Elfen Lied is an beautiful, emotionally charged story about human nature with a catch. The catch is that the tale contains extreme amounts of adult content in every episode, from dismemberment to nudity. If you are capable of looking at this content and understanding its bearing on the story then I highly recommend the series. The story on a surface level may be straight forward, a mutant goes on a rampage against it's oppressors, however the draw lies in the implications of the story. Psychological problems, tragedy, love, betrayal, and human emotional response to all the above flow from the storyline, making Elfen Lied much more than a first look at the plot may suggest. The characters are multi-dimensional, and will be both loved and hated over the course of the series. By the time the series drew to a close I personally was quite attached to the protagonists and admittedly cried during the final episode. Further concerning the adult content, I cannot stress enough the maturity required to view this series. This anime has the most blood and nudity I have ever seen in one place and contains plenty of adult language. If you are too immature to watch the characters for their personalities rather than their bodies or are of weak constitution pass on this series. If you take this warning seriously and consider yourself capable of handling it, Elfen Lied makes for an excellent, engrossing story worthy of thought, laughter and tears.