I haven't been keeping up very well with anime these days. I've kind of gotten away from it a bit, and the interest just isn't there for me anymore. However, I had a little bit of a blast from the past today, so to speak.

I was listening to my Zune here at the office, and a song by Three Days Grace came onto my playlist: "Get Out Alive". I like the song, and I wondered if there was a music video for it, so off to YouTube I went.

Sifting through the search results led to many EMO-related home-made videos. (EMO kids love this song, apparently. I can see why, it's pretty moody.) I couldn't find an official music video, but one of the home-made ones caught my eye instantly. It was a montage of video footage from an anime by the name of Elfen Lied, set to this song.

I haven't thought about Elfen Lied in a few years now, but I remember the anime quite well. It is one of the most violent and disturbing pieces of entertainment I've ever seen.

I'm not sure how to classify the show, but a good term for it would be psychological horror. But the plot is so confusing I'm not even sure that's the proper term. The first 7 minutes of the first episode are the most bloody, gory, and disturbing minutes you will ever spend watching a TV show in your entire life.

Watch it. I dare you.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GdIiMONsh4k


In any case, it's one of my favorite anime shows. And maybe I can teach you something useless. Elfen Lied is actually german, meaning "Song of the Elves". There's also a German poem called Elfenlied. These two things are from where the title of the anime comes.

Also, I wrote up my own summary and review of the anime, as I did with many of my favorite shows. You can see that here: http://www.pastatdude.com/anime/elfenlied/