Elfen Lied... is an excellent anime as far as the first DVD volume goes. Elfen Lied had some surprises for me. I felt the backgrounds were mastefully done and the characters had decent enough backgrounds (having seen only the first four episodes, i am sure more depth is forthcoming); Kohta struck me the most because I have been in his position myself (loss of family and memory).

Lucy/Nyu's constant 'nyu-ing' was a bit grating, but I think the romantic comedy aspect took the edge off all the gore. The gore was there for the shock value of it; also to contrast the innocence of Lucy as Nyu. At first, I understood the nudity to be a requirement - Lucy's manipulation of objects as missiles precluding any clothing - and then to emphasize Lucy/Nyu's innocence. Call it fanservice if you like; I'm sure some would argue it could have been done away with. I'd enjoy it either way.

The music was very good from both opening and closing to the BGM; I am not all that picky as you can see. Overall I enjoyed the first DVD and am looking forward to the rest.

The anime has a beautiful opening song, Lilium. When I was growing up I always disliked Latin because 1) it was a language the church used, and 2) it was supposedly the language of the educated elite. How un-enlightened I was back then, ne?

This song is sung completely in Latin; the lyrics are below (with a translation in English)

Latin

Os iusti meditabitur sapientiam
Et lingua rius loquetur iudicium
Beatus vir qui sufferit tentationem
Quoniam cum probatus fuerit accipiet coronam vitae
Kyrie, Ignis Divine, eleison
O quam sancta, quam serena
Quam benigna, quam amoena
O castitatis lilium

English

The mouth of the just shall meditate wisdom
And his tongue shall speak judgement
Blessed is the man who endureth temptation
For when he hath been proved he shall receive a crown of life
Lord, Fire Divine, have mercy
O how holy, how serene
How benign, how pleasant
O lily of purity  ¶ 5/29/2005 02:18:00 AM 0 comments