by Otakuden
“Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, the wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed to me, I lift my lamp beside the golden door!”
A wholesome concept at the heart of acceptance, forgiveness, and belonging. But who are the forgotten, the tired, the poor, and the humble? When there is nowhere and no one to call home, then consequently there is an absence of hope. Without hope there is no light. Without light there is no warmth, no life.
Elfen Lied has unfortunately suffered a harsh and critical reputation do to the very graphic visual elements of blood splatter and dismemberment, abuse and suffering, physical and emotional torment, and utter despair. Their brutally honest depiction is the driving force behind Elfen Lied’s exposure of human depravity. There are no kids’ gloves to be found here or any censorship to spare the viewers from an oft ignored and sad truth – people are cruel.
Your father and little sister are brutally murdered right in front of your eyes, literally torn apart limb-from-limb. Such is the shock of the trauma that the young boy suppresses all memories of the incident and a large majority of the events surrounding it.
A mother curses her daughter’s existence for being a burden to her life, and ignores her cries for help as the girl’s step-father continues to sexually abuse her in the silence of the night. Terrified, alone, she finds her only friend in a fellow run-away puppy.
The crush of your childhood remembers nothing of your childhood promise or his shy confession of love. Years pass and when he finally comes back into your life, he is already attached to another young girl.
Brainwashed. Raised almost her whole life in captivity, she had at one time been free, and yet a prisoner of hatred, racism, prejudice and fear. Despised by everyone who knew her for being different, she happened to meet one lone boy who gave her the open acceptance and love she had never known her whole life. He was her world. And then betrayal.
Our vehicle of tragedy to carry the weight of humanities sins and salvation are the mysterious Diclonius. Purported freaks of human evolution and born with natural bone protrusions from their heads in the form of horns in males and cat-like ears on females. The Diclonius also possess an unknown and deadly power known as vectors which are telekinetically controlled manifestations of multiple powerful arms from their being. Capable of reaching varying distances and number of manifestations, they are usually invisible to the naked eye, thus humans seemingly explode and are torn to bloody pieces on their own as the Diclonius watch in cold detachment and sometimes warped pleasure. Despite their singular nature, Diclonius are each different in personality, power, temperament, and intellect.
Any Diclonius born is killed at infancy, or as soon as they are discovered and before their powers manifest at a very young age. The few who aren’t killed are captured, raised in captivity within the confines of a top-secret facility. Suffering an endless cycle of torture, torment, and experiments, their only contact with humanity is one of violence and cold objectification. It is no surprise then, should any Diclonius encounter humans, it would mean their immediate death. There are a few theories that the Diclonius are an evolutionary weapon and they seek to find their perfect mate to create a new race of humans after wiping out the old. But it is only a whispered purpose behind Elfen Lied’s message.
Into this world enters our cast of Kohta, Yuka, Mayu, Nyu, and Nana. Initially unrelated, these five characters meet over a spiraling series of events, all of which began with the Kohta and Yukas meeting Nyu on the beach during a crimson sunset. Alone, with no memories and the mental capacity of a toddler, the lost Diclonius is named Nyu by her new benefactors. Assuming the role of parent, it isn’t long before this ragtag yet tight-nit family grows with the addition of Mayu and Nana. In a world which has cast them aside like unwanted garbage, a thing, one young couple has given them back their humanity which had been denied them.
Suffering a split personality due to a severe blow to her head by a .50MG round during her escape from the facility, Nyu and Lucy vie for stability and sanity outside the lab and with their new family. Eventually the two progress towards a common conscience and goal – to protect their home and the love they have found. And in the case of Nyu, maybe even find possible forgiveness.
A smile and a hug can erase the stain of a cruel past and put an end to a vicious cycle.
The is the heart of Elfen Lied. Grievous sins can only find salvation in honest selfless deeds. Also, there truly is a darkness and depth of depravity that people, that humanity is capable of and whether we choose to acknowledge it or not, the simple truth still remains. I was greatly moved by the straightforward story-telling and the message it delivered. It took great courage to animate and depict in such vivid detail that human depravity and sin. For some it may have been too much to stomach, but I appreciated Elfen Lied in its whole and have found a new gem for my anime collection.
“Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, the wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed to me, I lift my lamp beside the golden door!”
How many of us can say that we truly understand, embrace, and live by those values? Can you? Can I?
To check out all of Otakuden’s reviews, check out her blog at http://otakudenreviews.livejournal.com/
