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Still dramatic...
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O.K. here is the actual review with my IADb rating system:
Story and Characters: Elfen Lied is a Psychological horror that is unique and mystifying in its own way. The core of this anime focuses on the relationships between humans and Diclonii.Dicolnii are similar to humans in build but are also distinguishable by two horns on their heads and "vectors", transparent telekinetically controlled arms that have the power to manipulate and cut objects within their reach. These objects include but are not limited too: arms, legs, heads, fingers, eyeballs, weapons, anything else that destroy a human. The two main characters are Lucy Kohta. Lucy, a Diclonii who escaped from research captivity and is ultimately trying to find her place in this world. However, her place in this world was marked a long time ago due to her violent past. This past is explained at various times in the anime at a very good paced. It doesn't seemed force fed and it doesn't take up too much screen time. It works. Kohta however, is your generic male character. The one good thing about him though is that there aren't many bad things about him . He isn't boring, he just doesn't stand out. He knows how to stand his ground. The anime features three more main characters: Yuka, Nana, and Mayu. Yuka, Kohta's cousin who is head over heals in love with him, serves to be the mother of the house. Too many extents she is generic and I found her to be rather annoying, especially in comparison to Mayu, a homeless girl who witnessed Lucy's rampage in an eartly episode, that serves to be a very enjoyable character. Nana proves to be very dynamic and I loved watching her on screen. Bando and Kurama, the anime's main villains, severed their roles perfectly and delivered great foil to each other. Every exchange of dialogue between the two was pure art.
Art: The setting design is beautiful. Backgrounds, powers, blood, gore; all animated perfectly. Character designs, still very good. Not perfect but they all feature ears, noses, and lips, which is more than some anime produced in 2014. Easily one of the most beautiful animes of 2004 to say the least.
Sound: The soundtrack for this anime is great... the first time you hear it. It will get a little tedious eventually. Could have used a couple more songs. The opening remains as one of the most memorable, and the ending theme was good. The voice actors sound their age though, which is always a key.
Enjoyment: This is always a very hard category to digest, as it varies by episode. Most episodes left me very satisfied, and I had the lust to watch the next episode due to a cliffhanger. While there was no specific episode that stood out, there were a few that made me say, "woahh. did that just happen?"
The IADb official scoring:
Plot, Sequence, Flow: 2.4/3 Points
Overall Characters: 1.5/2 Points
Visual Effects: 1.5/2 Points
Soundtrack: 0.5/1 Point
Enjoyment/ Lust to watch the next episode: 1.6/2 Point
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Final Rating: 7.5
Grading it NY Style: B-
