I agree with that too. It wasnt really necessary for the nudity.

Ummm...yes it was...I mean, come on...just a bunch of girls killing themselves ain't that kewl, you know...-.-

I shall now cut the crap, I'm angry because there's no Introduction thread and because IE won't post my comment on a forum, going to show that life sucks. Elfen Lied simply rocks. It's got a kewl Latin intro song, kewl Russian-painter works intro video, kewl German name and kewl Japanese chicks. I dunno...I mostly liked the all fcked up life parts of the anime, like Lucy's past and that thing where the kids kill that dog...it basically gives you a straight fcked up life, no barriers...
Only letdown is the fact that the ending is begging (me) for a sequel and it hasn't come out yet...I hope there are secret agents sent from Japan to India to make a sequel in the utmost secret and now they're tracking my comment so I'll be dead by this time tomorrow. Nice meeting you! ^^

You know, to me, the series was great because of the darkness of it all. No, not because I'm emo, but because it showed a darker side of humanity. A side that most people turn a blind eye to. It shows how Lucy became the so called 'monster' that she is. It also teaches a valuable lesson to the viewer.

Nudity? Bah, I can understand some of it, especially the first episode. If a girl can tear you apart without laying a finger on you, there is no way anyone would attempt to go near her, much less give her any clothing or try to dress her. Violence? Of course you have to go over the top if your going to do what she does to people. Even with both of these things, they do NOT make the show. Obviously, if anyone watched the show for those two reasons, you need to broaden your tastes, because Elfen Lied wasn't about that. It simply used them as part of it, not to push it by itself. Though, I will admit, some of the scenes weren't necessary and the ending itself was kinda unsatisfying. I'll be honest though, I've never been so moved by an anime before. It's probably one of my all time favorites and most likely will be for as long as I'm into anime.

I think I have to watch the series again. Its been too long since I've seen it. One of the things I remember being interested in was Lucy and Kouta's past that was hinted at. I also liked the mystery behind the diclonius in how they would have such cute girls and you weren't sure if they were monsters or not.

Yeah it is one great anime and manga.I prefer both of them.Because of the nudity it is in the Echhi categeory so people want to see the ratings first

Elfen Lied, even with no "real" ending (waiting for a 2nd season;)), is a great anime. The story is very capturing and when you watch it to follow the story, you can easily understand why things happen the way they do. Even if it has nudity or lots of violence it's an excellent anime.

I totally agree with xbox.

CrimsonCyanide basically summed it up for me - I think I couldn't agree more. But I would also like to say that I really love the way the characters are connected. All of them connected since a long time ago without knowing it, it was an awesome idea. I found myself always curious about the next episode, so I watched it all very fast, I just couldn't stop watching. The only other anime I remember keeping me so tied to the chair like this was Evangelion (and the second season of Rurouni Kenshin, but not on the same level). I also loved most of the characters and I really enjoy the end song.
Also, I would love to read the manga, but can't find it here where I live and importing is not an option for me, unfortunately.

Elfen Lied is one of my all time favorite animes. i don't mind that it was gory. i just would have liked it better if it did not have nudity. but it was still a good anime. ^_^

To continue this debate about nudity, I see the whole anime, as CrimsonCyanide said, as a view upon humanity. It's all very macabre and very dark and made to shock, so you get to think about it after a while. Along with other, more subtle approaches, the nudity and violence seem the most direct ways of shocking you. You wouldn't care if everyone was happy-go-round all the anime...it's been done already once too many times...