Alternative Titles
Synonyms: Elfen Song, Elfic Song, Elf Song
Japanese: γ¨γ«γγ§γ³γͺγΌγ
More titles
Information
Episodes:
13
Status:
Finished Airing
Aired:
Jul 25, 2004 to Oct 17, 2004
Broadcast:
Sundays at 22:30 (JST)
Duration:
25 min. per ep.
Rating:
R+ - Mild Nudity
Statistics
Score:
7.461 (scored by 921241921,241 users)
Ranked:
#2339 2
2
based on the top anime page. Please note that 'Not yet aired' and 'R18+' titles are excluded.
Popularity:
#81
Members:
1,612,525
Favorites:
25,135
Available AtResources
Streaming Platforms
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Ranked #2339Popularity #81Members 1,612,525 Lucy is a special breed of human referred to as Diclonius, born with a short pair of horns and invisible telekinetic hands that lands her as a victim of inhumane scientific experimentation by the government. However, once circumstances present her an opportunity to escape, Lucy, corrupted by the confinement and torture, unleashes a torrent of bloodshed as she escapes her captors.
During her breakout, she receives a crippling head injury that leaves her with a split personality: someone with the mentality of a harmless child possessing limited speech capacity. In this state of instability, she stumbles upon two college students, Kouta and his cousin Yuka, who unknowingly take an injured fugitive into their care, unaware of her murderous tendencies. This act of kindness will change their lives, as they soon find themselves dragged into the shadowy world of government secrecy and conspiracy.
[Written by MAL Rewrite] Elfen Lied follows the source manga through the first seven volumes, with several alterations to the story, and concludes with an original ending. In an interview, director Mamoru Kanbe expressed his disappointment in having to condense the story into 13 episodes and felt that more were needed to include significant plot details that would have made the series more emotive.
The artistic design of both the opening and ending sequences are heavily inspired by the works of Austrian symbolist painter Gustav Klimt. Colors and patterns resembling Klimt's distinct style were used and characters of the series were drawn to recreate several paintings from the artist's golden period, including The Kiss. The opening theme, "LILIUM," which is sung in Ecclesiastical Latin, uses lyrics taken from The Bible, the Renaissance hymn "Ave mundi spes Maria," as well as the alchemical compendium Theatrum Chemicum. | |
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MALxJapan -More than just anime-
| Characters & Voice Actors
| "LILIUM" by Kumiko Noma (ιιδΉ
ηΎε)
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Reviews
Jan 9, 2026
Itβs a solid anime, but I wouldnβt put it on a pedestal or treat it like itβs only violent or traumatic, because that kind of framing misses a lot of what the story is actually trying to do. Itβs not bad, and itβs not the best either, but it has a unique style and charm that you donβt really find in other gore anime.
That said, it can be pretty confusingβespecially 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 directorβs real
...
objective is, how heβs also a Diclonius, how many Diclonius exist, how widespread they are around the world, etc.)
Itβs also not a bad adaptation of the manga, but the endings are different. Iβd recommend watching the anime first and then reading the manga, treating them as two separate works(different outcomes built from the same core story)
And the soundtrack is genuinely great. It adds a lot of depth to the two main characters, Kouta and Lucy, and once you finish the series, the music hits completely differently.
Reviewerβs Rating: 7
What did you think of this review?
Sep 5, 2025
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 KΕta 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 didn't really care how they wrapped it up. My strongest gripes were indeed the overabundance of gore and sexual abuse; those got enormously, way too far along at times, and it just seemed really exploitative.
The cast is fairly a mixed bag. KΕta is an understandable character, especially with his sad past, but he's fairly bland and passive throughout most of the show. Lucy/Nyu is the real treasure, her split personality causing her to be unstable and fascinating, and her storyline is actually fairly riveting. Yuka was kind of a nuisance; her jealousy was always present and gave me the creeps, considering she's supposed to be KΕta's cousin. I, on the other hand, just loved Nana, Mayu, and Mariko; they are all tragic in their own right, and I felt so bad for what occurred to them. Kurama is a complex character; he's not always morally correct, and he can be rather cold, but he adds some substance to the narrative. Bandou is basically a cartoon sociopath, attempting to murder the girls constantly, but never actually felt like a real threat, which was too much at times. Overall, the characters were interesting in spots, but several of the human characters didn't receive as much development as they could have.
On the production front, the animation is good, nice and sharp, and colorful at times, but occasionally that doesn't quite work with the violent material. The music is great, especially the introductory theme, which is creepy from the first note. Japanese voice acting is solid; Sanae Kobayashi does a good job of voicing Lucy/Nyu and gets across the personality shifts well. The English dub is stilted; however, I'd absolutely use the sub. Overall, I scored it a 6/10. I enjoyed some of it, and some of the characters and scenes stuck with me, but the gratuitous gore and exploitative qualities really prevented it from being something that I could wholeheartedly recommend. If you like dark psychological horror with a touch of tragic characters and have no problem with the extreme content, you might find it interesting, but it definitely isn't for everybody.
Reviewerβs Rating: 6
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Jan 16, 2026
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 each other, but it serves purely as an excuse to make one of the women/girls suffer.
The relationships between the male protagonist and all the other characters make no sense, in large part because this is a harem. The protagonist is a blank slate who responds to nearly every situation he finds himself in nonsensically. The women and girls throw themselves at him for literally no reason.
At the end of what is arguably the most emotional scene in the entire season, the studio could not pass up an opportunity for an unnecessary upskirt, completely voiding the scene's impact and leaving me dumbfounded at the show's trashiness.
The studio said they had to cut plot lines that are present in the manga due to only having 13 episodes to work with, and yet nothing happens for at least half the episodes in the season. I'd argue that one could watch only the first and last episodes and they wouldn't be missing anything. Despite that, and in spite of the show's lasting notoriety, the season ends unsatisfyingly with many loose ends and a second season was never produced.
The music doesn't stand out at all as something worth returning to outside of the show and may as well not have been present at all. The sound effects are repetitive and distractingly cartoonish.
The art is pretty average for the time. The animation quickly nosedives after the first episode, especially outside of action sequences.
This show is a waste of time. You aren't missing anything. You can easily predict exactly where the show will go after the first episode, because it makes no attempt to subvert your expectations; it simply goes there and then ends.
Reviewerβs Rating: 4
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50 Entries Β· 66 Restacks
29 Entries Β· 28 Restacks
Poll: Elfen Lied Episode 9 Discussion ( 1 2 3 )
then - Dec 3, 2007 |
113 replies | by _Sillywizard_ »»
Mar 27, 4:16 PM |
Poll: Elfen Lied Episode 12 Discussion ( 1 2 3 )
then - Dec 4, 2007 |
122 replies | by thelshi »»
Mar 16, 3:16 PM |
Poll: Elfen Lied Episode 6 Discussion ( 1 2 3 )
then - Dec 3, 2007 |
141 replies | by TheDeep007 »»
Mar 16, 2:49 AM |
Poll: Elfen Lied Episode 5 Discussion ( 1 2 3 4 )
Sandgolem - Aug 26, 2007 |
162 replies | by TheDeep007 »»
Mar 16, 2:20 AM |
Poll: Elfen Lied Episode 4 Discussion ( 1 2 3 )
then - Nov 30, 2007 |
120 replies | by TheDeep007 »»
Mar 15, 1:54 AM |
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