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Description
Some Information Obtained: The story involves human mutations called "dicloniuses," who grow horns on their heads and possess telekinetic powers, in the form of invisible "arms" called vectors.
The tendency for violence among dicloniuses varies among characters. Certain scientists contain them in a Facility in cells, where they are subject to inhumane experiments to test their abilities or where they await execution for being too dangerous.
An infectious virus is also associated with the mutation. This virus is spread through non-lethal contact with the vectors of a diclonius.
The main non-mutant character in the story is Kouta, who ends up becoming increasingly involved with these dicloniuses, as they seek refuge from the scientists.
The main diclonius character is Lucy/Nyuu, a killer whose alter ego is a hapless and very cute child whose vocabulary and intelligence are quite limited.
After a large amount of choice occurrences, the lives of these two characters become inexplicably intertwined.
Type
Manga
Related Series
N/A
Associated Names
Эльфийская песнь エルフェンリート 妖精的旋律 變異體少女 Elfenlied Elven Song
Well, I usually don't read Manga with so much Blood and echii, but with this one I gave it a try, and I don't regret it. This is truly the most tragedic manga I've read, really,... .On top of that, my fav char, Lucy/Nyuu has a sad ending, made me cry for 15 mins T_T. But then, I still think that this one is much better than the cr4ps I'm reading right now. A happy ending for almost everyone. I give it a 9 ^.^
So many years after the anime, I found again this manga in a dark & forgotten corner of my computer. I was afraid to read it, because that could have kill my wonderful memories about the anime. But I'm lucky I readed it
Even though the ending was a real tearjerker the manga as a whole was pretty darn good. The drawings take sme getting used to but it turned out to be well worth reading. Highly recommended for those who enjoy action/gore/drama.
The first time I read Elfenlied was quite a few years back. I was young and this series might have been my first seinen manga with lots of bloody gore and way too much ecchi. Which I wasn't quite ready for and thus my parting point with Elfenlied was the the beginning of v2 when dear Lucy seemed to have killed that sweet dog. (which she didn't do)
Now, after reading quite a bit of seinen, horror and mature mangas I have tried Elfenlied again - and was shocked by the art O_o But I still didn't stop reading and finished this series in one go. The art improves greatly after a few volumes and there's - like I already suspected - quite a lot of drama and lots of blood! Blood, Gore and ripped limbs - be assured, they play quite a big part. The plot was also interesting and I have to say that it was quite an entertaining trip. But it's far from a masterpiece. While there were so many emotions - and don't forget the DRAMA - connected to the girls, it wasn't like that with the male lead. He was "nice" but all in all, he just didn't seem to have much personality. He was lacking even compared to the other male characters. The plot didn't make up for it in any way. Of course there were aspects that were interesting - there are 12 volumes after all - but it was quite drawn out with many characters that only added drama.
But I still enjoyed reading it. I recommend it to everyone who loves DRAMA, lots of gore and lovely looking girls with killing intention. (and let's not forget the fanservice)
I abosolutely loved this manga...and then I got to chapter 7 (I think)....the problem is
Spoiler (mouse over to view)
many of the "evil" characters turn out good. "well, whats wrong with that?: you ask "isnt that a great plot twist? well, 2 pts 1) the mangaka uses this "plot twist" sooooo many times that the story line practicalt becomes a pretzel-its just reeaally irritating after a while 2) many of the evil characters that turned good-realy ARE evil and no amount of "oh its not his fault" fluff takes that point away-certainly not when this is guy number 7 who was evil and seen the light.
this also affects the believability of the characters immensely. take for example this doctor who experimented on the creatures. terrible right? well, it just so happens that one of the creatures that he experimented on falls in love with him...not because he complained or did anything contrary to his superiors -but because his eyes looked pained...as he flipped the switch to shoot a poison laced 200lb metal ball at her chest.awww how romantic.
other than my very large rant, if you can get past the repetitveness of the characters as well as their questionable believabilty, then you should be able to enjoy a pretty original manga with an engrossing plot.
Wow. This series made me want to cry and if you know me that is almost impossible. I've been told I'm scary but this made me teary eye. I wonder who the two girls are, maybe she implanted her psyche into two girls. What ever happened to the perfect demon boy? This all besides the point. If you finish this you are lucky and read a great manga.
You can't simply describe this series as 'good' or 'bad'. Like the characters themselves, whether it's acceptable or not depends heavily on your point of view.
The characters in this story are mostly psychotic, and irrational to the extremes so what happens might or might not make any sense to you. You could even say they're all idiots, and undoubtedly they all paid for that one moment of hesitation. You must have seen a lot of stories where people are supposed to forgive and sympathize with a girl who's born with unwanted supernatural powers that threaten normal people, and a happy ending is achieved. Well,
Spoiler (highlight to view)
the aesop from this story is that you're supposed to shoot her in the face. Multiple times. Along with anyone who tries to defend her. As buddhism tells you, a man who commits murders and then tries to save others in the end must still go to hell (which is not eternal) to pay for his crime before he can be rewarded in heaven. You wonder why no one in this fictional Japan is familiar with that concept.
Like any other stories, its begin well. As its develops, its just show more and more ecchi scenes. (not saying its not good) However as the story proceed towards the end, tragedy scenes starts to comes in.
The art is above average. (Judging from the year, it's drawn.)
Elfen Lied is bad. I have enough objectivity to see this. Art, story, characters, depth ... it's all rubbish.
That aside, it's also entertaining, and throws up enough illusion of story, characters, and depth to fake it. It should be read for the badass posing and unsettling imagery. Just let all the shonky parts bounce off your brain and cheer whenever Lucy takes control to tear everything apart.
There are crater sized plot holes and a great deal of stuff that makes absolutely no sense. Just roll with it - it's one of those things that has to be accepted for what it is.
I don't understand why the overall score for this manga is so high.
Artwork The artwork is below average, nothing special going on there... true, it get's better over time, yet it still remains subpar. Especially in the first volume facial expressions were a luxury.
Fanservice Since I have a general dislike of fanservice of any kind I won't bore you to much with this. Simply said, there is too much senseless nudity completely unrelated to the story and it is adding nothing. Is it too much trouble to simply slap some rags on those nude 'slaves'. Clothes do serve a function you know... And not just for modesty.
Characters I'm assuming the 'protagonists' of the story are Kouta and Nyuu since those two are the most recurring and appear to be the 'good guys'. Sadly, because they don't get enough 'screentime' and give any sense that they are 'telling the story' or the 'focus of the story', I'm unsure about that. There are lots of references to Nyuu/Lucy and most flasbacks involve her, yet no explanation to who she is and more important why is fore-coming. Knowing more about her past does not change my impression or understanding of her. Also, as also mentioned by others, there is pretty much no character development and any changes in the characters are brought through a convenient excuse called 'split-personality'. The antagonist is nothing special: cruel, twisted, makes no sense, has a superiority complex and primarily uses minions to do the work (which all pretty much fail horribly and get killed).
Depth There has been some attempt to add depth to characters (mostly through flashbacks)... alas, this changes nothing and does not help to 'understand' the characters better.
Story The story itself is pretty generic and offers no originality
Spoiler (highlight to view)
Yet another 'Kill all humans, create a new race and rule the world' story
Also, no explanation about what these so called 'diclonius' actually are, where they came from and how the world is reacting to them is given... Which would seem pretty crucial to me in understanding the story, some of the plot twists and ultimately the characters. I understand this manga focuses mostly on gore and violence... Yet no reason why is offered. (and please stop with the sappy/crappy 'cruel youth' flashbacks). If the whole 'kill all humans' part is justified by a few flashbacks that indicate bullying in the past I'm even more disappointed, this could have been done much better.
All in all, waste of time that could have been much better spent... like by banging my head against the wall, same degree of entertainment (none) and annoyance (much) but at least I'd have gotten some exercise.
If you like Naruto / Bleach / One Piece or any other of those senseless shounen manga's this is probably pretty much up your ally... at least whilst waiting for the next chapter of any other manga. If, like me, you don't. Just skip it... there are many other manga out there that at least offer some sense of fulfilment.
You still want to know what happens and what not... Watch the anime, or skip random chapters (seriously you won't miss anything).
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