Elfen lied

Elfen Lied (エルフェンリート, '&# 39;Elfen Lied''^?) is a manga series written and illustrated by Lynn Okamoto. Its anime series adaptation was directed by Mamoru Kanbe. Both formats deal with the diclonius species, a horned human mutation, and its violent relationship with the rest of humanity.

The manga began serialization in June 2002 in the Japanese weekly magazine Young Jump; A few months later, the Shūeisha publishing house began its compilation and publication until its end in November 2005 with the twelfth volume. Due to the great acceptance obtained, it led to its anime adaptation, which began to be broadcast on July 25, 2004, when the manga was still unfinished; therefore, the plot of both formats diverges from volume 7 of the comic and episode 12 of the series, which covers the published story until its completion but offers a completely different outcome than what would be written for the manga a year after the completion of the anime. On April 21, 2005, an OVA was released that added some more information to the background but did not advance the plot after the last episode, leaving the survival of the main protagonist to the viewer's interpretation.

The name Elfen Lied, pronounced [ˈɛlfən liːt], is German and means 'elvish song'. Its origin is the lied "Elfenlied" by the Austrian composer Hugo Wolf, based on the homonymous poem by the German writer Eduard Mörike.

Diclonius

The story of Elfen Lied presents a fictional species, the diclonius, as a human mutation with two small horns resembling cat ears. They possess telekinetic powers thanks to its vector receptors; These vectors, as they are often called, resemble long invisible arms capable of vibrating at such a frequency that they cut very hard materials such as metal or stone. They also have extrasensory perception which allows them to sense the presence of other subjects of their race.

Diclonius can reproduce conventionally or by infecting a human by inserting their vectors into the human's body. From then on, the children that person conceives will be diclonius, of a variant called silpelit; unlike normal diclonius, silpelits can only be female, grow twice as fast as humans, and are sterile in the usual sense, being able to reproduce only through their vectors.

Most display homicidal behavior from the age of three or four, presumably due to the killer instinct inherent in their personality that kicks in during that phase of their development. The story hints at the possibility that the character of the diclonius is not part of their nature but the result of the abuses committed on them by humans who regularly discriminate against them for being born with horns. Justifications for the innate theory are that a good part of the discovered cases of diclonius children occur as a result of themselves murdering their own parents or Lucy's statements in which she says that "she was born to destroy the human race". On the other hand, the relationship between Lucy and Kōta during their childhood, Nana's peaceful character, or the change produced in Mariko when she met her father, suggest the ability of diclonius to feel empathy towards humans, having developed their sadistic characteristics as a consequence of their interaction with a world that fears and despises them.

Towards the end of the manga it is hinted that it is probably a mixture of both conditions, since it is revealed that in reality the diclonius do develop a murderous instinct that causes them to hate and exterminate humans, however they possess the potential to obey or reject it. The case of Lucy is the best example, who in her childhood saw these instincts manifest in the appearance of a girl covered in bandages who pressured her to kill humans, a desire that she rejected until the mistreatment and bad experiences she suffered made her embrace this part of herself. and start the massacres that defined her as a merciless murderer; finally, already in her adolescence, she again begins a gradual rejection of this aspect of her personality when she finds humans with whom she can get along.

Plot

The story begins with a young girl, named Lucy, escaping from a research facility on an island off the coast of Kamakura in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. Unarmed and naked, except for a metal helmet that hides her features, she manages to leave the compound after dismembering and killing several guards and employees using some kind of supernatural powers. Moments before escaping from her, a sniper shoots her in the head with a.50 caliber rifle, causing her a minor wound as her helmet split off and revealing two bony protrusions, like small horns, protruding from her head. her; After this, the young woman falls unconscious from a cliff into the sea.

The next morning, a young man named Kouta moves to Kamakura to begin his studies at the university. He is received by Yuka, his cousin, who allows him to stay at an old and abandoned inn ( ryokan , in Japanese) of her family in exchange for keeping it clean and neat. Their past is shadowed by the tragic deaths of Kouta's father and sister when they were children, although he does not seem to remember the exact circumstances of the event. Kouta and Yuka walk that afternoon on the Yuigahama beach, where they find Lucy. Because of the impact on her head, she develops a split personality; unlike the sadistic and impassive Lucy, her new personality is docile, harmless, and unable to say anything other than Nyu (which is why Kouta and Yuka decide to call her that). Not knowing what to do with her, and despite the strange horns on her head, they take her to her inn to treat her wound and care for her. Meanwhile, Director Kurama, in charge of the research laboratories, sends the special operations unit of the Japanese police, the SAT, in search of the diclonius. Bando, a particularly violent and impulsive member of the unit, finds Nyu on the beach, who has fled the inn after being reprimanded by Kōta for breaking a memory of her sister. When attacked by Bando, Lucy's personality emerges from her, severing her right arm, breaking her left, and injuring her eyes. However, she does not finish him off as Nyu's personality takes control again. Mayu, a homeless girl who ran away from home due to the abuse of her stepfather, attends to Bando preventing him from bleeding to death.

Stairs to the Sasuke Inari shrine of Kamakura.

Facing the failure of the SAT, Kurama sends Nana, a young Silpelit with a strong dependence on him, to look for Lucy. When both diclonius meet, they engage in a fierce combat from which Nana is finally defeated after being dismembered by Lucy in the presence of Mayu. Just before she finishes off the silpelit, Kurama appears with reinforcements, manages to chase her away and rescue Nana, Lucy's personality is inhibited again and she returns to the inn. Kōta and Yuka take her with them to the university so as not to leave her alone during the day. There they attend a class taught by Professor Kakuzawa, related to the research facilities, who recognizes the diclonius and deceives the young people by posing as a relative so that they leave it in her custody. The professor's intention is to reproduce with her and thus become the leader of a new dominant race to replace humans. After telling him about his plans, Lucy's personality reappears, who decapitates him and flees. Kouta, restless, returns to Kakuzawa's office and meets Arakawa, a researcher who was collaborating with him in the creation of a vaccine against the virus that diclonius transmit through their vectors; they both discover Kakuzawa's decapitated body and the young woman advises Kouta to leave while she takes charge of the situation. However, she is kidnapped by Director Kakuzawa, the professor's father and the main person in charge of the investigations with the diclonius, forcing her to to work for him. On the other hand, eventually Kōta and Yuka find Nyu near the Sasuke Inari shrine and adopt Mayu, who stays to live with them at the inn.

Director Kurama manages to save Nana and provides her with prosthetics that she can use with her vectors and allow her to function. Disobeying Kakuzawa, who had ordered the silpelit's death, Kurama allows her to leave the facility with the hope that she can have a normal life and the promise that one day he will come looking for her. After meeting Mayu again, Nana is finally admitted to the inn as a member of the family.

Bridge to Enoshima Island.

Director Kakuzawa, upon learning of Kurama's disobedience, sends the most powerful silpelit held in the laboratories, Mariko, Kurama's daughter who was conceived after being infected by another diclonius. On the bridge to the island of Enoshima, Mariko and Nana face each other, the latter being defeated, although Kurama prevents her daughter from killing her. Kakuzawa detonates a missile armed with a charge of the diclonius virus in the atmosphere to infect the population from Japan and accelerate its spread worldwide. Meanwhile, Mariko and Lucy engage in a fight in which the silpelit perishes and the diclonius loses both horns, presumably nullifying her personality.

After a few months, the result of the large-scale infection is revealed with the widespread gestation of babies that manifest the typical diclonius malformations. Kakuzawa sends new forces in search of Lucy to complete her plan to reproduce with her and found a ruling dynasty in a future world without humans. Bando, who had hidden with Kurama on the beaches of Kamakura after he lost his trial over Mariko's death, rejects a first advance in which Nana and Mayu are attacked. However, he finds Nyu and shoots him, resurfacing Lucy's persona and confronting him. In the heat of the battle, Mayu appears and tries to stop them, but the young woman, impassive to her pleas, attacks him; Bando saves the girl by getting between them but her body is split in two at her waist, leaving her for dead. Even so, he wounds Lucy as well, regaining control of the diclonius's body with the Nyu personality.

Shortly thereafter, a new wave of Kakuzawa's henchmen finds the inn's inhabitants, and Kōta is shot while trying to stop them. Seeing him wounded, Lucy reappears and slaughters most of the intruders. Witnessing it, Kōta remembers her past and how the diclonius killed her father and her little sister.Lucy chases after the rest of the strangers, though she is eventually subdued and taken back to the island of the labs. investigation. While there, Kakuzawa introduces him to her daughter Anna, turned into a monstrous and all-knowing being by increasing her cranial capacity hundreds of times, and her own half-brother, fathered by Kakuzawa by raping the girl. Lucy's mother. Enraged, she destroys the foundations of the island, tears Anna to pieces, and decapitates the two Kakuzawa males. Meanwhile, Arakawa manages to find the vaccine against the diclonius virus and escape from the destroyed place.

Enoshima Island.

Lucy returns to Kamakura and finds Kōta, who asks her to go to the Enoshima lighthouse where he tries to convince her to stop killing; However, Kurama appears and shoots the diclonius, seriously injuring the boy, who interjects her body to save her. Forcing her power, the young woman prevents Kōta from dying by stopping the bleeding by sacrificing her own body, which begins to decompose. The rest of the inhabitants of the inn meet with them but are attacked by the armed forces of Japan. Faced with the proximity of her death, Lucy, the personality born from her diclonius instincts, goes mad with resentment and prepares to destroy the world before dying in a planetary-scale attack. However, the personalities of Kaede (her human nature of hers) and Nyu (her personality born from her amnesia) manifest to protect Kōta and ask him to fulfill her promise made to her in her childhood. to murder her when she lost control of her. Finally, the great abuse of her powers degrades Lucy's body to the point that she herself begs him to end her suffering, so Kōta ends the life of the diclonius.

Four months later, Kōta fully recovers from his injuries and the lives of the protagonists return to normal. Thanks to the Arakawa vaccine, the world population is safe from the diclonius virus. In an unexpected twist for the character of the story, several presumed-dead characters are found to have survived, such as Bando, who meets Mayu on Kamakura beach. Anna Kakuzawa also survives by reverting to her normal form and proceeds to carry on with her life as before. On the other hand, Yuka and Kōta confirm their relationship. About ten years later, Kōta, accompanied by the daughter he had with Yuka, Nyu, returns as every year during the summer festival to the forest where he met Kaede. On that occasion, her daughter finds a buried note that the diclonius left her the summer they met as children, in which she declared her love for him. At that moment, some twins named Kaede appear looking for him, hinting that the personalities of Kaede and Nyu have reincarnated.

Divergences between formats

The anime adaptation began over a year and a half before the manga was finished. This caused notable differences in the plot of both formats, especially from episode 12 of the series and volume 7 of the manga. The anime offers a completely different outcome than the manga after Lucy and Mariko's confrontation, in which she and Kurama die, and Lucy's survival is left to the viewer's interpretation through an open ending. Instead, Kurama and Lucy survive said encounter and, after various events in the remaining volumes, the death of the diclonius becomes perfectly clear, who begs Kōta to kill her to prevent her from killing more people.

In turn, several secondary characters are omitted in the anime, such as Nozomi or Anna Kakuzawa, among others. Likewise, the music box that plays the melody of "Lilium" is an exclusive element of the anime, as well as the reference to the poem "Elfenlied" as the origin of the title of the work only appears in the manga.

Compared to the manga, the anime presents less in-depth information about the mutation responsible for the diclonius race and the motivation for research on them, omitting scenes like Professor Kakuzawa explaining the condition of semi-diclonius of his family or those of his father in which he narrates his plans to replace human beings with diclonius as the dominant species on the planet.

As an aesthetic detail, in the anime all the diclonius are depicted with the same pink hair color, while in the manga Lucy has pink hair, Mariko blonde, and Nana dark purple. On the other hand, the The number and length of the vectors for each diclonius differ between the two formats, even growing throughout the manga in the case of Lucy.

Main characters

Lucy. (_, Lucy.^?) / Nyu (quote, Nyū^?)

Seiyū: Sanae Kobayashi

Lucy is a young diclonius around 18 years old who was abandoned in an orphanage at birth. In her first years of life she did not show the homicidal tendency characteristic of her species, although after being subjected to several traumatic events during her childhood, ended up unleashing her killer instinct and became sadistic and cruel. She was captured and locked up in a research facility off the coast of Kamakura. After several years she manages to escape from the facility, but during the escape she is injured in the head and develops a double personality, Nyu Unlike Lucy, Nyu is innocent, sweet and harmless, not even knowing how to speak. The change in her dominant personality usually occurs when she is attacked, Nyu replacing Lucy, or sensing Kōta's presence, Lucy replacing Nyu.

Kōta (日本語, Kōta^?)

Seiyū: Chihiro Suzuki.

Kōta is an 18-year-old boy who moves to Kamakura to begin his studies at the university. He is allowed to stay at an old family inn in exchange for him keeping it clean and neat. Kōta has a traumatic past as his father and his sister were murdered when he was a child.

Yuka (▪, Yuka^?)

Seiyū: Mamiko Noto

Yuka is a young woman about the same age as her cousin Kōta, with whom she has been in love since she was a child. In order to be with him, she decides to study at the same university.

Mayu (consuming, Mayu^?)

Seiyū: Emiko Hagiwara

Mayu is a 12-year-old girl (13, in the anime) who has run away from home because of the abuse she has been subjected to by her stepfather and the indifference of her mother, who accuses her of be a burden on the relationship between them. She lives on the beach with a puppy she found, which she calls Wanta and she considers her friend rather than her pet, they feed on leftovers that she begs for at a bakery in town.

Nana (стаи, Nana^?)

SeiyūYuki Matsuoka

Nana, also known as Number 7, is a silpelit girl around the age of 13 or 15 who has been confined since birth in the Kakuzawa Research Laboratories to conduct experiments on strength and stamina. physical close to torture. Unlike other diclonius, Nana has not manifested a homicidal and sadistic character but is usually peaceful and sweet due, to a large extent, to the affection that director Kurama has given her, whom she considers her father and with whom she has developed a relationship. of affection and dependency. Given the diclonius' ability to detect each other, she is sent to Kamakura to find Lucy after her escape.

Content of the work

Manga

The Elfen Lied manga, created by Lynn Okamoto, was published between June 2002 and August 2005 in the Japanese weekly magazine Young Jump; a few months after its appearance, the publisher Shūeisha began to distribute it in tankōbon, finally being structured into 12 volumes with 107 chapters in total.

According to the author, Elfen Lied was originally conceived as a manga of a couple of volumes, although the acceptance obtained by the public allowed the length of the comic to be significantly extended compared to their initial expectations.

Over the three years that the manga was published, Lynn Okamoto's drawing style evolved. In her own words, the first volumes of her are drawn in a "clumsy and childish style", which she would find unpleasant after improving her skills, despite "having put all her effort into drawing them".

As of 2008, no licenses had been granted for the official translation of said manga into English; instead, other publishers such as Tokyopop Germany, Ever Glory Publishing Co., Ltd. or Grupo Editorial Vid, obtained the rights for its edition in Germany, China and Mexico, respectively. In 2012 the manga was licensed in Spain by the Editorial Ivrea. The attached table shows data from the Japanese, Mexican, and Spanish manga compilations.

Additional material

Six works by Okamoto are also included in the manga volumes as special chapters. The first four stories are one shots unrelated to the diclonius plot. The fifth, dedicated to Nozomi, is a gaiden that provides background information to the character. The last one is a fanservice set within the main plot but not following the canon of the story. Each of them is described in more detail below:

• MOLincluded in the first volume. It narrates the story of a young apathetic who lives in a small city where a research laboratory is located. His life changes when he finds in his house a young woman of the size of a wrist who escaped from the laboratory, where he was subjected to cruel tests.
• Digitópolis (Етики тали ти ти тати ти тати ти тати, 'Digitópolis'^?)included in the second volume. It deals with a reckless member of a special operations unit dedicated to the deactivation of explosives. As a child he survived a car bomb attack where he lost his parents, which was why he chose that job.
• Memory ( 。, 'Memory'^?)included in the third volume. It narrates the story of a young man who buys a sexual doll that comes alive when a girl's parents consent to apply euthanasia to him, after twelve years suffering complete paralysis. After a couple of days together, the doll becomes inanimate discovering that her vitality was related to the girl's desire to see the young man again, for they had met and fallen in love during her childhood.
• Elfen Lied (, 'Elfen Lied'^?)included in the fifth volume. It deals with a pianist boy and girl who meet during the Piano Frédéric Chopin International Competition; after the competition, she decides to become a violinist by seeing that she could never overcome him and remember that when they grow up they will form the best violin and piano duo in the world.
• Another happy future (,,,,,, 'Another happy future^?)included in the eighth volume. This story is related to the main plot. It explains Nozomi's hobby for the singing and rejection of his father to be professionally devoted to it, which causes his move to the inn along with the rest of the protagonists to be able to study and practice before the examination of access to a singing school.
• The sake, do you drink or drink? (أعربية أعربية, 'Is sake drinking or drinking?'^?)included in the eighth volume. In this story the main characters of Elfen Lied but it does not follow the line of the rest of the work. In it, the inhabitants of the inn drink too much sake and get drunk. Mayu and Nana fall asleep, after what Nyu and Yuka disinhibited with Kōta in a fanservice of a sexual nature. The fun is interrupted when Nyu's personality is replaced by Lucy, which shows quite angry, ending the story abruptly with a cliffhanger.

Anime

The Elfen Lied anime, directed by Mamoru Kanbe, animated by ARMS and produced by the Japanese companies GENCO and VAP, consists of thirteen episodes of about twenty-five minutes each. From the first to the eleventh episode follows the canon of the first six volumes of the manga, adapting a good part of the events that occurred in the sixty chapters that make them up. The last two episodes diverge from the comic, offering an alternate ending to the series.

Elfen Lied was broadcast in Japan on the AT-X television network between July 25 and October 17, 2004. ADV Films, the official distributor in the United States, announced this anime. as one of their "best sellers" and "most notable releases" of 2005.

In 2005, a twenty-four minute OVA appeared between the tenth and eleventh episodes, which is why it has been considered episode 10.5. It was included as a special episode (特別編, Tokubetsu hen^?) on the seventh and final DVD of the collection without having been previously broadcast on television. It delves into some aspects of the series, such as the relationship between Nyu and Nana or the capture of Lucy when she was a child, although it does not advance the plot after the last episode.

In Spain, Elfen Lied has been broadcast by Buzz, a channel broadcast on various digital payment platforms. The first broadcast of the anime began on June 6, 2005, being subsequently repeated several times given the good reception of the public. The last broadcast of the series on Buzz occurred on February 14, 2007. Other networks that have broadcast the series are MCM Belgique (Belgium), The Anime Network (Canada and the United States), Virgin 17 (France), Propeller TV (United Kingdom), 2x2 (Russia) or Animax (South Africa). On the other hand, it has been distributed by companies such as ADV Films (Germany, the United States and the United Kingdom), Kazé (France and the Netherlands), Madman Entertainment (Australia) or MC Entertainment (Russia).

On September 26, 2012, the official Twitter of Weekly Young Jump announced for December of the same year an HD remastering on Blu-Ray Disc with the thirteen episodes of the series and its OVA. This new edition was released on December 19 with an original manga by Lynn Okamoto, creator of Elfen Lied.

On January 17, 2017, Crunchyroll finished publishing it with both original and Spanish audio except for Spain.

Episodes

The following table lists the episodes of the anime, indicating its title in German (as it appears at the beginning of each episode), its translation into Spanish, its rōmaji and kanji corresponding, and the issue date in Japan.

Production

Mamoru Kanbe was recommended to direct the series by screenwriter and visual compositor Takao Yoshioka, who believed that Kanbe's moé style would be ideal for adapting the manga into a series. anime. At first, Kanbe was reluctant to join the production of the series, although he became interested in the project after reading Okamoto's manga, still in publication at the time.

Kanbe felt that "above all, it was a love story that could be carried out in a way that would bring the viewer to tears." Thus, throughout the series he tried to provide a stark contrast of emotions., using violence as one of the main elements of transition. The setting of Kamakura, according to the production team, was ideal for unfolding the poignant and thoughtful drama, as its tranquility and geography provided a perfect backdrop for the series' deep and even creepy plot.

Reception

Elfen Lied has been praised for the quality of its plot and the technical excellence of its production, animation, and color. However, given the various scenes of nudity and gore, it has also drawn criticism. that they consider it "crude and too obvious" or "painful and forced" at certain times; for example, the crudeness of the first few minutes of the first episode caused quite a bit of controversy upon its release. Overall, a good part of the episodes are strewn with elements of horror and fanservice, in the form of excessive violence, sporadic nudity and sexual innuendos.

Although they have experienced voice actors, such as Mamiko Noto and Kira Vincent-Davis, the Japanese, English and Spanish versions have been criticized for not having a dubbing that matches the story. abrupt and diffuse ending, which can leave the viewer dissatisfied.

Despite all this, Western critics also describe the series as "a genuinely good show", "a horror series of exceptional merit", "certainly memorable", or, "a very special anime, considering both the good and the bad parts." Members of Anime News Network have rated the series 8.39 out of 10 with over 4,700 votes, ranking it 68th in their ranking of best anime. 2004 AnimeReactor Community Awards Awards was declared as the anime with "Best Opening and Ending Combination" (Best OP/ED-Combination ), "Best Female Character" (Best Female Character) by Lucy/Nyu, "Best Drama" (Best Drama), "Best Fanservice / Ecchi" (Best Fanservice / Ecchi ) and "Best Thriller" (Best Thriller / Mystery / Horror ). In turn, at the 2007 American Anime Awards it was nominated for "Best Short Series" (Best Short Series), although in the end it was FLCL who took the award.

The dissemination of Elfen Lied has given rise to various manifestations of fanart and fanfiction. Among them, the webcomic Nana's Everyday Life by Daniel Kim has transcended; this parody, fully or partially translated into more than ten languages, has Nana as the protagonist and narrates an alternative story about his unfortunate life. Despite being presented humorously, it shows particularly harsh scenes that make it inappropriate for an underage audience.

Soundtrack

The original soundtrack of Elfen Lied was released on October 21, 2004 in CD format, being included in a limited edition of the first DVD of the series. Composed by Kayo Konishi and Yukio Kondō, lasts about forty minutes distributed in fifteen themes:

1. «Lilium ~ opening version ~»
2. "Katsubō" (望ѕ, "Katsubō"^?)
3. "Shinkai" (, "Shinkai"^?)
4. Hanayō (▪, Hanayō^?)
5. "Senkō" (光, "Senkō"^?)
6. "Yōran" ( , "Yōran"^?)
7. "Jōzai" ( , "Jōzai"^?)
8. "Rin'ne" ( , "Rin'ne"^?)
9. "Yakusoku" (▪, "Yakusoku"^?)
10. "Hakuri" ( , "Hakuri"^?)
11. "Kokū" (, "Kokū"^?)
12. "Yōkō" (♫, "Yōkō"^?)
13. "Neji" (, "Neji"^?)
14. «Ametsuyu» (, «Ametsuyu»^?)
15. «Lilium ~ saint version ~»

"Lilies"

"Lilium" is the theme song that plays during the opening sequences, at the beginning of each episode of the anime. The authors replicated various biblical passages and religious hymns to compose the lyrics, in Latin, achieving a style similar to Gregorian chant.

The following shows the composition and origin of the lyrics of «Lilium», as well as its translation into Spanish:

Most of the incidental music in the series is based on variations on this theme with various instrumentations; various versions were recorded, such as the opening (performed by soprano Kumiko Noma, accompanied by strings and piano), saint (performed by a choir of male voices, the Griffin Chorus) or the instrumental version of Kōta's music box.

"Be your girl"

"Be your girl" is the theme song that plays during the ending sequences, at the end of each episode of the anime. This J-Pop-style single, performed by Chieko Kawabe, offers a stark contrast to the horror and drama prevalent in the series, and is often regarded as a reflection of the relationship between Nyu and Kōta, despite the fact that the team at production has not ruled on the matter. Released on April 28, 2004, this song marked Kawabe's debut and peaked at number 67 on the Oricon chart, where it stayed for three weeks.

Theme and style

On the official page of Elfen Lied the director of the anime, Mamoru Kanbe, makes some comments from which his intention to raise a reflection on the tendency of humans to divide and exclude themselves according to the their differences, as well as the belief that the atrocities committed by Lucy throughout the story are greatly influenced by the way people treat her during her childhood. Frequently, she delves into how human personality is defined in the aftermath of the events lived and the treatment received by the person, the problems derived from discrimination and the marked contrasts between compassion and revenge of human beings. In the confrontation between the diclonius and the humans, the concept of genocide and the purification of the races is presented, since both pretend to be the only one that prevails through the extermination of the other. Kanbe related this to the tendency of humans to segregation. At the end of each episode of the anime, during the teaser that presents the next one, a voice-over exposes a good part of the topics covered.

Throughout history there is a high amount of nudity, gore, physical and psychological violence. The contrast between the "humanity" of the diclonius stands out against the cruelty of most of the humans shown. One reviewer described the story as "focusing on the darkest and most callous aspect of human nature", due to the various displays of sadism, gratuitous violence, amoral experimentation and, of course, murder.

Elfen Lied is not easily categorized into a single genre, as it contains elements of horror, comedy, drama, romance, action, science fiction, and suspense. It is aimed at an adult audience, since there is a large amount of violence and gruesome deaths, female nudity, and even torture and rape, resulting in a theme not suitable for minors. Several different tones and genres are intermingled in the plot, coming to be described as a "mix of insane amounts of violence with a strong dose of ultra-cuteness", trying to balance the darkness of the main plot with romantic subplots and moments comedians. Elfen Lied has been compared to Chobits, 3×3 Eyes and Gunslinger Girl, from which it borrows elements such as the behavior of the diclonius or the design and personality of Lucy/Nyu.

Cultural references

Archaeology and Biology

Skeleton Lucy. at the National Museum of Anthropology of Mexico.

The name Lucy was assigned to the diclonius girl by those responsible for the research laboratories, being Kaede her real name as discovered in the last chapter of the manga The reason for the new designation is attributed to the parallelism with Lucy, the first hominid found of the species Australopithecus afarensis, discovered in 1974 by the American anthropologist Donald Johanson in Ethiopia; at that time it was the oldest known ancestor of humans at around 3.2 million years old. In turn, the manga refers to the genetic concept of mitochondrial Eve. Mitochondria are organelles present in cells whose function is to generate energy for cellular activity. These organelles have their own genetic material that is transmitted only through the mother. Thus, a comparison between the mitochondrial DNA of the different ethnicities of the world suggests that, tracing the lineages through the maternal line, there is a single common female ancestor from which all current human beings descend. In director Kakuzawa's plans, Lucy is destined to be a new mitochondrial Eve from whom a race will descend that will replace all of humanity.

On the other hand, the name diclonius (Gr. di- 'two' + klon ' bud' + -ius, 'double bud') refers to a genus of dinosaurs in the family Hadrosauridae in the late Cretaceous. Described by paleontologist Edward Drinker Cope in 1876, these animals were presumably characterized by a double row of functional teeth. alludes to two horns on the head of those dinosaurs, instead of their dental configuration.

Geography

The setting for the story of Elfen Lied is the Japanese city of Kamakura, located about 50 km southwest of Tokyo. Throughout the manga and, especially, the anime, various locations in and around the city are portrayed in great detail, such as Yuigahama beach, the shrines of Sasuke Inari or Zeniarai Benzaiten, or the nearby island of Enoshima. In the words of the anime's director, Mamoru Kanbe: "I really like Kamakura. (...) Every time I go, I get a rush of optimism and a feeling of incredible well-being at the same time.” In a previous project, also located in Kamakura, Kanbe was not allowed to represent the characteristic elements of the city as he would have wanted; however, in Elfen Lied the necessary circumstances arose to be able to recreate and take care of the details of the graphic material of the backgrounds and landscapes, collaborating in the contrast of emotions of the story.

• 

  Entrance to Zeniarai Benzaiten.

• 

  Zeniarai Benzaiten's interior.

• 

  Entrance to Sasuke Inari.

• 

  Ornaments outside Sasuke Inari.

Eugenics

Certain characters from Elfen Lied pursue the creation of a new master race from Lucy; said eugenic program is called Lebensborn by Professor Kakuzawa. The term Lebensborn (in Spanish, 'source of life') was used in times of the Nazi Germany as the name of an organization, created by Heinrich Himmler, which promoted the expansion of the Aryan race in Europe through financial assistance and fostering of the wives of members of the SS and individuals identified as "racially pure".

Art

The title of Elfen Lied comes from the German lied "Elfenlied" ('elven song'), a work by the Austrian Romantic composer Hugo Wolf. The poem "Elfenlied" by the German writer Eduard Mörike is the basis for Wolf's version, who used several of the German's poems in his lieder. This song is exclusive to the manga i>, in which Nozomi performs it and shows it to Nyu during their stay at the inn. The term silpelit also appears in Mörike's poem, referring to a character from the opera Eduard auf dem Seil by the same author.

The opening and ending sequences of each episode of the anime show several of the protagonists drawn in the style of the Austrian symbolist painter Gustav Klimt, imitating their poses, colors and designs. Some examples are the versions of The Kiss, The Satisfaction or Danae, among others.

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  Water Snakes I (1904-1907)

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  The three ages of women (1905)

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  The satisfaction (1905-1909)

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  Danae (1907)

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  Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer I (1907)

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  The Kiss (1907-1908)

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  Portrait of Mäda Primavesi (1912)

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  Adam and Eve (1917-1918)