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
Licensors: ADV Films
Studios: Arms
Source: Manga
Genres: ActionAction, DramaDrama, HorrorHorror, RomanceRomance, SupernaturalSupernatural, SuspenseSuspense
Themes: GoreGore, PsychologicalPsychological
Demographic: SeinenSeinen
Duration: 25 min. per ep.
Rating: R+ - Mild Nudity

Statistics

Score: 7.471 (scored by 874808874,808 users)
1 indicates a weighted score.
Ranked: #19822
2 based on the top anime page. Please note that 'Not yet aired' and 'R18+' titles are excluded.
Popularity: #74
Members: 1,510,983
Favorites: 24,138

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Streaming Platforms

7.47
Ranked #1982Popularity #74Members 1,510,983
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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 is based on Lynn Okamoto's seinen manga series of the same name and premiered while the manga was still in publication. The anime follows the source material through the first 7 volumes, with several alterations to the story, and concludes with an exclusive ending. In an interview, director Mamoru Kanbe expressed his disappointment in having to 'condense' to 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 (Lovers). 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.

Related Anime


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

Bando

Supporting
Nakata, Jouji
Japanese

Kurama

Supporting
Hosoi, Osamu
Japanese

Number 3

Supporting
Takahashi, Mikako
Japanese

Kanae

Supporting
Yamamoto, Maria
Japanese

Staff

Suzuki, Seiji
Assistant Producer
Kanbe, Mamoru
Director, Episode Director, Storyboard


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Opening Theme

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"Lilium" by Kumiko Noma
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Ending Theme

"Be Your Girl" by Chieko Kawabe




Reviews

Mar 6, 2024
Elfen Lied starts off strong, but by the end of the first episode, you're already wondering about what weird fetishes the author's got going on. Gradually, the story becomes more and more disturbing, reaching a point where it almost feels like a parody. However, it only gets worse. And the worse it gets, the more it hooks you in. Suddenly, the roles flip, and now, the worse it technically gets, the more awesome it becomes. It's so weird and stupid, yet so unapologetic about it, that you develop a compulsory need to see how it all unfolds. Instead of just being bad, it's, in fact, ...
Nov 28, 2023
Mixed Feelings
It's some of the most f*cked up trash you'll ever watch while also being one of the greatest animes out there. It's the car crash that bent into a piece of art. While I can't stand multiple aspects of the show, the fact that you'll never be bored while watching and wind up accidentally binging the series speaks testaments to its quality. It's a bloody mess (literally), it's horney in all the wrong ways, and the romance can't decide if it wants to go to Alabama, Utah, or Neverland Ranch. But even after now watching it for a second time since my first viewing over ...
Dec 7, 2023
What a waste of time, this anime is nothing but a complete mess full of gore and nudity scenes which may be cool if you´re 12 years old, but if you are no longer a kid, and you want a good story, good animation or at least a little group of nice characters, I have bad news for you because everyone here is retarded or an asshole

Lucy is a sadistic bitch, but the series wants you to feel bad about how the evil humanity treats her (yeah, we´re assuming that she wasn´t killing everyone in a horrible way)
Kota doesn´t have any personality, he´s just there ...

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Poll: Elfen Lied Episode 5 Discussion ( 1 2 3 )
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