Elfen Lied

• Cucurbita wrote on 2011-07-11 10:56
  As far as "best anime" goes, I can really only think of Code Geass off the top of my head. Though I suppose if I think harder I can think of something else.
  
  But heck, its been a VERY long time since I watched an anime in which I would say at the end of every episode "holy ****" and then "I CANT FREAKING WAIT FOR NEXT WEEK'S EPISODE!"
  
  In fact I believe I've never felt that way about any anime. Though I feel it every week with manga...
  
  [video=youtube;wLDJTOvBXF8]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wLDJTOvBXF8[/video]
• Kingofrunes wrote on 2011-07-11 11:07
  Well thanks for sharing that. That amused me greatly. The only reason why I say there's no "best anime" is because everybody has what they would call the "best anime" until something new comes along and then they are like...Oh! This is the "best anime".
  
  I won't say what's the "best anime" because no matter what I say, someone will come along and shoot that down so why bother?
• Cucurbita wrote on 2011-07-11 11:30

  Quote from Kingofrunes;507875:

  Well thanks for sharing that. That amused me greatly. The only reason why I say there's no "best anime" is because everybody has what they would call the "best anime" until something new comes along and then they are like...Oh! This is the "best anime".
  
  I won't say what's the "best anime" because no matter what I say, someone will come along and shoot that down so why bother?

  
  
  Well, recently we had Madoka, but that only hit a higher rank due to the spur of the moment.
  
  Code Geass is still far more delicious <3
  
  Darker than Black is pretty high up there but ruined itself with its presentation.
• Meikeru wrote on 2011-07-11 12:55
  Started the manga last night and was hooked till I finished it at twelve in the morning. The ending is a tad strange, but a good one.
• truefire wrote on 2011-07-11 13:36

  Quote from Kingofrunes;507865:

  I never said it was the best anime ever. Sorry to hear that you dislike it so much. I simply found it to be a fascinating anime. I have yet to think that any anime is the best anime cause frankly, I feel there is no so called "best anime". I have favorite animes but I wouldn't go so far as to say that they are the "best anime".
  
  That's just my take on it.
  
  In the end, either you enjoy it, or you don't. I happened to enjoy it.

  
  
  Never said you did. Keep in mind I had to suffer through when this series first aired, and the subsequent compulsion of the internet to recommend Elfen Lied as a gateway anime for those who'd never really watched anime before. I simply cannot understand the fascination with it once it's really broken down and the novelty wears off. I see it as a horror anime where the psychopathic murderer spends most of her time swapped out with a dry-humping three-year-old who's a bit late into her vocabulary development (depriving the audience of seeing any character growth from her), who ends up living with Captain Cardboard (aka "I am Runaway Jesus" or "I am destined for no character growth") who never acts, only reacts, whose incestuous cousin (aka "Even if this weren't incest, there's a time and a place, lady") would get jealous if he helped an old lady walk across the street. We then have Violent Military Guy (aka "I slap women for no reason to let you know I am teh evilz"), Mayu (aka the only non-one-dimensional character, possibly the smartest person in that entire house; did I mention I believe the creator/anime staff just wanted an excuse for a little girl to bend over naked in front of the reader/watcher?), and Nana (who, while I can understand her trauma would have been much better in expressing it without screaming "Papa!" half the time). The director of the Diclonius program was only important in regards to his relation with Nana, Lucy, and Mariko (the three Diclonii? Is that the plural?). Btw, Mayu and Nana are probably the most relatable characters in this story and the sad truth is they have almost no impact on it. All the events would have still unfolded in one way or another without them. And the actual head of the program and his son were completely abandoned plot points. People tell me the manga continues on with the story, but unless it fills in the majority of plotholes and bad characterization, I just can't see that saying much.
  
  There are better horror anime out there (Higurashi). There are better anime with violence and boobs that also suffer from the story ending abruptly while the manga continues it (Berserk). Berserk isn't even a horror anime and the stuff in it is more screwed up than any inkling of things you could see in Elfen Lied.
  
  Tl;Dr: It gets a lot more praise than it deserves, mostly because it's a shock value series that tries to masquerade itself as something profound, and that's really my biggest problem with it. That and Yuka.
  
  Edit: Code Geass is good, but far from being considered a "best anime" contender. It's basically "Gundam SEED except good," starring Light Yagami except likeable, and I like to think its success owes strongly to the collaboration of Clamprise. It's a fun ride, and Lelouch's charisma really carries the series, but it drops a bit too often into the unnecessarily silly, and a lot of its plot points are kinda soap opera-ish. Also, while the chess metaphor is interesting, it's a bit overused, and just like many of the more recent Gundam series, Code Geass suffers from the same pseudo-philosophical approach to war. Darker than Black did have a better story/premise, but admittedly worse presentation. And its second season kind of hurt me, but only because I had to compare season 2 to season 1 and ask myself "What happened?"
• TA wrote on 2011-07-11 17:08

  Quote from truefire;507442:

  Singlehandedly the most overrated anime of the past decade. Protip: interesting characters are not solely their [tragic] backstories. Once you get past the shock value of the gore (there's been better anime with more violent themes) and nudity (there's been better-used nudity in various anime), it's really a mess that abandons every premise it initially set out to expand upon. The most interesting character (Lucy) is replaced through 90% of the show with that godawful Nyuu. With the exception of Miyu and possibly Nana/the director, the other characters in the present (not flashbacks) are cardboard archetypes and if you take the time to stop humming the theme song in your head (which admittedly, is a beautiful song), this becomes even more apparent. If I could throw Kouta and Yuuka off a bridge, believe me, I would.
  
  tl;dr: This vastly overrated series fills me with unbridled rage because too many people turn their brains off when watching it then declare it the "best anime evar." It's not the worst anime I've seen, but there's a lot less in it than it likes people to think, and certainly a lot less in it than people say there is.

  
  
  You're entitled to your opinion, of course. But I don't think it's overrated at all.
• Adelynn wrote on 2011-07-11 17:23

  Quote from TA;505880:

  Yeah, it's one of my favorites. If you liked it, try Mnemosyne.

  
  
  All I've heard about that is that it tires to be "adult" and "edgy" by having a lot of perverted stuff and that the story itself isn't all that fulfilling.
  
  Elfen Lied was nice, but the ending was really unsatisfying. It's not one of those where I was okay with the ambiguity. For some shows it works, but I didn't feel it for this one. I guess because it really is incomplete. I know there's a manga, and I haven't read that, but from what I understand, they left a lot out.
  
  Overall, I don't think it's really as great as people say. It's more like people think it's great because it's supposedly shocking and deep. And naked girls that are dangerous.
• Cucurbita wrote on 2011-07-11 18:11

  Quote from truefire;507955:

  Never said you did. Keep in mind I had to suffer through when this series first aired, and the subsequent compulsion of the internet to recommend Elfen Lied as a gateway anime for those who'd never really watched anime before. I simply cannot understand the fascination with it once it's really broken down and the novelty wears off. I see it as a horror anime where the psychopathic murderer spends most of her time swapped out with a dry-humping three-year-old who's a bit late into her vocabulary development (depriving the audience of seeing any character growth from her), who ends up living with Captain Cardboard (aka "I am Runaway Jesus" or "I am destined for no character growth") who never acts, only reacts, whose incestuous cousin (aka "Even if this weren't incest, there's a time and a place, lady") would get jealous if he helped an old lady walk across the street. We then have Violent Military Guy (aka "I slap women for no reason to let you know I am teh evilz"), Mayu (aka the only non-one-dimensional character, possibly the smartest person in that entire house; did I mention I believe the creator/anime staff just wanted an excuse for a little girl to bend over naked in front of the reader/watcher?), and Nana (who, while I can understand her trauma would have been much better in expressing it without screaming "Papa!" half the time). The director of the Diclonius program was only important in regards to his relation with Nana, Lucy, and Mariko (the three Diclonii? Is that the plural?). Btw, Mayu and Nana are probably the most relatable characters in this story and the sad truth is they have almost no impact on it. All the events would have still unfolded in one way or another without them. And the actual head of the program and his son were completely abandoned plot points. People tell me the manga continues on with the story, but unless it fills in the majority of plotholes and bad characterization, I just can't see that saying much.
  
  There are better horror anime out there (Higurashi). There are better anime with violence and boobs that also suffer from the story ending abruptly while the manga continues it (Berserk). Berserk isn't even a horror anime and the stuff in it is more screwed up than any inkling of things you could see in Elfen Lied.
  
  Tl;Dr: It gets a lot more praise than it deserves, mostly because it's a shock value series that tries to masquerade itself as something profound, and that's really my biggest problem with it. That and Yuka.
  
  Edit: Code Geass is good, but far from being considered a "best anime" contender. It's basically "Gundam SEED except good," starring Light Yagami except likeable, and I like to think its success owes strongly to the collaboration of Clamprise. It's a fun ride, and Lelouch's charisma really carries the series, but it drops a bit too often into the unnecessarily silly, and a lot of its plot points are kinda soap opera-ish. Also, while the chess metaphor is interesting, it's a bit overused, and just like many of the more recent Gundam series, Code Geass suffers from the same pseudo-philosophical approach to war. Darker than Black did have a better story/premise, but admittedly worse presentation. And its second season kind of hurt me, but only because I had to compare season 2 to season 1 and ask myself "What happened?"

  
  
  Higurashi was good, but the VN was farrrrr superior to the anime. Adaptation could've used a lot of work.
  
  Especially in the animation department. They actually even got the plot wrong in certain parts
  
  Code Geass is Gundam Seed but good, with a likeable version of Light Yagami as the MC? Wait, that makes it "far from the best?"
  
  Holy ****, your standard of anime must be pretty high.
  
  Anyways, I tend to rate my animes on a fun factor, so for type A animes Code Geass lands first place, and for type B animes its Seto No Hanayome. I've seen enough animes to make a sound decision, since I've been actively watching it since I was born.
  
  Now manga, thats a completely different story. There are many mangas superior to code geass that didn't get an anime, or even if it did, it didn't get a proper one.
• whocares8128 wrote on 2011-07-11 19:20
  It was tragic, at times violent, and beautiful, but that's about all I remember.
  
  I watched the entire thing (and didn't regret it), which is more than I can say for some anime (e.g. Death Note).
• TA wrote on 2011-07-11 19:23

  Quote from Adelynn;508051:

  All I've heard about that is that it tires to be "adult" and "edgy" by having a lot of perverted stuff and that the story itself isn't all that fulfilling.

  
  
  Whoever told you that obviously has a very poor taste.
  
  Any nudity in it is well done, and it's not just for shock value. The story, too, is very nice. It has a feel similar to Ghost in the Shell. It also has the most well done time jumps of any anime, ever.
  
  It's a great anime. Don't knock it till you try it.
• truefire wrote on 2011-07-11 20:19

  Quote from Cucurbita;508078:

  Higurashi was good, but the VN was farrrrr superior to the anime. Adaptation could've used a lot of work.
  
  Especially in the animation department. They actually even got the plot wrong in certain parts
  
  Code Geass is Gundam Seed but good, with a likeable version of Light Yagami as the MC? Wait, that makes it "far from the best?"
  
  Holy ****, your standard of anime must be pretty high.
  
  Anyways, I tend to rate my animes on a fun factor, so for type A animes Code Geass lands first place, and for type B animes its Seto No Hanayome. I've seen enough animes to make a sound decision, since I've been actively watching it since I was born.
  
  Now manga, thats a completely different story. There are many mangas superior to code geass that didn't get an anime, or even if it did, it didn't get a proper one.

  
  
  I wouldn't say my standard for anime is high, but I would certainly say I've seen enough that it's harder to impress me. There are a lot of anime I like that skate by on solely the fun factor, especially anime that know exactly what they are and work within the confines of that self-understanding. I've come to believe that good anime will have very vivid, memorable characters even if the story is weak, and that great anime will have amazing characters and story, or amazing characters in spite of having no true story. I can also watch just about any genre of anime--this includes ecchi, harem, shoujo, shounen, horror, moe, supernatural, drama, seinen, jousei to name a few-- and form my conclusions based on their merits, and I have enjoyed many a series from all genres. I'm less forgiving of the same tried and true tropes when they're not done well, and even amazed when something I've seen before has somehow managed to exceed my expectations. And I am absolutely brutal on something that reels me in with "We're different because we start episodes 1 and 2 with this, this, and this" and then by the time we're at episode 4 we'll be seeing filler, lame jokes, references to better series and meandering until the final episode of the series, where a contrived and unsatisfactory ending awaits us.
• Chockeh wrote on 2011-07-11 21:23
  Never watched the anime but I like the manga.
• Xentaros wrote on 2011-07-12 01:30
  Spoiler.
  [SPOILER="Spoiler"]Everyone died.[/SPOILER]
• Alexane wrote on 2011-07-12 01:36
  elfen lied was my favorite anime T.T it's so deep and beautiful.
• Cucurbita wrote on 2011-07-12 05:00

  Quote from truefire;508226:

  I wouldn't say my standard for anime is high, but I would certainly say I've seen enough that it's harder to impress me. There are a lot of anime I like that skate by on solely the fun factor, especially anime that know exactly what they are and work within the confines of that self-understanding. I've come to believe that good anime will have very vivid, memorable characters even if the story is weak, and that great anime will have amazing characters and story, or amazing characters in spite of having no true story. I can also watch just about any genre of anime--this includes ecchi, harem, shoujo, shounen, horror, moe, supernatural, drama, seinen, jousei to name a few-- and form my conclusions based on their merits, and I have enjoyed many a series from all genres. I'm less forgiving of the same tried and true tropes when they're not done well, and even amazed when something I've seen before has somehow managed to exceed my expectations. And I am absolutely brutal on something that reels me in with "We're different because we start episodes 1 and 2 with this, this, and this" and then by the time we're at episode 4 we'll be seeing filler, lame jokes, references to better series and meandering until the final episode of the series, where a contrived and unsatisfactory ending awaits us.

  
  
  Perhaps we're ranking based on a completely different requirement then.
  
  I can definitely name animes that had better animation, artwork, style, presentation, music, dialog, plot, consistency, etc etc than Code Geass.
  
  But why do we watch anime? Because its fun, and because its interesting. Even if you make an anime and make everything flawlessly, if you're not getting a huge kick out of watching it, it failed.
  
  Code Geass gave everyone, or at least most everyone who watched it, a blast. And yes, Darker than Black season 1 was a huge blast, and season 2 ruined it for me.
  
  I'm willing to place FMA brotherhood pretty high up on the rank too. Fun, interesting, great animation, good music, solid plot.
  
  Anyways, I don't really feel like arguing which is the best, and like I said I only consider it one of the best and can only think of it off the top of my head. But if I had to make a list of "must watch" animes for all anime lovers, I'd put Code Geass in there.
  
  Elfen Lied? Maybe in a different list. Its a fantastic series but doesn't appeal to the general audience. But DEFINITELY put it down for "must read the manga because its one of those animes that got altered and shortened".