Elfen Lied: Complete Collection + OVA (Blu-ray)

This is the story of Lucy. She is a mutant with horns and special powers. There are others like her, but Lucy is believed to be the original. She is shot in the head while escaping the facility where she is being studied. She washes ashore after her escape and is found by Kohta, a college student. Lucy has lost her memory after the accident so Kohta tries to look after her. The military starts sending other mutants after her. The battles cause her to revert back to her old violent and cold self. She also remembers that she has a past connection to Kohta from childhood. She begins questioning the love he has given her and the love she has begun to feel for him.This anime is way cool. It has some great characters and a good story. There is a lot of brutal violence and nudity. In my opinion the violence and nudity go too far. Violence doesn't bother me, but there is too much stuff that I would call torture porn. If these things bother you, you should probably not watch Elfen Lied. I just don't let it bother me, it's only make believe after all. It's not worth getting bent out of shape about. I like this anime. The story is character driven, and the characters are very good. They mixed the violence and love in this story very carefully. It is brilliantly written. The animation and voice acting are very good. The soundtrack isn't all that memorable, but it's not bad by any stretch of the imagination. If you can handle people getting cut open and having their limbs torn asunder, then you will really enjoy this anime. People consider Schindler's List a masterpiece, and it goes way too far. This is no different.To sum it up. If you just accept the hardcore stuff as make believe and watch Elfen Lied for the well written love story it is, you will most likely enjoy this anime.

I had heard so many things about Elfen Lied. Mostly how it was so violent, brutal and horrific. I finally watched it and I'm kinda blown away. I'm left with a mixture of feelings. So many brutal moments, so many sad moments, so many nice moments. And the ending is also a mix of happy and tragic. I guess what I'm so impressed with is how everything fits together in this story. Its actually a pretty complex story for only 13 episodes. But as the series goes on, everything comes together and fits together like pieces of a puzzle. It seems like it was a really well thought out story! Different events happen during the course of the show, which may seem unrelated, but in the end you see how everything is interconnected. The 1-star review trashed this show and said it was a combination of every cliche in anime. Well, I cannot speak to its 100% originality or any ground-breaking new concepts, as I am not that experienced or vexed of an anime viewer. All I can tell you is that in my opinion, this is an amazing show. If you dont feel touched emotionally at some point while watching, then something has got to be wrong with you. There are horrendous and heart-wrenching parts, but there are also heartfelt scenes about loving, caring, values of family and friedship. If themes like this have become too cliche for you then you might as well pass on Elfen Lied, as you have probably watched too much anime for your own good anyway. I think its amazing how they managed to combine so many different aspects together in 1 show, and it does NOT seem forced in my opinion. I was afraid this show was going to be too dark and depressing. But there is enough happiness to balance out the dark, and somehow through all the horror it manages to have a satisfying ending. Highly Recommended.

I love this series, for me it goes places that most series don't go that often, i won't get into details as to not spoil anyones viewing pleasure. however, be warned. the whole tragedy within a tragedy refers to the fact that the series completely goes off course from the manga in the final episodes, and this is where thing get tricky, the end in the anime is a good ending. but it's an unsatisfactory ending... this is because the series was not a hit in japan, but elsewhere it did great, and thats a shame, because they cut it short.... so it is only natural that there are several key plots left hanging... however this is a matter of perspective, i personally enjoy being left thinking about the things i didn't understand, it makes the series personal in the sense that everyone has their own conclusions... for me this is a masterpiece by lynn okamoto.If after watching the series you still feel the need to know more and to further understand all the plots of this great tragic story, read the manga. it's beautifully drawn and it goes into more detail about many things.PS: sorry for my english i speak spanish.PSS: the soundtrack is completely original in all it's aspects and half the dramatism is drawn from that. absolutely wonderful

A very good show but a big tear jerker, one can't help but fall into love with the girl with split personality and an innocence of Nyu and the violent nature of Lucy but, from episode 1 until finish you can't help but holding back tears wondering what the fate of this girl will be. ( Yes, I read the manga and I know the whole ending. The problem was in Japan the show was not so popular so they animated one season when to be fair the show might of reached a proper conclusion with two. I felt the story was good and out of respect purchased the DVD because it was in all fairness a result of someone's effort and passion. I know some people will and have labeled it a indecent show that a pedo would like, that is totally not true I can name a few other shows 100 times worse without question, but thats because I watch any and all types of anime from A-Z and I promise you one scene in the show does seem indecent it touches on a character in the show, you learn why she's homeless and lives with the main cast as a welcome addition, because her mother didn't love her and her dad abused her ) As I said, I can name a few shows that made me question what the developers were thinking but not this one, this is simply just a good show.