The Show:
Elfen Lied comes to a bloody climax with volume four. Though
I'm disappointed that they only put three episodes on most of the discs,
this is a quality show, albeit very violent. In this final volume
Kohta finally remembers his past, and the most powerful Diclonius is released
to kill Lucy and Nana. The series races to a very satisfying conclusion.
Series recap:
A secret research base is working on a special project: involving the
next step in evolution. Looking normal from the outside with the
exception of two horn like protrusions from the skull, Lucy is a 'Diclonius.'
She has amazing psychic abilities and she's quite deadly. Kept under
lock and key because of her violent and unpredictable temperament, society
is safe from this killer. Until she decides to escape that is.
Kohta is returning to the city where his childhood friend, Yuka lives.
Renting a vacant restaurant from Yuka's mother, his old friend helps him
move in. They take a break from unpacking and go for a walk on the
beach when a naked woman walks out of the surf. Only able to say
the word "Nyu" that quickly becomes her name. Nyu is innocent and
childlike, and having no where else to go, Nyu moves in with Kohta.
Which causes Yuka to get a bit jealous, so she decided to move in too.
The group find a homeless girl, Mayu, and her dog and they move in too.
Nyu isn't always an innocent child though. She's also Lucy, the
maniacal genetically engineered killer. The two personalities share
the same body, and the slightest thing can cause them to switch. Of course,
the military isn't just going to let their secret project walk out on them
without a fight.
This volume:
Things have gotten out of control, and the complex decides to release
its strongest weapon, #35. She is the strongest Diclonius that exists,
having many vectors that can stretch to 11 meters in length. They
are afraid that they won't be able to control her though, so several bombs
have been inserted into her body to make her more compliant.
They take her to the mainland to kill Nana, something that #35 is looking
forward to. Nana can sense her coming though and goes out to meet
her. She doesn't want to put Kohta and the others at risk.
Of course the sweet Nana is no match for #35, who has the body of a child,
but the mind of a killer.
Khota, when he discovers that Nana has gone off to be killed, runs after
her and Nyu tags along. Once they arrive at the scene, it doesn't
take long for Lucy's personality to emerge though, leading to the exciting,
and violent, conclusion.
This is a great series. I went into it with pretty low expectations.
I don't usually like bloody violent anime because they often don't have
much of a story, just a lot of senseless action. This series was
different, in addition to the gore filled fight scenes, there was a pretty
interesting background story to keep viewers interested. The characters
are three dimensional and it's easy to relate to them, something that's
rare in this type of program.
The show wrapped up in a very nice manner too. The final episode
was very good and worked well to bring closure to the series. There
is ample room for a sequel (including a surprising revelation in the last
episode), but things did get resolved for the most part.
The DVD:
Audio:
This disc has the original Japanese track and an English dub, both in
5.1. I listened to both soundtracks, and they were equally good,
though I preferred the Japanese track. Both audio choices made very
good use to the whole soundstage. There were a good number of directional
effects, and the sounds and music sent to the rears really put the viewer
in the middle of action. An excellent sounding disc.
Video:
The widescreen anamorphic picture looked really good. The lines
were tight and the colors looked good. The contrast was also excellent,
making night scenes dark but not murky. The show used a wide color palate,
with bright colored clothes and dark dingy alleyways both seeming real.
Digital defects were practically nonexistent. A nice looking disc.
Extras:
This disc includes a clean opening and closing, two reels of artwork,
one devoted to the characters and the other for backgrounds and sets, and
the DVD cover artwork for the Japanese release of the series.
Final Thoughts:
This was another good disc and a fine resolution to the story.
Not for the faint of heart, this is a very bloody program, Elfen Lied
also has a good story to go along with all of the gore. Most anime
shows of this type rank the story way down at the bottom of the list of
things to put a lot of work into, but this one doesn't. It has a
well crafted story that has a very tight plot. Highly Recommended.
Buy: