Damn. This is a very, very, very violent anime, and it doesn’t stop to consider your feelings or apologize. In the first 5 minutes or so, what appears to be a young woman with a helmet on slaughters 23 people. Also, she’s totally naked. Soldiers with automatic weapons are cut up, decapitated, and shot with objects re purposed as projectiles.

We learn one defense against this supernatural human, and that she has a range of attack limited to 2 meters. The trick is though, that this being can use any object within her reach and hurl it at anyone, no matter how far away they are.

The woman, named Lucy, easily escapes, but before she can make her getaway, her helmet is knocked off by a 50 cal. Bullet, and she falls into the ocean, bleeding from her head. Lucy washes up on shore, shocking Kohta and Yuka, who call each other cousins.

Unlike the killer we just saw, Lucy has become cute, only able to say “nyu” (Japanese for “meow”). To top off her meowing, she has horns on her head that resemble cat ears. Kohta and Yuka take “Nyu” in. Nyu doesn’t know how to dress, feed or help herself, which provides a lot of ecchi moments and awkward situations. I thought it couldn’t get any more odd with two people who call each other cousin, and yet Kohta says things like “living with a girl seems like fun.” Yeah, I’m not that comfy with their living arrangements.

Bando is a psychopathic soldier who is sent out as part of a team to hunt and kill Lucy/Nyu. His methods may be insane, and he is probably the most unlikable character of the whole series so far, but he could be the only human that can assassinate Lucy.

In episode 2, local police and Bando’s team search for Lucy, and Kohta and Yuka are questioned about Nyu’s whereabouts. This is where Kohta and Yuka could have easily given up Nyu. Being a mystery and a stranger, Kohta and Yuka both don’t know whether to turn Nyu in or to protect her. I won’t give away their decisions, but it’s not that hard to figure out.

Bando, though, runs into Nyu anyway, and he doesn’t care that she’s defenseless. Nyu is weak, but Lucy is powerful, as Bando finds out soon enough. We are also introduced to a girl named Mayu. It’s apparent that she’s homeless and the only family she has is Wanta, a puppy. She is witness to the bloody fight. After Bando and Lucy fight, we learn that Lucy is not the only one of her kind. #7, also named Nana, is another catgirl with deadly abilities. She


In episode 3 we learn the basics of the Diclonius, the race of beings that Lucy and Nana belong to. The Diclonius are mutants who are born with bone horns. Most Dicloni die early in life, but the few who do live are far superior to humans. Dicloni can also sense each other, making it easy for one Diclonius to hunt another. So Nana, who has been cared for and has a “father” is much more balanced and obedient child, while Lucy is wild and yields to no one.

By episode 4, the two Dicloni finally meet and fight in a cemetery. It is crystal clear by the climax of their fight who is best suited for a true fight. It’s a shocking mess of a fight, and it feels good to be surprised at what happens. Near the end of episode 4, you learn there are other parties interested in Lucy, but you do not know if they mean her harm, or they have better interests for her. I’m going with evil intent.

For each episode, the ep. titles are in Japanese and what appears to be like German. I couldn’t clearly read the German looking titles, because of its font and spacing, but I’ll guess those words stand for something scary. I can’t believe I didn’t watch this series as soon as I heard of it, but this is obviously an excellent series that balances naughty fan service with light hearted drama and no holds barred, imaginative violence. If you take the word otaku as a badge of courage, then you should at least watch this first volume of Elfen Lied .

Recommended:
Yes

Viewing Format: DVD
Video Occasion: Better than Watching TV
Suitability For Children: Not suitable for Children of any age