Elfen Lied probably started out with the bloodiest beginning I have seen in awhile. Despite how gruesome it was, it was definitely gripping and the intensity of the story continued until its very end. I felt that the pacing was a tad rushed, but overall, it had a great plot. However, I think that Elfen was cut short, and after rummaging around the internet, I found out that the manga series continued even after the anime series -- which makes sense considering that the anime in the beginning touched about the company that had taken care of the Diclonius only to sweep it aside and ignore it by the end. I expected the anime to delve further into the director's goals and how the characters would stop his ambitions, but it hardly touches upon it by the time the ending credits roll around. It doesn't do a good job throughly explaining and cleaning up all the ties. I think of this anime more as an appetizer to Elfen's world more than a full course. I think to get the full context of the story, the manga did a better job.
art (8/10)
the characters were pretty average. i really liked the vectors, some of the buildings/scenery. and the gory scenes were well, bloody epic.
sound (8.5/10)
the only reason being the closing song did NOT fit Elfen whatsoever. it was much too cheery, much too happy. I loved the OP a lot. It grabbed me right away with its haunting and mysterious soundtrack. great picks.
character (8.5/10)
again, I fault it on Elfen's shortened ending. There wasn't enough development with characters, especially with the antagonist's side. I wish that the protagonist was more conflicted about Lucy considering what she had done to his family. I think the most throughly explored characters were probably #35, Nana, Kurama (i think that's his name) and possibly Lucy. The others needed more. Kohta in general needed to be more proactive. I completely forgot about his character once in awhile because he does so little in the anime. (Maybe that's his job... idk. he reminded me of Shiro from Fate/Stay Night) However, I did like the complexity in all the characters -- no one was necessarilly wholly good or wholly bad. Even Nana who was supposed to be the "good" girl, is in the beginning slapped in the face by the protagonist for harming Nyu and she's confused as to who's bad/who's good and etc. The complexity behind the characters definitely made them more human and more interesting than some of the other characters I've seen these days.
Enjoyment (10/10)
I finished it in 1 day non-stop. and even after I finished it I wanted to rewatch it. I think an anime that could provide that much addiction deserves a 10. Certainly in no way I was bored in any scenes in the series. I was either grossed out, laughing or touched. Great blend. Great series.
Overall (8.5/10) great series. but it was cut short. not recommended for the faint-hearted. and I would definitely recommend reading the manga afterwards for the full story.
