Elfen Lied
| Elfen Lied | |
| File:233x512 ElfenLied.jpeg Lucy/Nyū | |
| Genre | Horror, Drama, Ecchi |
|---|---|
| Anime | |
| Directed by | Mamoru Kanbe |
| Studio | VAP |
Elfen Lied (エルフェンリート) is a manga and anime series by author Lynn Okamoto (岡本倫 Okamoto Lynn). The manga is published in Japan by Shueisha. The actual anime itself was was developed by executive director Mamoru Kanbe. The story contains excessive nudity and a great deal of blood and gore, as well as psychological violence. The television series ran for 13 episodes (which aired in 2004 and was released on DVD by ADV Films in the United States. A single 24 minutes OVA episode was also released. It takes place between episode 10 and 11 of the original TV series, and for that reason, some refer to it as episode 10.5, OVA special, or even as episode 14. It's uncertain if ADV Films plans on releasing the OVA ep 14 or if another company will license it in the US.
The title is originally German (see below), and pronounced approximately [ˈɛlfən ˈliːt] (the second word has a long e and rhymes with reed).
Story
The story involves human mutants called "diclonius", who have horns on their heads and possess powerful killing tools called vector arms. "Vectors", or (invisible "arms"), can stretch and easily slice through bodies, or grab objects and propel them at great speeds at targets outside their reach.
The tendency towards violence varies amongst characters, but in all cases are only directed towards humans, mostly prompted by rejection. Scientists contain them in cells, where they are subjected to inhumane experiments to test their abilities, or await execution for being too dangerous. An infectious virus is also associated with the mutation.
The main non-mutant character in the story, Kouta, ends up becoming more involved with these diclonius as they seek refuge from the scientists. There is also a theory, implicitly posed in the series, that diclonius are capable of infecting normal humans, and one character even states that a single diclonius could make certain that there are more diclonius than humans born within five years.
The main setting of the story is the city of Kamakura in the Kanagawa Prefecture of Japan.
Characters
Kouta: Kouta is the main character of the series. Kouta enters the story when Yuka's family rents him an inn as long as he maintains it, and begins living there. Kouta has traumatic memories of the deaths of his father and sister, which he has repressed, causing him to forget many events from his childhood.
Lucy/Nyu: Lucy is a diclonius girl. She has four vectors, with a limited range of two meters, but she can be swiftly lethal within that range, and will additionally use inanimate objects as high velocity projectiles to kill at a greater distance. She is also capable of stopping or deflecting most standard ammunition. Lucy hates humans mainly because of how she was treated by her human peers as a child, and consequently discounts them as non-humans, causing her to lack empathy, kill without much concern, and occasionally act somewhat sadistic. Nonetheless, her capacity for love (both romantic and for friends) is integrated throughout the OVA.
Nyu is a split personality of Lucy, possibly created from brain damage caused by, what some believe to be, a .50 caliber anti-tank armor piercing bullet ricocheting off her head. Nyu has a child-like personality and infantile knowledge of the world, and even lacks spoken language skills. Nyu is lovable, innocent and incapable of violent acts, an antithesis to the normal Lucy; she is the manifestation of her 'good side'. When Nyu is attacked violently (or hit on the head), she will regress into Lucy; likewise, when Lucy is treated with love and kindness, she will uncontrollably switch back into Nyu, showing a Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde complex. Lucy and Nyu are both in love with Kouta.
- Note: nyū (or more commonly gyūnyū) means "milk" in Japanese. The character is called "Nyu" because, when Kouta and Yuka first meet Lucy on the beach, this is the only "word" she can say (this is briefly explained in the manga).
Yuka: Cousin of Kouta and lives with him at the inn. She is also in love with Kouta, and is therefore somewhat jealous of Kouta's attention to Nyu.
Mayu: A young girl 13-14 years of age, abandoned by her mother and a victim of sexual abuse. Mayu is typically accompanied by a small puppy whom she found and christened Wanta. She later ends up in the care of Kouta and Youka.
Nana: A young diclonius girl 13-14 years of age. Unlike many other diclonius she is not homicidal or sadistic. Although her vector power is slightly superior to Lucy's in terms of range and certain abilities, she lacks the strength of the latter and her empathy for humans and others does not allow her to fight as vigorously and she loses her arms and legs when she is viscously dismembered by Lucy, (see Mayhem). With her vector arms, she is able to manipulate her prosthetic appendages. Nana was test subject number 7 in the diclonius containment complex (note that nanatsu means "seven" in Japanese).
Bandou: An operative for the National Police Agency's Special Assault Team. Though he is fully human, he is as homicidal and un-empathetic to other people as diclonius are. After being maimed by Lucy and repaired with bionic, cybernetic and prosthetic implants, he escapes on a quest for revenge, but he becomes sidetracked by a series of unexpected events, particulary hunting down the diclonious threat.
Kurama: Director over research of the diclonius children in the containment center. He is also the surrogate father of Nana. His wife died from Caesarean section complications shortly after she gave birth to a diclonius child. Instead of having his only child killed he has arranged to have it imprisoned instead of being a test subject.
Mariko: Mariko is a young diclonius girl 5-7 years of age; she possesses 26 vectors, each with an approximate range of 11 meters. Mariko was imprisoned as an infant and raised inside a steel container with human contact consisting of nothing more than speakers and monitors. Despite the environment she was raised in, she is relatively well developed psychologically, and her impairment is shown by her inability to use her atrophied limbs. She is extremely homicidal and sadistic, and enjoys torturing and dismembering her victims. Her personality is not blatantly evil and she is relatively child-like in manner and thought process. She seems unaware of the wrongfulness of her homicidal acts, and the pleasure she gets from it is equivalent to a child playing with toys.
Kanae: Kanae is Kouta's young sister. She is jealous, protective of her brother and does not like when other girls are friendly with him. Kouta cares about her very much, but repressed much of his memory regarding her untimely death.
Artwork in the anime series
The opening sequence features shots of characters in the anime. The settings these characters are in are based on Gustav Klimt's paintings. There is a clear evidence of the cited references in the following comparison, where left side of the image shows Klimt's work, and on the right side, Elfen Lied's counterpart:
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The German song Elfenlied ("Elf Song") appears in the manga (volume 5, p.154) and it is credited to the composer Hugo Wolf. The song doesn't appear in the anime. Wolf's lied is based on a poem by Eduard Mörike which is as given below.
- Bei Nacht im Dorf der Wächter rief: Elfe!
- Ein ganz kleines Elfchen im Walde schlief
- wohl um die Elfe!
- Und meint, es rief ihm aus dem Tal
- bei seinem Namen die Nachtigall,
- oder Silpelit hätt' ihm gerufen.
- Reibt sich der Elf' die Augen aus,
- begibt sich vor sein Schneckenhaus
- und ist als wie ein trunken Mann,
- sein Schläflein war nicht voll getan,
- und humpelt also tippe tapp
- durch's Haselholz in's Tal hinab,
- schlupft an der Mauer hin so dicht,
- da sitzt der Glühwurm Licht an Licht.
- »Was sind das helle Fensterlein?
- Da drin wird eine Hochzeit sein:
- die Kleinen sitzen bei'm Mahle,
- und treiben's in dem Saale.
- Da guck' ich wohl ein wenig 'nein!«
- Pfui, stößt den Kopf an harten Stein!
- Elfe, gelt, du hast genug?
- Gukuk!
Music in the anime series
The opening theme song, Lilium, is based on several biblical passage and the hymn Ave mundi spes Maria (Hail Mary, Hope of the World) in Latin (and a couple of words in Greek). The lyric and melody are authored by Kayo Konishi and Yukio Kondou, after being requested to make the song like a Gregorian chant. The lyric as appearing in the booklet of the anime's original soundtrack CD album are as given below (those in brackets are words from the saint version):
- Os iusti meditabitur sapientiam
- Et lingua eius loquetur iudicium (Psalmi 36:30)
- Beatus vir qui suffert tentationem
- Quoniam cum probatus fuerit accipiet coronam vitae (Iacobi 1:12)
- {Kyrie, fons bonitatis}
- Kyrie, Ignis Divine, Eleison
- {O quam sancta, quam serena, quam benigna
- Quam amoena esse virgo creditur.}
- O quam sancta, quam serena, quam benigna
- Quam amoena O castitatis lilium
Translation:
- The mouth of the Just shall meditate wisdom
- And his tongue shall speak judgement (Psalm 37:30)
- Blessed is the man that endureth temptation
- For when he hath been proved he shall receive a crown of life (James 1:12)
- {Lord, fountain of holiness}
- Lord, Fire Divine, have mercy
- {O how holy, how serene, how benign
- How pleasant, is this virgin who believeth!}
- O how holy, how calm, how benign
- How pleasant, O lily of purity
Sub-topics
Elfen Lied deals with human evolution, both humans and diclonius regard each other as an expendible, dehumanized mistake. However, an important aspect of the series involves relationships between primary caregivers and human love in general - which were gradually revealed to exist between the dicloniuses and the humans towards end of the series, when both come to the accept difficult understanding that they are both indeed human, though there are distinct differences between them. The main drive of the diclonius is the propagation of their superior traits through the destruction of the human race. This homicidal drive can arise as early as the 3rd year of a diclonius's life. Many diclonius do not consider normal Homo sapiens "human"; this apparently stems from their very distinctive characteristics which in turn caused them to be rejected by fellow humans.
The story also deals with the issues of psychological trauma and repressed memories. The main diclonius character, Lucy, has a split personality, one of them infantile (Nyu), and the other (Lucy) adult, full of painful memories and a solemn, murderous hatred towards normal humans (or more specifically, towards those associated with Kurama driven by revenge). Kouta suffers from repressed memories / amnesia after his sister Kanae and father die.
Episode List
MAIN SERIES
- Encounter
- Annihilation
- In The Innermost
- Attack
- Receipt
- Innermost Feelings
- Chance Encounter
- Beginning
- Reminisence
- Infant
- Blending
- Quagmire
- No Return
OVA SPECIAL
- Rain Shower
It should be noted that the OVA special takes place before the final episodes of the main series, and the special itself does little to advance the story or answer the questions left after the final episode of Elfen Lied.
External links
- エルフェンリート— Official site (in Japanese)
- Interlaced + Elfen Lied Review/Image Gallery
- Autumn Leaf: Elfen Lied Journey (in Japanese)
- ElfenLied (Elf Song) Contains Eduward Mörike's poem ElfenLied.
- Official ADV Web site
- Smashed Ice // Elfen Lied English information site with images and screen captures.