posted
I love Elfen Lied. Amazing anime series. It's not for everyone, though. Mild nudity and some very graphical violence. If one isn't concerned about that, it's really good.
Posts: 1785 | Registered: Oct 2003
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posted
I watched the first 4 or 5 episodes and was too bored to continue. I expected to like it, but didn't.
Posts: 1569 | Registered: Dec 2004
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posted
The thematic problem was that they tried to do two things that, in the end, didn't mesh too well together, at least in the anime adaptation.
On the one hand, you have the intense violence, spurred on by a plot filled with an examination of psychological trauma and, potentially, the effects of a cycle of violence and, ultimately, attempted genocide (c'mon. Are the diclonius all totally insane because it's their nature, or because they're generally treated horribly? And happen to have powers that normal humans don't have, but as such use them in ways that normal humans would? Including the violent little children. The question that comes from the few scenes of little diclonius children before they're killed don't strike me as a race that is instinctively focused on killing humanity, but instead small children with little concept of adult morality in possession of incredible powers. Like a little kid with a gun who doesn't realize that shooting somebody actually kills them.)
On the other hand, you have the rudiments of a harem anime series. Unfortunately, the combination of ridiculously traumatic experiences for everyone but the dumb bimbo of a cousin/girlfriend of the protagonist's, and the rather gross implications of using such an element, along with the "humor" of the infantile interactions of Nyu with the cast, generally make me feel a little sick.
Not the trauma the characters go through, that is. Those things are sickening, and horrible, but they don't make me uncomfortable in precisely the same way as the implications of a pseudo-unwanted harem style genre shift make me feel. Those elements occasionally felt downright exploitative to me, and that bothers me.
Oh. And there's the fact that the male protagonist and his girlfriend are, in fact, two of the most absolutely and utterly stupid characters I've ever seen in any television series ever.
I mean, the choices they make defy all common sense! It's only because their universe is filled with the sort of deus ex machina coincidental contrivances only a writer could provide, that they live at all! The fact that their stupid decisions are constantly rewarded, even though they consistently take actions that would earn them a grand place in the Darwin Awards, irritates me.
But, on the whole, I quite enjoyed the series. If not for certain elements, than for the parts that were dramatic, tragic, and raised questions and implications of actual worth, even if they're not always the most sophisticated.
Posts: 1577 | Registered: Sep 2005
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Blayne Bradley
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posted
I found the Harem scenes humourous and relaxing breaks from the action horror. The girlfriend in the anime however while lucky once or twice I don't think was ever in a real position to be killed by stupidity shes mostly nowhere near the action and is rarely around Nyu/Lucy when bad things happen or when she IS around shes near Kouta who Lucy in the Manga anyways refused to kill anyone in his presence.
I don't think Kouta himself really deserves the IdiotBall, his actions WOULD get him killed if Lucy hadn't already fallen completely in love with him and has the complete luck to NOT be anywhere near the action until the very end. Maybe the Manga gives him more moments to act like an idiot but I found he was a naive overly sensitive and forgiving adult that made alot of scenes seem plausible.
Interesting enough except for 2 is exceptions I have never seen anyone act in an idiotic manner, firstly the Army should know by now to use Anti tank weaponry and stay spread out and far away.
Secondly I felt that some of the problems Nanu and Lucy faced could have been avoided with a little more patience and a little more analysis of the situation and worked together to take care of the common threats, they are SUPPOSED to be more intelligent and logical then humans but then again...
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