Elfen Lied is infamous. It’s one of those series you’ve either heard really positive or really negative things about. Or maybe you’ve never even heard of it at all. But no matter what you’ve heard (or haven’t), Elfen Lied getting an English release is a pretty big deal because it has a cult following. And, well, I am part of that cult. It has been one of my favorite anime ever since…forever. So, reading an official release was very, very surreal.
If you aren’t familiar with the series, it’s about Kouta, a college student who accidentally comes across a young woman on the beach. She has no memories, acts like a child, and cannot speak, except for the word “Nyu.” Oh, and she has horns on her head. Kouta and his cousin Yuka take the girl, who they name Nyu, back to the place they’re staying. Unbeknownst to them, Nyu is actually a mutant – and a homicidal one at that.
She is a Diclonius, a new breed of human whose purpose is to eradicate the current Homo sapien race. She has psychic powers that allow her to easily tear apart anything she touches. After being imprisoned for many years, Nyu escapes from a research facility, but receives a head injury and gets amnesia. Kouta and Yuka, as well as Nyu herself, are all unaware of this. Nyu’s presence sets off an entire chain of events as scientists, soldiers, and tons of other people try to hunt her down.
I love the premise of this series so much. Maybe the love of its premise has blinded me for a long time. I’m not sure if it’s because of my undying love for the anime – or maybe because I watched it like three times and I’m getting sick of it – but I didn’t find myself enjoying the manga as much as I thought I would. The main story is more or less the same, but there are elements in the manga that bothered me.
I guess I’ll begin with the most obvious: the fan service. Within the first couple of pages, while she’s escaping, we see Nyu completely naked. Yep, nothing is hidden. This didn’t bother me too much – the facility could have kept her that way as a safety precaution or because they saw her as less than human.
However, most of the other fan service was unwarranted. The anime had fan service too, but I don’t remember it being so… obnoxious. (Maybe my memory is just failing me.) For example, in the manga, Nyu grabs Kouta’s hand and makes him touch her chest for no reason whatsoever. There are also harem elements, which is common in Lynn Okomoto’s work. But again, it’s really not needed, especially with Yuka. She has a crush on Kouta, but she says and does stupid things that make her character seem weaker. And she isn’t a very strong character to begin with. Honestly, all of the fan service takes away from the deeper elements going on in the story. Like, the themes of human cruelty.
That’s my next complaint actually. The humans in Elfen Lied need to be mean. Otherwise, it would be harder to sympathize with Nyu and the other Diclonius (Dicloni?). But some of the characters were just too mean, to the point where they’re over-exaggerated. One such character is Bando. He is the scum of the human race – selfish, crude, and, to put it nicely, deranged. He also has an unbelievable sailor’s mouth. It was just too much. Okomoto could have made him a jerk while still keeping him realistic.
My last main complaint is the art. I highly respect artists, and all of them can probably draw better than me. But the art in this manga is subpar, with characters’ proportions all over the place. I kept thinking, “People’s bodies don’t do that!” However, it is what it is. I try not to let certain art styles take away from the story, whether it’s manga, anime, or something. But the art in the Elfen Lied manga is just (very) cringey at times.
But wait, Rai, you are forgetting something important — what about all of my gratuitous violence? EHonestly, it doesn’t really bother me after watching the anime so much. And I’m a huge AOT fan, after all! However, if you don’t do well with violence or other dark, harsh themes, I would steer clear of this manga. It’s not for the faint of heart.
As for my final thoughts on volume 1…Overall, I felt that the anime handled everything better. Yes, there was still violence, nudity, and other questionable aspects. But, in my opinion, the negative aspects didn’t feel quite so drawn out or exaggerated. Maybe my memory is fuzzy – or maybe I’ve put the anime on an unreachable pedestal that is being held up high by my own bias.
I still enjoyed the manga to some extent, though. Again, getting to relive Elfen Lied was amazing in its own way. I just felt the manga could use a lot of tweaking. Keep the main story of Nyu and Kouta trying to find themselves – while also dealing with all of the crazy science stuff – and get rid of the unnecessary sub plots. I do want to continue reading the manga, however. I’ve heard it ends very differently than the anime, so I’m curious to see where things go from here. And also hope that things will improve on the way.