L: "Elfen Leid"

(Heh, 50 already? I must have worked my hand to the bone! Still, I'm sure that there's much more to be covered, so I'm not stopping anytime soon!)

Elfen Leid sounded like a suggestive title, and nearly appeared as such from the first episode, but believe it or not, it's horrific and bloody. Notorious for it's bloodbath, people watching this title should proceed with caution. There was an OVA of this licensed by ADV, but was soon dropped, making the short, 13-episode anime the only thing released on US soil, to my knowledge. Bear in mind that even from the first episode, there is brief nudity and violence involved, so minors aren't recommended to see this.

Elfen Leid deals with Lucy, a human like being known as a Diclonius. The Diclonius are a new strain of humans, bearing horn-like protrusions from their heads, and are mainly different from the genetic level. These beings have telekinetic powers, accompanied by a killer instinct which is said to be initial, but actually stems from traumatic experiences. Lucy, having such experiences, loathes the humankind, and is rather homicidal towards them, as seen in the pilot episode. However, thanks to a .50 BMG shot that ricocheted off her helmet, another personality, named Nyu is made. While in her Nyu state, Lucy is found, injured, by Kohta, a 19 year-old university student who also maintains the Kaeda House Inn while he attends classes nearby. Accompanying him is his cousin, Yuka, whose family allowed him to stay there in the first place. With the Special Assault Team after Lucy, Kohta and Yuka have trouble on their hands as members of SAT and other Diclonii, though there's something about Lucy, apart from her real identity, in which Kohta isn't aware of that dates to his past.

Elfen Leid is another short title, though the manga is much longer. As this is so, the manga not only furthers the plot, but also has more insight about Lucy. The anime itself is violent, but caught my attention all the same. 7 of 10 should do it for me, though a part of me wishes the anime was a bit longer than this.