so I picked up the Elfen Lied thinpack today

[zaldar]

along with the collectors edition of the girl who lept through time, mass effect, the enhanced edition of the witcher, a new sound card and a new video card. Not sure if I would have picked up the copy of elfin lied if I had read the review here first but bah 500$ at best buy, got to keep the economy moving.

Anyway going to put elfen lied in while I eat dinner so start taking bets now for how long it takes me to :puke: or I stop watching it ;).

[DiRF]

Elfen Lied.

...and if you can make it through the first episode without wanting to stop watching the series, and are brave enough to continue it, then you've earned the right to experience that wonderful series. :)

[zaldar]

NYU!!! Gah I finally get this running joke...

[zaldar]

So no one else wants to guess ahhhh.

Anyway got through the first episode, wow, remind me not to tick her off. Found it odd they kept a helment on her didn't seem to do much good. When she killed the moe secretary and then used her body as a shield I almost stopped watching...that has to be the quickest I have seen someone I thought might be a recuring character die.

So I guess you don't agree with the review here Dirf? He didn't seem to find it to wonderful..

[Isuzu Inugami]

So no one else wants to guess ahhhh.

Oh, okay. Episode 4.

When she killed the moe secretary and then used her body as a shield I almost stopped watching...that has to be the quickest I have seen someone I thought might be a recuring character die.

Yeah, that was... really... harsh. I mulled that one over for the whole show, and still am not sure if the show's creators were trying to cater to the viewer's morbidity, or make them feel ashamed of liking the ultraviolence.

[Thomas Alan]

Or, most likely, were just laughing gleefully at the mess she made.

[StefanieTN]

Well, the scene does demonstrate to the audience Lucy's ruthlessness and disregard for most humans. You can't make a violent anime without breaking a few eggs. The same goes for the scene a bit earlier, in which she stops, sits down in front of a terrified guard, and calmly tears him apart. What makes the scene work so well is having the guard off camera, so that we have the image of Lucy sitting there with the violent sounds in the background... very effective.

And the great part about the series is that we (I, at least) eventually care about Lucy and sympathize with her. I think the series is underrated.

[Orihimes_Boyfriend]

I agree with everything you said. I have heard a lot of people dismiss it right away after seeing the first episode thinking it's about nothing but boobs and blood. In the end you do feel for these characters. especially after during the flashback of Lucy's childhood and you see the torment and the cruelty that she endured. I actually was glad when she killed the kids for killing the dog. The way it ended I would love to see a second season.

[Isuzu Inugami]

Well, the scene does demonstrate to the audience Lucy's ruthlessness and disregard for most humans. You can't make a violent anime without breaking a few eggs. The same goes for the scene a bit earlier, in which she stops, sits down in front of a terrified guard, and calmly tears him apart. What makes the scene work so well is having the guard off camera, so that we have the image of Lucy sitting there with the violent sounds in the background... very effective.

Well, we're set up to root for Lucy from the start, though. A naked, (apparantly) helpless girl in the hands of some (shady?) military group--we're well positioned to cheer as she rips her way to freedom through dozens of more-or-less anonymous, well-armed men. But the secretary throws a wrench in that whole equation of expectations. She gets a lot of screen time--IIRC she has lines, she's (clicheed, but) cutely clumsy, and looks entirely like she's being set up to be a recurring comic character. She doesn't remotely deserve what happens to her--unlike the military guys, who at least carry arms and are presumed to know that taking a job which may involve shooting at something allows for the possibility that it may shoot back. That is to say, they can't be considered innocents, but she can. And having an innocent brutally killed by the character we're supposed to be identifying with.... What is the show doing? Is it saying the death of every person is equally a tragedy, and shame on us for enjoying the bloodbath up to that point? Or is it just saying, huh huh, guess the bitch got ahead of herself, huh huh huh!

I mean, the show spent enough time crafting her that I really wonder if there's supposed to be a message there. No point in spending so much screentime on a secretary if you only want her to wander in and get beheaded for shock value. Right?

[MrNice]

When she killed the moe secretary and then used her body as a shield I almost stopped watching...that has to be the quickest I have seen someone I thought might be a recuring character die.Heh, that kill blindsided me in the same way too.
Pretty much what Stefanie about the whys and wherefores of the scene though.
But...
shame on us for enjoying the bloodbath up to that point?Well to be honest the way the prior soldier deaths were presented I'm pretty sure "enjoying the bloodbath" wasn't supposed to be your reaction back then either.

[Vicserr]

Just commenting on the level of violence and gruesomeness, it's not something that goes beyond the level of the ultraviolent ovas of the 80's like Crying Freeman, Baoh, M.D. Geist, Genocyber or if you were over 18, Legend of the Overfiend. Of course if you never been exposed to this type of material, you're going to get unconfortable...:blush:

[Orihimes_Boyfriend]

True but it does have some thoes moments were I literaly said "Oh Dear God!" Especily in episode 4.

[CatQueen]

True but it does have some thoes moments were I literaly said "Oh Dear God!" Especily in episode 4.

I actually remember saying that when I saw that particular scene. I wasn't even on episode 4 yet at the time, but I saw it in an AMV. I was pretty shocked!

[StefanieTN]

Well, we're set up to root for Lucy from the start, though.

No, not necessarily. As the first scene began, I didn't automatically make the assumption that she was a victim. For all we knew (watching for the first time), she very well could've deserved her confinement.

She [the secretary] gets a lot of screen time--IIRC she has lines, she's (clicheed, but) cutely clumsy, and looks entirely like she's being set up to be a recurring comic character. She doesn't remotely deserve what happens to her...

Yes, based on what little we see of the secretary, she appears to be an innocent victim. That's exactly why the scene works so well.

[zaldar]

Well, the scene does demonstrate to the audience Lucy's ruthlessness and disregard for most humans. You can't make a violent anime without breaking a few eggs. The same goes for the scene a bit earlier, in which she stops, sits down in front of a terrified guard, and calmly tears him apart. What makes the scene work so well is having the guard off camera, so that we have the image of Lucy sitting there with the violent sounds in the background... very effective.

And the great part about the series is that we (I, at least) eventually care about Lucy and sympathize with her. I think the series is underrated.

This has impressed me greatly I mean as soon as she was peeing on the floor in the first episode I was caring about her. I actually had to pause the show and go wait a minute didn't she just terribly rip twenty people apart....can't judge it all yet but so far I have been impressed.

[zaldar]

Um wow.....*shiver*....um wow. Talk about having a massive split personality. I mean the fight with the "nice" vector girl....:eek: that was some impresive but messed up crap. I mean that entire character line was messed up...someone took the suitcase girls from /b just a bit to seriously....I am not sure if we were supposed to feel for the cheif who despite the fact he tortured her for her ENTIRE FREAKING LIFE, seemed to care about her or not. I couldn't. I felt myself feeling for Nyu, seeing what she could have been and how I would have reacted. Then they kill the "nice" one off. Gah! I have watched some dark no good people involved anime before but this one takes the cake.

The interaction between the three "normal" characters (I wonder how long they will stay normal I give it about another episode) is well done though. The picture of the girl when she was a child surrounded by Maniquein adults was very well done and captured the feeling of being a child not understanding what is going on very well. Her interaction with her boyfriend and now the homeless girl was very well done.

If not for the EXTREME blood and guts this almost looks like you could call it a truly screwed up harem anime...

[StefanieTN]

Mayu (the homeless girl) is the character who tugs at my emotions the most. The more we learn about her, the more we feel for her. Her daily routine of asking for bread crusts especially got to me.

As soon as I get time, I really need to go back and rewatch the series.

[zaldar]

Yeah I begin to see the disconnect Chris had in his review it does seem to swerve from AMAZINGLY heart renching moe and moving scenes to some of the most disgusting blood and violence I remember seeing...

[JINROH]

Or, most likely, were just laughing gleefully at the mess she made.

Thats what I was doing the first time I watched it.

And the great part about the series is that we (I, at least) eventually care about Lucy and sympathize with her. I think the series is underrated.


Same.I felt Lucy was the best character in the series.And I did feel sorry for her,and really sympathized with her.Mayu was a very close second.

[StefanieTN]

Yeah I begin to see the disconnect Chris had in his review it does seem to swerve from AMAZINGLY heart renching moe and moving scenes to some of the most disgusting blood and violence I remember seeing...
Maybe I'm in the minority, but I like it when opposite (maybe "different" is more accurate) elements like that are combined. For me, that's what makes shows such as Elfen Lied and When They Cry so effective.

[zaldar]

Like most things it can work or it can not work. Does it show the series doesn't really know what it is or do the differences highlight each other (like when a bubbly song has depressing lyrics). I haven't decided on this one yet. Still in the wow thats and odd pairing phase

[StefanieTN]

True, sometimes those elements work well with each other to provide an effective contrast, and sometimes they just plain clash.

[Gatts]

Does it show the series doesn't really know what it is

I never got the feeling that Elfen Lied didn't know what it was doing. I found it to be a perfect parody of the whole harem anime genre.

[zaldar]

I haven't watched enough to say yet, I can see the possibility of the two types clashing though depends on how it all shakes out. Just watched the first episode on the second DVD where we find out more about the history between Nyuu and Katoro.

They really really shouldn't have made it so obvious that the other vector using character who refers to the millitary guy as papa REALLY is his daughter. That would have been more effective if it was an 11th hour relevation. Maybe I have just watched to many of these but as soon as he started talking about how he killed his daughter with his own hands the first thought that popped into my head was (no actually you didn't). This of course was confirmed by his father later, or at least all but confirmed. Ah well.

Will be interesting to see what happens in the (sixth?) next episode now that the horned ones are back together. Revelation time!


I am also slightly bothered at how they were able to get the homeless girl into school so easily...I mean wouldn't they have to at least first attempt to look for her parents?

Well the last episode on the second disk was interesting.... so she did kill his parents but only after she thought he had abbandoned her. This show is amazing I really do go from feeling sorry for her, to thinking she should be locked up. I really really hope the girl with the red bow and the yellow dress wasn't our favorite homeless girl if Laura killed her parents to I may not be able to pull for her again.

I am really wondering how they are going to be able to wrap this up, still not sure what I think about it but it keeps me watching that is for sure.

[Garasharp K7]

"Mariko, it's me. It's your mom."
"No...you're not."

Elfen Lied is definitely one of those shows that likes to drag the viewer from one end of the emotional spectrum to the other. Or at least tends to sit somewhere btween sympathy and disgust then runs with that. I found myself going "aww, poor thing" more than once, and Oh dear God!" many more times. Nearly cried a few times too.
Lucy is almost like a cross between Frankenstein's monster and Sil from the first Species flick; hated for being different, compelled to follow some sort of biological imperative that sees humans as her natural enemies, yet all she wants is to be loved. Seems like that's what most of the Diclonius in the show want. Same goes for some of the human cast too.
Sometimes you sympathise with Lucy, sometimes you hate her guts - it's the same with a lot of the characters in the show. I pretty much loathed Mariko after her fight with Nana, but I was almost in tears when she's talking to Kuroma. And what about Lucy's past? Those kids had it coming to 'em, (they make some of Hell Girl's antagonists look positively tame in comparison) but did Kanae? or Kouta's dad? or anyone else? It's hard to wonder if Lucy's murderous rampages are born purely out of malice or some sort on natural urge. It's likely both. And despite what she does, I still felt sorry for her.
I didn't feel sorry for Bando though. Guy was a prick. To be honest I was looking forward to seeing him meet his fate at the business end of one of Lucy's vectors.
It was an amazing, if completely heartwrenching show. Really wish there'd been more of it.