Anime and Manga Review: Elfen Lied Analyzed and Ending

I watched the anime of Elfen Lied first, and from the anime, I realised that there was definitely gonna be some sort of continuation in the manga series. And from what I read online, the story diverges in the anime (from about Volume 7 of the manga), so this guaranteed that they will never produce a Season 2 of Elfen Lied. Anyway, I just continued on reading the story from Volume 7 onwards, and it was an emotional rollercoaster.

Right off the bat, Elfen Lied treats you with gore and a lot of it, and this will surely satisfy the fans who love gore. Also, for viewers who avoid nudity in anime, this anime has tonnes of nudity, but then again this anime is targeting a mature audience, but it's definitely NSFW. The violence and gore in the anime is definitely very well done, but that's not really the main highlight of the series. Elfen Lied essentially highlights that the Diclonius (humans born with horns) and humans cannot coexist with one another, because once the Diclonius reaches the age of 3, it is unable to control who it kills, and randomly kills without any control. As a result, they are isolated and experimented on cruelly.

The notion of human coexisting with another "species" is prevalent in a lot of works, and it is applicable to reality. Humans regards themselves as "gods" and if anyone threatens their position, they will eliminate it. Elfen Lied is exactly that, but some humans with the Diclonius disease wants to destroy the human race and to replace them with Diclonius. From a human's point of view, it is easy to say that this is cruel, inhumane, all that talk, but all this talk is ironic, when we exert this force against other non-humans. The Diclonius in Elfen Lied often talk about co-existing and why they are treating like dirt, and this is extremely sad and heart-breaking because it opens your eyes to what is going on around you. But what can you expect? We humans cannot treat our own equally, let alone treating other non-humans equally. 

I want a hug too OwO

Another interesting aspect explored is the idea of dual personalities and how most of the Diclonius have these dual personalities. The series continuously highlights how Diclonius cannot coexist with humans. Maybe it's just a wild analysis of mine, but what if the Diclonius symbolized and represented the mentally insane (split personality disorders, etc.). From a young age, Diclonius are traumatized to the point where they require two personalities to control themselves, and this is similar to ones who develop mental diseases. It's probably just me, but it's a neat observation.

Ending Analyzed

The ending of the manga was well suited. It is set after Lucy/Nyu's death. We see my man Bando alive, to Mayu's surprise and joy. We also see Nana and Kurama (alive and not dead), and that's good. I really liked Kurama's character, since he is at the center of every dilemma. He kills other newborn Diclonius, yet cannot kill his own daughter Diclonius. We see Kouta waiting for Lucy/Nyu to meet at the promised location in multiple instances, even until he is a parent now, having his daughter also named Nyu by his side. We can speculate that the mother is Yuka, since the kid resembles her. Also, we find out and can confirm Lucy/Nyu's real name - Kaede, and her confession of her desire to marry Kouta. And from the Elfen Lied wiki "Knowing for certain that their early friendship and love was genuine and that her heart was human, after all, Kouta cries tears of joy for having found his real friend at last." 

Also, the twins shown at the ending with their faces obscured could possibly be the reincarnation of Nyu and Lucy as two separate bodies, but we never can determine whether they are human or Diclonius. However, from Kouta's face of joy, we can assume that it is the reincarnation of Nyu and Lucy, since the silent one is Lucy and the happy cheerful one is Nyu. The clothing is also a sign of why Kouta is happy. The twins are well groomed and healthy, which suggests that they are born into a family whose parents care about them. Therefore, if both Lucy and Nyu personalities were reborn, then the twins were granted all the things that the original Lucy/Nyu was robbed of during her previous life: Kouta's company; to be accepted, and to be loved unconditionally.

Both the manga and anime are decent ways to start off the series. I personally like the divergence of the story and how they changed some details of the final few episodes. However, if you want to enjoy the story, I would either read only the manga (the early chapters' art is not the best but it was his first work, and his drawings drastically improves as you progress) OR watch the anime and then read the manga from Volume 7 onwards. This is definitely a recommend, since it is a completed series, and it is a bitter-sweet story and ending.

Overall Score: 9/10

Story: 9/10

Characters: 8/10

Art: 8/10 (we see evolution of artist's drawing)

Sound: 9/10

Enjoyment: 10/10