Elfen Lied

Elfen Lied is the subject of the 150th episode of Anime Abandon, hosted by Bennett the Sage. It was posted to both YouTube and Benthesage.com on July 14th, 2016.

In this milestone episode of Anime Abandon, Sage takes a look at Elfen Lied, a 2004 Anime who's bloody and misanthropic themes and content have made it a divisive title. Bennett explores the themes and ideas behind the show and why it has become not only a cult classic with a devoted fanbase, but also notorious and hated all the same.

Episode Transcript
(The usual Anime Abandon opening has been replaced with a title card with narration by Marc "The Engineer" Swint)

Marc (VO): Warning: This episode of Anime Abandon contains scenes of blood, excessive gore, violence against children, and suggestive scenes. Viewer discretion is advised.

(It then cuts to the opening sequence and then to Sage in his usual spot.) 

Sage: Well, this is it. The 150th episode of Anime Abandon. (Sighs) It's.... You know what? I-I-it's amazing. To see how the show has grown and evolved over the years and, countless hours of work to, become what it is today. And, I was pleased as punch to hear that Too Many Games wanted to celebrate the occasion with me by flying me out to Philadelphia. They even threw me quite the surprise party.

(A typical dream sequence wipe with accompanying harp sound effect plays as it flashes back to Bennett entering a private room at the convention center.)

Sage: Oh hoy hoy!!

(Bennett closes the door and walks forward, a look on his face that something is clearly wrong)

Linkara: (Off-screen) Hello Bennett.

(The camera cuts to a group of people at the other end of the table: Linkara, Curtis Arnott (Takahata101 from Team Four Star), Erin Frost (His title card artist), Pete Metzger, Woolie, and Anthony Sardinha. All of them staring him down like they were in a Mafia movie as Linkara picks up a plastic bat and places it on the table. The others minus Woolie all pull out their own bats and the door opens up behind Bennett, Chris Zito from Team Four Star gaming coming out and bapping him behind the leg with another plastic bat. Then it shows Bennett getting pummeled by plastic bats as he cowers in the fetal position in pain.)

Chris: Elfen Lied Abridged was not funny!

Sage: I tried my best!

Chris: You made me lose my bat!

(More of the pummeling continues)

Linkara: I liked your game reviews better!

Sage: Thank you!

Chris: I hate you Spoony!

Erin: Your title cards are lame!

Curtis: Son of a bitch!

(As the beating continues, it cuts to an outside shot looking through the glass fireplace as Bennett tries crawling away, but gets dragged back. They all continue wailing on him, but suddenly, the beating stops and they get away. Bennett manages to get up, clearly hurt and in pain thinking he's alright....But the camera then cuts to Woolie behind him with a pool cue, ready to strike.) 

Woolie: VIOLENCE! JACK!!!

(Woolie breaks the pool cue across Bennett's shoulder and throws it to the ground. Linkara then throws his bat on the ground, realizing the trouble he's going to be in if anyone found out what went on as the others do too.)

Linkara: I never even saw these assholes before!

(The door opens as Curtis is holding it open and encouraging the others to get out, Chris staying behind and hitting Bennett one last time, eliciting a groan of pain as he high-tails it out of there with the door closing behind. The screen then flashes back to Bennett in his room, nodding his head in happiness)

Sage: Good times. (Beat) But being beaten unconscious got me to thinking: How do you know when an Anime has achieved cult status? Especially when Anime, by itself, is considered a cult interest? (Pause) I took a lot of blows to the head.

(Cut to a montage showing clips from Brazil and True Romance)

Sage (VO): How we define a cult film follows a few simple guidelines that depend on an amalgam of content and audience reaction. Most films that have achieved cult status, usually revolve around obtuse subject matter, or, in a broader sense, rebellious subject matter. Characters thumb their noses at authority or the status quo by embracing that which is considered perverse or taboo. Stories are written with little to no regard to established tropes to intentionally veer off traditional paths of story telling. And all creative decisions are often made for the sake of themselves, rather than what will prove to be profitable.

Sage: Because of this, cult films can easily be identified by their lack of budget. Not to say that their aren't high budgeted cult films, but they became cult films in spite of their budget, not because of it.

(Another monologue now showing clips from Blue Velvet, Dirty Flamingoes, and Battlefield Earth)

Sage (VO): All of this informs the most important deciding factor over cult status: audience reaction, which can run the gamut between sincere and ironic. Your typical audience might shy away from the non-traditional structure of a David Lynch film, or the general repulsiveness of John Water's characters, or the poorly structured plot of Battlefield Earth. But there are certain audiences that embrace those films, BECAUSE of those perceived slights. Whether they themselves have lived a life that isn't considered (for lack of a better term) normal, or whether they want to experience a film that's unlike anything they've seen before, they can find the fun or general feeling of entertainment from your (Posters for) El Topo's, your Showgirls, your Buckaroo Banzai's. Your Rocky Horror Picture Show's. In the end, it's all about the personal attachment the audience can make with the film, that they can't make with another, that defines what truly makes a film "Cult".

Sage: So with all of that said: how do you apply that to anime? Especially since the aesthetic that the mind's eye conjures when you hear the term (Finger quotes) "Cult Film", doesn't really figure into the anime aesthetic? Well, you gotta further divide the subculture.

(Another Monolgue, showing clips from Dragon Ball Z, Attack on Titan, Rebirth of Evangelion, and Cowboy Bebop) 

Sage (VO): As much as it seems like an oxymoron, there is such a thing as mainstream anime. Look no further than Dragon Ball, Attack on Titan, and Neon Genesis Evangelion for proof positive of this. So, then it becomes a question of audience and fan reaction vs mainstream recognition. For example: Cowboy Bebop has legions of dedicated fans and near universal critic appraisal, but it's status as one of the most well-regarded anime outside of the otaku culture, robs it of a cult status.

Sage: And besides, quality of content has little to do with cult status.

(Cut to a clip of Troll 2 as an example of that very notion)

George Hardy: And you can't piss on hospitality. I won't allow it!

Sage: But now I think we have the tools to build the spectrum on whether or not an anime can be considered cult, and for what reason.

(Another brief monologue with clips from Serial Experiments Laine and....Mad Bull 34)

Sage (VO): On one side of the spectrum is Serial Experiments Laine: a beloved anime that was unfairly ignored by the anime buying public, but was rescued by disappearance by Funimation after enough demand from its fans. On the other side is Mad Bull 34: an outrageously violent shit-show that just had to be seen to be believed, and was rescued from disappearance by Discotek Media.... probably on a dare.

Sage: And in the middle? You have (brings up DVD) Elfen Lied. The perfect nexus of human triumph and atrocity. You either love it....Or you despise it. In a phrase, it's, "The Feels: The Anime".

Sage (VO): A 13 episode anime released in 2004, Elfen Lied is.....exhausting. Whether you love it or hate it, everyone has the same experience after they watch it: like they were put through the wringer and left to dry in the cold. To say that Elfen Lied is emotionally draining, is like saying Schindler's List is emotionally draining.

Sage: I'm not gonna lie to you people: This is gonna be a rough one to sit through. But, 150th episodes don't come along every day, do they? This....Is Elfen Lied.

(Clips from Elfin Lied are shown as Sage begins the review proper)

Sage (VO): The series follows Kota and his cousin Yuka, who happened upon a naked girl washed up on the beach.

(A clip of Nyu/Lucy naked and crying, with Censor Kaiser stepping in (And get used to that throughout this review, the series is pretty well known for its nudity) as Kota awkwardly stares at the commotion, clueless as to what to do.)

Kota: Uh, Hey!

Yuka: Kota, take your clothes off right now!

Kota: What?!

Yuka: Just take off your clothes!

(Kota fails to find a proper response to that awkward question as it cuts back to Sage, who has the same reaction)

Sage: Uhhhh, look Yuka: Sex on the beach sounds like a good idea. But.....

Sage (VO): Oh! You meant take off his coat so she could use it to cover herself. Why didn't you just say that?

Sage: Oh, wait! I forgot! Because you want to bone him!

(It then cuts to a clip of Kota and Yuka underneath their house in a rainstorm as Yuka forcibly kisses Kota to his surprise. Not the first time the anime delves into subjects and topics far beyond its writing grasps to make itself seem more "shocking and mature". Nor will it be the last) 

Sage: Him, I remind you, being her cousin. (Beat) It's that kind of anime.

Sage (VO): Following Pokémon logic, the two decide to name her Nyu, since that appears to be the only thing she can say. And the comparison to wild animals continues as not only does she have stubby horns, she's not even housebroken.

(A clip is then shown of Nyu sitting on the floor and grunting as the two look worried)

Yuka: What's the matter?

(Then it cuts to the anime showing us that she, indeed, pissed on the floor. The puddle being given the Censor Kaiser treatment again, as Sage can only look on in awkwardness. Then it cuts to the Tropic Thunder clip. You know the one.)

Kirk Lazarus: You went full retard man. Never go full retard.

Sage (VO): This would all be pretty uncomfortable if we didn't know that Nyu is actually Lucy: a homicidal humanoid (dubbed a Diclonius) who has the ability and wherewithal to dismember people by the dozens via invisible hands called vectors.

(It then cuts to a bit from the opening episode of Lucy, chained in a straightjacket to a bed above the floor and wearing a helmet, turning around to a security guard in her cell and promptly decapitating him.)

Sage: So instead of it being, pretty uncomfortable. It's REALLY uncomfortable.

Sage (VO): Seems that Lucy was kept under lock and key and away from prying eyes, but was let out under mysterious circumstances. However, during her escape, she catches a sniper's bullet to the head, but instead of killing her, it just makes her go full retard.

Sage: Sometimes.

Sage (VO): Over the course of the show, she reverts back and forth from Lucy to Nyu, like if Forrest Gump yo-yoed between himself and Leatherface. Now this all hinges on one of the most tritely written plot devices ever conceived.

Sage: In fact, it's so trite, that you all know what I'm talking about. The bonk on the head.

(The explanation briefly cuts to a clip from The Majestic before going back to the show)

Sage (VO): Yes, the tried and true writer's crutch for any and all plots. From mega blockbusters to hack comedy sketches, the bonk on the head comes in many forms. But they all perform the same function: getting an established character to act against type. And so it is the same here in Elfen Lied. But the show tries to obfuscate the inherent hokey-like nature of it, by doubling down on the violence that surrounds it. All of a sudden, the thought of a two-faced psychopath has some novelty to it.

Sage: But this presents a problem: If your (Finger quotes) "Heroine" is a murdering butcher half the time, how do you keep the audience from wanting her to be captured and/or put down?

Sage (VO): She can't just keep taking out nameless and faceless guards all the time, so what do you do? Make nearly everyone else around her the most irredeemable fucksticks in the history of fucksticks.

Bando: What the hell is the point of shooting at targets that don't scream or bleed? It's getting old! I'm ready for real people!

Sage: Ladies and gentleman: (Extends his hand out) Meet irredeemable fuckstick number one.

Scientist: Mr. Bando?

(It then shows the memetic clip of Bando turning around at that question, and back handing the poor woman to the floor before staring at her)

Bando: Never sneak up behind me. Stupid bitch.

Sage: ….With a bullet.

(Cut to the first commercial break)