Evangelion vs. Elfen Lied

Evgenii Sputnik

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Aug 8, 2017, 3:10:13 AM8/8/17

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What is better -- Evangelion or Elfen Lied?

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Evgenii Sputnik esp...@gmail.com

Dave Baranyi

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Aug 8, 2017, 6:45:40 PM8/8/17

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Better in what way?

One might ask instead, which has been more influential in anime or in pop-culture?

They are two different types of projects, aimed at two different audiences. They came from two different eras in anime.

(Any bets on if the original author of this thread bothers to answer?)

Dave Baranyi

Sea Wasp (Ryk E. Spoor)

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Aug 9, 2017, 5:23:10 AM8/9/17

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On 8/8/17 3:10 AM, Evgenii Sputnik wrote:
> What is better -- Evangelion or Elfen Lied?
>

Haven't watched Elfen Lied, but unless EL is the anime equivalent of
the Star Wars Holiday Special it would HAVE to be better than
Evanjellydonut.

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Sea Wasp
/^\
;;;
Website: http://www.grandcentralarena.com Blog:
http://seawasp.dreamwidth.org

Bobbie Sellers

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Aug 9, 2017, 10:31:07 AM8/9/17

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On 08/09/2017 02:23 AM, Sea Wasp (Ryk E. Spoor) wrote:
> On 8/8/17 3:10 AM, Evgenii Sputnik wrote:
>> What is better -- Evangelion or Elfen Lied?
>>
>
> Haven't watched Elfen Lied, but unless EL is the anime equivalent
> of the Star Wars Holiday Special it would HAVE to be better than
> Evanjellydonut.
>

Well the most reliable taste is in our mouths but here is
the Wiki take on this Elfen Lied anime which I have never watched.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elfen_Lied>

I have watched Neon Genesis Evangelion though and it seems
quite pointless and confusing. I hope it was psycho-therapeutic for
the responsible party. But a lot of people seemed to like it or
at least get obsessed with the interpretation of the tale.

>
> --
> Sea Wasp

It is of course as Dave Baranyi says different shows produced
at different times and for differing audiences. And the OP's query
shows a knowledge of living under a bridge.

bliss

--
bliss dash SF 4 ever at dslextreme dot com

Dave Baranyi

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Aug 9, 2017, 10:43:16 PM8/9/17

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It's a bit of a shame that neither of you have seen Elfen Lied because I would be interested in reading your impressions of it.

My one sentence summary of Elfen Lied is pretty much as follows:

Snuff porn blended with graphic child abuse that is done for the titillation of the audience.

Dave Baranyi

Evgenii Sputnik

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Aug 10, 2017, 5:46:03 AM8/10/17

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09.08.2017 5:45, Dave Baranyi пишет:

> (Any bets on if the original author of this thread bothers to answer?)

Bothers.

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Evgenii Sputnik esp...@gmail.com

Chris Buckley

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Aug 10, 2017, 1:13:52 PM8/10/17

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On 2017-08-10, Dave Baranyi <daveb...@gmail.com> wrote:
> On Wednesday, August 9, 2017 at 10:31:07 AM UTC-4, Bobbie Sellers wrote:
>> On 08/09/2017 02:23 AM, Sea Wasp (Ryk E. Spoor) wrote:
>> > On 8/8/17 3:10 AM, Evgenii Sputnik wrote:
>> >> What is better -- Evangelion or Elfen Lied?
>> >>
>> >
>> > Haven't watched Elfen Lied, but unless EL is the anime equivalent
>> > of the Star Wars Holiday Special it would HAVE to be better than
>> > Evanjellydonut.

...
>> > Sea Wasp

>
> It's a bit of a shame that neither of you have seen Elfen Lied because I would be interested in reading your impressions of it.
>
> My one sentence summary of Elfen Lied is pretty much as follows:
>
> Snuff porn blended with graphic child abuse that is done for the titillation of the audience.
> Dave Baranyi

_Elfen Lied_ is ultra-violent and I wouldn't blame anybody for being
repulsed by it. In particular, I would have to think Sea Wasp would
rank it beneath _Evangelion_ because while the violence is needed by
the story (and the story is better than _Evangelion_), the graphic
expression of the violence is driven by the theme and would be too
objectionable.

I regard _Elfen Lied_ as a masterpiece of emotional manipulation. I
think the juxtaposition of beauty, innocence, power, logic, and violence
(along with love, parental love, friendship, fan service,
power-hunger, and others) in such proportions in a coherent story is
incredible. (And the opening credits are amazingly beautiful in both
music and art.)

It's the only anime I can think of whose theme is driven by relative
strength of emotional reaction (I know of some unpleasant live-actor
art-house films that do that.) Not all violence produces the same
emotional response. You really see that when you go back and rank the
violent incidents by emotional impact, and try to figure out why they
had that impact on you. The puppy violence is much more upsetting than
the violence towards the hired gun.

The overall theme is one of individual (and to a lesser extent,
societal) responsibility towards the unknowing innocent, to both
protect and possibly educate them. That responsibility does not
change even if the innocent are powerful.

I would rank _Evangelion_ somewhere in my top 10, and _Elfen Lied_
somewhere on the border to the top 10. Both are unique; both are strongly
driven by emotions.

--
Chris

Stainless Steel Rat

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Aug 18, 2017, 8:54:30 PM8/18/17

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On Wed, 09 Aug 2017 05:23:06 -0400, Sea Wasp (Ryk E. Spoor) wrote:
> the Star Wars Holiday Special it would HAVE to be better than
> Evanjellydonut.

Mmm... jelly donut.

Elfen Lied might make your "worse than" list due to the graphic depictions
of violence, both physical and psychological. I mean "Ichi the Killer"
levels of disturbing... and for the same reasons, but the reasons don't
make it either good or bad. Elfen Lied is what it is, and either you like
it or you don't.

--
\m/ (--) \m/