Would this anime be appropriate for a 14 year old?

[caramellmusic]

Ok, so.... my younger friend wants to watch an anime called Elfin Lied, and I have heard that it has way too much nudity in it, and might not be appropriate. Would it be ok for a 14 year old to watch?:?:

[ShiroiHikari]

It's probably too much for a 14-year-old, yes. See this review for more details:

http://www.christiananime.net/reviews_anime.php?display=267

[Shao Feng-Li]

Yeah, no, it's hardly ok for anyone to watch. I'm not sure why anyone would want to.

[LadyRushia]

Moved to anime.

[EricTheFred]

Personally, I would say the sheer amount of blood in it already disqualifies it, even before getting to the nudity.

[CrimsonRyu17]

No. Maybe at 18 or 19, but even then highly depends on the maturity of your friend.

[Lady Kenshin]

Oh, goodness no!

[Fish and Chips]

Actually, the nudity is probably the least offensive thing in Elfen Lied.

[TriezGamer]

Actually, the nudity is probably the least offensive thing in Elfen Lied.

Gonna agree with this.

[minakichan]

I saw it when I was 19 and could barely stomach more than 15 minutes of it. I wanted to crawl under my seat and cry. I spent the rest of the night trying to anything I could to keep it out of my mind, but I really couldn't sleep that night.

No.

[Tsukuyomi]

Actually, the nudity is probably the least offensive thing in Elfen Lied.

I second this ^^

I personally really enjoyed this series ^__^; Lots of deep meaning behind this series ^^ It's worth a watch, but ONLY if you can handle such material within this series ^__^

I would say it really depends on their maturity level and what all they can handle ^__^ Some would say this anime is only about boobs and blowing up things, but there's much more to it ^^

[Bobtheduck]

Actually, the nudity is probably the least offensive thing in Elfen Lied.

At least the anime [spoiler]has an ambiguous ending, so you're left thinking things may have gotten better.[/spoiler]

The manga? [spoiler]Not so much... There was not a single redeeming thing in Elfen Lied, from beginning to End, and the manga is 10x worse than the Anime in that regard... Everyone is evil except for the main character (not Lucy, I mean the guy) and... maybe Nana, and there isn't a bit of light and joy in that terrible world... The guy hunting Lucy is psycho, the guy with the crossbow is even worse, the people who worked on the diclonious are all evil... I mean, that whole test with the spiked balls and then there's that girl that had to work naked because she lost a bet or something, so it's full of humiliation and it gets sexually explicit for no real reason... Seriously, combined with the desolate and despairing outlook of the whole thing, I can't see a single redeeming factor about Elfen Lied...[/spoiler]

[Paul]

Ah, no. I would wait until 18 to watch this series.

[danceljoy]

I watched it when I was 14-15, thinking that I'm mature enough for it. Personally I'm sure that I'm mature enough for its explicit nudity and I have high tolerance for violence. But I made a tiny mistake: I lacked maturity as an anime enthusiast.

When I watched it I thought it was bold, revolutionary, deep, and one of the best animes created but after reading a lot of reviews I realized that it far from perfect. There were problems in story/plot execution that I'm not going to elaborate further (but they're not that important anyway). I hated it afterwards. Though this is just my opinion, I realized how blatant objectification is in that series and the violence adds up to the numerous fetishes featured in that show:lolicon, sadism, harem etc.

So this is for the ones who plan to watch this:

Be sure to have watched in depth MANY other animes before trying it so appreciation will be much better.
If you have low tolerance on violence and torture, don't watch it at 14.
If you have innocent eyes and have not seen enough nudity(not in a sexual context), exposure to this series may be too much. It may be not worth it because you may be scarred.
If you are somehow a feminist, this series may offend you

For those who have started it:
If you can't take the images off your mind and get bothered by it too much, find another anime to watch for the meantime
If you are having nightmares, definitely stop because you may getting vulnerable to evil spirits present in that show

*Note that evil spirits are everywhere, not just in Elfen Lied

Nevertheless, the Elfen Lied opening is the most artistic opening I have seen in my life so far.

[caramellmusic]

Oh.... yeah, and both of us have a sorta awkward fear of severed limbs, so.... it's a no all around then

[Tsukuyomi]

? [spoiler]There was not a single redeeming thing in Elfen Lied, from beginning to End,I can't see a single redeeming factor about Elfen Lied...[/spoiler]

Kinda off topic

[spoiler]I would say a redeeming factor is the whole,"Don't treat others as possessions. The guys (as you referred to them), used the Diclonious as objects for their own personal gain. I don't want to go too much into what they were trying to achieve, but it was something that they shouldn't have been treading in the first place.[/spoiler]

[TriezGamer]

I think Elfen Lied does speak heavily to themes of racism and acceptance. When you consider Lucy's origin story (many people feel those boys didn't suffer enough), it brings to mind (for me anyway) a lot of imagery of hating someone for being different, and the psychological effects it can have on that person.

[ChristianKitsune]

o.o weird my friend is making me watch this... I've gotten through the first DVD and it's REALLY violent, almost hilariously so... XD; I mean its SO unrealistic so far. I can't even begin to take it seriously, and it looks so fake.

But no. Its rated MA for a reason...lots of detailed nudity (we aren't talking about barbie nudity here for serious) and violence, be in unrealistic or not it's still pretty darn crazy and scary if you are really sensitive to it.

I'm not even sure if I'm going to continue with it, because it just doesn't seem like a great series...

The character designs bug me, as does the English voice acting... so.. yeaah. ^^;

[Lady Kenshin]

Now, I wouldn't say that I liked all the content, but I agree with Lucky here. I LOVE Elfen Lied. I didn't hear about it until I was about 17, and I didn't start watching it until more recently, but I have to say that if you can stomach it, it's pretty good. I don't claim it's the best ever, but it really spoke to my heart.

[Maokun]

I liked this series, but truly, it might be too much for a 14 year old. The anime (definitely not the manga) has several redeeming qualities ath the psychological level and the sci-fi premise is sound. Too bad that trying to be too "mature" (a vice left from the manga) the series is dragged down by gratuitous and explicit fetichism, such as gore, torture and sexual deviantism.

Nevertheless, the Elfen Lied opening is the most artistic opening I have seen in my life so far.

I agree. What about the hilariously paradoxical upbeat ending? XD

[Lady Kenshin]

I agree. What about the hilariously paradoxical upbeat ending? XD

That always did seem out of place to me.

That said, I read the manga, and while it definitely upped the squick level... I still came away somehow changed. In a good way.

[Tsukuyomi]

That always did seem out of place to me.

I never read the manga, but the whole ending seemed very open to me o__o Mayhaps, a season two of Elfen Lied (has no idea when this anime was released) o.o?

This series struck me has one of those "What Not To Do" type anime.

[spoiler]The "What Not To Do' in this case would be you shouldn't try to play God o___o The staff that that.. experimental facility place were looking to study the Diclonious. Thus, creating a new species of super humans (?) o___o [/spoiler]
It really touches upon the value of humanity ^__^

[Kurama]

I say no. cause I could barely handle watching AMVs of the show. *shakes head* Ugh. I would not put a younger teen through that.

[Tsukuyomi]

I say no. cause I could barely handle watching AMVs of the show. *shakes head* Ugh. I would not put a younger teen through that.

Lol, I understand why xDD

My friend was the one who actually told me about Elfen Lied ^^ Well, I had already seen a little of it (few minutes of the beginning), but I stopped because I thought it was a military type anime... xDD They had told me that their college professor (forgot what class) was going to be showing it in their class ^^ This was no anime club/class whatsoever ^^

After they watched it in class, they told me it was more then just what I saw in the first few minutes, so I gave it another chance ^^

If any of you who weren't able to stomach it this time around, I suggest giving it a try later down the road ^^

[Kurama]

So it's good? I dunno, every time I tried, I never really got the good feeling from it. Like I felt like crud by the end of a scene or two.. O_O I want to try it, but bleh. just not my thing. I'm ok with gore and stuff, but I dunno. That anime just gave me the chills for some odd reason. O_O; But well said, Tsukuyomi.

[Bobtheduck]

I never read the manga, but the whole ending seemed very open to me o__o

The manga doesn't have an open ending... Quite closed. [spoiler]It does not end well... At least not for Lucy. It ends with what'shisname visiting the spot that he said he'd come see her (and never got the chance to) though it is true the end was a tad confusing, it wasn't open the way the anime was. Lucy/nyuu is unequivocally dead in the manga[/spoiler] The manga is also more blatant with sexual things... A lot. More disturbing... I don't know that I can say more violent intensity wise, just a lot more violence because it lasts longer. The "last Episode" was taken mostly from something about 1/4 of the way through the manga, and changed around to attempt to close some even bigger gaps that would have been left from stopping there... Oh, and to give it a [spoiler] much more optimistic ending, what with Lucy / Nyuu's shadow behind the door[/spoiler]

[Maokun]

Also, when I said "upbeat ending" I meant the ending theme "I want to be your girl"

[Tsukuyomi]

Also, when I said "upbeat ending" I meant the ending theme "I want to be your girl"

Lol, oh xDDD;

Well, if it was what we all thought it would be then yes, it would be more upbeat then the other moments in the anime xDD

[Lady Kenshin]

Well, Kurama, it can be very chilling and disturbing and everything else, but I like it. Not everyone can handle it, but you know...

[Yamamaya]

Elfen Lied is one of the shows that are definitely not for everyone. If you can handle the intense gore and blood and the nudity then you might enjoy it.

The piece of literature I would compare it to would be Lord of the Flies. They both declare that humans are at their very core savage beings.