I cannot say enough about how wonderful this anime is.

Elfen Lied is a captivating, heart-breaking story that will haunt you long after it's over. Everything about it is superb. The art and music are beautiful (that little music box tune makes me choke up after the first few notes), the characters are likeable and sympathetic, and the story is quite original and exciting.

Lucy/Nyu is an enigma that unfolds slowly before your eyes. At times she's horrible monster, and then, in the next moment, she's sweet and innocent.

In fact, the whole series follows along those same lines. Happy moments can turn bloody in an instant. From one episode to the next, you'll never know if you'll be laughing, crying, or recoiling in horror.

Be warned; this anime is not for the faint of heart or the weak of stomach. It is -extremely- violent, and its violence tends to be savage and cruel. Characters you've come to care for will suffer terribly. The ending is bittersweet; it feels right, but it may not give every viewer the closure they're hoping for.

Elfen Lied is more than worth the watch. It ranks among my top favorite anime of all time.

Posted By: nothingbroken

September 24th, 2009 @ 3:04 AM

By fare one of the best animes i have ever watched...a must watch series!!

Posted By: himmd90

August 4th, 2009 @ 3:03 AM

Elfen Lied is one of the best series to be released in recent years. It is a very powerful story. I fell in love with it from the very beginning. It starts out as a kind of horror type of thing. Goes into romance, and a bit of a drama all while keeping its brutal beginnings thrown here and there. Whenever fighting breaks out you can expect tons of dismemberment and blood. Sometimes involving innocent girls. All quite disturbing. So this series comes with a bit of a warning.

Animation - 5/5
Beautifully animated. Not much to say. No complaints.

Sound - 5/5
Nice opening and ending. Good sound and music throughout show. The voiceovers in both english and japanese are good. The sub is unsuprisingly better. I have this on dvd so I was able to watch both. I do believe it is only subbed here though.

Story/Characters - 5/5
Although very unnnerving and brutal this tale is one for the ages. Quite a ride. I dont want to say much as to avoid spoilers. Read the description if you want an idea as to what this is about. The characters are a string point. The male lead is a good choice of personality. My favorite is Lucy/Nyuu. You have Lucy this twisted killer and Nyuu this completely innocent girl who cant even talk. Both in the same body. Plus a little girl that comes to live with them that has you in the palm of her hand. She is so sweet. Every character is very deep and you cant help but love them. Man, I'm making myself want to watch thi again writing this review.

Overall - 5/5
Easily a 5/5. Elfen Lied is in my top ten shows ever. Enough that i bough the entire series on dvd. This show comes with a warning. It has tons of blood and gore. Not just soldiers and such, but cute girls having their limbs sliced and blown off. Not pretty. It has lots of nudity and swearing as well as a situation involving child rape. Enough of all this that when some of the executives of CN tried to get Elfen Lied a spot on adult swim it was turned down because by the time it was edited enough to be shown there would not be much of a show left. So you have a hard R rating for the anime. If you think you can take all this I highly recommend seeing Elfen. It blew me away. Had me smiling at times, horrified at others, and in tears towards the end. You run all sides of emotion. Amazing story. Perfect Score. 5/5

Posted By: Alastor Ishimora

July 23rd, 2009 @ 8:04 PM