I liked Elfen Lied. If the art was more like this, I'd have to put it in my top five.

>>38513622
>how effective*

read manga BLEEP dies in the end but comes back

Great OP, poor show

Elfen_Lied_is_Shit.jpg

>>38513743
lucy comes back in doubles

>>38513715
I actually thought the anime was just a fun mindless romp with tons of actions and some funny/romantic moments. The plot left a lot to be desirable and the ending was just... weird, but it's not really as terrible as most people make it out to be.

I find the manga pretty solid through and through, though... although the art could've been much, much better.

>>38513743

Wow! The censor works and everything.

>>38513803
>it's not really as terrible as most people make it out to be.

The real problem is it is not nearly as good as other people make it out to be.

>>38513881
But who makes it out to be that great? A few fans sure... but the majority of the populace slams the series.

>>38513881
To be fair, that may be the case in many forums but it hasn't ever been so in /a/.

The spammer who consistently bombs these threads for as long as I can remember always stated that keeping that kind of people away was his purpose, though in reality it's probably some retarded bias towards the show or lack of having anything productive to do with his time.

>>38513962
Maybe if you are talking about /a/ only. Across ye olde internets it is a much different case.

Which is why /a/ is how it is.

I thought Elfen Lied was great. I've seen it twice, and plan to rewatch it soon. But, man, the ending pissed me off xD

From my observations, it had to have been Nyuu at the door.

I'm currently reading the manga, since I heard the ending is definite.

>>38514042
>long as I can remember
It's only been about 5-8 months.

>>38514100
She dies.

I ALMOST did not post in this thread because the captcha is such a pain in the pass, but Elfen Lied is simply that bad. It's total shit.

>>38514101
It's been far longer than that.
Before the images there were copypasta, and other random pre-generated replies.

>>38514100
The manga is a lot more conclusive and interesting overall, if you can stomach the early art. Hope you enjoy it.

>>38514100
>xD

troll or not, get the fuck out

>>38514100
>>38514176
It may be more conclusive but it sucks. I like the anime better. And fuck you all who dont thinks so.

>>38514164
Oh come on, it was implied.

Really, who else could it have been that was relevant? A pizza guy?

The manga redeems the anime because of how vastly better it is.

I cried when Lucy died

>>38514267
I liked both
The manga just had more content and didn't ever feel rushed so I prefer it, but that's just me

I sneer at the thought that had the idiotic Konomini had limbs and blood flying around, viewers will probably be hailing IT as the best anime of this year. Laughable, isn’t it? Despite the vast amount of rave reviews, I had very low expectations for Elfen Lied. I almost never trust popular opinion, and for good reason. Quite a few were wrongly labeling it as the “best anime of 2004.” It was painfully clear that said watchers were being blown away by gratuitous violence despite the show itself is devoid of any substance whatsoever. The show is obviously an experiment to test how many tasteless people own computers. But low and behold, I was right and wrong. The response to this anime is the quintessential example of why I rarely trust the majority. It’s not the best anime of its year. Far, far from it. It’s not the best anime ever. Please. But it is worth watching. Once. Even if it is only average.

The creators seem to think that combining the most unoriginal aspects of an anime will create something original. They are, of course, wrong. Elfen Lied is essentially only a harem admist a Frankenstenian tale. Well, Mary Shelley told the story infinitely better. For starters, most readers of Shelley's novel sympathize with the monster, not the creator. Indeed, I did; Victor Frankenstein is a coward and his creation

Ya know, I thought it was fucking awesome the first time I saw it and even went so far as to defend it in troll threads on /a/. Recently watched it again expecing to enjoy it when I showed it too an anime newfag in an attempt to seduce him into the fandom and he loved it.

But... I finally realized... It sucked. I don't know I fucking missed it. The first two episodes had me banging my head on the wall. I... don't get it.

And then we have Lucy. Instead of poignant dialogue or any real emotion, the series opts for the hackneyed "split-personality" technique. For some odd reason, the creators seem to think having Lucy's alter-ego murmur "Nyu" every five seconds will evoke any emotion from the viewers. They are, of course, wrong. With Nyuu and her alter ego Lucy, the series fails to paint a gray picture or even evoke any emotion from me. I had absolutely no sympathy for Lucy whatsoever. None. It’s the same reason why I feel but disgust for the Kurtens, the Garavitos, and the Lucases of the world. All three of them had what you call “bad childhoods,” but does that mean they weren’t animals? Of course not. Fry the monsters. Lucy in herself is a decent character (and I enjoyed her backstory), but she's also the villain, and the series tries to say otherwise. I wasn't convinced.

Not surprisingly, the weak point of the series is its characters. With Kouta, Nyuu, and Yuka, we have your typical harem archetypes. Kouta can be replaced with a cardboard box and he’ll probably be more profound. He’s just your typical boring male lead….like nearly all male main characters of this genre. He even has the “lost memory”™ that so many of his kind seem to have nowadays. Yuka is just thrown in the show to fulfill the yawn-inducing and predictable love triangle. You know the type. The type that can only communicate her feelings with physical abuse and the word “baka.”

>>38514353
>>38514366
>>38514384
and so it begins... hope you like to manual spam

Stereotypes and cardboards aside, the best characters in the series are Nana and Kurama. Though Nana's annoying with her “Papa this and Papa that,” I did actually care about what may happen to her. Kurama, a father consumed with a heavy guilt, could have been a better character, but even so, when he’s on the screen, he’s quite effective. The insane gunman (I forgot his name...goes to show you how meaningless he is) should have been completely left out since he’s obviously just in the anime to shock the audience. He doesn’t even have a back-story.

Like certain characters, everything in the story is made to shock you, and in my case, failing even at that. Although not having a speck of blood, NARUTARU is a lot more shocking than this. I couldn't have cared less about heads rolling and flying limbs. I've seen it in anime before, and truth be told, it's the only thing that kept me watching. But let's take at look at the so-called "themes" in this insubstantial work. Child-abuse, for one. Pray tell, why is that little girl homeless? Does that have anything to do with the story? Last time I checked, little homeless girls are unlikely to be so cheerful and bright. The little girl could have just as easily been brought up from a happy home and very little will change. Unfortunately, however, the numerous displays of manipulation and violence is the foundation for the series. Take the violence out, and you have Kono Minikuku Mo Utsukushii Sekai, right down to the gratuitous nudity, slinky scientist, and supremely subpar (and very, very similar) ending. But the fan-service needs to be there; otherwise, the series would have fell flat on its face.

Okay, I'm going to end every Elfen Lied thread ever.
First, its pronounced Elfen Leed, as in rhymes with "Reed".

Secondly, it has essentially no comprehensible storyline, ancient horned savants whose horns look like cat ears are awakened by a mad scientist, and intend to destroy the world.
Except the protagonist doesn't even try to stop them. So they basically do.

Before that, though, it tons of unnecesary gore, and poorly delivered fanservice. In fact, the fanservice is basically the only reason to read the manga. Don't ever, ever, ever watch the anime, as they took out or changed all the best fanservice scenes, and as I previously stated, this is the only reason to read the mango.
There is indeed a scene in which one of the love interests is on the protagonist's lap "Because it's cold and rainy outside," and whilst the protagonist settles into position, the girl slides down his leg and is stimulated. After this, she for some reason NEEDS to take off her wet panties just then, so she bids the protagonist to turn around, who of course turns back around only to see the girl fallen over accidentally, spread open. At that same moment, the other members of the harem arrive, wonders ensue, etc etc.

Rinse and repeat this harem fanservice cycle about 400 times with a shitty contrived 2-D storyline and needless gore. If this sounds awesome, then read the mango. If this sounds like a terrible waste of time, then skip on by.

Tl;dr - If you like fanservice, then only read the mango.
(If you don't mind the atrocious piece-of-shit art)

>>38514308
The manga ending is really good. I bawwed when Kouta found the message that Kaede left for him.

Another anime where the main character has girls fall in love with him because he's so nice by doing normal things that anyone would do.

Last but not least, we have the ending. The last two episodes consisted of the fakest, most superficial, and contrived situations I haven’t seen since Saikano. I don't want to spoil; hence, I'll just say that Kouta's reaction to a certain revelation was...nonsense. Truth be told, had I been in the same situation, I would have done exactly what he did. I certainly wouldn't be experiencing lust for revenge and an all-consuming hatred. Oh no, of course not. I most certainly will embrace this person with open arms. The last two episodes caused me to lower the enjoyment and story score two points (it very much deserves it). This unbelievably fake situation could have been rendered real only if the relationship between Kouta and this certain character would have been fully realized (and it isn't) or if this certain character was able to reach me. It fails in both counts, and as thus, the ending is forced and full of bull.

It's easy to throw in a few buckets of blood. It's even easier to exploit a girl's breasts. There's no creativity in that. When it really matters, the show failed to step out of its genre, and in the end, failed to take the biggest risk. But despite that though, I feel as if I didn't waste my time by watching this. It's not a powerful anime, but it makes for an entertaining watch. If you want violent and truly powerful shows, you'll do better with the Rurouni Kenshin OVAs and Berserk. Unlike Elfen Lied, they're shows that actually have passion and emotion. They actually mean something. And as thus, they're a lot better and profound than the mediocre and thoroughly unimpressive show that is Elfen Lied.

The main problem with characters is that their behaviour, sometimes, goes against the laws of logic resulting in many very awkward situations. There is this scene where a girl approaches a completely maimed gunman, who is having convulsions and is shouting about how he will fucking kill everyone, and asks "What happened?" in casual manner. Then there is this moment where Kouta runs half a kilometer towards a bloody girl surrounded by an army of soldiers and doesn't notice them until they start shooting (which is after he actually reaches the girl and talks with her). The best, however, is the scene where a person is killed in a train car and blood splashes all over Kouta. Kouta, obviously, starts shouting and so on; and the the other passenger in the car asks him "What's wrong?". Now... I either smell some serious cases of mental problems or lame scenario planning here. And something tells me it's the latter.

Anyway, apart from some completely whatever characters like this insane gunman without a backstory or any reason to do all the nonsense he does, Kouta is the worst character in the show. If he was just an idiotic harem lead, which he also very well is, it would still be plausible, but thanks to the aforementioned "awkward" behaviour his personality is reflected even in a worse light. Not only the guy has absolutely no personality traits, he is stupid to boot. Not to mention he is damn malignant, he talks inconsiderate nonsense - gets slapped by Yuka; exhibits violent behaviour towards girls for no reason and contradicts himself more than the previous US president. Frankly, if you will not want to shoot the damn bastard to death by the end of the first episode your nerves are made of mithril... sir.

>>38514508
And if the guy is not annoying enough, we have Nyuu, the result of Lucy's mental illness. A girl with a mental age below three (I'm serious)... it took the scene where she pissed on the floor (in the first episode) for me to realize that her characteristics might be... hard to predict. Thankfully, during the better moments of the show original Lucy takes her body from Nyuu back and does some serious killing or other pleasantly sinister things. She, herself, doesn't let you know anything personal until the flashback episodes kick in; but don't worry - not only she is a full fledged character, she is certainly the best in the show (not that it says much, heh). Anyway, she has a past, and her past affects her in the way logic tells it would, her resolutions and feelings are well conveyed. Though it will depend on your set of values what exact emotions you will feel towards her, you will doubtless realize that at least there was some actual and sensible work done with her personality.

There are many side characters; many of whom are not important (still better than Kouta). Highlight of the side cast would certainly be Kurama and his relationship with his "daughters". Though Nana certainly can get annoying at times with her father complex, she is still one of the few characters in the show who actually tend to make sense more than not. You might even get emotional when it comes to some more complex situations between her and Kurama, but that's a long shot. There is also this homeless girl whose personality doesn't make sense given her background, but some of her interactions with Nana might pull a bitter smile out of you. Anyway, though not particularly good, side cast is okay, I guess... as long as you can turn blind eye to some reeeeeally awkward reactions.

>He's spamming manually!