Elfen Lied, another loli-ish anime with characters who have eyes that fills half of their face. Dont be fooled with the innocent looks on their faces, this anime contains heavy violence and plenty of action. Elfen Lied has one of the most memorable and disturbing intro episode I have ever seen. Lets just say it invovled tearing of body parts and loads of blood. Due to the images being too distrubing (for myself and the few general public) I wont post bloody screenshots on here. But please be warned, this anime may not be suitable for young audience or people with weak stomach.
Besides the bloody aspects of this anime, Elfen Lied's story isnt bad. It was interesting enough for me to keep wanting to watch the next episode. It starts off with the introduction of diclonius, a mutant species to the human race (actually tbh cute anime girls with horns on their heads). They have invisible arms that can extend which serves as their weapon or just extra limbs. The anime then carries on exploring a special diclonius, Lucy's past.
The drawings and artwork I thought were really average. They really could have done better. However it was done in 2004 so I wont push on. Another thing to note about the anime is the amount of nudity contains in it. I could accept on some occasion it was appropriate however they just went overbroad with it. An clear example of my point would be, the anime intro song is just Lucy posing nude in every scene. Seeing a young underaged girl naked just isnt my thing, I find it sickening. My guess is that they added just for the fans out there who are just into these things... So again be warned, Elfen Lied not suitable for young audiences.
Nothing really to say about music, other than meh. I wished there was less violence and more funny, everyday life kinda things in the story. It would really suit the characters. One thing I did like was how the anime ended. In most anime, I would be like wtfff at the end since it'll just have bizarre twist or a rush ending. Although this was also a rushing ending, with few unexplained bits, I found this one acceptable and liked it somewhat. Anyway to conclude, Elfen Lied just isnt my type of anime so I rate it at best 5/10 despite the general high rating of 9/10 on the internet.
r u fucking crazy?
ReplyDeletethe music is just meh?!! Elfen Lied has one of the best musical themes ever!!
Well everyones got their own opinion Good for you if you think its one of the best :)
ReplyDeleteRead the manga. It's a lot more in depth in the characters. I disagree however, especially since a lot of the nudity made sense.
ReplyDeleteFor example, the scene where Nana is nude in the complex and chained up is to show that she's treated without an ounce of dignity. Her life is an experiment, there is a single person she can feel close to, and even he is just using her to some extent.
Some of the nudity did come off as pervy with Nyu/Lucy, but she is definitely not a "underaged girl" Lucy is quite clearly at least in her twenties, seeing as the playmate from her childhood is college aged and they were probably about the same age.
I love the theme song to Elfen Lied personally, and I like that the intro is really different than a lot of other ones out there which are bits and pieces of episodes and characters dashing about madly.
Lucy's nude posing is very subtle in the intro, and seems to me like art rather than pornography.
The story line is excellent in the manga and translates decently to the anime (Although I don't really like the mercenary guy that shows up around episode 2)
I personally loved Elfen Lied, although I do respect your opinion.
Also, I enjoy that you write coherently for the most part.
ReplyDeleteI dont read mangas haha, too much hassle clicking and waiting for it to load :P
ReplyDeleteYeah I completely agree with you with the complex part, I didnt mind that. But I mean Nyu running naked in the house... was that REALLY necessary? -_-
Yes I've heard from others that intro and ending are great artworks but is that really what elfen lied is about? Just Lucy naked? It seems to me that they are trying to show off nude Lucy to the fanboys. I mean why else do we need nude Lucy in both intro and ending...?
By the way thanks for sharing your opinion :)
While it is true the intro puts her without clothes most common definitions of pornographic restrict it to showing the most sensitive points which were left out of the opening and closing artistry. And i believe the purpose of nude Nyu in the anime itself was meant to add to Nyu being more like a toddler mentally than an adult. And also to add to the relationship development between khota and his cousin, which despite the Japanese society i find slightly disturbing. I mean there are reasons we in the States have laws restricting stuff like marriage to the people being at least 3rd cousins.
ReplyDeleteAs far as the blood goes i can understand your feelings on it, but just as with bloody/ gory movies it makes it easier to judge them the way they're meant to be if you keep in mind that no one was actually intentionally cut, dismembered, etc.
And yet, the Japanese aren't anywhere near as bad as the hillbillies when it comes to marrying their cousins.
ReplyDeleteOverall, the story line's very moving &, unlike other animés, this one was intended to portray a more existential philosophy that most others wouldn't even touch (except for possibly Hellsing). The nudity, bloodshed & overall depressive mood of the story's supposed to protray the evils of society & how it's to blame for what's wrong in the world (especially towards creating outcasts & judging them like criminals).
It's one of those stories where you need to read between the lines.
I have to disagree with the unintentional dismember, a lot of times in the anime, it was fully intentionally to kill... They hated humans that much.
ReplyDeleteI also dont fancy the cousin relationship thing so I'll just stop at there.
To be honest, I think the story was clear enough lol nothing really between the lines. Humans discriminated against diclonius and hence hatred, fear, conflict all came into play.
This anime was just not my cup of tea, I did say it was interesting story though. Thanks for your input guys
Hmm. You seem very 'on the surface' Mike, with little understanding of depth in this Anime...
ReplyDeleteYes, there was a bit of nudity. The scene with the young girl was much, yes, but not because "thats not my kind of thing..." Sort of sounds like you enjoy the other parts of nudity. But really, it only puts shock value into and stresses how appalling the idea of child rape is. Human emotions are often driven by visuals and that was part of it, no sugar coating. I don't think it was for "those kinds of fans".
This anime is much more deep then that...
The intros and ending artwork are based off other periods of art, and an artist in particular I'm pretty sure... I don't think it was just to show off lucy naked. Let me ask you, if you go to an art museum, and you see a naked woman in the art, do you think "hehehe... thats there just to show off lucy naked... hehehe..." No... it's art. Maybe to some idiot looking at boobs thinks its great and totally kewl dude, but seriously, it's art.
Think of the underlying story, and you can appreciate this anime, much, much more. If you're an idiot lolicon type, theres zillions of others out there that can get you off.
Lastly, the music... if you think this music is 'meh..' I'd hate to know your taste in music. Yea, it's opinion, but if you don't think the title music isn't beautiful... meh.