Year of Release: 2005
Status: Completed
Story: Lynn Okamoto
Art: Lynn Okamoto
I originally watched this series for the first time back in 2008, when it was recommended to me by someone who wasn't really into anime. I was a little unsure at first, considering I like particular types of anime and someone who doesn't even watch anime recommending a title to me is a bit odd, I think. I gave it a try and was completely caught off guard by how freaking awesome it is, and how little you hear about it in the anime community, considering it spans across several genres.
ART SECTION: 9/10
General Artwork & Backgrounds 3/4: The backgrounds are quite well done in Elfen Lied. It reminds me of the same style of animation used for the backgrounds in Black Lagoon. Very tranquil backgrounds with exploding violence in the foreground. The general artwork isn't anything super extraordinary, but it's definitely eye-catching, to say the least.
Character Figures 2/2: The characters are very well designed. The attention to detail isn't on par with some other series I've seen (see: artist CLAMP), but that doesn't diminish the fact that the characters just have this uniqueness about them. You can't really look at a photo of a character from Elfen Lied and be like "hey, isn't that character from Black Cat?" No, no they are not, you dolt. If you watched any anime, you would know it's not even remotely the same.
Watchability (Flow) 4/4: I never got lost in the storyline, and I understood everything they presented the way it was meant to be understood. Kudos to the creator for being able to coherently present a story with so much detail and little confusion to follow.
STORY SECTION: 7/10
General Scenario 2/2: The storyline for this series is cray-cray. So much violence, blood, sadness, and anger condensed into a single series. You can feel the rage. If I were to ever praise a series for it's story telling, it would be this one, hands down, folks.
Pacing 2/2: I never once stopped to ask myself if I was wasting my time watching it, or wondered if there was something else I would like better. Once I saw the first 10 minutes of the first episode, I was hooked until I finished it all.
Side Stories 2/2: The only really notable side story in the anime is Lucy's backstory of her childhood, which ties in quite nicely with everything else. The issue is that you have to wait until nearly the end of the series to fully understand her backstory, since they reveal it in small pieces that don't fit anywhere until later on. It was, however, very well written (as far as side stories go).
Plausibility 0/2: Man, this shit could never happen in real life. If this could happen, the planet would implode because physics would no longer apply. And stuff.
Conclusion 1/2: I was slightly dissatisfied with the ending of the Elfen Lied anime, mainly because I have read the manga since I originally watched the anime. You definitely lose quite a bit in terms of story when you jam 107 manga chapters into a 13 episode anime series adaptation. They covered the important plot points, but left out a lot of the back story, even going as far to omit entire characters from the anime because they just couldn't find the time to introduce them or tell their stories, which is a little disappointing. In retrospect, I feel they should have been included, but I understand why they weren't in the end.
VALUE & ENJOYMENT SECTION: 10/10
I bought this series on DVD the first chance I got after I finished watching it. Then, a couple month later, I bought the Special Edition DVD of it. I think I have 3 copies of it now, honestly. It's just that good, guys. I find I watch it in it's entirety about 2 times a year, minimum, and it never gets old. Finding a series with such an inexhaustible ability to bring you joy is a good series indeed.
VERDICT: 26/30
I won't be a nag and tell you consistently to watch this, because if you don't want to, you won't. I understand that. However, I have one last argument to try and sway you:
SUGGESTION LIST
Higurashi When They Cry
Lunar Legend Tsukihime
Black Lagoon
Gurren Lagann
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