Search - Elfen Lied - Vector Three on DVD

Childhood revelations

K. Sylverne | Chicago, IL United States | 01/24/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Elfen Lied is just one of those darker animes that comes off as a little much at some points, but overall manages to pull it off.

The majority of this DVD deals with Lucy's past. We learn why she does what she does, and her and Kohta's relationship. It is during this sequence that I'm reminded of how utterly brutal this series is. It really does have a knack for cute little sequences that leave you chuckling, only to have that grin smacked off your face with blood splattering all over the place. It is truely this that is Elfen Lied's greatest achievement. Not many titles can pull off the cute and violence factor this extent.

Overall I think this DVD does a good job of revealing things from the past. Including how Karuma came to start working with the Dilconious, and why he's made the choices he's made. Since this is 3 of the last six episodes, there's quite a bit of information and emotion crammed into here, but it manages to not overload itself.

Sadly I think a lot of people focus on how violent this show is. I agree with one of the reviewers before me, in that it just emulates how lonely and isolated these girls are. There's no one there for them, and those that are, inevitably leave them."

WHY SHE KILLS

Sesho | Pasadena, TX USA | 10/04/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Vector 3 of Elfen Lied continues one of the greatest anime series in recent history. It starts off with Nana attacking Nyu, not knowing of Lucy's split Jekyll/Hyde personality. Accusing Nana of a unprovoked assault, Kohta slaps her and she runs off into the night, followed by Mayu, who is the first to learn the truth about her seemingly harmless housemate. Meanwhile, Nyu slips in a feverish state and when Lucy asserts herself, she flashbacks to the past and while we may not learn to sympathize with her mass killings, we can at least begin to understand some of her motivations. This volume also sheds some light on the connection between Kohta and Lucy. Some pretty ugly things have been done to her.

Elfen Lied is a combination of everything that is good about anime. It has a complex plot full of dark secrets, lost memories, love triangles and quadrilaterals, characters with dark and good motives, conflict, the loss of childhood, persecution by ignorant masses, Frankenstein metaphors, Proustian visions of music which pop up in the beautiful theme "Lilium" which plays like an operatic aria from Berg's Wozzeck in the background, and most important of all, it has passion. While the blood may flow, violence IS shocking and Elfen Lied never takes it lightly. The violence is just an expression of extreme loneliness and pain. This is Shakesperean anime and it has very few peers in its needle-like intrusion into your mind that will haunt you after you watch it.
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