Audience reviews
20 · Sample from the first available page, separate from the total number of ratings.
JardinDeVienne
Elfen Lied was the first anime I watched when I was ten. It actually shocked and impacted me with the story and the context of every character. I thought it was an amazing show, only to find out it was heavily criticized online, and I couldn't understand why. Only to watch it again with much more clarity and intellect, and now I understand some of the criticism.
First of all, I won't drag this show and call it edgy or aged cause that's just cliché to say. I think the series has potential and aspects worth appreciating, but something I've seen many people agree with is that it has flaws.
I wish the anime didn't air before the manga finished, or at least that it'd show some things from the seventh volume. The anime feels genuinely unfinished and rushed story-wise, and I feel the story of e…
Read at the sourcemrkib
Show of doom, despair, pain, suffering, misery, and agony.
Every episode in some way got me thinking, "What the actual fuck?" not only because of the gore, but because of all the crimes against humanity. Every character is fucked up; there is not ONE normal character. They all have their own complex issues, and that's what makes it impossible to actually "love" any character (except for one). And don't even get me started on the romantic relationships in this show, they are just as fucked up, might be normal for some, depending on culture. Overall, this show is pure depression.
There are no breaks in this show. As I said previously, every episode, shit hits the fan. And the brief moments when nothing is happening and everyone is "chilling" are also questionable... ITS ALL SEXUAL. "You w…
Read at the sourceuneskog
absoultuly love the music
i dont think i ever would watch this again
a person said to that this
if you like 12 then prob if you like fanservice then yea
The first episode starts off with what is the bloodiest and nuditiest 10 minutes of any show I've ever watched, and I'll tell you this: If you live through that, you'll live through the series. And vice versa. Lucy, a naked girl of the Diclonius race, a species of mutant humans with invisible 'arms' called Vectors, is escaping from a facility (more like assaulting her way out), killing countless guards and whatnot on her way out (all in the nude). When she's finally outside, she's sniped, but she doesn't die. Instead, two teenage cousins (the two other main characters), Kouta and Yuka, discovers her on a beach. She has lost her memor…
Read at the sourceTheBiggestAnime
For all it's popularity and very intentional artistic shots in the opening the story of Elfen Lied is really easy to follow and rather forward.
But that's not to say it's bad. No rather than that it makes the story structure very apparent and easy to follow while covering character's backstories and traits and goals wrapped and slowly revealing them as time moves on. It's really amazing how they managed to fit that in a compact 13 episodes. The characters are pretty much amazing with a few exceptions which are not even bad but kind of just bland.
Elfen Lied just works. It starts off strong by negating normal anime moe rules by killing off the seemingly quirky cup serving lady that got 2 scenes prior to her death in the first half of the first episode. It was a queue to show that this…
Read at the sourceSrCrisss
I think many people do not like anime because it is too commercial or because it offers small-bourgeois entertainment. However, *Elfen Lied* shows that anime can also tell much more serious stories and make people think. What I liked the most was how it talks about rejection, suffering, and discrimination without trying to hide these topics. Also, the characters are not perfect. They all have strengths and weaknesses, and many of their decisions are influenced by what they have lived through, so it is easy to understand why they act the way they do. I also think the art style fits the story very well because it mixes calm scenes with very violent ones, making the contrast even stronger. It may not be a series for everyone, but that is exactly why I think it is a story that people will reme…
Read at the sourceEleonoraViolet
(Originally written on 2025/04/03, one day after I finished watching this title)
Overall, it was a decent experience, but not w/o quite a few problems. Additionally, I absolutely have to mention that it is not an experience for everyone, because of what kind of themes it covers - and since those at the very core of this series, the following section is dedicated entirely to them: the detailed look at other aspects of this anime follows afterwards.
NECESSARY DISCLAIMERS
- First of all, this anime deals with some very heavy themes / topics such as sexual assault, rape, suicide, extreme violence, and murder of children. Additionally, most of them apply to all kinds of characters, regardless of their age.
- I would definitely not recommend watching this anime for someone who is sensitive t…
Read at the sourcePenguy_S
Besides a banger intro, a handful of good action scenes, and maybe two likable characters, this show is appalling. There is enough child nudity, child SA and overall rapey vibes to put everyone who watched this on several watchlists.
Now, I like suffering as much as the next guy, but it really doesn't have to exclusively be little girls...
There are several uninteresting plot elements which develop and wrap up in the least imaginative ways possible. The hand of the author constantly just lets things happen because: 1) plot 2) we need more nudity
More bad things:
The dialogue is generally bland.
Maybe the worst outro ever.
incest.
Infantilization of nearly all female characters.
This is literally the worst show I have ever managed to finish.
I can only imagine this being liked by edgy…
Read at the sourceJu360
The animation is average
The soundtracks are good
the plot starts off with potential but gets boring pretty quick
and the characters are just straight up dumb and naive
The character's decisions made absolutely no sense at all
Too many cliches were included to the point where the whole thing is a mess
The gore and nudity were fine by me, but it seems to be the only thing that makes people like this anime. but in my opinion it is nothing unique and it doesnt make this worth watching.
The harem thing just made it even worse.
the whole thing is full of cliches and plot-holes and none of the characters are likeable in my opinion.
Read at the sourceebol4
Awful shock schlock. Gratuitous, completely unnecessary nudity and exploitative suffering -- basically all by women or children. Deeper themes are left entirely up to the viewer's own projections. The only idea explored here is, "is it ethical for this... company? government? ...to experiment on these psychic beings?" But that isn't a compelling question; you already know the answer and the show doesn't even try to subvert what you'd immediately assume that answer to be.
There are characters and situations presented that give rise to the possibility that Elfen Lied will explore themes like parenthood, abandonment, trust and manipulation, the cycle of abuse, but it never actually does. It depicts some of these things, but it has absolutely nothing to say about any of it. Characters betray…
Read at the sourceneoted_
It’s a solid anime, but I wouldn’t put it on a pedestal or treat it like it’s only violent or traumatic, because that kind of framing misses a lot of what the story is actually trying to do. It’s not bad, and it’s not the best either, but it has a unique style and charm that you don’t really find in other gore anime.
That said, it can be pretty confusing—especially around the middle and near the end. Some characters show up just to die, and a lot of the questions you have while watching never get fully answered (for example: what the director’s real objective is, how he’s also a Diclonius, how many Diclonius exist, how widespread they are around the world, etc.)
It’s also not a bad adaptation of the manga, but the endings are different. I’d recommend watching the anime first and then rea…
Read at the sourcevannax
A true indictment and celebration of the human condition. A true horror story, full of blood and gore and pathos.
This left me gaping in awe with some of the scenes, a woman walking with her bleeding vag, begging for the life of her daughter, a dismembered girl hanging in the air, bleeding into a puddle on the ground...in its own way, this is much, much worse than Kite.
The style, with its Latin lyrics, only adds to its mystique. I have never seen anything like it.
"Why did you let me live so long when you knew all I did was suffer?"
The horror, the horror...
Read at the sourceIwacchan
There was a time edgy anime was considered Peak fiction. If you were a newbie back in the day, chances are people recommended stuff like Death Note, Mirai Nikki, Another and, of course, Elfen Lied.
First thing I want to say is that there is no doubt that Elfen Lied benefited a lot from its time. People (mainly edgy teens) would hype up any anime with nudity, gore and violence and Elfen Lied benefited a lot from this hype. However, as time went by, I still think this anime aged quite well, especially if we compare to other similar anime from that era.
This anime is not the "it´s deep bro" masterpiece some might sell you. But it is still entertaining and has a compelling story with emotional moments, enough to be considered good. If you are getting into gory anime and want something to b…
Read at the sourceScanerior
Elfen Lied is very good at getting you hooked on the plot and characters - in every episode I almost felt like I was there with them (the main characters) and wished nothing had happened to them. The story itself, from my perspective, has no weak points, everything fits together and the behavior and reasons for the actions/reactions of the individual characters seem justified/normal, including the "final" conversation between Kouty and Lucy (the only slight deviation I see is in the romantic life between the relatives). I also appreciate the natural incorporation of bloody scenes or those that are more or less 18+, the series takes them completely normally, does not push them to the extreme, they are just there and add believability to the whole scene. The opening music seemed strangely ch…
Read at the sourceAutomusica
Elfen lied or rather the fairy's song. I watched this anime years ago and didn't finish it, come to today and I decide to give it another shot except this time I read the manga version. The anime series literally only covers half the story. the full version brings a lot more depth to the characters and their struggles. it also contains a lot more action, more blood, more tragedy and yes some more perverted scenes but don't let that stop you. the climax of the story is fitting given the nature of the that world and the harsh rules they live by, and the ending gives you the satisfaction you need from it leaving no loose ends. this story was so good I binge read the entire thing in a couple days between shifts. lucy's character is one of the most tortured anime protagonists I've ever seen but…
Read at the sourcetheo1763
Elfen Lied is a show that I wasn't quite sure how to react to at the end. It's got a great concept on the surface: Lucy, a Diclonius who possesses lethal abilities, breaks free from a lab and winds up living with Kōta and a few other individuals in a small town. She forms this childlike alter ego, Nyu, after suffering a head injury, and that divided personality sets the majority of the plot in motion. The anime jumps back and forth between these calm, almost-slice-of-life moments and insane levels of violence, part of the reason that it's so memorable, but also infuriating. The pacing was very fast, and while the actual narrative wasn't awful, it wasn't particularly special either. I do know that the anime wrapped up before the manga did, so the ending isn't manga canon, but honestly, I di…
Read at the sourcesvwer
Considering the Art Nouveau style and the soul-touching music that's in the intro, I had VERY high expectations of this anime (boy was this a let down).
The first episode had considerable potential. Lucy's first impression was terrifying. She was shown as an indestructible force beyond nature, that nothing can touch. She walks through the halls of her prison without any bit of remorse about what she's doing. She even enjoys taking the life of humans, deserving of death or not. For once, when she ended up getting hit, it felt very impactful. She wasn't as indestructible after all? Then the main male character found her on the beach... and she mentally reverted to a toddler's level... and that's where things went south. Most characters lacked any depth of personality (except for Lucy, Nana &…
Read at the sourcedevnaku
I remember watching Elfen Lied in 2019 and thinking it was terrible, from the vagueness of the story. At leat thats what I felt about it, until four years later that I learnt that it has a legion of fans. I wondered if we had seen the same anime, because I disagreed! Sorry anime fans, it's just not my cup of tea.
I'd like to point out that the themes here: from imprisonment, the corruption of Lucy's being, the struggle between morality and revenge when no one empathised with her, her being helped durint her grief... were actually good. I didn't enjoy the anime.
Read at the sourceMik0_o
Oh wow, I don’t even know where to start. Throughout the entire time I was watching, the only thought on my mind was how I would criticize this anime afterward. The sole reason I even watched it was the opening—I really liked it. The music was fantastic, and the visuals were aesthetically pleasing. Unfortunately, the opening was the only good thing about this anime. Every other aspect—everything—was a complete disaster. Not average, not bad, but outright awful. Thankfully, it was only 13 episodes long because I wouldn’t have been able to handle more.
I honestly can’t understand how anyone can enjoy this anime or even give it an average score. If you do, please explain to me what you liked about it.
Let’s start with the story and plot. It’s at the absolute lowest level—boring, filled with…
Read at the sourceSupersonic_Pain
I have been known to enjoy a trashy show or two
I've previously given School Days and Mirai Nikki high scores and I stand by them because I think they are entertaining shows.
This isn't entertaining or good, it's just trash.
I'm not really offended by it or anything, there's quite an infamous scene and, like, whatever, man.
I think my main problem is most of the characters are either forgettable (genuinely, can you tell me what the name of "the assistant to the professor who hadn't taken a bath in a few days" is without looking it up) or suck.
There's exactly one character I can say without a doubt that I liked and that's Nana. While she has moments that leads to one of my biggest issues, generally speaking, I liked her, sympathized with her, etc, etc. She isn't going to make it in my…
Read at the sourceyakisobari
This anime is not suitable for sensitive people, as it contains nudity and extreme gore. Taking this very important factor aside, the story is unexpected, mysterious, entertaining, emotional and overwhelmingly beautiful to the point one might consider this one of the best animes ever made. Initially focusing on Lucy (Niu) and Kouta, it slowly develops more and more onto other points of view; making it a complete masterpiece. The characters are well-rounded, the art style is classic and the animation terribly smooth (especially during the visceral scenes). It's about murder, feelings, family, friendships, relationships, mental health and philosophy. Prepare to gasp and cry a lot: it starts with blood and ends with tears.
Read at the source
