Let's be clear on this one. One of the reasons I dislike this anime may be because it made me face the horrible realisation that I might just be too old for it (I'm 26, so maybe 14 years too old).
Elfen Lied is a harem anime featuring a collection of bulging-eyed stereotypes (including pathetic bitches) crossed with extreme violence to the point of perversion. If this sounds like it may appeal to you then you certainly aren't alone.
Anyway, let's consider the plot before we start ranting about how shit it is.
There exist certain people on Earth that have conspicuous horns growing from their heads. The female versions of these people have a varying number of invisible arms that can be used as weapons. These people are also usually very angry about something, and unsympathetic to any concept of compassion. Like an evil Tachikoma... maybe.
Anyway one day one of these bad girls washes up on a beach where she is picked up by some guy who takes her home with him. Said guy has just been placed in charge of an old ryoukan with ten rooms, which he then goes about blandly and cluelessly populating with other stigmatised young women. Sexually embarrassing situations arise, and so do disturbing yet poorly animated scenes of bodily mutilation and relentless, unapologetic killing.
Story 5/10.
The series doesn't start very well. A young, horned girl breaks out of a secure facility by killing everyone. She is also completely naked. She then runs away and turns up on the beach to be picked up by this guy. Only now she has spazzed-out into some pathetic little shit who can't say anything except the grating-cute "nyuuuuuu!". She also doesn't know anything about anything and ends up sat in a puddle of her own piss. But it's all very cute and erotic and lalala. Then the girls take off their clothes and have a bath. Then the guy gets in compromising situations with the annoying exhibitionist in front of his cousin (who incidentally fancies him) and its all so very charming and stereotypical hahahaha.....
Then people get brutally murdered again and chicks get naked again. Repeat, repeat.
I think the horned-people want to rule the world, or something. They hate humans because they pick on them and kick their puppies and shit. So if humans won't accept them, then they must "make a world for [them]selves". What that means isn't explained, but I guess it has something to do with removing humans from the picture. The rest of the plot is nonsense filler about the characters and their history, including a totally implausible "we knew each other as kids" backstory, and a "revelation" which I want so badly to shout about because it is so stupid, but don't want to 'spoil' for anyone out there who can't work it out from the heavy-handed hints throughout the short series.
The idea of the soft-hearted girl with the hidden harsh personality is certainly not new. The first thing to come to mind is the vastly superior initial OVA series of 3x3 Eyes. Except in 3x3 Eyes the calm version of Pai actually has some charisma.
One of my major issues with this anime is the liberal use of nudity. Worse, child nudity. Warning: this series contains many, many shots of 13 year old girls in the buff. In fact, it shows just about as graphic scenes of child porn as is (for some reason) allowed by the censors. We're talking full pussy shots on all fours. That shit is fucked up. What's more fucked up is that that is the most sexual of all the nudity in the series. Every episode (and the entirity of the opening and closing credits) bulges with breast and pussy shots, but they are so badly drawn as to not have any effect on anyone over 12. However, when the young-guns come out, the poses and situations get more and more perverse. I know 13 is technically the age of consent in Japan, but come on.
The violence is way over the top throughout, and the style often reminds me more of Ikkitousen than any attempt at being vaguely serious. The less bloody ecchi moments, too, defy all logic. One girl allowed herself to be groped by another girl for a full two minutes while doing nothing but blushing and weakly saying "I said no". This kind of pathetic clown is one of the worst traits of Japanese media.
Towards the end the series is plagued by bawling sentimentalism. It manages to convey at least some feeling, and does feel like it picks itself up a little. But it is ultimately too little, too late. It was interesting, however, and the only time when you are actually asked to consider the characters as the children they are instead of just hard-ass emotional wrecks.
Animation 6/10.
Considering the hype there always was around this series, it is strange to see how low the animation quality is. The framerate is not good at all, the designs are sloppy, and the locations are severly limited/similar (though often nicely detailed).
Sound 4/10.
Rubbish. Only one or two different songs performed in a variety of ways. Boring. "Nyuuuuuu"!
Characters 5/10.
Tired stereotypes by the bundle. Huge, plump eyes even grace the dopey male lead; shit hairstyles in stupid colours too. All very nice and cute, and clearly intended to be in juxtaposition with the bloody violence. However, rather than working to make it all the more powerful, it just looks wrong. It doesn't work. The violence is more like a sexual perversion in this setting.
And just when you thought all the characters were present and accounted for, there's the guy with the spiky black hair and the very reflective glasses. Oh, and what's he doing? He's pushing those glasses up his nose with his middle finger while giving the camera a slightly sideways smirk. Holy shit. I promised that I would kill a man if I watched another anime featuring him, but when it comes down to it all I want to do is kill myself.
The only good character, literally, is the bad-ass soldier guy. He punches women in the face in a way that makes me think he is angry to be in the show at all. Winner.
The harem is an often-referenced bad point of the show, and I won't disagree. As if two sworn enemies would live together. One has her arms and legs cut off by the other, then agrees to live with her. Whatever. The harem-hotel is where the series abandon's all sense of seriousness and becomes more like a gorey Tenchi Muyo.
I guess the main theme is stigma, but I'm confused. The pathetic "nyuuu" chick is some kind of anti-hero by all accounts. It seems like we are supposed to feel sympathy for this girl who indescriminately kills people. Hell, the cast seems to manage it. At one point a very young "Nyu" gets bullied, so she kills all the kids bullying her (otaku revenge anyone?) and then goes on a rampage killing families for a place to stay. There is little about that that says "poor victim". Nothing really makes me feel anything for this character. Certainly nothing balances how damn annoying she is in every scene. I suppose we should believe that she cannot control her power, but without something likable is it almost impossible to feel any balance. It's interesting that you are ostensibly 'supposed' to feel sympathy for a child who wants to be human but cannot embrace any element of morality or compassion. Look at Tetsuo in Akira; he ruthlessly murders people and barges through Tokyo on a wave of destruction. But throughout the whole movie he somehow retains sympathy for his problems. Nothing like that applies to Elfen Lied.
Also, why the hell don't the girls in the series kill each other? They have an inexplicable tendency to push each other about and/or give each other a slap. You want them dead, so use your silly arms and kill them like you kill everyone else!
Overall 5/10.
Some anime forces you to look beyond the stereotypes and tired themes for the real story. I tried that with Elfen Lied and all I got was this lousy review.
