Humanity as we know it will soon enter a transition into a new breed. Humans will soon enough disappear and Diclonius will become its replacement. Or so that is what is expected. But for now, humans still remain dominant while Diclonius begin to be spawned and born from humans. But our story begins with the return of Kouta with Yuka (his female cousin...biologically i dont think so) waiting for this day. Meanwhile Lucy, our main character, escapes from captivity where she has undergone years of torture and testing because of being a Diclonius. Having been almost killed, Lucy is washed ashore of the beaches meeting Kouta and Yuka. However, it is not Lucy, but rather Nyuu (the pure and innocence) that greets them. Seeing the horns that determines being a Diclonius (but unaware of its meaning) they take her in and house her. This though, marks only the beginning of what is to come. Undergoing pursuits and the past and love as well, what is to become of the people that they encounter and what is the fate of the characters that have come to accept Lucy?

Kouta - 8years has passed since the incident. And because of that incident Kouta has supressed that memory and any events that occured around that time. Having lost his father and younger sister to this incident, Kouta now resides helping those in need in hopes to one day make up for his actions towards his sister during the finals moments. Lucy - the dark and murderous side of this character lives to one day apologize to Kouta for what she has done. Being captured and tested and tormented, her purpose was to become the mother of all Diclonius. However she cares nothing for it and has come to reject humanity...however Kouta will become the key to bring her back. Nyuu - the pure and innocent side of Lucy that she has repressed since childhood. After escape, Lucy feel unconscious and the innocence awoken, thus Nyuu. She is the joy and happiness of Lucy that you will see when Lucy reminisces about her childhood. Nana - Assigned to capture Lucy, Nana failed in her mission and was to be terminated. However, Director Kurama would not see to it as he sees her as the daughter he lost. Nana is put in a pod and ends up back at the shore near Lucy's current position. Kurama advises her to continue her life and live happily. No more no less. Mayu - Running away from her family, Mayu was taken in by Kouta and Yuka, Mayu now lives with them and Nyuu. She also brings in Nana in hopes of helping her live a better life as well. Yuka - She loves Kouta. She has been waiting for Kouta for 8yrs and is glad to finally see him back. But she feels rejected somehow. She knows who her heart belongs to...but is afraid of admitting it.

The OP sets the mood quite nicely. The ED sounds kinda punkish at the beginning but it expresses the lighter side of the story. Background music fit quite nicely...along with body tearing apart sounds.

For something so violent, the animation made it look a little childish. But it doesnt take away anything from the series and story. If anything the lighter side fits the animation quite well and makes it feel like...happy. But when the darker and more violent side of the series take place...you can see the transition.

This series is extremely violent. It has far exceeded the violence of any series I have seen. If you can't stomach humans being literally cut in half or torn apart...do not i repeat DO NOT watch this. If you can you'll enjoy this series. If you love violence and gore along with humor its a pretty good series. A light and dark is literally detectable. Its one of my favorites now and I'm hoping for a second series or an OVA to finish it up. The ending just left far too much possibilities and potential to not be wrapped up.

I quite enjoyed the combination of bloodshed, cruelty, nudity, comedy, love and sadness, and the inconclusive ending was fine with me. I love the Lilium song, but loathe the ending theme since it never seemed to fit the series. As much as the series thrived on contrasts I really don't get what they were thinking with that song. And while I haven't watched that much anime (such as Chobits for instance), I did recognize the "boy surrounded by females" syndrome from Tenchi Muyo. But at least Kouta is refreshingly free of special powers, so I'd say that Elfen Lied is original enough for my taste. I give it a 10 mostly because of the emotional impact, but also because of the story and the way it was executed. At some points the sadness turned into comedy as the hardships that some characters had to endure were quite over the top, but I don't consider that to be a bad thing.

after ive seen elfen lied i can really say that it counts to my fav animes if its not even the best ive ever seen. This serie shows up a lot of dark dramatic life stories. the whole uglyness in human nature is shown and you can see how the bad behaviour of other can change a peronality. Lucy one of the main chars has allways been bullied because she is different because of her horns. its even sad to see whats happening to her.later on she lives like a lobor rat in a cage with all tortures happening on her.but she can escape making use of her telekinetikal abilities killing all the guards.she now has a split personality(one is the murder (lucy)the other is like a child who cant even speak(nyu)) so nyu meets koata the one and only best friend from her childhood. they live together but doesnt know that they know each other from before. the story is build up very well.with all the flashbacks you slowly see why lucy is so evil killing everyone and why kouta has lost his memories. it has a GREAT plot,very dramatic and sad but also bloody and it contains a bit too much nudity for my taste.maybe thats the reason why elfen lied is no match in popularity to animes like Naruto or FMA. its a bit hard say tell how fantastic this anime is without spoiling everything. the ending is great romantic and sad but also it leaves too many questions and details open. its a bit like the ending of the first season with an ending good enough for a longer break, but not good enough to end the serie at this point. Most of those who seen elfen lied would kill for a secound season but most guess too that somehow there wont be one.(and the dvd special ova is only a filler and takes place somewhere after episode 10) all in all: +Great anime, sad, bloody, dramatic, great lot that developes very well, well implemnted flashbacks ,great chararcters/character-development(one of those animes u cant await for the download to finish to watch the next episode right away^^) -lots of nudeity(cute and funny but a little bit too much>destroys the serious aspect of the plot and the serie), great ending but leaves us staying in the rain with unanswered questions (everyones hoping for a sec season) only 13+1extra episodes( this anime is much too good to end after 13 eps:( .....

This anime is awesome. I just finished watching it, yeah I know, I'm a bit late, but still, this is one asskicking anime. There is much gore in it, and there's also one huge dramatic aspect, in my opinion. One crazy combination, but it turns out very good. I love this anime, I really do. Animation: Just great, like many others. The motion of it is very good, and so are the character design and the colours and such. Sound: Great, it fits right in this anime. The intro is a bit weird, but later on you'll understand why it is this way. And even though it is a bit weird, just like I said, it fitrs right in. Story: Awesome. It's so cool and original. I like how it is done, and even though the genre of this anime is action/horror, I still think drama is one huge aspect of the anime too. I even shed a few tears once. Character: Great, I love it how it is done, with all those dicloniuses. I also think that it's very cool done, without showing one's last name. It adds a bit mystery to it. Value: Great! I keep thinking about it, maybe it's just because I just finished it, but still, I know for sure that this anime will be in my mind for a long, long time. I might even consider buying the DVD's, when I have the money for it. Enjoyment: Superb, I laughed a couple of times, and shed some tears once. I really enjoyed watching this anime, and I'll surely watch it again some other time.

Elfen Lied is great! I couldn´t stop watching after episode 1, the story is exciting as hell! Clearly the best anime of 2004 and a must watch for everyone!

Elfen Lied story will play with your imagination and keep you on your toes, but most importantly, it will work up nerves you didn't even know existed. Although I would recommend that only our Mature viewers watch this one, because it contains nudity, incredibly detailed bloodshed, and variant romances (to the point of incest). For such a complicated story, 13 episodes did seem a little bit too short at first. But by the time I had finished watching all 13 of those episodes, I wasn't sitting by my computer thinking "why aren't there any more episodes". On the contrary, I felt the story couldn't of been executed and rapped up in a more better way. The musical score couldn't be any more creepy and fitting. The whole religiously medieval and Gothically deprived music may not be what you can imagine sitting down and humming to, but for one reason or another, you can't help but notice how well it contributes to the overall feel of Elfen Lied. Animation is superb; Production quality at best. The character design might be a little bit simple, but the backdrop and surroundings are incredibly drawn. You will sometimes feel that the anime is pushing you into another reality, just based on the level of quality put into every frame. I have to warn every one not to stop watching after the first couple of minutes, because it is misleading to do so. The series has a lot more to offer then what seems like mindless bloodshed.