- Elfen lied is anime series Produced by Arms Corporation and directed by Mamoru Kanbe. A 13 episode series was full of blood and emotions.
Story
In this story, humans who are born with horns on their heads are dangerous for humanity. Why is that? They are bloodthirsty and don’t know other than killing humans. In this series, a girl named Lucy, who was the first human to have the horns was constantly bullied by her classmates. She was different and get bullied for her horns. These differences come with additional power. Along with horns, she has 2 extra hands which are invisible but are sharp as Zoro’s blade(Katana). Things get worse as her classmate does horrible things to her loved ones. Despair and hatred bring the hell out of her, and she kills all her classmates. Then to live a life, she needs a place to stay. So she kills all the people from that house. The blood is all over the wall. And she walks as nothing happened. That’s a terrifying scene. It is just a past story of Lucy.
I the beginning of the series She was kept in the lab for various tests and one day she escapes. The very first episode is filled with bloodshed. Around 22 soldiers are getting killed in mere 4 minutes. After killing, as she was escaping from the lab she got shot on the left side of her forehead. She lost her memory for a short period. Here comes the twist. When she lost her memory she behaves like a 3-year child. A bloodthirsty girl starts behaving like a child, it takes time to accept such changes throughout the series. But it gives an emotional angle to a story. There is a boy, Kohta, who takes her in. She somehow doesn’t kill him, after regaining her memory. Why is that? You have to watch the last few episodes. To me, that was the core of the story. Otherwise, it doesn’t have a great plot to keep going.
The people from the lab tries to kill her by sending army agents, and other girls who have similar power. There are other side characters which are basically to entertain you in the journey. But not much impactful. At a first glance, the series seems like, what the hell is going on. And at the end of 1st episode, it kinda turns into fan service. The entire atmosphere of thrill got ruined by the last few minutes of the very first episode. It never gives you the chill again in an entire series. That is the biggest flaw in the series.
Talking about characters, you don’t see a single strong character around which the series was built. It breaks into several parts. Which is good at the beginning but it doesn’t hold at the climax. There is a character of a soldier who was so excellent in killing the enemy doesn’t have much work in the last fight. He just vanishes in thin air. He was shown as a troublemaker. But the author left the job in half. But all the ladies and girls have done their job. From Nana who wants to have a normal life with the horns, Yuka who was in love with Kohta has some good moments and plays a major part in the supporting role. Mayu a runaway girl finds a family she was looking for. And the secretary of scientists gets killed while fulfilling her job. They are all fitted to their part. Other than Kohta, and Dr. Kurama other male characters are to fill up the timeline.
Animation
It has a simple animation style. Nothing is done over the top. Action scenes are justified. The ocean scenes are the best in the series. The stairway filled with flowers and a shining seashore is just mesmerizing. The strong part is bloodshed. The way they have shown it terrifies whoever watching it the first time. They are gone into details to show the bones, blood vessels, and muscles after cutting them in half. There is one scene, where a scientist was blown in half, her rib cage, intestine, and liver are shown just for a second.
Opinion
The story is average. Some characters are not justified. Yes, It was a completely different story. But didn’t delivers what it promises in 1st episode. The ending of the series is satisfactory. One more, soundtracks are good and they add depth to the scenes. Overall it is a one-time watch. I will rate 6/10.
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