In 2004, an anime series was released after the making of a manga called Elfen Lied by Lynn Okamoto. The series was 13 episodes long and contained copious amounts of violence. The visual intensity emphasized the magnitude of the message - that ostracization leads to bitterness and anger, and acceptance leads to peace and love.
Length of the Series
One of the more basic qualities of Elfen Lied that artistically separates it from other anime series is that it wastes no time in the story. This may be because it was a manga first, and there was no pressure to drag out the series to get more views. But the result is that the entire series is part of a single work of art. Like a poem where every line is meant to enhance the whole, every episode enhances the story.
Violence as an Artistic Device
The second most obvious, unique characteristic is the violence. No anime has ripped character's limbs off and bodies in half quite like Elfen Lied has (though a very fair case could be made that Akira is more violent, though it is a different kind of violence).
The violence in the series brings the audience to a very scary psychological place. The main character, Lucy, is first seen breaking out of her metal cage (she is locked up because she is superhuman and very powerful) and tearing up every person who stands in her way. A single inconvenience to her, even on the street, results in the other person being brutally dismembered. When the audience later sees flashbacks of Lucy being bullied and abused at school, however, their opinion of Lucy changes. She continues to have her trust broken by every person she meets, and notices the trend: "When you're miserable, you need to make someone even more miserable than yourself," and "The ones who aren't human... the ones who aren't people... Are you!"
And then the audience sees the results of ostracisation, and is forced to come to terms with every time they snubbed someone or made someone feel inferior for the sake of raising themselves up. They see the blood splattered on Lucy's face and clothes and realize they have metaphorical blood on their hands.
But the audience is not left with just shame. There is redemption for Lucy and the people in her life she ruined by killing their loved ones. She is shown enough love throughout the series by several close friends that she sacrifices herself to save them from herself. It is at this point when the audience realizes that the power of acceptance and love is stronger than the power of alienation; that the "blood" can be wiped clean if they accept and love especially someone who is socially alienated.
Elfen Lied should be watched with discretion, but its message is one that will change the viewer.
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