When I first heard about Elfen Lied I immediately thought "elfs, happy go lucky elfs", and basically came up with a very negative image of it. After actually seeing it though, I can honestly say that the "don't judge a book by it's cover" saying couldn't possibly be more appropriate for this anime. In fact, Elfen Lied turned out to be one of the most brutal animes I have ever seen. So don't be put off by the tittle alone.

Your probably wondering what exactly is Elfen Lied if it's not about those happy little elfs in a merry-go-lucky world. Well to give you an idea, think of the gory action in Berserk combined with the incredible story in Kimi Ga Nozomu Eien, with some of the best production qualities you have probably ever seen in any anime, and you'll have Elfen Lied. That, along with a medieval religious musical score sums up Elfen Lied in a nutshell.

Elfen Lied story will play with your imagination and keep you on your toes, but most importantly, it will work up nerves you didn't even know existed. Although I would recommend that only our Mature viewers watch this one, because it contains nudity, incredibly detailed bloodshed, and variant romances (to the point of incest). For such a complicated story, 13 episodes did seem a little bit too short at first. But by the time I had finished watching all 13 of those episodes, I wasn't sitting by my computer thinking "why aren't there any more episodes". On the contrary, I felt the story couldn't of been executed and rapped up in a more better way.

The musical score couldn't be any more creepy and fitting. The whole religiously medieval and Gothically deprived music may not be what you can imagine sitting down and humming to, but for one reason or another, you can't help but notice how well it contributes to the overall feel of Elfen Lied.

Animation is superb; Production quality at best. The character design might be a little bit simple, but the backdrop and surroundings are incredibly drawn. You will sometimes feel that the anime is pushing you into another reality, just based on the level of quality put into every frame.

I have to warn every one not to stop watching after the first couple of minutes, because it is misleading to do so. The series has a lot more to offer then what seems like mindless bloodshed. As you can tell though, I didn't reveal much about the story in this review. I feel like this is one of those animes where you have to see it to experience it, and any further information I give you, the reader, will ruin the incredibly articulated story. Although it might not be every ones' cup of tea, Elfen Lied is a must see, and getting a wopping 5 out 5 is more then enough incentive to go watch it.

WNK~