Elfen Lied

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Alternative Titles

Synonyms: Elfen Song, Elfic Song, Elf Song
Japanese: エルフェンリート
English: Elfen Lied
More titles

Information

Type: TV
Episodes: 13
Status: Finished Airing
Aired: Jul 25, 2004 to Oct 17, 2004
Premiered: Summer 2004
Broadcast: Sundays at 22:30 (JST)
Producers: VAP, Genco, Zack Promotion
Licensors: ADV Films
Studios: Arms
Source: Manga
Genres: ActionAction, DramaDrama, HorrorHorror, RomanceRomance, SuspenseSuspense
Themes: GoreGore, PsychologicalPsychological, Super PowerSuper Power
Demographic: SeinenSeinen
Duration: 25 min. per ep.
Rating: R+ - Mild Nudity

Statistics

Score: 7.461 (scored by 891277891,277 users)
1 indicates a weighted score.
Ranked: #20722
2 based on the top anime page. Please note that 'Not yet aired' and 'R18+' titles are excluded.
Popularity: #77
Members: 1,548,532
Favorites: 24,265

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7.46
Ranked #2072Popularity #77Members 1,548,532
Add to My List
Episodes: /13

Synopsis

Lucy is a special breed of human referred to as Diclonius, born with a short pair of horns and invisible telekinetic hands that lands her as a victim of inhumane scientific experimentation by the government. However, once circumstances present her an opportunity to escape, Lucy, corrupted by the confinement and torture, unleashes a torrent of bloodshed as she escapes her captors.

During her breakout, she receives a crippling head injury that leaves her with a split personality: someone with the mentality of a harmless child possessing limited speech capacity. In this state of instability, she stumbles upon two college students, Kouta and his cousin Yuka, who unknowingly take an injured fugitive into their care, unaware of her murderous tendencies. This act of kindness will change their lives, as they soon find themselves dragged into the shadowy world of government secrecy and conspiracy.

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

Background

Elfen Lied follows the source manga through the first seven volumes, with several alterations to the story, and concludes with an original ending. In an interview, director Mamoru Kanbe expressed his disappointment in having to condense the story into 13 episodes and felt that more were needed to include significant plot details that would have made the series more emotive.

The artistic design of both the opening and ending sequences are heavily inspired by the works of Austrian symbolist painter Gustav Klimt. Colors and patterns resembling Klimt's distinct style were used and characters of the series were drawn to recreate several paintings from the artist's golden period, including The Kiss. The opening theme, "LILIUM," which is sung in Ecclesiastical Latin, uses lyrics taken from The Bible, the Renaissance hymn "Ave mundi spes Maria," as well as the alchemical compendium Theatrum Chemicum.

Characters & Voice Actors

Lucy

Main
Kobayashi, Sanae
Japanese

Nana

Main
Matsuoka, Yuki
Japanese

Kouta

Main
Suzuki, Chihiro
Japanese

Mayu

Main
Hagiwara, Emiko
Japanese

Yuka

Main
Noto, Mamiko
Japanese

Kurama, Mariko

Supporting
Kawakami, Tomoko
Japanese

Bandou

Supporting
Nakata, Jouji
Japanese

Kurama

Supporting
Hosoi, Osamu
Japanese

Number 3

Supporting
Takahashi, Mikako
Japanese

Kanae

Supporting
Yamamoto, Maria
Japanese

Staff

Koshinaka, Osamu
Producer
Suzuki, Seiji
Assistant Producer


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Opening Theme

Preview
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"LILIUM" by Kumiko Noma (野間久美子)
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Ending Theme

"Be Your Girl" by Chieko Kawabe




Reviews

Nov 28, 2024
This anime is not suitable for sensitive people, as it contains nudity and extreme gore. Taking this very important factor aside, the story is unexpected, mysterious, entertaining, emotional and overwhelmingly beautiful to the point one might consider this one of the best animes ever made. Initially focusing on Lucy (Niu) and Kouta, it slowly develops more and more onto other points of view; making it a complete masterpiece. The characters are well-rounded, the art style is classic and the animation terribly smooth (especially during the visceral scenes). It's about murder, feelings, family, friendships, relationships, mental health and philosophy. Prepare to gasp and cry a lot: ...
Nov 9, 2024
Mixed Feelings
After some reflection, I believe that I was overly generous with my initial rating. So, I had changed a few sentences and republished this review. - (>ω•)

The main appeal of Elfen Lied going in was its reputation as being one of the goriest anime ever produced. Obviously, it would be naive to overlook the primary attraction of this show, which is where these high expectations were changed. The copious amounts of mid-quality gore and fan service is laughable, and my anticipation of watching something unsettling quickly disappeared. Even if there are scenes that depict violence against animals and children, I still found these scenes to ...
Jul 29, 2024
Elfen Lied, as the title suggests, is not actually about elves. It's about girls with the power to behead anyone within a couple meters of their vicinity, and if that doesn't pique your interest, it's doubtful this anime will. First of all, there's the issue of the over-the-top violence. In basically every other episode, someone gets brutally killed and you have limbs flying left, right and centre. Then there's the lack of comic relief, or any relief at all from what occurs in the anime, so you're basically watching a depressing show from start to finish. Lastly, the way the characters behave and think is ...

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