M
MrSylvester
Guest
Hail Mary Mary, full of grace,
Do you people like the anime called Elfen Lied? I heard some people rant on how it was poorly written, how the main character is evil, how the characters are flat and what not and I just couldn’t help but write my thoughts here. I couldn’t disagree more with them as in my opinion, Elfen Lied is my most favorite anime ever, well, except for Evangelion but still. Note: there are SPOILERS here so I suggest watching the anime first. Its only 13 episodes (14 if you count the OVA 10.5) and can be seen here: youtube.com/playlist?list=PLE5A6E6210797AE49&feature=plcp
On the subject that it was poorly written, the writing has some otherwise minor flaws which are few and far in between. For example, I never liked how Yuka was so clingy and jealous of Kouta. Maybe if she was slightly jealous I could buy it but I never buyed into the idea that she would be jealous of Kouta and Nyu falling for each other. Some ‘flaws’ are completely unjustified. They say that despite Lucy killing many innocent people, the writing tried to manipulate us into liking her even though her actions are unforgivable and that she still continues to be a monster despite her intentions.
To this, I say that even though Lucy did kill innocent people when she was young, eventually culminating in that infamous scene, she learned that it isn’t the right way and in fact, the only people in the current timeline that she does murder are all threatening to kill her. She only crossed the moral event horizon in the current time the story took place when she dismembered Nana after the threat was defeated for no reason at all and even then, when she gets ‘scolded’ (the word scolded used being an understatement here), she runs off and in the end, she tells Nana to live the life that she herself couldn’t live. All her life, Lucy wanted to get forgiveness for her greatest sin and even avoids getting into fights if she wants to.
As for Lucy being a villain, that is her point. Lucy is so miserable, so dejected, so absolutely utterly broken on the inside that other than seeking forgiveness and wanting to be loved, she has no dream. If it weren’t for Kouta, she doesn’t have a reason to live. She is not a villain but more of an anti-villain. The series shows that she can be cruel and ruthless but that she is fundamentally a good person at heart. As for the characters being flat, none of the characters reacts lightly to important events and Kouta himself has a dark and troubled past and his and his cousin’s interactions with Nyu and Lucy are rather cute and heartwarming.
The anime’s biggest flaw though? The ending. Not that it was bad, far from it. In fact, the last episode of the anime was one of the best things I ever saw in anything and it was the first time I truly cried at seeing a film or reading a book. The flashback that happens in the last episode just made me tear up, it was really, really well done. The thing is, the ending sort of left a feeling that adventure had to continue. SPOILER ALERT HERE!!! FOR THE REST OF THE PARAGRAPH!!! What happens to the other diclonious in the facility? Did Lucy really make it out alive? What about the human race?
Seriously, if they had a second season to wrap things up, Elfen seriously could be called one of the greatest works of fiction ever and not simply one of the best anime out there. So what do you guys think of Elfen Lied?
Do you people like the anime called Elfen Lied? I heard some people rant on how it was poorly written, how the main character is evil, how the characters are flat and what not and I just couldn’t help but write my thoughts here. I couldn’t disagree more with them as in my opinion, Elfen Lied is my most favorite anime ever, well, except for Evangelion but still. Note: there are SPOILERS here so I suggest watching the anime first. Its only 13 episodes (14 if you count the OVA 10.5) and can be seen here: youtube.com/playlist?list=PLE5A6E6210797AE49&feature=plcp
On the subject that it was poorly written, the writing has some otherwise minor flaws which are few and far in between. For example, I never liked how Yuka was so clingy and jealous of Kouta. Maybe if she was slightly jealous I could buy it but I never buyed into the idea that she would be jealous of Kouta and Nyu falling for each other. Some ‘flaws’ are completely unjustified. They say that despite Lucy killing many innocent people, the writing tried to manipulate us into liking her even though her actions are unforgivable and that she still continues to be a monster despite her intentions.
To this, I say that even though Lucy did kill innocent people when she was young, eventually culminating in that infamous scene, she learned that it isn’t the right way and in fact, the only people in the current timeline that she does murder are all threatening to kill her. She only crossed the moral event horizon in the current time the story took place when she dismembered Nana after the threat was defeated for no reason at all and even then, when she gets ‘scolded’ (the word scolded used being an understatement here), she runs off and in the end, she tells Nana to live the life that she herself couldn’t live. All her life, Lucy wanted to get forgiveness for her greatest sin and even avoids getting into fights if she wants to.
As for Lucy being a villain, that is her point. Lucy is so miserable, so dejected, so absolutely utterly broken on the inside that other than seeking forgiveness and wanting to be loved, she has no dream. If it weren’t for Kouta, she doesn’t have a reason to live. She is not a villain but more of an anti-villain. The series shows that she can be cruel and ruthless but that she is fundamentally a good person at heart. As for the characters being flat, none of the characters reacts lightly to important events and Kouta himself has a dark and troubled past and his and his cousin’s interactions with Nyu and Lucy are rather cute and heartwarming.
The anime’s biggest flaw though? The ending. Not that it was bad, far from it. In fact, the last episode of the anime was one of the best things I ever saw in anything and it was the first time I truly cried at seeing a film or reading a book. The flashback that happens in the last episode just made me tear up, it was really, really well done. The thing is, the ending sort of left a feeling that adventure had to continue. SPOILER ALERT HERE!!! FOR THE REST OF THE PARAGRAPH!!! What happens to the other diclonious in the facility? Did Lucy really make it out alive? What about the human race?
Seriously, if they had a second season to wrap things up, Elfen seriously could be called one of the greatest works of fiction ever and not simply one of the best anime out there. So what do you guys think of Elfen Lied?