anime review: elfen lied

elfen lied (meaning elf song in germany)

"we capture them, experimented with them them kill them and they are the monster?"
 

the anime begin with a bloodbath of a girl, escaping from the institution that held her captive. a sniper tried to kill her by shooting straight to the back of her head but missed and the girl fell into the sea.
in another part of the town, two cousins found a clueless girl who incapable of speech except for "nyu". they took her in out of pity and a sense of humanity. and that was when all the weird thing started happening and "nyu" was the center of it. what is the goverment are hiding. who are those people that start showing up at their doorstep and what is a forgotten past that seemed to slowly resurfaced?

elfen lied focus more on the mistreating of the beings that was different from normal humankind. a diclonoids, born with two horns and telekinetic ability were considered bloodthirsty monsters and should be eliminated. it was no different from real life where we tend to judge those who are different from us.

were the diclonoids really a bloodthirsty murderer or the 'normal' human treatment that make them snap? that is what the creator was trying to imply in the anime. other than that the anime also focus on child abuse and psychological trauma that ones may suffer after a shocking incident.

the art is so beautiful and it fit the anime perfectly. the opening song especially add a sense of chill towards its listener and the ending song seemed to soothe down the shock we experience throughout the anime. the plot and story-line was easier to understand with not too much character, giving us the understand the situation more. the difference between Nyu and Lucy give us a chance to expect what would happen (and to tell the truth, my heart always beating fast when i saw Lucy)

i recommend this anime to those who like gore anime because gore is the largest portion of the anime with a little mix of romance, social situation and action.