Elfen Lied 9/10

There have been alot of comedy anime series lately where the main character is a cute girl with pink hair. Girls Bravo, Galaxy Angel, Mao-Chan, and Maburaho come immediately to mind. In Elfen Lied, the pinker your hair, the more people you horribly kill. I mean REALLY horribly. In the words of Rainier Wolfcastle "It's not a comedy."

I like just about everything on the technical side of this show. The character designs are among my all time favourites and the VAs are really, really good in their roles. The art throughout is excellent and the backgrounds are incredible. Most of all the music for this show is amazingly good. From the hauntingly beautiful opening theme, throughout the episodes and the catchy and somewhat creepy end theme the music is top-notch. I'll note here that the 13 episodes were released in 2004.

Let me warn you, this show is kind of messed up. These two young college students, cousins actually, start living together (not in that way you sick bastards) in a house the female cousin Yuka's parents own. They meet a girl on a nearby beach with dark pink hair (danger level 1) and she seems to have amnesia. Since all she can say is Nyu, and since this is a standard rule of anime (Chi in Chobits, Mone in Yumeria), this now becomes her name and she starts living with Yuka and her male cousin Kouta.

The part I forgot to mention is that Nyu is really named Lucy and has recently broken out of some scientific facility on a nearby island. By broke out I mean killed her way out. You see Lucy/Nyu can control 4 invisible arms some considerable distance and when a guard drops something he is promptly killed with it. Lucy doesn't just kill, she dismembers, impales, decapitates and overall slaughters everyone on her way out the door. The guards, the soldiers, the scientists, the cute ditz girl who spills coffee. Lucy also punches a soldier's heart through the back of his chest, it's not important to the plot but be on the look out, it's kinda cool.

One of the main scientists at the facility , Dr. Kakuzawa, recruits another of Lucy's contemporaries to go hunt her down. Here we meet the pink haired (danger level 2) Nana as in subject #7 (7 is nana in JP) who calls the good Dr. papa and is uber cute.

She fights Lucy (who is now somewhat schitzo) and has her arms and legs ripped off.

Ow. Poor Nana.

The head of the facility orders what's left of Nana to be put to death but the somewhat kindhearted Dr. can't do it so he fashions her with artificial limbs and sends her out into the world.

In the meantime a young girl named Mayu befriends Nana and they all end up living with Kouta and Yuka. Nana it turns out doesn't hurt people like the other test subjects and only dreams of living happily and making friends and since she's a bit of a klutz and not very threatening at the best of times she quickly becomes my favourite character.

Of course now the head scientist is pissed and brings out the big guns. A third girl, #35 or something who has pale pink hair (danger level EXTREME) to kill damn near everything she can get her hands on.

This show has alot of flashbacks about everyone's past and there's a constant suspense about every scene. You see you're constantly waiting for someone to die abruptly and horribly, and it happens ALOT.

This show was funny at times , very tragic and ruthlessly violent. No one is safe from a horrible demise, soldiers, little girls, puppies. On top of that the story was great. Highly Recommended.

Did I mention it seems clothes are somewhat optional for all these female characters? It's kind of fan-service but kind of disturbing seeing naked pink haired girls covered in the blood of their victims. Whatever turns your crank I suppose.