The penultimate volume of Elfen Lied (pronounced Elf-in Leed), volume three, starts bringing the disparate parts of the story together.  The plot starts to coalesce with these episodes and the story becomes even more interesting.  Though there are only three instalments on this disc, a lot happens as the program prepares to reach its climax.

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:

Mayu has brought a new friend home, Miss Nana.  Nana is the diclonius who fought Lucy and had all of her arms and legs amputated in the battle.  With artificial limbs, she looks like a regular kid now, except for her horns.  When she arrives at Kohta's house and see's Nyu though, she attacks.  She just pushes Nyu, but this knocks her out and she comes down with a fever.

While she's delirious with her fever, Nyu/Lucy remembers her childhood before she was locked away.  As an elementary school girl she was mercilessly teased because of her horns.  Eventually the bullies push her too far and, using her vectors for the first time, she kills them all.  Listening to a voice inside her head, she is contemplating trying to kill all of the humans in the world when she meets Kohta.  He's really nice to her, the first person who ever was.  Her homicidal impulses wane when she's around him, but he's only visiting his cousin for the summer and soon has to leave.

The director of the center that studies the diclonius children, Mr. Kurama, also thinks back upon his, and Nana's, past.  He recalls how he started working on the top secret project, and how he felt when he discovered that his own daughter was a diclonius and had to be killed.

This was another good disc.  Not for the faint of heart, this is a very bloody program, but surprisingly it 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 Elfen Lied doesn't.  It has a well crafted story that has a very tight plot, and is quite interesting.

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 and two reels of artwork, one devoted to the characters and the other for backgrounds and sets.

Final Thoughts:

I'm surprised at how much I'm enjoying this show.  I usually don't get too excited by the blood-n-guts anime series, but this one is different.  The tightly plotted and interesting story really has me hooked.  I am a little disappointed that there are only three episodes on this volume, but this disc has more entertainment and value than a lot of anime DVDs that have four shows.  An unexpectedly good show, this disc is Highly Recommended.