- ABOUT -
Elfen Lied (エルフェンリート
Erufen Rīto) is a Japanese manga series created by manga author
Lynn Okamoto. A thirteen-episode anime television series adaptation based on the manga was produced by the studio ARMS, and broadcast on
TV Tokyo from July to October 2004; the anime was later licensed in North America on
DVD by
ADV Films. The anime started before the manga was complete; as a result, the plot differed between the two, especially towards the ending of the story. In 2005, a special
original video animation, written to occur between the tenth and eleventh episodes of the series, was released. The title is literally
German for "Elves Song", or more properly translated, "Song of the Elves" and takes its name from the poem
Elfenlied and the German
lied, a classical-romantic poem or musical work.
Elfen Lied revolves around the race of
Diclonius, a
mutant human species identified by two cat-ear-like horns and transparent "vectors", and the ways in which the humans abuse and reject them as part of society, instead seizing them for storage and experimentation in an offshore laboratory. The series is centered around the teenage Diclonius girl "
Lucy", said to be the first Diclonius, becoming
sadistic as a result of her vengeance and delivering it on the humans who rejected her.
Elfen Lied involves themes of
social alienation,
identity,
revenge and the value of
humanity. The series employs
graphic violence and nudity, especially the graphic opening sequence of the first episode. So far, only the thirteen-episode anime series has been licensed in the United States, by
ADV Films and in Australia, by
Madman Entertainment. ADV Films said the series was one of their bestselling and "most notorious" releases of 2005.
- PLOT -
The story is based around the
Diclonius, a species of mutant humans with two cat-ear like horns and
vectors,
telekinetically controlled arms which resonate at a frequency to the point in which they become transparent, and have the power to manipulate objects within their range. Most Diclonius seem to be girls; male Diclonius are rare throughout the whole series (first one being the Professor at Kohta's school as seen in the manga). In the anime the female Diclonius have uncommon hair and eye colors such as red and pink unlike regular humans who have brown, black, blond, and red hair. In the manga, their hair coloring can be as diverse as a normal human's (ex. Nana and Mariko have purple and blond hair, respectively, in the manga).
At the beginning of the series, Diclonius are being held for storage in a facility off the coast of
Kamakura in
Kanagawa, south of the city of
Yokohama, held by the scientist Kurama. The first of the Diclonius race, a teenage girl named by the staff as "
Lucy," escapes the factory stark naked (except for a metal helmet encasing her head) and, using her vectors to deflect gunfire, effortlessly kills the security guards and Kurama's clumsy secretary in her path. However, as she makes her way out of the facility, she is shot in the side of the head by an unnamed sniper armed with a .50 caliber rifle, breaking her metal helmet and causing her to fall into the sea.
The next morning, Kohta, a university-age school student, is moving to Kamakura to study in a university where he is reunited with his cousin Yuka. While reminiscing about his younger sister on a beach, who is later explained to have died "of an illness," he encounters the Diclonius, still naked and badly wounded in the head from the bullet round. She is somewhat helpless and, as a result of brain damage sustained from the bullet wound, is reduced to the knowledge and capability of an infant, only capable of saying the word "Nyu." Kohta and Yuka decide to take her with them, naming her "Nyu" as a result. Lucy very abruptly and dangerously switches to her dark side.
However, Lucy and her cold characteristics have not yet faded away; whenever she hits her head or when she is confronted with violence, she reverts to her sadistic side, and makes transitions between her two personalities throughout the series. Yuka, who is in love with Kohta, begins to envy the attention he gives to Nyu, remembering their relationship together as children, however Kohta is still anxious about finding out who Nyu really is.
Kohta, who is moving into the Kaede House (which was a traditional Japanese restaurant that was inhabited by previous generations) in Kamakura, puts Nyu under his care. Nyu, still helplessly dumbfounded, has no idea of who or where she is, however Kohta and Yuka believe that they can find out where Nyu belongs, and in the meantime, keep her safe. However, after Kohta gets angry at Nyu, she runs off back to the beach where she was found. The homeless girl Mayu and her dog encounter Nyu, and Kohta traces Nyu back to the beach, discovering that Kurama has organized a
Special Assault Team task force, led by Bando, a ruthless, cold-hearted soldier, and Nana, another Diclonius, to hunt her down. However, both of them are no match for Lucy, having their limbs ripped off by Lucy's vectors. Eventually, Kurama decides to take them back to Kamakura, Bando to find Lucy, and Nana to be released into the world contrary to the instructions given to Kurama to put her down.
Mayu and Nana both end up living in Kohta's household, where significant parts of their past come together. Kurama, having released Nana and Bando already and still failing to capture Lucy, resort to his last weapon - his daughter Mariko, a powerful Diclonius known as "#35," as a final attempt to dispose of Lucy, at the risk that she also create the same destruction on humans as her.
- SOUNDTRACK -
*
Elfen Lied Original Soundtrack
THEME SINGLES
* Elfen Leid OP Theme -
Lilium ~Extended Ver.~Mixed by : DarkJedi
*
Elfen Lied and Otogizoushi ED SingleArtist : Chieko Kawabe and Daisuke Kato
- VIDEO SERIES -.:.:.:.:.:.:.:. Episodes 1-13 plus Extra [Complete] .:.:.:.:.:.:.:.
Link:
http://groups.imeem.com/4uRirDaL/playlist/NfCc3qjd/elfen_lied_complete_video_playlist/ 
