Finally my next review, and without as long a wait as the previous! It took a lot longer than I originally thought to sit through the vile FFX-2 and tear apart its plot. This time however, I’m talking about an anime that’s got a lot of graphic violence and nudity – not for the faint hearted. How did I find it? Well it was certainly an interesting, though I didn’t seem to get the same experience as the friend who recommended it to me. While I was told it would be incredibly depressing, I seemed to be bordering on the amused instead. Why is that? Well, I’ll soon explain.
Am I the only one who thinks they could be cat ears? This is the Angel of Death by the way.
But first, a little background of Elfen Lied, for those who haven’t seen it. The story basically can be summed up as; some mutants escape from a laboratory where a private company appears to be experimenting on them. They end up in a city in Japan, where they attempt to live in normal society. They look like normal humans, apart from two small horns (which look like cat ears, in fact at first I thought they were. It’s not unusual in anime after all. Dammit Schrodinger how do you keep ending up in my reviews?)
However, the mutants, known as Diclonius, also have strange extra arms they call ‘Vectors’ coming out of their back, that are invisible to humans and thus very easy on the animation department. These arms have incredible strength, able to break humans in two with very little effort and turn almost any random object into a lethal projectile. This, combined with the fact they have a natural instinct to kill humans, leads to some fairly awkward situations as you might imagine.
The two Diclonius the show follows, known as Lucy and Nana, end up moving into a house with two current teenage residents, and at first have a fairly easy life. It is not long however, until people searching for the one or the other turn up, and everything doesn’t go as hoped.
So, with the premise set, I’ll launch into the review. Beware of spoilers.
Plot 2/5
While this is a below average score, that doesn’t mean that the story is terrible. It actually was quite interesting, if a little repetitive, however it is riddled by a few rather large flaws, coincidences that are so far-fetched it really is difficult to believe they occur, and a very strict time constraint. In fact, that would be my main complaint about Elfen Lied and I believe a reasonable explanation as to why some parts don’t make sense, and many loose ends aren’t tied – the anime is just too short. With only a single season, Elfen Lied is composed of 13 episodes, with an additional bonus episode that was made later. As such, it really has to rush to fit all the major plot points in – or should do, rather.
However, even more disappointingly, they don’t even try to do that. Instead Elfen Lied progressing at the pace it wants to, which is rather slowly I must admit. It is also plagued by a frankly unreasonable amount of filler in the small time-space that the creators had to work with, and when it finally concludes, doesn’t really resolve anything at all. Very disappointing indeed. While I don’t know this for a fact, I can guess that the likely reason for this is that Elfen Lied was intended to be longer and so did not feel the need to tie up every loose thread. The manga actually goes on for much longer than the final episode of the anime. Whether it was cancelled due to lack of popularity, or because of criticism at its nudity and violence is anyone’s guess.
So while Elfen Lied will keep you interested in what’s going on, you certainly won’t feel satisfied at the end. Not by a long shot. But enough excuses – with a score that low I need to justify it. Let’s talk plot holes.
My first point is that, actually, the basis for the entire show seems flawed at best. If the Diclonius have a natural instinct to kill humans, why would they choose to live with them? It seems like a bad idea from the start that could never end well – in fact, it doesn’t end well at all. While Lucy, when she is in the right personality (she splits between two) seems more than happy to give in to her instinct and kill, Nana seems very against it – in fact I don’t think she kills an actual human during the entire show. Wouldn’t it be much easier for her to exile herself or something? Then again that leads me to my next point – despite Diclonius having this instinct, Nana doesn’t seem to exhibit this at all. The only explanation we get is that her dad told her not to, which seems a bit weak. Especially if you consider that in episode 10, someone states:
“Diclonius would kill their own parents without hestitation.”
Yet Nana doesn’t seem to show this at all, in fact she actually shows quite a lot of signs of love towards her father. So maybe she’s just different, right? Maybe an exception? That’s what I thought, that maybe it was just because it wasn’t quite as black and white as was stated. However, later in the show again, another Diclonius kills her own adoptive mother, who has showered her with love and affection since a few days after she was born. This Diclonius, simply called “Number 35”, later on sees her real father. This man she hasn’t seen since a few days after her birth, who willingly imprisoned her in what was assumed to be total isolation ever since this point. He is also indirectly responsible for the death of her real mother, and a high ranking executive of the company that imprisoned her and all of her kind. So, what does she do? She cries, hugs him, and forgives him. The hell? Surely, if anything, he would be the one she kills.
Yet apparently not, and so I was left thinking. Maybe, I see what they were doing. Maybe it was all a lie to get you thinking, that actually the Diclonius aren’t that bad, that they were trying to send a message that they have been misjudged. Then Lucy says right at the end, that she was born to put an end to human life, and would even kill the friend who had been taking care of her all this time. And so, my theory is shat all over, and I realise that it was just lack of continuity more than anything. A shame.
This leads me to my next point – and also the reason for my title. Just who are the bad guys meant to be in this show? The main characters are the Diclonius, who you are obviously meant to feel very sorry for and so I assume they are meant to be good. But how do they justify this? This is why, unlike many people, I didn’t find this show depressing really (other than the final episode, which admittedly touched my shrivelled heart – but only a little.) Because when it comes down to it, the
Lucy ripping out a guard's heart. If I were picky, I'd say the heart isnt in the middle of the chest.
Diclonius are the ‘bad guys’ from my perspective. The very opening scene of the series, you see Lucy tear the beating heart from the chest of a security guard and toss it aside, rip the head off an innocent and defenceless absent-minded secretary, and tear more generic unnamed characters than I care to count, while she leaves one left alive so that she can make him suffer more than merely through death. Later in the show, she even tears a girl of around 4 years of age in half. Think for a moment, does this scene really make you think, “Yay, what a heroine, justice is truly on her side!”
No, she’s just clearly a psycho.
And so, how do they justify making the Diclonius out as the ones you are meant to feel sorry for? By making them cute, of course. I highly doubt it’s a coincidence that the horns look like cat ears, and also you may have worked out by now – all the true Diclonius we are introduced to are girls. Young girls in fact with pretty faces, pink hair, and a strangely unnatural desire to get topless in any situation and flaunt themselves all over the camera. That ought to appeal to the majority of viewers, eh? But seriously I wouldn’t be surprised if it was this reason the show was discontinued – especially as most of these girls are minors.
The director even looks like he could be Satan.
On the other hand, if that wasn’t enough to make you prefer the Diclonius, they make out the ‘bad guy’s to be so stereotypically evil it makes me want to puke. There’s the soldier who expresses glee at the thought of being able to execute a child, and punches a woman randomly at his HQ for no reason whatsoever. A scientist who drugs Lucy and attempts to rape her. The director of the company, who seems to have no agenda other than to cause as much pain to other people as possible. There’s even a child molester. It’s like the league of freaking villains.
Despite all their flaws, I actually found myself agreeing with the ‘bad side’ more, or at least understanding their actions. Honestly I may be in the minority here, but I would have to say to people who disagree that, no offence, but you are failing to see the big picture. Lucy admitted it herself; she intends to wipe out mankind and can make it so there are more Diclonius than there are humans in just five years. If you heard that in real life, I doubt you would shed any tears when the military gets sent in.
My final point before I move on is the flashbacks – there are far too many, and too long flashbacks in this show for something that’s only thirteen episodes. There’s at least two episodes dedicated to flashbacks to character’s childhoods, and even more later. In fact they even flashback to another flashback twice – once in episode 12 and in 13. That means you see the same bloody flashback with Kohta and Lucy at the zoo as children right next to each other. As if we had forgotten in the 20 minute gap.
So moving on, I leave you with this food for thought – and this is a major spoiler so don’t read if you don’t want to know.
What are the chances of Lucy escaping the island she was held on and happening to wash up not only in the same city as the friend who she killed the father and sister of, but just as said friend happens to be walking past that very spot, who just happens to have the same girl who was with him at the time next to him, and all three of them happen to have some reason why they don’t remember what happened and so don’t recognise each other? *Breathes*.
Characters 3/5
An average score here, which I find fitting as the characters are just that – so very average. While Lucy, Nana and Kohta all seem to have their own personalities, most of the others are just so incredibly bland it’s incredible. This isn’t helped along by their voice actors who once again are very average and don’t really reflect a huge amount of emotion – and I watched episodes both dubbed and subbed. In fact most of the characters were so unmemorable that I didn’t even remember their names. I think again, this may be due to the length of the series as many of the characters didn’t get a chance to develop and ended up being a tad shallow.
A shining example of this is how almost everyone else in the show, strangely, looks the same. Almost all of the minor characters and extras, especially the women, appear to be the same person – a slim brunette with brown eyes the size of a fridge. In fact they resemble Yuka, another girl that lives with the others, quite a bit. I mean I’m not expecting all the little people to be incredibly well developed, but it just seems a tad unimaginative. Speaking of Yuka and voice acting however, one of the funniest moments in the show was when she said to Kouta: “Do you ever think about touching my breasts?” with about as much emotion as a brick wall. Seriously, I laughed so hard – its completely out of context as well, if I recall they had just been sitting down eating dinner at the time. Thank the lord this awful writing was just a one-off, and doesn’t really happen again.
Always bet on Bando.
Still, the characters weren’t all bad. In fact, I liked the soldier guy who I mentioned before, who I believe was named Bando. This strange Duke Nukem look-alike actually turns out to be rather useless, as he is sent to assassinate the Diclonius and fails miserably with every attempt. However, his attitude remained consistent even if he was overall a bit of a douche, and he seemed to be one of the only people in the entire show with a brain. He realised that the Diclonius have invisible arms within a few minutes of meeting Lucy, and so tries to stay out of their range if he can. When preparing for a rematch, he clears away all of the trash and debris from the surrounding area so that she has no projectiles to throw at him.
In fact, he has my favourite line in the entire show (I was watching the dubbed version at this point). After meeting Lucy for the first time, she tears one of his arms off, breaks the other and rips both his eyes out. OUR HERO, YAY! No but anyway, his life is fortunately saved by a nearby homeless girl – who later, after being repaired with mechanical eyes and a hand, he meets again. Not one to be indebted to anyone, he gives the little girl his phone number in return. She asks what for, and he replies:
“If anybody gives you trouble, just call me. I’ll fucking kill them for you.”
Seeing him say that to this girl of about 11 or 12 is just so funny. I think we all wouldn’t mind that kind of friend in their teenage years!
Sadly, this girl somehow kind of develops into a main character – or rather, she moves in with the rest in the same house. Kohta must feel like such a stud – suddenly he’s living in a small mansion with no less than four girls. However, this girl (Mayu) really contributes nothing to the story at all. Her entire existence beyond saving Bando is really questionable if you ask me, especially as sadly Bando doesn’t really do anything again other than plot against Lucy. Whether bigger plans were in the works or not, I’m not too sure, but by the end of the series she didn’t seem to have much of a point.
Kohta is again a rather average character despite being the main one, paired with Lucy. His reaction to everything is agonisingly slow, and whereas Bando was quick with his reflexes and had a sharp mind, Kohta seems to wander through life oblivious to everything going on around him. Even the most obvious situations he seems to need clarification to understand, and yet despite being so air-headed he ends up helping people for no justified reason. For example, he takes Lucy, Nana and Mayu into his home without talking to anyone at all – you’d think he would be concerned about where they came from for at least one of them. For all he knows, they could be serial killers on the run from the law…
Letting this person in our home can only end well.
…
…
Oh wait… THEY ARE.
I won’t really speak about the Diclonius here though, as I mentioned them in plot. I will briefly say however that both Nana and Lucy were alright – they had their ups and downs. Lucy’s alternate personality is unbearably innocent and cute, whereas her normal is cold and uncaring. One of the times I really liked Kohta actually is when, right at the end, he grabs Lucy and says “I can’t let you go knowing you will hurt people.” Thank the lord, someone who agrees that she is dangerous and not just eye candy for us to cry about how she has had such a hard life. I’m sure the widows of the thousands of police officers, security guards and soldiers she has killed will have hard lives too, but you don’t see them getting any attention.
Finally, one character I did like again was a fellow whose name I never caught. I just called him Shiouji as he looks a bit like the doctor from Excel Saga, but he is the true parent of Number 35 and the adoptive parent of Nana. I found him to be one of the few characters in the show with realistic reactions to situations, being forced to tear himself between doing what’s right for mankind and what his conscience tells him to do. While he doesn’t get a huge amount of screen time, when he did choose to die with his daughter at the end, I did find it really rather touching. Thumbs up and a point for Shiouji! Or… whatever he was called.
The rest of the characters aren’t really worth talking about as they are just too minor. So, next!
Soundtrack 3/5
The soundtrack for Elfen Lied is actually very good despite this score, I don’t know the mind behind it but they certainly knew what they were doing. Dramatic music plays at all the right parts, creepy music when a mystery is unfolding, sad music when a depressing moment happens – you get the picture. So, why did I only give it an average mark? Allow me to explain.
My first criticism of the soundtrack is lack of variety. While it’s true that most of the music is good, there just isn’t enough of it, and most of the time you are sitting in silence. Sure, this can build some dramatic suspense, and we don’t want music playing constantly but… it sometimes feels like something is missing from a few scenes. That you could bring out the emotion a bit more with some backing music to go along with it.
Supporting this point, they also recycle the music quite a lot. Again, repeating tracks is fine as some of them are really good but, the intro song is repeated in the anime so many times, by the time you get to the end you have heard it so often it starts to lose its effect – it even has different versions, such as the dulled down version in a music box that Kohta owns. Whether they were trying to sell it, or just didn’t want to spend the extra money on more, I don’t know.
My other point is the volume, at some points the music is so quiet you can’t really hear it over the sounds of people being slaughtered (or whatever), or its so loud you can barely hear what the character is saying – though admittedly the latter one doesn’t happen that often. I don’t know who the shy guy who composed the music is but there’s no need to be worried. You have talent, let us hear it!
The soundtrack is good. Give us more!
Animation 4/5
The animation for Elfen Lied is admittedly, quite impressive and detailed stuff. As mentioned before, the anime has a very very large amount of graphic violence and gore. This is really has a lot of time and effort devoted to it, as characters bleed in ways you could never imagine. This is the only anime I’ve ever seen that I can compare the amount of blood to Hellsing – and this is becoming a review with quite a few references, isn’t it? Anyway, I was suitably impressed by the amount of gore in the show; I must admit I thought the friend who recommended it was exaggerating – but apparently not.
The detail never fails to suprise you. I'm not sure if thats good or not.
The only reason I can’t give the show a 5 is because of a point I mentioned earlier, the fact that the vectors are invisible to humans is just too convenient an excuse for them to use to not animate anything. While having them invisible makes sense plot-wise, there’s no reason why we, the audience, can’t. In fact on several occasions they make it so you can see them, apparently at random. I really didn’t notice any pattern or anything, and I have to admit it didn’t really take a genius to notice it didn’t appear in any of the larger fight scenes. As such I have to complain that it was really a bit lazy – and it does detract from the experience a bit. The fight scenes are really rather dull at times, when all it is, is five minutes of watching Lucy stand still while people around her randomly blow up or fall into pieces. Still a good score though.
Conclusion 12/20
Twelve isn’t a bad score; I would say it’s what I would expect of most anime to be honest. I would call it average, and that’s exactly what I would call Elfen Lied as well. It’s definitely not bad, and I enjoyed my time spend with it – I would probably watch it again in a few weeks time. However, I wouldn’t say it was hugely memorable other than for being incredibly overt and leaving little to the imagination – and I have to wonder if that’s what they were actually going for here? To make everything so borderline offensive, that people will remember it because it’s not often you see a girl with no shirt on tearing out a man’s spine.
I wouldn’t recommend Elfen Lied to the easily offended or the faint hearted as it’s so graphic, but it’s worth watching if not. While I doubt you will put it down in your list of the best things you have ever seen, it’s certainly not a waste of time to see. It has interested me in the manga I must admit, to see if some of the events which really didn’t get concluded are later, which can only be a good thing.
I suppose that’s what my real conclusion of this show is. It had a great start, but the ending was just so terrible they balanced themselves out, making it average overall. A bit of a shame really, and disappointing – if only there was a season 2.
I wouldn’t say it matters whether you watch subs or dubs though. They aren’t too different in quality.
Tell me what you like, and I’ll tell you why you’re wrong. Send requests to JudgeReviews@hotmail.co.uk
Judge Reviews 