List of Elfen Lied episodes

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Artwork commonly used to promote the series, mocking up Lucy being shot int the head in episode one, inspired by Gustav Klimt paintings.

This is a list of episodes of the Japanese anime series Elfen Lied, based on the original manga series written by Lynn Okamoto. The television series was directed by Mamoru Kanbe as part of the team at Genco and VAP, which collaborated and assigned Kanbe to work on the project. The series was dubbed in English and licensed for release by ADV Films in North America and the UK, and by Madman Entertainment in Australia and New Zealand. The series, substantially different in plot however retaining the central motifs of the manga, is based around the efforts of humanity to quarantine and eradicate the diclonius, a species of mutant humans with horns, and focuses on "Lucy", believed to be the first diclonius, who encounters two teenagers on the shores of Kamakura after attempting to escape her holding facility.

The series aired on TV Tokyo's AT-X satellite channel from July 25, 2004 to October 17, 2004 and in English in the UK on Propeller TV (Sky Digital) as part of Anime Network's launch. However, due to its strong and sometimes controversial themes, motifs and violence, it has been unable to gain airtime in English anywhere else. Cartoon Network's Adult Swim once discussed airing the series, however the censorship board revealed that the series would have to be so heavily edited ("it would have been cut to shreds") in order to air that it would have been unintelligible.^[1]

The series was released sequentially in four volumes ("vectors"). The first, containing the first four episodes was released on May 17, 2005.^[2] and the following volumes containing three episodes each were released sequentially afterwards. The complete box set containing all thirteen episodes of the series was released on DVD on November 28, 2006 in English by ADV Films in North America and Europe^[3], and in Australia by Madman Entertainment on April 4, 2007.^[4]

An episode-long original video animation, meant to occur between episodes ten and eleven (referred to as episode 10.5), was released on April 21, 2005 in Japan and in 2006^[5] by ADV Films. It was not included in the box set with all thirteen episodes released by the company.^[6]

Two pieces of theme music are used for the series. The opening theme "Lilium", arranged in the style of a Gregorian chant in Ecclesiastical Latin, uses lyrics taken from biblical passages in Psalms and the Epistle of James, as well as the Renaissance hymn Ave mundi spes Maria, in Ecclesiastical Latin. The Greek phrase "Kyrie Eleison" also appears in the text, but is a standard feature of the Catholic mass in Latin. It was composed by Yukio Kondo (近藤由紀夫) and lyrics were arranged by Kayo Konishi (小西香葉). It is performed by Kumiko Noma. Chieko Kawabe performs the series ending theme, "Be Your Girl". The song is a J-pop piece that is in stark contrast to the horror and drama of the series. Majority of the incidental music in the anime series contain a variation of Lilium, performed by the various instrumentals, including a Tenors Version, a Music Box Version and a Saint Version.

1 Episodes
- 1.1 TV series
- 1.2 OVA special
2 Notes and references
3 External links

[edit] Episodes

The words "Elfen Lied" are in German, and all episodes have alternate titles in the language. The English translations of the episode names, however, are taken from the Japanese names for the episodes. The German titles do not translate exactly to those of the Japanese titles, except in some cases. The German episode names are included in the titles during the episodes, and "DAS ENDE" (lit. "The End") is shown in German at the end of the last episode. Translations of the original German titles are given.

[edit] TV series

#	Title	Original air date

01	*"A Chance Encounter ~ Begegnung (lit. Meeting)"* "Kaikō" (邂逅)	July 25, 2004
One of the first diclonius, named "Lucy", escapes from an experimental laboratory off the coast of Kamakura, which is being used as a facility to hold diclonii and use them for experiments. After cutting up several security guards, she is shot in the head and falls into the sea; her brain damage causes her to form a somewhat innocent, infantile split personality, "Nyu". Later, she is found by Kohta and Yuka, two cousins^[7] who are reunited after eight years to study at university, and is taken back home with them. After she breaks Kohta's seashell, his keepsake from his younger sister Kanae who died "of an illness" eight years earlier, she runs away because Kohta gets violent against her. She does not remember anything that she has done in her entire life.
02	*"Annihilation ~ Vernichtung (lit. Destruction)"* "Sōtō" (掃討)	August 1, 2004
The offshore facility, headed by the scientist Kurama, sends a special task force, headed by the ruthless, cold-hearted assassin Bando, to hunt down Lucy at a beach in Kamakura, however they only encounter her in her innocent "Nyu" state. However, when she is punched in the face by Bando, she reverts back into Lucy and kills her way through the assault team, almost completely decapitating but not killing Bando, and escaping. It is seen here that Lucy and Nyu switch between each other depending on the events surrounding them.
03	*"Deep Feelings ~ Im Innersten (lit. In the internal one)"* "Kyōri" (胸裡)	August 8, 2004
Yuka, who has been in love with Kohta since childhood, caught him in several awkward situations with Nyu, causing her to become increasingly jealous of Kohta's concern for Nyu. Mayu, a 13 year old girl and her dog Wanta, who witnessed the incidents in episode 2, return an umbrella left by Kohta on the beach to him, where she is interrogated about the events. Meanwhile, Nana, codenamed "No. 7", another diclonius, is released from her confinement in order to track down Lucy and bring her back to the facility.
04	*"Attack ~ Aufeinandertreffen (lit. Meet one another)"* "Shokugeki" (触撃)	August 15, 2004
Nana, using the telepathic powers of diclonii to find Lucy, fights her in a local cemetery, and Mayu encounters them in the middle of the battle. Before long, Nana has all her limbs ripped off, nearly dead. Kurama is ordered by his boss, Kakuzawa, to put Nana down, however Kurama does not kill her. Yuka discovers that Mayu is homeless and invites her to stay with them.
05	*"Receipt ~ Empfang (lit. Receipt)"* "Rakushō" (落掌)	August 22, 2004
Mayu's past and why she ran away from home are revealed. Mayu's mother remarried, and her new stepfather raped her. When her mother refused to offer her any help, she ran away from home, where she encountered a stray dog, whom she named "Wanta" and adopted. As Kohta and Yuka enter university and take Nyu with them, Professor Kakuzawa, the son of Kurama's boss (and, by coincidence, the university lecturer) discovers Nyu and she is parted from Kohta and Yuka. Kakuzawa is revealed to be partly a diclonius who intends to breed with Lucy, however she simply kills him, claiming that he is worthless in the evolution towards a diclonius-populated world. Kohta finds out it is also Mayu's 14th birthday, and invites her to stay permanently with them, where she finally feels that she has a family who cares for her.
06	*"Innermost Feelings ~ Herzenswärme (lit. Heart warmth)"* "Chūjō" (衷情)	August 29, 2004
Bando escapes from the hospital still trying to find Lucy to satisfy his grudge against her. Professor Kakuzawa Yū's decapitated body is found by his assistant and Kouta. While searching for Lucy, Kohta and Yuka develop a fondness for each other as displayed through a kiss. Finally, Lucy is found by Kohta and Yuka and taken back home.
07	*"Confrontation ~ Zufällige Begegnung (lit. Coincidental meeting)"* "Saikai" (際会)	September 5, 2004
Nana is released with brand-new artificial limbs and enough money to last her for a while on her own. Kurama, his second-in-command Shirakawa, and his assistant are all reprimanded by Kakuzawa for letting her escape and letting Kohta enter the facility to find Lucy. Meanwhile Nana, not knowing of anything outside the facility, does not know what to do with the money and begins to burn some. Soon, she is found by Mayu at the cemetery where she was almost killed by Lucy and they become friends with each other. Nana is then brought back to Kohta's home. Discovering that Lucy is in their home, Nana attacks her.
08	*"The Beginning ~ Beginn (lit. Begin)"* "Kōshi" (嚆矢)	September 12, 2004
As a result of living her entire life inside the facility, Nana is found to be naive and sensitive about the events surrounding her. Mayu discovers the real Lucy behind Nyu as Nana tells her of their diclonius powers. As Lucy is recovering from being hit in the face by Nana, she goes through a flashback of her childhood, where she was raised in an orphanage all her life. Her peers constantly bully her, and even the coordinators of the orphanage appear to question her existence. Feeling lonely and ignored, she begins to develop her hatred for humans. When her peers discover that she has made friends with a stray dog, they force her to watch as they beat it to death with a vase, and in her despair she uses her vectors and commits her first murders against her schoolmates.
09	*"Reminiscence ~ Schöne Erinnerung (lit. Beautiful memory)"* "Tsuioku" (追憶)	September 19, 2004
Lucy's past links with Kohta are uncovered - after her dog was killed, she began to show contempt for humans, until Kohta briefly befriended her. Kohta plays the series' opening theme "Lilium" in a music box which he bought in Kamakura. They go to the zoo, where she tells Kohta that it "was the most fun she ever had in her life". Her hope in being re-acquainted with humans is briefly regained, however, when she discovers Kohta's cousin (Yuka), who he claimed to be a boy, is a girl, she loses all hope and begins her path of murderous contempt.
10	*"Infant ~ Säugling (lit. Baby)"* "Eiji" (嬰児)	September 26, 2004
Kurama's past is explained in this episode. He was a good friend of Professor Kazukawa, who invited Kurama to work with him and his father on the diclonius project after leaving university. He reluctantly agrees, however, as he is performing research, he is infected with the diclonius virus via transmission through their vectors, and as a result, her daughter Mariko is born a diclonius. He is faced with the decision to kill her, however as his wife dies from complications after giving birth he chooses to let her live under Kazukawa's condition that a bomb must be planted inside her to kill her in case she turns aggressive. Meanwhile, as both Lucy and Nana are now part of Kohta's household, the facility decides to send "the most powerful" diclonius, known only as "#35".
11	*"Complication ~ Vermischung (lit. Mixture)"* "Sakusō" (錯綜)	October 3, 2004
Mariko is revealed to be the true identity of #35. Under supervision from staff at the facility, she is released as a last effort to retrieve Lucy. Nana senses Mariko's presence and her desire to kill her through their ability to locate each other. Mariko and Nana at the facility cross paths on a bridge on the shore and they battle. Kurama, who supposedly "had to leave", has joined Bando to kill Lucy on his own beyond the knowledge of Shirakawa and the staff.
12	*"Quagmire ~ Taumeln (lit. Tumble)"* "Deinei" (泥濘)	October 10, 2004
The past which Kohta had tried to forget eight years ago comes back to him as it is revealed that Lucy took revenge on Kohta's lie about the gender of her cousin by killing Kohta's father and his sister Kanae. As Shirakawa dispatches Mariko to kill Lucy, Bando is paid by Kurama to kill her as well. Mariko is about to kill Nana (as well as Kohta and Lucy), however Nana falls off the bridge and Mariko's vectors fail. Shirakawa discovers Lucy's Nyu personality and identifies her as the target diclonius, only to be killed along with the security forces guarding Mariko.
13	*"No Return ~ Erleuchtung (lit. Illumination)"* "Fugen" (不還)	October 17, 2004
Mariko regains the ability to use her vectors and stages one final meeting with Lucy. They meet, and Lucy is serverely injured, losing one of her horns. Kurama, accompanied by Nana whom he rescued after she fell off the bridge where she battled Mariko, encounters their fight. Here, she realizes that Kurama is her father and meets him for the first time, breaking down after believing that he never loved her. Kurama exchanges final words of reassurance to Mariko just before the bomb inside her is detonated, Kurama's final sacrifice for his biological daughter. Lucy, who makes it out of the fight alive, reveals her remorse and emotions towards Kohta, just before leaving to encounter the security team. They shoot at her; however her fate is unknown except for that the other of her horns falls off. The "family" of Kaede house, including Nana, settles down; as they are about to eat, the music box playing "Lilium" stops, a figure appears at the front door and the grandfather clock starts ticking again.

[edit] OVA special

The OVA special of the series was created separately and released on April 21, 2005 in Japan and in 2006 by ADV Films. In comparison to the rest of the series, it is much more comical and light-hearted, not containing the severe blood violence like the rest of the series, however still contains the fanservice present in the rest of the series. The OVA was not released with the box set of the series in 2006.

#	Title	Original air date

01	"Regenschauer (lit. Rain shower) ~ In the rain, or, how can a girl have reached such feelings?" "Tōriame ni te arui wa, shōjo wa ikani shi te sono shinjō ni itatta ka?" (通り雨にて或いは、少女はいかにしてその心情に至ったか？)	April 21, 2005
Nana is still settling in to live in Kohta's home, as she is given the task to help clean the place with Lucy. Lucy, as Nyū, hits her head and has a flashback of her capture by Kurama, and why she never harms him. Five years following her encounter with Kohta, Lucy is hiding with an un-named friend who had the same interest in her as Kohta. However, she gets shot in the chest, and Lucy is forced to exchange her life in exchange for her freedom. Kurama promises Lucy to do all he can to save her, but the child ends up dying. The most important part comes when Lucy says that she will not kill Kurama, but instead take away all he has ever loved, like he did to her. That is why in the encounters that Lucy has with Kurama thoughout the series, she never kills him. This episode has little effect on the plot of the series (except for the flashback, which is important, even though the story can be understood without it), and has more anime-style exaggerations in it.