thebobmaster: There just seems to be no connection to the plot points at all. I mean, she seems child-like when the two take her in, but the intro seems to show she's anything but innocent.
So, one of the things that bothers you is... it doesn't give away the plot and the twists in the first episode? How do you usually watch shows? @_@
The whole split personality thing was the main thing that sucked me in. First it's all BLOOD GUTS GORE ARRRGH which really isn't my thing, but then she's suddenly completely different and you want to know, what happened to her? Is she putting it on? What happens if they try to take her in and she's not the same girl they thought she was? Is she going to turn bad again?
There are people who enjoy it, I did not. For me the flaws (which have been discussed here) are overriding and I think there's a lot of better shows you could be spending your time watching.
Elfen Lied pissed me off so fucking much because they took what could have been a great show and shafted it with really shitty and disturbing fan service. Why couldn't they make Lucy's split personality child-like and innocent without making her full fucking retard? Sure, it ends up exploring some pretty dark themes and does it reasonably well, but fucking hell, I could never get past the sexualisation of someone who was depicted as having the mental age of a one year old.
Elfen Lied is one of the few animes I did not wait for a box set for.
Seconded,and stole the words from my mouth before I thought to think them together. Lucy is one the greatest characters that have ever been, near impossibly heart-wrenching, tragic and hopeful at the same time. Ignore the cousin and Nyu, though, they're just nuisances that take away from the emotional and psychological depth of the interaction between two characters--namely, Kota and Lucy.
But yes, it does get better. So much better. Yes, it would have been even better without the needless violence, the ridiculous pseudo-porn and the characters related to it, but beyond that the show is amazing.
thrided.
The first few episodes are terribly paced, but once you get past that I was on the edge of my seat going "Fuck Yeah Lucy, Fuck that mother fucker up".
I don't yell at my anime often.
But as to Nyu detracting from the emotional impact...
Spoiler: Click to 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
...In short, if you think of Nyu the right way she is quite an interesting and emotionally driven character, but I guess she's not for everyone.
But the thing with the cousin... I never ended up checking it out, and I'm inclined not to think that its true as I pass the Otakus test and I've never heard of it but... Is that cool in Japan? 'Cause um, yeah... that was... weird
manic_depressive13: Elfen Lied pissed me off so fucking much because they took what could have been a great show and shafted it with really shitty and disturbing fan service. Why couldn't they make Lucy's split personality child-like and innocent without making her full fucking retard? Sure, it ends up exploring some pretty dark themes and does it reasonably well, but fucking hell, I could never get past the sexualisation of someone who was depicted as having the mental age of a one year old.
That's cold man. Why you gotta bring up the puppies xD.
Oh come on, "that" scene is so overly evil it just becomes ridiculous.
"Oh look, it's still alive. Muhahahaha!"
Not that the show didn't have an impact on me, but it is basically emotional porn.
((and any one else who called it porn))
Us all here... we're all familiar with the anime genera right?
We're gonna call this porn are we?
Ok, well if you ever want to re-evaluate that I have some links...
On a scale of one to ten, with eight being what we've seen enough of to know what eight is, and ten being the shit on /b/ that you hope to never see, Elfen Lied is a 1.1 at the most.
Not saying that Nyu's sexualisation didn't put me off a bit, but just, you know, contextually sensitive guys
Sober Thal: If you don't like something right away, it's tough to get into it. That's understandable.
If you can't get into Elfin Lied right away... go do something else. Do yourself that favor.
Because everything is love at first sight or not at all -.-
I just don't see how you could not get into the first episode, then suddenly start liking this series. With the amount of anime out there, you should find something that grabs your interest right away.
i was the same as you when i first watched it, i watched the first episode disliked it and gave up but i cam back and watched it a while later and it does get amazing
I just thought it was gratuitous violence against under aged girls.
Honestly, the plot is mostly forgettable, what being the only striking imagery is young looking people being eviscerated. There ARE some memorable moments, but it falls into a well of anime tropes that just hinder it.
I mean, at one point it essentially becomes a Harem. It tries it hand at levity which falls flat on its face.
You know, come to think of it, I can't remember why anything happened at all in that series...
EDIT: People will likely think I'm being overtly harsh. I watched it to the end (though morbid curiosity was the biggest drive). But if you don't like how its shaping up now, it doesn't really get beyond that... it just gets more convoluted.
[Kira Must Die]: I'm not a fan of Elfen Lied. I use to love it when I first saw it a few years ago, but as time went by it seems really dated and flawed to me. It's trying to tell a dark, adult, and mature storyline, but it's more childish if anything. The violence is so cartoonish and mindless that it takes all the seriousness out of it and cease to be disturbing. If anything it's on the same level as Bludgeoning Angel Dokuro-chan. Not to mention you have some bullshit ecchi/ harem moments that really grates on me, like the wimpy male lead somehow living in a house filled with women, or when he gets caught in an embarrassing position with another girl, etc. which seems very out of place in a show that's as supposedly "dark" as this. Other than that, the animation is terrible, there's a number of useless characters, some dialogue is a bit awkward, voice work in both English and Japanese isn't very good, and the writing gets pretty bad, too. Also, the ending to me just seems like blatant fanservice, and in context, makes no sense...
Spoiler: Click to ViewPHA+Ikx1Y3ksIHlvdSBraWxsZWQgbXkgc2lzdGVyIGFuZCBmYXRoZXIgaW4gY29sZCBibG9vZCByaWdodCBpbiBmcm9udCBvZiBtZSwgYW5kIHRyYXVtYXRpemVkIG1lIGZvciB0aGUgcmVzdCBvZiBteSBsaWZlLi4uIEkgTE9WRSBZT1UhIjxiciAvPipzbW9vY2gqPC9wPg==
The manga is better, but it still has it flaws.
To me, it just seems like a really childish anime, instead of a show for "adults." But then again I don't hate the show, I just don't see it as an anime classic.
Give this man a medal for his name and cookie for the post.' I saw the anime early on and while I do remember it a little i didn't think the extremes it showed made it a noteworthy anime.
manic_depressive13: Elfen Lied pissed me off so fucking much because they took what could have been a great show and shafted it with really shitty and disturbing fan service. Why couldn't they make Lucy's split personality child-like and innocent without making her full fucking retard? Sure, it ends up exploring some pretty dark themes and does it reasonably well, but fucking hell, I could never get past the sexualisation of someone who was depicted as having the mental age of a one year old.
((and any one else who called it porn))
Us all here... we're all familiar with the anime genera right?
We're gonna call this porn are we?
Ok, well if you ever want to re-evaluate that I have some links...
On a scale of one to ten, with eight being what we've seen enough of to know what eight is, and ten being the shit on /b/ that you hope to never see, Elfen Lied is a 1.1 at the most.
Not saying that Nyu's sexualisation didn't put me off a bit, but just, you know, contextually sensitive guys
What? I explain that my issue with Elfen Lied was the gratuitous sexualisation and objectification of a mentally handicapped individual, and you manage to interpret that as "I don't like it because it's pornographic"? What? I never even called it porn. I just said that there was inappropriate sexualisation. Something doesn't need to be full cock-in-face action to be fucking disturbing.
Personally I love the show. It's a show of juxtaposition and contrast. The hyper cuteness is juxtaposed with the dark themes to make both seem more extreme.
It'll bounce from "D'aww" to "omfg, brutal!" in order to heighten the feeling of both.
It's a show entirely about nature versus nurture. Lucy is a merciless killer, most Diclonii are but the issue is more complex than that. I'll try not to spoil things but for starters there's how the human race treats them (lucy's backstory and prequel OVA paticularly), then there's the fact that due to this treatment they develop sociopathic complexes. One of the Diclonii (Lucy?) says she's never killed any "people". She's killed hundreds of humans but does not consider them people becuase people wouldn't treat others the way they do. Then there's the fact that Diclonii are an entirely different species so out competing the other species is kind of their job.
spoilers on nature versus nurture for the seriesPHA+VGhlIEx1Y3kgcGVyc29uYWxpdHkgaXMgaGVhdmlseSBpbmZsdWVuY2VkIGJ5IHRoYXQgdm9pY2UgaW4gaGVyIGhlYWQgKGR1YmJlZCAiZXZlIikgdmlzaWJsZSB3aGVuIHNoZSdzIGEgY2hpbGQgd2hvIHRlbGxzIGhlciB0aGF0IHNoZSB3YXMgYm9ybiB0byBraWxsIGh1bWFucy4gVGhlbiB0aGVyZSdzIGhvdyB0aGUgY2hpbGRyZW4gdHJlYXQgaGVyLjwvcD4KPHA+QnV0IHRoZW4gdGhlcmUncyBOYW5hIHdobyBoYXMgYmVlbiB0cmVhdGVkIGxpa2Ugc2hpdCBzaW5jZSBzaGUgd2FzIGJvcm4gYW5kIGlmIGl0IHdhcyBpbiB0aGVpciBuYXR1cmUgc2hvdWxkIGJlIGEga2lsbGVyIGFuZCB5ZXQgc2hlJ3Mgbm90LjwvcD4=
I could have done without the nudity but I'm sure there was a deeper theme there that I'm missing....I think
That's cold man. Why you gotta bring up the puppies xD.
Oh come on, "that" scene is so overly evil it just becomes ridiculous.
"Oh look, it's still alive. Muhahahaha!"
Not that the show didn't have an impact on me, but it is basically emotional porn.
((and any one else who called it porn))
Us all here... we're all familiar with the anime genera right?
We're gonna call this porn are we?
Ok, well if you ever want to re-evaluate that I have some links...
On a scale of one to ten, with eight being what we've seen enough of to know what eight is, and ten being the shit on /b/ that you hope to never see, Elfen Lied is a 1.1 at the most.
Not saying that Nyu's sexualisation didn't put me off a bit, but just, you know, contextually sensitive guys
I think you're misunderstanding me.
I had no problem with the nudity whatsoever. What I meant when I said emotional porn is that it has this mentality of "Awww, look how sad this is! Look, look, see? Oh it's so sad, so devastatingly sad!!!"
In the same way that the Transformers movies are car and military porn, Elfen Lied is emotional porn. It's very effective, but beyond that there isn't much else.
What? I explain that my issue with Elfen Lied was the gratuitous sexualisation and objectification of a mentally handicapped individual, and you manage to interpret that as "I don't like it because it's pornographic"? What? I never even called it porn. I just said that there was inappropriate sexualisation. Something doesn't need to be full cock-in-face action to be fucking disturbing.
Manic_depressive13... I wonder how manic you get *Insane maniacal twitch*
I think Nyu was supposed to make you feel fucking disturbed... I mean I'm not the only one who wants to be disturbed to my very core right?
She developed and did become an interesting character, to say more would spoil
I had no problem with the nudity whatsoever. What I meant when I said emotional porn is that it has this mentality of "Awww, look how sad this is! Look, look, see? Oh it's so sad, so devastatingly sad!!!"
In the same way that the Transformers movies are car and military porn, Elfen Lied is emotional porn. It's very effective, but beyond that there isn't much else.
How CAN I understand you? I am only able to comprehend one consciousness!!!
Maniacal trolling aside, yes, I see your point. I think its a bit hyperbolic but I see your point.
yes, but only once you get about half-way through.
in my opinion, the whole series is longer than it should have been. that's not to say it isn't good; it is. it is one of my favorite animes and has a pretty great ending.
my advice would be to just power through it. it's longer than it should be, but it isn't too long and the ending is worth it.
Zhukov: Uhh... it has its moments I guess. That "I've fought entire armies just to apologise to you" scene still sticks in my memory.
However, it also has this decidedly creepy obsession with tearing the clothes off pre-pubesent girls.
Think you just spoiled abit, and really, is Lucy pre-pubescent? Do you know what that word means?
Anyway, OT: yes, yes it does big time.
Mentally, Nyu is. I think that's what drives me so nuts. It's not just that she's child-like and innocent in her split personality. That would be a bit more understandable. But they went from emotionless killer to "mentally two years old". The gap there is just too large for me, I guess.
Zhukov: Uhh... it has its moments I guess. That "I've fought entire armies just to apologise to you" scene still sticks in my memory.
However, it also has this decidedly creepy obsession with tearing the clothes off pre-pubesent girls.
Think you just spoiled abit, and really, is Lucy pre-pubescent? Do you know what that word means?
Anyway, OT: yes, yes it does big time.
Not Lucy, the other one. The younger one that was sent to bring her back. I don't remember her name.
Damn near every fight she was in, and she was in quite a few, involved her clothes being torn off. The first time I just shrugged 'cause hey, it could happen. By the fourth such incident my supply of shrugs was running low.
Spoiler: Click to ViewPHA+SSBoYWQgZm9yZ290dGVuIGFsbCBhYm91dCB0aGF0IHNjZW5lLjwvcD4=
Yes, it gets better, trust me. The beginning is kind of disconnected from the plot of the rest of the story. The entire escape could have taken five minutes, but they had to use most of an episode for it - see that moment where Lucy kills the guard and walks for around a full minute and nothing happens.
Pretty sure that 50-something responses in, you've already been told everything you need to know. But in case you haven't....
-Yes, it does get better...funny thing about plots is that you have to give them time to develope. :P -It's pretty damn brutal in just about every aspect...later on in the series you get to see the backstory for the chick that escapes from the facility in the beginning. Yeah, there's very few "holy shit wtf?!" moments in anime that are as "wtf?!" inducing as the moment when her powers manifest. -Be forewarned: the manga version features loli-rape. Though the anime doesn't finish the whole story. :P
Sargent Hoofbeat: Manic_depressive13... I wonder how manic you get *Insane maniacal twitch*
I think Nyu was supposed to make you feel fucking disturbed... I mean I'm not the only one who wants to be disturbed to my very core right?
She developed and did become an interesting character, to say more would spoil
That wasn't the point of Nyu. Her purpose was to serve as a foil to Lucy's vengeful and violent personality. The creepy sexualisation served no purpose except fan service. You could tell from the way it was portrayed that it was meant to serve as comic relief but it just ended up being a combination of annoying and disturbing. Stop trying to banter and learn to critically analyse.
I watched the whole thing out of interest - didn't find it particularly compelling, mostly just gratuitous. Maybe watch a few more episodes to see if you like it more but don't feel like you're missing out.
I would say Higurashi no naku koro ni is a far better take on that kind of show. It has far more to say about love, loyalty and friendship while contrasting it with paranoia and horrific violence.
Its defenitly one of the unique ones, for better or worse, has good characters Lucy has got to be one of my top 3 favorites, right behind Black Gold Saw, to answer your question it does get better.
Some of the best ones start out slow, I was in the same boat but figured fuck it since I DL'd it might as well watch it
Sargent Hoofbeat: Manic_depressive13... I wonder how manic you get *Insane maniacal twitch*
I think Nyu was supposed to make you feel fucking disturbed... I mean I'm not the only one who wants to be disturbed to my very core right?
She developed and did become an interesting character, to say more would spoil
That wasn't the point of Nyu. Her purpose was to serve as a foil to Lucy's vengeful and violent personality. The creepy sexualisation served no purpose except fan service. You could tell from the way it was portrayed that it was meant to serve as comic relief but it just ended up being a combination of annoying and disturbing. Stop trying to banter and learn to critically analyse.
First of all A, dude calm down. I'm an actual type one manic depressive, and right now I'm going through a manic phase. I do tend to troll a bit as right now I think I'm God, and Haruhi is a pretty big troll. You are literally walking into the troll trap and is taking all self control not to rip into you.
Secondly, some of us who are used to fan service and frankly get sick of it, kinda compartmentalise and tune it out, and frankly the whole cousin thing weirder me out more.
There were some interesting facets of the character.
Spoiler: Click to ViewPHA+TGlrZSB0aGUgZmFjdCB0aGF0IHNoZSBzaGFyZWQgaGVhZCBzcGFjZSB3aXRoIEx1Y3ksIGFuZCBhcyB0aGUgc2hvdyB3ZW50IG9uIE55dSBnYWluZWQgaGVyIG93biBwZXJzb25hbGl0eSBidXQgd2FuZWQgYXMgTHVjeSBiZWNhbWUgbW9yZSBkb21pbmFudC4gSXQgd2FzIGFuIGluY3JlZGlibHkgc2FkIChMaWtlIE15IExpdHRsZSBEYXNoaWUgc2FkKSBob29rIHRvIHRoZSBjaGFyYWN0ZXI8L3A+
People have different context and focus on different things dude, the universe doesn't revolve around you, especially since clearly it revolves around me. :3
The first few episodes are terribly paced, but once you get past that I was on the edge of my seat going "Fuck Yeah Lucy, Fuck that mother fucker up".
I don't yell at my anime often.
But as to Nyu detracting from the emotional impact...
Spoiler: Click to ViewPHA+d2hpY2ggSSBzdXBwb3NlIGlzIGtpbmQgb2YgdHJ1ZSBpZiB5b3UgY29uc2lkZXIgaGVyIHN1cHBsZW1lbnRhbCB0byBMdWN5LiBJIGNvbnNpZGVyZWQgaGVyIGFub3RoZXIgZW50aXR5IHNoYXJpbmcgdGhlIHNhbWUgaGVhZCBzcGFjZSBhcyBMdWN5LCBhbmQgYXMgdGhlIHN0b3J5IHByb2dyZXNzZWQgeW91IHNlZSBOeXUgZ2FpbiBoZXIgb3duIHBlcnNvbmFsaXR5IChJIHRoaW5rIG9mIGhlciBha2luIHRvIFl1a2kgTmFnYXRvJ3MgZW1vdGlvbmFsIGRldmVsb3BtZW50IG9ubHkgMyB0aW1lcyBhcyBmYXN0IGFuZCB3aXRoIGRpZmZlcmVudCB0cmFpdHMpIGJ1dCBzaGUgYWxzbyBkaW1pbmlzaGVkIGFzIEx1Y3kgYmVjYW1lIG1vcmUgZG9taW5hbnQuPC9wPgo8cD5JIGZvdW5kIGl0IGluY3JlZGlibHkgc2FkIHRvIHRoaW5rIHRoYXQgdGhpcyBwdXJlIHNwaXJpdCB3YXMgZ29pbmcgdG8gZ2V0IHN3YWxsb3dlZCB1cCBieSBMdWN5LCBhbmQgdGh1cyBtYWRlIG1lIHJlYWxseSBwaXNzZWQgb2ZmIGF0IHRoZSBvcmdhbmlzYXRpb248L3A+
...In short, if you think of Nyu the right way she is quite an interesting and emotionally driven character, but I guess she's not for everyone.
But the thing with the cousin... I never ended up checking it out, and I'm inclined not to think that its true as I pass the Otakus test and I've never heard of it but... Is that cool in Japan? 'Cause um, yeah... that was... weird
See, I want to believe that, but Nyu's personality develops as a result of her being the fanservice character--she's literally designed to be a character so naive and uninformed that flopping her breasts out or stripping naked couldn't be a bad thing, so away she goes. Even when she does grow some real character
fairly important spoilers to the show insidePHA+KGFzIHRoZSByZW1uYW50IG9mIEx1Y3kgdGhhdCBsaWtlZC9sb3ZlZCBLb3RhIGluIGhlciB5b3V0aCk8L3A+
, it's contingent on Kota playing responsible to her naked-prone innocence, and him showing affection towards her in a non-sexual way (remaining true to his character, at least). She has significantly more character towards the end, before Lucy really takes over, when the fanservice and random, nonsequitur nakedness more or less cease. I like Nyu, but she would be much improved without the "she's innocent and naive, so she should get naked!" parts.
It does get better, but the tits and gore are still the major focus of this show. If the first five minutes didn't do anything for you, the series probably isn't for you.
Edit: Lucy's backstory is really damn sad. I'd say it's worth watching for those emotional moments.
Casual Shinji: Elfen Lied has... something about it, but I wouldn't call it actually good. Honestly, the best thing about it is the opening and the music.
If you don't like emotional manipulation you should probably stop watching right now though, because Elfen Lied doesn't simply tug at your heart strings it jerks them off.
There's puppies in it, too.
Pretty much this. I don't like the anime version; it feels incomplete (and not just due to the lack of the second half of the story). also, It has shitty voice acting. The Manga version has better character development, which makes the character deaths more meaningful, which is why you'd view this in the first place.
thebobmaster: After hearing about it as a bit of a cult show, I decided to check out Elfin Lied. Honestly, I got a bit bored with it about 18 minutes into the first episode. It just really doesn't seem to have anything going plotwise. I mean, this girl breaks out of a place where she's apparently held prisoner, gets nearly killed, and turns up on a beach in front of a guy and his cousin, who take her in.
There just seems to be no connection to the plot points at all. I mean, she seems child-like when the two take her in, but the intro seems to show she's anything but innocent.
I suppose what I'm asking is, for anyone who has seen it, is this one of the shows that is actually really good later on, or is it just one of those shows that got popular for being "mature" and "adult"?
Edit: Also, I'm a pretty big anime fan, so nothing about the superpowers or anything like that is turning me off. I'm just finding it a bit dull and plotless.
I'm just going to point out that if you watch the first 18 minutes of most anime the plot will not make sense. If you can make sense of the plot of Higurashi, Shiki, Ga-Rei Zero, Eureka7, Akira, or even Ghost in the Shell after the first episode or 18 minutes, then you have godlike powers. Just stick with it, I won't say it's the best anime out there but there is certainly more to it then the first 18 minutes.
I don't think you can 'get it' if you don't want to. Your so called 'cult show' doesn't need your approval.
If you don't like something right away, it's tough to get into it. That's understandable.
If you can't get into Elfin Lied right away... go do something else. Do yourself that favor.