Elfen Lied

Original Title: Elfen Lied
Kanji: エルフェンリート
Episode Count: 13+1
Genre: Comedy, Drama, Ecchi, Terror, Sci-fi, Super Power.
Studio: GENCO, VAP, ARMS
Official Site: ƒGƒ‹ƒtƒFƒ“ƒŠ[ƒg@elfen lied
Year: 2004 (25/07/2004 – 17/10/2004)

Story

Diclonius is the name given to design the next evolution of the human being.

The Diclonius have two particularities, the first one is their horns, and the second is their telekinetic powers, represented by “arms” controlled by their minds. Those “arms” were considered a menace for the humanity due to the fact that the Diclonius children were able to use their powers from the age of 3, and could easily kill anyone who would stand in their way.

Afraid of their powers, the humans quarantined the Diclonius inside secret laboratories where they conducted experiences on them. But their methods were never really “human”, considering that the Diclonius were not human, they didn’t care about how they feel.

During an accident, a Diclonius escaped from the laboratory, killing most of the guards during the process. In a desperate way to prevent her escape, the guards used a Caliber 50 Anti-Tank Riffle. They didn’t kill the Diclonius, but it caused brain damage. That damage caused amnesia on the fugitive.

After being shot, the Diclolius washed ashore at a beach near a town named Kamakura, where she meets two people, Kouta and Yuka, that dive her shelter where they live. Since the Diclonius seemed to have lost her ability to speak besides her memory, they decided to name her Nyuu, the only word that she would say.

Then they decide to live together in Kouta’s house… which was an old hotel…

Music

The music is something quite interesting in this anime, since it us usually really calm, for an anime with so much bloodshed as this one, it is however a good contrast.

Animation

The animation’s quite good; their movement’s are not clumsy like the ones we see in some animes, they don’t seem to make some impossible moves out of nowhere.

Characters and descriptions

Lucy

Lucy is the main character of the anime, she’s a Diclonius, she isn’t friendly towards humans, but she has a reason.

Nyuu

Nyuu is Lucy’s second personality, creaded by her brain damage, she wouldn’t hurt anyone.

Kouta

Kouta is the guy who shelters Lucy in his “home”, he has some kind of relation with her since he was little, but he forgot.

Yuka

Yuka is Kouta’s cousin, she decides to live with him and Lucy in his house because she couldn’t trust him – as in not doing anything to Lucy – she has a crush on him.

Mayu

Mayu’s a homeless little girl who ran away from home because of something they did to her, she represents a critic of how disgusting human being can be.

Nana

Nana is another Diclonius, she is currently in the experiments laboratory and being submitted to inhuman experiments, I wonder how she can still smile.

Adaptation

Originally serialized in “Weekly Shonen Jump” magazine, the complete manga series runs for 107 chapters spanning over 12 volumes, those were never released in English.

Personal Comment – spoiler alert –
Review moved to: https://nezu.io/review/5

Other Information – spoiler alert–

Critic to Humanity –

This anime contains a big critica at the human’s thought process, the humans are afraid of what they don’t fully understand, and so they quarantined all of the Diclomius.

It also approaches other topics, like social exclusion for being “different”, rape and pedophily.

Even the friendliest human in the planet can act like that, that’s the human nature…

Double Personality –

Lucy’s second personality, Nyuu is due to the brain damage that she got when she was shot with the Caliber 50 Anti-Tank Riffle on he assassination attempt.

Nyuu’s personality’s innocent and could never hurt anyone nor getting violent, she has an infantile mind and knows little of the world, she doesn’t know many words either.

I contrast with Nyuu, Lucy hates humans, mainly because of what they did when she was a child, she can be considered sadistic and cold hearted.

When Nyuu is submitted to violence (or hit on the head), her personality Lucy takes control, however, if Lucy is treated kindly, Nyuu will come back, that reminds Doctor Jekyll and Mister Hyde’s story…

Both the personalities are in love with Kouta.

Names -

The name Elfen Lied doesn’t come from the English "Elf’s Leaf", it comes form the Germanic and means "Elve’s Song"

Nyuu or rather, nyû ou gyūnyū is a Japanese word that meand “milk, and Kouta gives her that name because she could only say that.

Nana means “seven” in Japanese, that Diclonius has that name because it was her number in the secret facility.

Empathy on a Diclonius –

Nana is the only Diclonius that feels Empathy towards humans, that is, she doesn’t want to kill them, that’s a rare case of a non-violent Diclonius, her powers are a little stronger than Lucy’s, but since she doesn’t want to hurt anyone, she doesn’t fight very well.

The Moon –

Why does Lucy points her Vectors towards the Moon in episode 13?

The reason is because old people thought they would go there if they died, so Lucy tried to “get a spot” for her there,

“Elfen Lied” Poem by Eduard Mörike –

This poem is written in German, since I don’t understand German, I used a program named “Power Translator”, it’s not perfect, but it’s understandable.

Bei Nacht im Dorf der Wächter rief: Elfe!
Ein ganz kleines Elfchen im Walde schlief
wohl um die Elfe!
Und meint, es rief ihm aus dem Tal
bei seinem Namen die Nachtigall,
oder Silpelit hätt' ihm gerufen.

Reibt sich der Elf' die Augen aus,
begibt sich vor sein Schneckenhaus
und ist als wie ein trunken Mann,
sein Schläflein war nicht voll getan,
und humpelt also tippe tapp
durch's Haselholz in's Tal hinab,
schlupft an der Mauer hin so dicht,
da sitzt der Glühwurm Licht an Licht.

Was sind das helle Fensterlein?
Da drin wird eine Hochzeit sein:
die Kleinen sitzen bei'm Mahle,
und treiben's in dem Saale.
Da guck' ich wohl ein wenig 'nein!«

Pfui, stößt den Kopf an harten Stein!
Elfe, gelt, du hast genug?
Gukuk!

Translation:

With night in the village of the guards called: Elf!
A quite small little elf in the forest slept
probably about the elf!
And think, it called for him/it from the valley
with his/its name the nightingale,
or called Silpelit hätt for him/it.

Rub the elf' the eyes from,
goes before his/its shell
and is as as drunkenly a man,
his/its little temple was not fully done,
and therefore hobble taps gropes
durch's Haselholz in's valley down,
schlupft at the wall so densely,
there, the incandescence worm sits light at light.

"What are the light little window?
Since a wedding will be in there:
the babies sit bei'm meals,
and treiben's in the Saale.
There, I look about one little 'no!"

Yuck, pushes the head at hard stone!
Elf, is valid, you have enough?
Gukuk!

Opening Theme –

The lyrics of the opening are in Latin – it seems that there are also some words in Greek -

Os iusti meditabitur sapientiam
Et lingua eius loquetur iudicium (Psalmi 36:30)
Beatus vir qui suffert tentationem
Quoniam cum probatus fuerit accipiet coronam vitae (Iacobi 1:12)
{Kyrie, fons bonitatis}
Kyrie, Ignis Divine, Eleison
{O quam sancta, quam serena, quam benigna
Quam amoena esse virgo creditur.}
O quam sancta, quam serena, quam benigna
Quam amoena O castitatis lilium

Translation:

From the Justice’s Mouth will speak with Wisdom
And from its tongue will tell the sentence
Blessed is the man that supports the Temptation
Because with the experience he’ll recieve the crown of life
Oh Lord, Oh Divine Fire, have Pity
Oh How Sacred, How Serene, How Kind
How Gentle
Oh Pure Lili

Artwork –

In the anime’s opening, they show many paintings, and next to them, the anime characters in the same positions.

Those paintings were made by a Australian painter named Gustav Kilmit, mosto f His work was mural paintings where he uses very different styles, like Egiptian, Greek, etc…

Here are Gustav’s paintings that were used to make the opening.

Pros and cons – this is submitted by my personal appreciation

Pros: Awesome storyline, humanity critic.
Cons: None…

Global

Animation: 9/10 [Good, nothing to add]
Music: 10/10 [Most awesome]
Story: 9/10 [Critic to the personality and fears of human beings]
Characters: 10/10 [Personalities well defined and developed]
Value: 9/10
Entretainement: 9/10 [Really funny… and at the same time… really sad]

Global: 9.3/10

Elfen Lied by Ketsurui – 03/10/2006 – English Version October 1st 2007