Anime Elfen Lied

Genre Drama, Horror, Psychological
Manga
Author Lynn Okamoto
Demographic Seinen
Magazine Flag of Japan Weekly Young Jump
Original run June 2002 – November 2005
Volumes 12

Yes, there are still great animes out there! One of them is the anime Elfen Lied. I suggest 16+ for this, as in first look you might yell "omfg liek hentai pl0z!!". Well, it isn't hentai. >.> So hut up about that.

In a research facility on a little island in the sea, a diclonius called Lucy is guarded by several guards who fear her. She's bound and wears a metal mask on her head, so she can't clearly look around. Using her vectors (telekenetic hands), she kills the guards around her, grabs the keys and escapes. As the party starts, she kills every guard in sight by using her vectors, guns or other objects lieing around the floor. Walking around naked, killing all the guards she can kill and giving the walls a new redish color, she meets Director Kurama, together with another army of guards. As one of the clumbsy receptionists slip out and fall infront of her, Lucy rips her head off and uses her body as a shield to protect herself. After the newly added blood-fountain, Kurama orders the guards to shoot her. After a short while, the guards stop shooting because they ran out of ammo. She slowly walks past the group, killing them one by one and slowly walks past Kurama, walking outside the facility to find her freedom. Unlucky for her, a sniper shoots her against the head and she falls in the sea.

A young collage student, Kouta, walks along the road meeting his cousin Yuka. They have a little chat because they didn't saw eachother in eight years. Yuka suggests to take a look at the beach, so they did. After re-capturing memories from the shells on the beach, which Kouta's dead sister liked to collect, they see a naked girl with horns infront of them, bleeding. After seeing the two, she tries to run away, but slips and falls with her head in the sand. Yuka feels sorry for her and forces Kouta to give his shirt to her. The three walk back to Kouta's new house, the Maple Inn, and decided to call this girl 'Nyu' (Or 'Nyuu', varies in translations), because she kept saying Nyu all the time.

The facility sends out a soldier called Bando (Who likes to kill) after Lucy. Shortly after arriving at the beach, his group starts the investigation. In the meantime, Kouta found a shell and gets a sad face. Nyu thinks the shell is making him sad, so she breaks it. That wasn't the smartest thing to do.. Kouta stands up and starts to yell at Nyu. In tears, she runs away, to the beach. She finds Bando and another soldier and tries to run away. She slips again and falls behind some logs. Nyu knocks out and Lucy appears, killing the soldier who was with Bando. Now the fun starts, Bando vs. Lucy. Using her vectors, she throws huge things at him, while Bando only has his rifles. In the end, Lucy escapes and Bando is left without any limbs.

Mayu, a homeless girl who got abused by her father, finds Bando and calls the hospital. She meets the group and they ask if she wants to live with them, knowing about her current state as homeless.

The facility tries to re-capture Lucy, again, so they send out diclonius number 7, Nana. She was tortured for years as a test-subject. She isn't able to give birth to children either, unlike Lucy. Director Kurama acted like a father to her, and asks Nana if she wants to do him a favour: To trace Lucy and bring her back.

So she sets off in a helicopter to our quiet little town, in search of Lucy. They meet eachother and start fighting. Nana doesn't like to kill people, so she just tries to capture her. Unlucky for her, Mayu walks into the battle and gets knocked out of the field within a few seconds. Nana gets distracted and results in missing her limbs. She gets ordered to be killed, but Kurama decides to give her artifical limbs like Bando got after his battle with Lucy. He sends her to the mainland with alot of money and orders her to run away as far as she can. And live a happy life.

Kouta's past keeps showing up, how he met Lucy as kids and how his sister and father got killed by her. The final act of the facility begins. They send out their last diclonius, the real daughter of Director Kurama. So the final battle begins between the three diclonius. Who will win?


Rating: 5
Studio: VAP // GENCO
Total Episodes: 13 + 1 Extra
Episode 01: Begegnung (Encounter)
Episode 02: Vernichtung (Annhilation)
Episode 03: Im Innersten (In the Innermost)
Episode 04: Aufeinandertreffen (Collision)
Episode 05: Empfang (Reception)
Episode 06: Herzenswärme (Inner Warmth)
Episode 07: Zufällige Begegnung (Chance Encounter)
Episode 08: Beginn (Beginning)
Episode 09: Schöne Erinnerung (Precious Memory)
Episode 10: Säugling (Infant)
Episode 11: Vermischung (Blending)
Episode 12: Taumeln (Stagger)
Episode 13: Erleuchtung (Enlightment)
Extra Episode: Regenschauer (Rain Shower - or, How can a girl arrive at that feeling)

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