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Anything similar to Elfen Lied?!


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spirit16



Joined: 24 Feb 2006
Posts: 4
PostPosted: Fri Feb 24, 2006 2:05 am Reply with quote
Hi everyone. I just finished Elfen Lied and I have got to say it is the best anime i've ever saw. It's meaning is great and I just connected a lot with it. Anyway my question is is their anything similar to it which is rated mature and such and which contains the elements shown on http://animenewsnetwork.com/encyclopedia/anime.php?id=4148 like Drama, Horror, Psychological, Romance, Science Fiction, Shounen etc?

I've been searching for one for about an hour now and I've turned up nothing! I'd greatly appreciate the help!

Thanks Smile
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joel_s95387



Joined: 29 Jun 2005
Posts: 1804
Location: California... The Village Hidden In The Porn
PostPosted: Fri Feb 24, 2006 2:14 am Reply with quote
Gantz would be the closest anime I can think of. It has violence, drama, horror, psychological, Romance/Sex (Not Hentai), Science Fiction (Similar to M.I.B.), and I forgot what shounen means... but all it lacks is a terrific ending.
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spirit16



Joined: 24 Feb 2006
Posts: 4
PostPosted: Fri Feb 24, 2006 2:18 am Reply with quote
yeah a lot of people complained about elfen's lied poor ending. i did thought questions were left unresolved but i'm not downplaying it that much.

gatz seems cool. i'd like some other people's suggestions as well.
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HitokiriShadow



Joined: 09 May 2005
Posts: 6251
PostPosted: Fri Feb 24, 2006 2:29 am Reply with quote
Well, Shadow Star Narutaru may fit the bill. It's not nearly as graphic, but it may be even more disturbing. The last two episodes are, in my opinion, the most disturbing and sadistic anime I've seen.

I hear Alien Nine is similar in that way as well. I've yet to see that one myself though.

GANTZ has some of the same themes but (the anime at least) doesn't pull it off nearly as well. It's got plenty of gore, nudity, and sex, but it fails in characters and plot. Again, this is referring to the anime version (which I haven't actually finished yet, but I've heard plenty and I know the ending will be crap), not the manga which is far better.
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PantsGoblin
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Joined: 27 Jun 2005
Posts: 2969
Location: L.A.
PostPosted: Fri Feb 24, 2006 2:41 am Reply with quote
HitokiriShadow wrote:
I hear Alien Nine is similar in that way as well. I've yet to see that one myself though.


I wouldn't really say it's similar to Elfen Lied that much. The plot isn't as complex, there isn't any blood (except for alien blood), and the overall feeling of the anime is nothing like Elfen Lied. I found Elfen Lied to be much more disturbing then Alien 9. I didn't particularly love Alien 9 either, I found Yuri to be very annoying and I couldn't sympithize with her. I really think Elfen Lied is one of a kind though. Even Gantz, which I heard is similar, I also heard is very different in many ways.
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one3rd



Joined: 28 Jul 2003
Posts: 1818
Location: アメリカ
PostPosted: Fri Feb 24, 2006 3:04 am Reply with quote
I don't think there's any series that combines harem and horror like Elfen Lied does. Honestly, I think you're better off looking for the two elements individually, because I don't think you'll find them combined very often.
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Randall Miyashiro



Joined: 12 Jun 2003
Posts: 2451
Location: A block away from Golden Gate Park
PostPosted: Fri Feb 24, 2006 4:09 am Reply with quote
I enjoyed Elfen Lied for it's tragic likeable characters. I've only seen the first part of Gantz, but lost interest since the characters were a bunch of jerk (in my opinion) stuck in a video game-ish environment. I felt so bad for the Elfen Lied cast and frequently found myself biting my nails and hoping that things will end well. Maybe I will feel different towards Gantz after I've watched the rest of the series, but doubt it.
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SnowfairyX



Joined: 29 Mar 2005
Posts: 438
PostPosted: Fri Feb 24, 2006 10:16 am Reply with quote
PantsGoblin wrote:
HitokiriShadow wrote:
I hear Alien Nine is similar in that way as well. I've yet to see that one myself though.


I wouldn't really say it's similar to Elfen Lied that much. The plot isn't as complex, there isn't any blood (except for alien blood), and the overall feeling of the anime is nothing like Elfen Lied. I found Elfen Lied to be much more disturbing then Alien 9. I didn't particularly love Alien 9 either, I found Yuri to be very annoying and I couldn't sympithize with her. I really think Elfen Lied is one of a kind though.

Well actually, I think they are both quite similar and I personally found Alien Nine to be a bit more shocking than Elfen Lied and much more unpredictable. Both of these series evoked similar feelings of depression and sympathy for the characters from me, but Alien Nine just isn't nearly as gory. It's more psychological horror but the anime doesn't really get into that part until about half-way through and it's only a 4 episode series. In the manga though, it's way more messed up and a particular character (also contains Elfen Lied spoiler) spoiler[gets a similar treatment to his/her limbs as what happens to Nana on episode 4].

About Yuri, I guess she might be a bit of an aquired taste as some people find her to be too much of a crybaby but I personally find her to be one of the most sympathetic characters that I've ever seen in an anime. I don't think I was ever like her at one point but the way she acted and reacted in both the anime and the manga were incredibly convincing to me. Often, what she felt I really felt it too and I think many people who are put in her place would probably behave in a similar fashion. I can maybe understand people just not liking her, but when I hear someone use the word, "despise," when describing Yuri (not you PantsGoblin Wink), that kind of makes me angry and I just have to wonder about their character.

I like Elfen Lied a little better but I think Alien Nine is an awesome series as well and also underrated. It's just disappointing that it's so short and I just had to move on to the manga after watching the ending. Overall, both of these series were almost beyond depressing for me Anime cry.
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hentai4me



Joined: 25 Oct 2005
Posts: 1313
Location: England. Robin is so Cute!
PostPosted: Fri Feb 24, 2006 10:38 am Reply with quote
I've wondered for a while why Gantz is always suggested to Elfen Lied fans unless they are asking for gore.

in what ways are they actually similar to each other except in generic brackets, you know, gore, sex, violence, psychological etc, what is it that makes Gantz/Elfen Lied seem a better combination than any other gore, horror, psychological series?

I've seen them both and Gantz is just a veneer for violence and sex, Elfen Lied is a romance/horro and it pulls it of well because the characters are well developed throughout, in Gantz what character development is there? For most of them all they develop is the ability to pull the trigger of their guns...spoiler[then they die]...

I dont see why these two are always suggested together over any other title with similar aspects...they really have nothing similar beyond visceral gore and sex/fanservice and any number of series have the same things in them...so why is Gantz suggested almost immediately?
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opaquescum



Joined: 22 Feb 2006
Posts: 235
PostPosted: Fri Feb 24, 2006 11:51 am Reply with quote
Gantz is good if you are acceptable to its very nature. The premise is quite simple really. You put a bunch of bad people in a room then force them to do some terrible things to survive. This in and of itself drives moral questions.

What gantz is not going to give you is the archetype hero. The people going through the hell that is gantz are people that deserve it. The only question is whether they can grow enough as people to overcome the adversity.

Yes its full of gore, and sex. Perhaps a little overly so, but at critical points it comes off as being increadibly tasteful and emotionally gripping. If you are the type of person who is totally adverse to sex and gore then by all means do not watch Gantz. Chances are you will fixate on just this and miss everything else.

Endings by its nature the series is full of endings. Which is actually quite interesting. I haven't gotten to see the final episodes yet, but even if they come of as a weak ending I still have dozens throughout the series. A few strike me as very well done.

The question I got to ask the gantz haters is why. Why if you disliked the series did you watch 26 episodes. Thats like almost 12 hours of anime. I pick up a series I do not like watch a few episodes and say I do not like this and never watch anymore. A number of people on these boards say they dislike Gantz and yet are talking about the end episodes or later volumes. I have a fealing there is something powerful in those last 2 dvds that got to have some gut twisting power in it to make people angry. The only reason you get angry or hateful about a series is when it dosent come off as you like or it did not end in a way you like.

Anyway I find it compelling, and even the detractors have found it compelling enough to watch all the way through. So the least you can say about Gantz is its compelling.
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HitokiriShadow



Joined: 09 May 2005
Posts: 6251
PostPosted: Fri Feb 24, 2006 12:10 pm Reply with quote
opaquescum wrote:
Gantz is good if you are acceptable to its very nature. The premise is quite simple really. You put a bunch of bad people in a room then force them to do some terrible things to survive. This in and of itself drives moral questions.

What gantz is not going to give you is the archetype hero. The people going through the hell that is gantz are people that deserve it. The only question is whether they can grow enough as people to overcome the adversity.


Not all of the people that go to GANTZ are bad people or deserve it. Heck, both of the main guys died trying to save a homeless bum. The main chick committed suicide, so obviously things weren't going well for her. Assuming the second game is like the manga, there was an old woman and a little boy in it. Neither of them deserved that. There's a few bad people in each group (especially the first) but most of the people don't 'deserve' what they go through.

My biggest problem with the anime (aside from the fact that it had to make up an ending) is that the main character is a real prick. Sure, he's no saint in the manga, but he's not nearly as obnoxious.

Quote:
The question I got to ask the gantz haters is why. Why if you disliked the series did you watch 26 episodes. Thats like almost 12 hours of anime. I pick up a series I do not like watch a few episodes and say I do not like this and never watch anymore. A number of people on these boards say they dislike Gantz and yet are talking about the end episodes or later volumes. I have a fealing there is something powerful in those last 2 dvds that got to have some gut twisting power in it to make people angry. The only reason you get angry or hateful about a series is when it dosent come off as you like or it did not end in a way you like.


The last two volumes is probably were the anime deviates from the manga a lot and that's why they are angry. I hear the ending is pretty stupid.

I bought the Gantz DVDs because I want them to sell well so the manga will get licensed. And I was still interested in seeing the anime adaptation even though I knew it was going to make up some sort of ending end wouldn't even cover half of the story. I don't *hate* the anime (yet), it's just nowhere near as good as the manga.
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-gecko-



Joined: 26 Apr 2005
Posts: 285
Location: Near Seattle, WA
PostPosted: Fri Feb 24, 2006 12:39 pm Reply with quote
hentai4me wrote:
I've wondered for a while why Gantz is always suggested to Elfen Lied fans unless they are asking for gore.

I don't see why these two are always suggested together over any other title with similar aspects...they really have nothing similar beyond visceral gore and sex/fanservice and any number of series have the same things in them...so why is Gantz suggested almost immediately?


That's a decent question. I can give you my perspective since I own both of them on DVD.

1) Both were released at about the same time.

2) Yes, both have enormous amounts of blood and a decent amount of nudity, in fact, I haven't seen any other series which have such levels, so at his point in time, they both stick out as above and beyond in that vein.

As for my preferences, I enjoyed Elfen Lied more than Gantz; Gantz being more of a thrill ride with much less substance than Elfen Lied.

Alien Nine was very good as well and I can see some similarity to Elfen Lied in afterthought. All three are very unique titles with their own pros and cons.

To keep things short, for a Psychological kick, check out Paranoia Agent.
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HitokiriShadow



Joined: 09 May 2005
Posts: 6251
PostPosted: Fri Feb 24, 2006 12:43 pm Reply with quote
-gecko- wrote:
hentai4me wrote:
I've wondered for a while why Gantz is always suggested to Elfen Lied fans unless they are asking for gore.

I don't see why these two are always suggested together over any other title with similar aspects...they really have nothing similar beyond visceral gore and sex/fanservice and any number of series have the same things in them...so why is Gantz suggested almost immediately?


That's a decent question. I can give you my perspective since I own both of them on DVD.

1) Both were released at about the same time.

2) Yes, both have enormous amounts of blood and a decent amount of nudity, in fact, I haven't seen any other series which have such levels, so at his point in time, they both stick out as above and beyond in that vein.


3) Both deal with the dark side of human nature. Namely human cruelty.
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AceRyonik



Joined: 28 Jan 2006
Posts: 145
PostPosted: Fri Feb 24, 2006 1:08 pm Reply with quote
Why is it that the closest thing I can think of is Cultural Cat Girl Nuku Nuku? They're both about extremely lethal beings that escape from a scientific facility and get out into the public, but it turns out that they're harmless and take up board in a young man's house. But the organizations want them back, and send similar beings to reel them in, forcing them to revert to their original nature and outright kick ass.

I mean, sure, their content is very different, and one of them is about as deep as a birdbath, but come on. Bear with me, here.
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Spotlesseden



Joined: 09 Sep 2004
Posts: 3514
Location: earth
PostPosted: Fri Feb 24, 2006 1:25 pm Reply with quote
Shadow Star Narutaru is the only close one i can think of
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