Elfen Lied: Diclonius Report Complete Collection

Critics have described Elfen Lied as "weird"(Anime Planet) "surprisingly sadistic"(Gamerz Edge) and "addictive" (Animesou). Now wonder when you consider what makes this series hum! Lucy a beautiful young mutant is bred by the government to be the ultimate weapon. Armed with unfathomable powers she escapes her handlers but loses her memory in the process. Fortunately our young waif is taken in by two well-meaning students. Now with government killers on her trail the disposition of a five year old and a hair trigger for ultraviolence Lucy and her young friends must unravel the dark secret of her legacy before it s too late. System Requirements:Run Time: 325 minutesFormat: DVD MOVIE Genre: ANIMATION/ADULT SWIM UPC: 702727146220 Manufacturer No: DELF/BX2 Product Description

strong stomach required

Dont get me wrong, this anime has a good story and a good plot and i get that its about the darker side of humanity, but c'mon. there are plenty of good anime shows out there with a deep meaning that have little to no gore in it, like Air, Chobits, Evangelion, Rahxephon etc... Heck, just about every character that appears on the screen is either naked or in the process of having appendages and/or head removed. The worst part isnt really the gore, its the things they depict with the children. Young girls being molested, tortured, murdered, beaten, etc... there is even a puppy in it that gets beaten to a bloody pulp just because and two 13 year olds bathing together. This would have been an even better anime if they toned down the gore and nudity. I had a hard time watching the whole thing since i was busy trying to figure out if this was even appropriate for someone over the age of 21 to watch. I dont know if it was just me or what, but i felt rather dirty for watching this. If you can handle the gore, nudity, and the things they do to children then you would probably enjoy this anime. If you dont think you can handle it, there are plenty of other good anime shows out there that could fulfill the need for a deep plot. September 4, 2008

Love and Betrayal, Discrimination and Rebellion

I've now seen this series three times, once online and the other two after I ordered this collection. This anime is very good, despite the very apparent blood and nudity. If you can see past that (and you should), there's a very beautiful underlying story. However, it does seem that this anime is one of those "you like it, or you don't" things.

The product itself is very good, although a bit scarce on the extras (a few trailers and that's it), but even so, if you're buying this, you're likely buying it for the actual anime, not the extras.

The style of the case is a hard cardboard case containing three slim DVD cases. The height of the whole thing is a bit taller than an average DVD case and about twice as wide. The outside of the cardboard box and all three of the slim cases have some great Klimt-inspired artwork on them.

In all, this was a great purchase and I recommend this series to anyone who likes anime, and even to some of those who don't (maybe I'll convert a few, haha). But if you can't stand blood and gore, be warned, there's quite a bit in this series. September 3, 2008

Are you people kidding?

Did we all watch the same Elfen Lied?

You know, the one that started out as an anime grindhouse thriller-porn (which would have been great fun!), then immediately devolved into some pseudo intellectual sappy lolita love fest? Is that the same one ya'll watched?!

I mean, seriously guys, holy mother of christ! This was this worst piece of nonsensible drivel I've ever seen! I actually experienced physical pain trying to finish all 13 episodes. And though I hate to admit it, Gantz is no longer the worst moving picture in the history of cinema, because Elfen Lied takes the cake for that award.

So please, if you're considering watching/buying this based on the inordinate amount of praised it's received here on Amazon, think twice. If you enjoyed Gantz or Ninja Resurrection, then EL is definitely right down your lane. But if your more into Cowboy Bebop or Wolf's Rain, I'd stay far, far away from this disaster.
August 23, 2008

Haunting Anime Masterpice (Beyond Addictive)

I brought this box set at Best Buy when they had a special buy one get one at 50% off anime sale. So i got this and Dragon Ball Z season 4 Box set and this title came out to being $15.00 bucks. I actually didn't even want this title but i had to buy another title in order to get the 50% offer which i feel i couldn't let pass me by. The other anime titles on the shelf i already owned. So i gave this a chance. I saw episode 1 once on the anime network & don't recall anything except that one scene was ultra violent with blood everywhere and I just didn't care enough to be interested. I've brought many anime titles in the past few months & non have the x-factor to keep interested or hooked in the way Sailor Moon does.

I'm not into mecca animes too much or anime with a lot of guns and violence. I couldn't sleep last night and all i wanted to do was watch some anime before i finally got tired enough to go back to sleep. So i decided to finally give this series a second chance. I unwrapped this set since it was gathering dust on my DVD shelf, popped it in and from the immediate opening song i felt i could be in for a good show. I've noticed that most series that have awesome opening songs tend to be good shows. Elfen Lied was no exception. To my surprise i was hooked from the 1st episode and was doing my best to cram in as many episodes as possible before 3AM.

Needless to say i was late to work today since i saw almost 4 episodes of this last night. This is a great series and is only 13 episodes so i can't wait to finish it some time this week. I'll provide a quick recap since everyone has already gone into full details in their reviews. The story is about a girl named Nyu/Lucy who escapes from some facility where she was held captive & under lock down. She has extraordinary powers and in one last attempt to capture her, a shot was taken to her helmet which skewed her memory somehow and has created a temporary memory loss or dual personality. Nyu/Lucy wakes up on the beach the next day completely unaware of what happened the day before. She meets 2 people on her journey to finding out what's going on. The show does have a sheer amount of violence but at the same time balances the comedy, and light hearted areas really well. It wasn't non stop violence. There were actually many moments of intimate friendship.

Anyways, this is a great series and ranks up there with some of the best anime titles in film history. Buy it and you will enjoy it. The price tag is a bit over the top on AMZ but it does occasionally go on sale so pick it up. But for 13 episodes, try not to get this item at full price. I'll be spending the day copying the DVD onto my iPod video so i can enjoy this on the way to work. I'm in shock i enjoyed this so much because it is an addictive series and i really liked that this wasnt as dull as all the other titles i've been watching recently. This coming from a fan of Sailor Moon only who isn't into gore, violence, or guns. August 20, 2008

Great setup, though too heavy on some aspects

Elfen Lied is supposed to be a biography of humanity, and we're the villians in this particular piece, juxtaposed against mutant humans who possess telekinetic appendages, making them near unstoppable killing machines. How they reach this particular outlook varies, but almost always arises out of humanities cruelty and petty hatred of those who're different than us.

Lucy, the monstrous main character, loses the majority of her memory and personality, becoming Nyu, a near total innocent, incapable of coherent speech, much less murder. What follows is the subsequent attempts to reclaim Nyu/Lucy by the agency that lost her, resulting in the torture, mutilation, and outright murder of civilians and what amount to children.

The series to chock-full of slaughter and nudity, so lets bump that 14+ up to an 18+ rating. The nudity is supposed to reingrain Nyus absolute innocence, but theres a line between making a cultural point and being nearly pornographic. The series flip-flops a bit too much between dead-serious drama and near cartoonish child like antics, and the ending message is even more depressing: there are more monsters made by man than slain by him. August 18, 2008

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