Elfen Lied: overhyped? Opinion On Popular Shows
“I pull the trigger. The gun goes off. Your brains splatter all over the sand. The beach gets bloody and you get dead.” — Bando
What a legend… just kidding.
Enjoyment: 7
Genres: Action, Drama, Horror, Psychological, Romance, Supernatural
TW: Gore, Child Abuse, Bullying, Child Abduction, Child Assault, Incest
Year: 2004
Source: manga
Favourite episode: 8
Favourite moment:
| Category | Rating |
|---|---|
Story | 8 |
| Animation | 6.5 |
| Characters | 5.5 |
| Sound | 7.5 |
| Execution | 5.5 |
| Overall | 6 |
| Enjoyment | 7 |
Elfen Lied aired in spring 2004, under the production of Genco. It is known for its gore, nudity, and cruelty. It's also one of the first anime that explored mature themes, and in such a violent manner at that, which is probably why it is marked as “avant-garde” on MyAnimeList, at least.
Elfen Lied focuses on the "Diclonius", a newly mutated species. Their appearance is similar to humans, but with several differences, namely horn-like protrusions on the forehead and the presence of telekinetic invisible arms called "Vectors". One such Diclonius, Lucy, is the main character of the series: initially held in a facility built for experimentation, located off the coast of Kamakura, she manages to escape and wreak havoc but is injured in the process; which causes her to develop a secondary, childlike personality known as Nyu.
Lucy is found by two locals, Kouta, who studies at the local university, and his cousin Yuka. They take her in, and become involved with the numerous, often brutal, attempts to recapture her by a Special Assault Team and a number of other Diclonius.
— thanks to Wikipedia for the synopsis
It has a plot, guys. And it's actually pretty damn good — if you ignore the oh-so generous amount of plot holes. There are so many that you could probably create a new story out of them only! Isn't that crazy? My favourite part of the show!
Yeah, it was pretty bad. We know how Diclonius mutants appear, but how did the virus start in the first place? Why is Lucy called “The Queen”? Why all Diclonius are girls, and why do the Chief of the facility and his son have smaller horns? What's up with Kouta, and why is he so dumb? Those are only a few questions the show lefts you with when it ends, and most of them get an answer in the manga (except the last one, goddammit). Although I haven't read the work itself, I did read a few things about it, and it seems like there were A LOT of characters, important events, and information that were not used at all in the anime.
However, this is not about the manga; and such, the anime plot is shit. Not the story, but the way it was handled. Mamoru Kanbe (Elfen Lied's director) himself expressed his regret about having to condense the plot into 13 episodes only, and I couldn't agree more. If the production wasn't limited to that specific number, it could have been so much better, since Elfen Lied actually had the potential of a masterpiece.
Additional info:
The show was aired before the completion of the manga (out of 107 chapters, only around 70 were published at the time), and the majority of the events in the 13th episode are from chapter 71. However, the episode also contains elements from later chapters, like 72, 84, and 99.
Now, time for the animation.
ANIMATION
Elfen Lied was produced by Arms, being its most popular work and one of the very few that can be called “popular” at all (the studio went bankrupt in 2020).
It was a pretty solid animation for its period, and it withstood the test of time (mostly). The style is pretty average, distinctive only for its gore. However, a lot of times, the people looked more like dolls than actual human beings; which made the graphic scenes feel like a kid playing with their toys. I'm a gore fan, but not when it's rather ridiculous and boring.
Some scenes were good, though, so here are some examples:
The amount of blood used overall was ridiculous — and looking at GIFs now, it's pretty funny. Almost every time someone is killed, the people near them are sprayed with blood, and that's something.
Regarding the “people looking like dolls” situation, the graphic scenes are not the only ones affected by this; it happens in ordinary ones as well. Contrary to the disappointment with gore, in those it was quite funny; since the backgrounds are detail-oriented, seeing some black lines instead of a person was amusing.
In episode 11 some parts looked sloppy, but eventually, it got back on track.
I also want to mention the intro and the ending. The artwork was inspired heavily by the works of Austrian symbolist painter Gustav Klimt. The colors and patterns used were all part of his distinctive style, and some scenes were actually recreating several paintings of his: The Kiss, Adele Bloch-Bauer I, Danaë. It was an unexpected decision, yet a very good one, as it was able to express the uniqueness of the work from the beginning, while also being aesthetically pleasing. For reference, here is the opening sequence of the intro, inspired by the painting Die Umarmung (“The Embrace”), a detail from the Stoclet Palace in Brussels:
Additional info:
Just a fun little fact I have learned by reading Gustav Klimt's Wikipedia page, it seems like Japanese art and its methods influenced him in his art. It's quite ironic, I'd say.
CHARACTERS
Boy, oh boy… While it's true that the biggest problem with Elfen Lied is the plot holes, (some of) the characters are really not that far off. And by some of them, I am mostly referring to one protagonist, Kouta. Sadly enough, it just had to be one of the main characters, and as expected, it was indeed the male one.
So, what do I have against our lovely, generous, kind and caring guy? Nothing, except the fact that aside from that, there's nothing. Oh, excuse me; there is something: dumbness. Because, of course, you can't have a nice guy with a (kind of, in this case) harem without him not being able to think rationally. My guy, you have a consciousness and a functioning brain for a reason, would you mind using them? Like you should in a critical situation? I got it, you're not the brightest person in the room (neither am I, though I'm the only one in the room), but there is a limit to how unaware you are, you know?
God, I know he was mostly in the story as emotional support for Lucy, so she can (somehow) keep her sanity, but even so… He was one of the main characters, after all, and was present in every episode, from what I remember. Given that, they could have made an effort and given him some other qualities aside from empathy and kindness. I don't want to see a kind guy abduct a minor and let them live in his house, without knowing even the littlest thing about them, just because the plot needed someone to do that. Hell, authorities were searching for her, and he hid her from them? What's wrong with the guy? What if she was a really dangerous serial killer that could kill him at any moment? (spoiler alert: she was).
So yeah, his stupidity killed me. I managed to ignore it in the beginning, knowing it is a common occurrence for one of the main characters to do irrational shit just to get the plot started. It was alright after the first episodes, actually, although he still made very questionable decisions from time to time. However, it all went downhill in the last episodes, when, after a (short) discussion with Lucy about her killing his family and other important stuff, he just… forgave her? Kind of? And told her to still live with them? Why? I still don't get it, and it's very infuriating. One, it's freaking dumb. He is still traumatized by their deaths, and the one behind them was Lucy. Yes, they played together for a few days/weeks at most, when they were kids, so what? It may have been something special, unforgettable, for Lucy, but Kouta had other friends/relatives. You don't just forget your family's killer because you were friends for a short time in your childhood. Aside from that, Lucy was a murderer. She had killed hundreds of people by then. What about his safety, then? She killed his family because she was jealous and felt betrayed; what makes him think she won't kill his cousin, Yuka, as well? Since she and Kouta were in a romantic relationship, and Lucy was still in love with him. Jeez, that was just so bad.
Kouta's character was just so disappointing that, even though the rest of the cast was, more or less, alright, it left a sour taste in my mouth. Elfen Lied isn't just some other harem anime, a comedy, or any other genre that doesn't put any emphasis on the character's process of thought, emotional intelligence, and critical thinking. It is a psychological anime. I have expectations, alright, and standards. Kouta doesn't pass either.
Here is a funny scene from when someone else made a silly mistake, to lighten things up:
Lucy was an interesting character, and I would have loved for the anime to explore her more. I loved the episode in which her childhood was presented, it was my favourite throughout the series. The build-up in it was just fantastic; I wish more episodes were like that (fortunately, the last ones were almost as good in some aspects). Her reactions made sense, and her emotions felt real. I have to congratulate the author of the manga, Lynn Okamoto, for his amazing work with Lucy; Mamoru Kanbe did a pretty good job as well, but, once again, as the number of episodes was limited to only 13, there were a lot of scenes left out, you can tell. Her design was pretty cool, I liked the difference between her eyes' shape and size when she switched personalities, although it wasn't realistic. Again, I would have loved for her character to be explored more.
Additional info:
“Elfen Lied” means “Song of the Elves” in German. The term was used before in two German poems, the first one by Goethe, and the second one by Eduard Mörike. Both were set to music, Goethe's version having multiple versions, while Eduard Mörike's had only one, by Hugo Wolf. It seems that the one that may have influenced the manga was the second poem, which mentioned Silpelits: in Mörike's mythology, they were "lady elves". Additionally, the song was mentioned in the manga, and one character taught it to Lucy.
 |
| sequence from "The Songs of Hugo Wolf" by Eric Sams |
In the manga, Lucy's horns were longer and situated lower, more on the sides than on top of her head, resembling elf ears. The mangaka's style fluctuated through the chapters, though, so they ended up looking like in the anime.
If you are interested in finding more about the similarities between the poem and the manga/anime, you can do it on the Elfen Lied fandom wiki.
SOUND
Sometimes, I can't watch the full anime with sound on, and this was the case with Elfen Lied as well. Based on what I could experience, given these circumstances, the sound quality was alright, and the voice actors did their job. The sound effects were alright, good enough for the genre, and the background tracks were nice too. Good choices for setting the mood, especially in the scenes/episodes that required tension building. I wasn't really into Kouta's voice, but it is just a personal preference.
The intro, though, was epic. It is, by far, one of the most memorable musical pieces among them all (as far as opening and ending themes go in anime). The singing style, as well as the lyrics, the language itself, and the instrumental, are all unique. The artist sings it in Ecclesiastical Latin and uses lyrics taken from The Bible, the Renaissance hymn Ave Mundi spes Maria, as well as the alchemical compendium Theatrum Chemicum.
The ending was actually more to my liking, but it just didn't fit with the style and theme of the anime. It was very cheerful & poppy; I mean, the title is literally “Be Your Girl”.
Links: Lilium, by Kumiko Noma (opening theme)
Be Your Girl, by Chieko Kawabe (ending theme)
— I could only find the official version for “Be Your Girl” on Apple Music
OVERALL
It was good; I enjoyed it, although it had a lot of flaws. It was entertaining, and that is probably one of the most important qualities an anime can have (or any form of media). Do I recommend it? Yeah, kind of. If you did not read the manga, then you can check it out if my review (and/or others) made you think it is worth it; otherwise, don't. It'll just disappoint you.
Additional info/ fun-facts corner:
“The Elven” (Die Elfen #1) is a novel written by Bernhard Hennen in 2004 (the same year Elfen Lied was aired). Besides the obvious similarity between the two titles, the summary of the book also kind of reminds me of the anime (especially the first part).
"A fierce and merciless demon has been unleashed on the world, spreading destruction and bloodshed in both the human and the elven realms. Northlander Jarl Mandred witnesses the ruthless attack on his men, and he seeks vengeance with the help of the elf queen, Emerelle."
— extract from the synopsis available on Goodreads
Ending words
The past 3 weeks were incredibly tiring and busy, so I didn't have time to work on writing anything for the blog. The review itself took a lot of time, way more than I expected it to. I wasn't even planning for my first actual post to be a review, but I figured it would be shorter. I don't even know if I was right or not anymore, but well :)
So well, with that being said, I hope yall have a fun weekend!
0 comments
Post a Comment