She was crazy but not crazy in that way that makes me interested in her. I was itching for her death after she beat up Nana. I get that the way she was treated and her inner nature were very big reasons for her turning out the way she did but I still couldn't help but hate her... Although I think she may tie with Yuka. I really didn't like Yuka either.

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My Favourite Episode:

I'd have to say it was the first episode because it left such a strong impression on me in the first couple of minutes. I guess it might have been less so if I had known what to expect properly but I still liked how they showed Lucy as a powerful and merciless creature and the scene where she was shot in the side of the head appealed to me. Having seen her locked up I wondered if she was merely a demonic creature to begin with but the revelation of the personality 'Nyu' made me assume that there was something in her life to make her that way.

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My Worst Episode:

Probably the OVA. I just found it boring compared to the rest of the series. I didn't dislike it though, it just was at the bottom of the list.

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My Favourite Scene:

When Lucy/Kaede killed all the students because of what they had done. I was broken by the scene but I felt a little bit better after knowing they had experienced fear and death.

It's sounds messed

up but that scene squeezed my heart and gnawed at it.

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My Worst Scene:

When the bullies killed the pup I was sick with myself. I was horrified and was shocked that I didn't cry. Even for an anime it was such a dramatic scene and I think if I had watched a live-action version of it (and it was done well in the same way) I would have cried. It was the saddest scene I had ever watched. I don't mind human gore but I hate when it happens to animals. Just thinking about it again makes me grimace.

And that concludes my Elfen Lied Discussion!!