ShadowKnight508 (Level 19)

Welcome, my fellow AnimeVice followers, to this my 3rd official blog review here on AnimeVice. Today, I will be discussing the dark, twisted anime known as Elfen Lied (2004). Like in previous blog reviews for Kampfer and Sora no Otoshimono, this review will be kept as spoiler-free as possible, but for whatever spoilers that do appear in my review, they will once again be hidden away behind the "Spoiler Warning" banner. In Part One of my review, I will look into the plot, give detailed notes regarding the main and supporting characters within Elfen Lied, and explore the logic behind the dark, sadistic story that will hopefully better understand this dark anime. Enjoy!

1. The Plot (Beginning)

The main plot of Elfen Lied revolves around several characters, most notably around the main human character Kouta and the Diclonius Lucy in the town of Kamakura, Japan. The story begins deep within a secret military research base located on a small island outside the town of Kamakura. In this top-secret research lab, the military are holding several examples of a new genetic strain of the human race, simply known as Diclonius, prisoners to serve as living test subjects. 
 

And thus begins the dark, twisted adventures that ensnare Kouta, Yuka, and the rest of the characters of Elfen Lied.

2. Main/Supporting Characters (Mainly Spoiler-Free)

During the duration of the anime, Nyu (and her other personality Lucy) comes to know and befriend many various characters as well as make several bitter enemies along the way. Listed below are the main characters and supporting characters that make an appearance within Elfen Lied.  
 
1a. Lucy: The slender, teenage Diclonius who attempts to and successfully escapes from the military reasearch in the beginning of the anime. She has the appearance of a normal 18-year old girl, although she is different due to the two small "horn-like" protrusions that stick out from the top of her head. She personally harbors a strong hatred and loathing of all humans, due to the way they have treated her her whole life (especially when she was a child, when her fellow peers would endlessly tease her and torment her about the two horns that stick out from her head). She is a cold, heartless individual who does not show any sympathy or empathy towards those she kills, fueled by her sadistic behavior towards others. Being a Diclonius, she has access to special abilities such as the use of four telekinetic arms called vectors (invisible to the human eye with a range of 2 meters) and a special force field that can deflect most ammunition fired at her. 
 
1b. Nyu: After being shot in the head by the .50 Cal shot from the BMG Sniper Rifle, Lucy reverts to a second, new personality that is very childlike and infantile to others in nature. She does not have access to the powers that her other personality Lucy has, and has seemed to forget altogether that she is a Diclonius at all. She is very innocent in behavior and can only say a limited amount of words (such as "Nyu" or "Kouta"). However, whenever she is threatened with violence or hits her head hard enough, she quickly reverts to her other personality Lucy.
 
 
 
2. Kouta: The main male character of Elfen Lied, Kouta currently lives with his cousin Yuka in the town of Kamakura, Japan in a closed-down inn/restaurant rented by Yuka's parents. He attends classes at the Kamakura University with his cousin, and spends his days trying to enjoy a normal life. Having suffered the extremely traumatic loss of both his younger sister and his father when he was young (the resulting trauma resulted in Kouta being sent to a psychiatric ward for more than a full year to be helped deal with his sorrow), he is very sympathetic and generous towards all of the girls that he meets and that are around him, for he can relate to their issues and they also remind him of his late sister, Kanae. He suffers from amnesia regarding the loss of his father and sister, and instead thinks that they both died from a severe illness. 
 


3. Yuka: The caring, compassionate cousin of Kouta, Yuka currently lives with him in a old, closed-down inn/restaurant that her parents have rented out for the two of them. Although they are related, she develops feelings for him, perhaps related to the loss of his family when he was young. She becomes quite irritable and jealous whenever Kouta shows attention and feelings for Nyu, who moves in with them at the inn after Kouta brings her home from the beach. She possesses a deeply caring side along with a high level of maturity, and cares for both Nyu and Mayu.
  



4. Mayu: A young homeless girl who at first lives on the beach with her puppy Wanta, Mayu ran away from her past home to escape a terrible stepfather and a dysfunctional mother who never bothered caring for her. She is first introduced after finding Kouta's umbrella that he had left on the beach (after taking Nyu under his wing and helping her home to the inn) and returns it to the inn. She survives on her own by sustaining off of the spare bread scraps that the kind people at the local bakery offer to her every night, but after the bakery gets shut down, she accepts the offers to stay at the inn with Kouta, Yuka, and Nyu. She is very friendly towards other, and sees Yuka and Kouta as proper mother and father figures in her life.
 
 

5. Nana: A fellow Diclonius along with Lucy at the secret military research lab, Nana (also known as Number 7, her number at the research facility and what her name in Japanese means) is sent out to locate Lucy and report her location at all costs by Director Kakuzawa and her "adoptive" father Kurama. She has the appearance of a 12 to 14 year old girl due to her being a Diclonius, even though she is really around the age of six or seven. Kurama "adopts" her and thinks of her as his own daughter, showing compassion and providing a emotional crutch for Nana after she is subjected to horrifying tests by the researchers at the facility. Nana thinks of Kurama as her father, calling him "Papa" and always endures through the many tests and trials performed on her, wanting to make him proud to have her as his daughter. Compared to Lucy (who is cold and sadistic towards everyone), she is very kind towards others and friendly to Kouta and Yuka when she comes across them later on in the anime. Being a Diclonius, she too possesses the same powers that Lucy has, but her vectors have a much farther reach (5 meters) and has certain abilities that Lucy does not have.  

5. Bando: A tough, take-no-excuses member of the SAT (Special Assault Task-Force) who is originally sent out to search for Lucy's current location and to kill her on sight, no questions asked. He loves the thrill of killing people, so much so that is is a perfect canidate to lead the SAT assault team in the hunt for Lucy. He is severely maimed and left to die upon the beach after his men are attacked by Lucy, who re-appears to slaughter them after they attack her Nyu personality and trigger the change. Later, with the help of Kurama, he is able to walk again with the help of bionic, prosthetic, and cybernetic limbs and implants to escape his cell and to search for Lucy to enact his revenge upon her. 
 
 
6. Kurama: The chief research director at the secret military research base and the surrogate father of Nana, Kurama leads the efforts to study and better understand the dozen or so Diclonius that are being held within the facility. Spared by Lucy in the first episode of the anime, he focuses his efforts into recapturing her, helping a special forces agent by the name of Bondo, and supporting his surrogate daughter Nana. He has never been the same since his wife died while giving birth to their daughter, who ended up having some serious issues at birth. He is proud of Nana and is there to act as a emotional crutch to help ease her suffering. 
  
 
 
 
 

3. The Diclonius (The Logic)

It is believed that the emergence of the Diclonius are a direct evolutionary step up in the development of humans. As seen with Lucy and Nana, they look like your average pre-teen and teenage girls, the exception to this logic is the two small "horn-like" protrusions that stick up out of the top of their heads. It is believed that the two horns represent the overall powers of the Diclonius in question, and that knocking off one or both of them could have devastating effects upon them. 
 
This concludes Part One of my Elfen Lied Review....check out Part Two tomorrow night! n_n