Elfen Lied Vector 1 - Anime Advanced
- Anime Advanced
- Justin Delabar
- 06/12/05
- click here
Elfen Lied Vol. #1: Vector One
June 14, 2005
by: Justin Delabar
Blood, gore, and cousin-on-cousin action? It must be Elfen Lied.
Review Hardware Used: Magnavox MRD210 Progressive Scan DVD player
Disc Description
Imprisoned under tight military security, Lucy, a genetically-altered human known as a Diclonius, escapes her confines in a wave of bloody violence and brutality. Now lost, alone, and stricken with amnesia, she wanders into a kindly family that takes her under their care, oblivious to the latent destructive power that this innocent-looking girl harbors!
Disc Features
- Clean opening and closing
- Production art
- Character art
- Volume 2 preview
Disc Review:
Content (MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS):
One could say that Elfen Lied (pronounced Elfen Leed) is an anime series with an identity problem, although I wouldn't necessarily agree. Elfen Lied knows exactly what it is: a gory, nudity-filled, shock-value attaining entry into the genre that also includes, amazingly enough, some cuteness. It's certainly an odd combination, and it can throw one off if not prepared, but in the end it all comes together and works fairly well.
Elfen Lied, which is German for Elven (or Elfish) Song, follows the story of the mutant serial killer Lucy. At the opening of the first episode she has begun her bloody escape from governmental captivity, taking guards and other special units down with little more than a thought. One cannot over emphasize the amount of bloodspray evident in the opening minutes of this episode; it's so prevalent that the viewer will immediately be convinced that this series is nothing more than an attempt to either sicken or shock people to death. Heads are ripped from bodies, limbs are torn asunder, and internal organs are removed from their corporeal vessels. It's all in a day's work for Lucy, however, as the over-the-top violence actually does prove the point that she is, most definitely, a true and lasting threat. This is important, especially when Elfen Lied's twist becomes evident by the end of the episode. When Lucy moves to jump from a cliff into the ocean, a sharpshooter is able to blast her metallic helmet off with the equivalent of an elephant gun, knocking her unconscious as she enters the water. When she awakens she does so on the beach at the feet of Kohta and Yuka, cousins who have run into each other for the first time in years, both being new college students. Finding Lucy completely naked, the two are shocked to see that she can say nothing more than 'nyu', and as such, name her Nyu. It seems at this point that Lucy no longer exists; the gun shot to her helmet has obviously destroyed her serial killing personality, leaving only the personage of a new born child -- the all-important twist of Elfen Lied, and the source of its lasting appeal, has been unveiled.
In the second episode the government sends out an elite team of soldiers to track Lucy down, led by the reckless Bandoh. A series of events leads Nyu back to the beach, where she's confronted by Bandoh and another soldier, the shock of which brings Nyu's original Lucy personality back to the fore. A bloody battle ensues (a series standard by now), as the secret behind Lucy's powers is revealed. A homeless girl named Mayu is introduced in this episode, as well, who takes on a more central role in the story later on in the disc.
Nana, a member of the Diclonius race -- the same as Lucy -- is sent to capture Lucy by the government's Chief Kurama in episode three. The primary action of the episode centers more on Kohta and Yuka's relationship, however, and how Nyu plays into the mix. Elfen Lied is filled with sexual tension, be it of an extremely akward nature. Nyu, whose history as Lucy and the events from the previous night remain a secret to her caretakers, is so innocent that she does not realize that nudity and forcing Kohta to fondle her breasts is uncalled for. Yuka, who seems to be interested in more than a simple cousin relationship with Kohta, spends most of the episode stricken with jealousy-fueled grief (time to prepare the banjo-saw-and-spoons band, perhaps?) The odd relationship between the cousins proves as an ill-planned portion of Elfen Lied's story. Even the thirteen year old homesless girl, Mayu, becomes a source of tension between Kohta and Yuka -- it's difficult for a viewer to accept, let alone find any sort of entertainment value in.
The final episode on the disc primarily features the battle between Nana and Lucy, which includes, of course, a few blood geysers. Mayu gets explored a bit more, as well, as it becomes evident that she may be more than just a homeless girl, and could very well serve a larger purpose in the struggle over Lucy. Chief Kurama's relationship with Nana is also tested in the episode, providing some decent drama -- nothing as over-the-top and completely unbelievable as the continuing interplay between Kohta and Yuka (which is saying something considering Kurama is a man in his early thirties, most likely, and Nana is a mutant child.) Kurama's commanding officer and a diabolical researcher is also introduced, promising some interesting plot developments come the second volume in the series.
Elfen Lied: Vector One does go a little over the edge at points, but it works primarily with what the writers were attempting to accomplish. Lucy's ruthless nature is a perfect contrast to Nyu's innocence, and that difference is represented perfectly through the series' portrayal of extreme violence alongside sickening cuteness. Unfortunately, some of the personal relationships, particularly Kohta and Yuka's, are handled in a manner not befitting a third grade play and interferes with the enjoyment of the overarching plot.
Video:
Simply put, Elfen Lied is beautiful. Studio GENCO has pulled off a moving masterpiece with this series, as the character design and animation is nothing short of superb. The difference between how Lucy and Nyu appear is striking, even if they, technically, are the same person. One knows that when ridiculously cute Nyu --fit with horns that look like cat ears -- tilts her head down and squints just slightly that Lucy is prepared to make a gory return. The animation itself is smooth and almost of movie quality, which may be a testament to the fact that the series is only 12 episodes long -- the short length allowed the producers to spend more money and time on animation quality. Background art is also stunning, presenting ancient temples, houses, shops, and beaches with unsurpassed detail.
Sound:
The opening theme definitely stands out since it's in Latin, and also amazingly beautiful. Background music isn't overly apparent throughout the four episodes on the disc, but what is there, primarily instrumental tracks and some vocal ones mirroring that of the theme, fit with scenes well enough. Ambient sounds are handled nicely, especially sometimes during Lucy's attacks where an eerie effect is used to let the viewer know that something extremely terrible is set to happen to whomever is within her sights. The ending theme is a step removed from the rest of the disc's soundtrack, being a little more pop rock influenced, and offers a nice surprise to end on.
Menus:
Elfen Lied: Vector One's menu is rather sparse, which isn't all bad -- at least there are no annoying menu transition animations. The art is simple, featuring a grid with what appears to be a couple initial Lucy design sketches with a hand silhouette to the right and menu selections below. Background music is basically non-existent, as the DVD authors instead decided to include sound effects of limbs being ripped from a body (which results in blood spray across the menu -- it's actually rather neat.) Menu selection from the main menu itself is rather disappointing. For instance, there is no 'Play All' option. It isn't a huge issue, since the episodes progress normally if the disc is just allowed to play from an episode selection. Although, there is no way to select specific scenes from the menu which is quite the annoyance, especially since one cannot skip back from the opening of one episode to the last scene of the previous episode. In fact, sometimes when I attempted it the DVD even kicked me out to the trailers, something I still don't understand. If a scene selection menu had been included, this would have been less of a problem, but as it is remains a major inconvenience.
The sub-menus that do exist, Extras and Languages, follow the same graphical style as the main menu and are straight forward enough. Unfortunately, the menus fail a standard quality check because they're missing a staple of not only anime DVDs, but of DVDs altogether -- the scene selection menu.
Extras:
The extras on Vector One are standard fare, including clean opening and closing animations along with character and production artwork. The character artwork is a slideshow set to instrumental background music. The only issue is that it is, indeed, a slideshow and the images themselves cannot be navigated at will. The production artwork, which features background art along with rudimentary character sketches, follows the exact same pattern. ADV preview trailers and DVD credits are also included as extras, but I still contend that trailers and credits, especially, are not extras no matter how much distributors wish them to be. There's also a preview for Elfen Lied: Vector Two accessible from the main menu, which is a nice touch and underlines what appears to be a new and welcome trend for anime releases.
The extras on the disc are nothing spectacular, but there's enough there to make them passable.
Dialogue:
The English dub isn't exactly awe-inspiring. A number of characters sound very similar, especially the female ones (Yuka and Mayu sometimes cannot be told apart if they're off screen and speaking.) Kohta's voice is rather dull and emotionless, while Yuka's is primarily overplayed -- although it could be argued such takes on the voices fit the characters' personalities, although I believe each to go too far in their respective directions. The difference between Lucy and Nyu's voices is well done, however, although that's not saying much since Lucy rarely speaks and Nyu only says, well, 'nyu.'
Overall:
Despite some character interaction issues, primarily between Kohta and Yuka (Cousins Gone Wild!), Elfen Lied: Vector One provides an interesting concept and pulls it off well enough to make one wonder what lies next for the lovable Nyu and her murderous side, Lucy. The past of the Diclonius species, as well as Kohta, Yuka, and Mayu's connection to it, is hinted at enough to create needed suspense and wonder. What, exactly, is Lucy and those like her, and what does the government wish to do with her and her kind? Will Kohta and Yuka have three-armed babies, or will Nyu and/or Mayu get in the way? Despite issues with the menus and some of the series' maddening melodrama, there's little doubt one will get hooked, as long as the viewer has little trouble with nudity and seas of blood set alongside mind-numbing cuteness.
Posted on Sunday, June 12, 2005 (Archive on Tuesday, July 12, 2005)