Elfen Lied

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]

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

Tamura, Manabu Producer

Koshinaka, Osamu Producer

Morijiri, Kazuaki Producer

Suzuki, Seiji Assistant Producer

Reviews

Jan 3, 2026

Taki555

Recommended

Elfen Lied is a disturbing but powerful anime that shows how cruel humans can be, often more monstrous than the monsters themselves. While it’s labeled as horror, it’s not scary in a traditional sense instead, it makes you feel deeply uneasy, especially through its themes and character backstories.

The anime does an excellent job portraying suffering and abuse. Mayu story is especially hard to watch, and certain scenes involving her family and the dog are genuinely disturbing and unforgettable. Moments like these clearly show that the real horror of the anime comes from human behavior, not violence alone.

The emotional weight of the story is strong, and ... the ending involving Mariko and her father was genuinely sad and impactful. These moments are where Elfen Lied truly shines.

That said, the anime isn’t perfect. The excessive nudity feels unnecessary and distracting at times, and some character decisions, particularly forgiveness given too easily are hard to fully accept.

Overall, Elfen Lied is a must-watch for those who can handle dark themes and emotional discomfort. It’s brutal, unsettling and memorable.

Reviewer’s Rating: 8

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Sep 5, 2025

theo1763

Mixed Feelings

Elfen Lied is a show that I wasn't quite sure how to react to at the end. It's got a great concept on the surface: Lucy, a Diclonius who possesses lethal abilities, breaks free from a lab and winds up living with Kōta and a few other individuals in a small town. She forms this childlike alter ego, Nyu, after suffering a head injury, and that divided personality sets the majority of the plot in motion. The anime jumps back and forth between these calm, almost-slice-of-life moments and insane levels of violence, part of the reason that it's so memorable, but also infuriating. The pacing ... was very fast, and while the actual narrative wasn't awful, it wasn't particularly special either. I do know that the anime wrapped up before the manga did, so the ending isn't manga canon, but honestly, I didn't really care how they wrapped it up. My strongest gripes were indeed the overabundance of gore and sexual abuse; those got enormously, way too far along at times, and it just seemed really exploitative.

The cast is fairly a mixed bag. Kōta is an understandable character, especially with his sad past, but he's fairly bland and passive throughout most of the show. Lucy/Nyu is the real treasure, her split personality causing her to be unstable and fascinating, and her storyline is actually fairly riveting. Yuka was kind of a nuisance; her jealousy was always present and gave me the creeps, considering she's supposed to be Kōta's cousin. I, on the other hand, just loved Nana, Mayu, and Mariko; they are all tragic in their own right, and I felt so bad for what occurred to them. Kurama is a complex character; he's not always morally correct, and he can be rather cold, but he adds some substance to the narrative. Bandou is basically a cartoon sociopath, attempting to murder the girls constantly, but never actually felt like a real threat, which was too much at times. Overall, the characters were interesting in spots, but several of the human characters didn't receive as much development as they could have.

On the production front, the animation is good, nice and sharp, and colorful at times, but occasionally that doesn't quite work with the violent material. The music is great, especially the introductory theme, which is creepy from the first note. Japanese voice acting is solid; Sanae Kobayashi does a good job of voicing Lucy/Nyu and gets across the personality shifts well. The English dub is stilted; however, I'd absolutely use the sub. Overall, I scored it a 6/10. I enjoyed some of it, and some of the characters and scenes stuck with me, but the gratuitous gore and exploitative qualities really prevented it from being something that I could wholeheartedly recommend. If you like dark psychological horror with a touch of tragic characters and have no problem with the extreme content, you might find it interesting, but it definitely isn't for everybody.

Reviewer’s Rating: 6

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Dec 13, 2025

Beesah

Not Recommended

story was so complex for no reason and the characters were thinking with the thing between their legs the only thing that was alright was the animation
and anyone with the a faint idea of what a good anime should be like would no this is an absolute waste of funds
every wanna be edgy teen loves this along with every basement dweller with a loli fetish and those certain weird people who are attracted to girls that are either physically or mentally unstable
this is what a teen with raging hormones and a crippling addiction to discord would watch
all in all its a bad ... gonner anime for edgy teens and discord mods

Reviewer’s Rating: 4

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