Elfen Lied (TV)

The text of the OP theme is the "Beatus vir", an excerpt from the Latin Vulgate edition of the Bible. The passage is from James 1: "Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love him."

The images of the opening animation borrow liberally from the imagery of the paintings of Gustav Klimt (1862-1918), particularly his most famous painting, "The Kiss" (1907/1908, currently in Vienna, in the Österreichische Museum für Angewandte Kunst).

The OP lyrics also include Psalm 36:30 (“Os iusti meditabitur sapientiam et lingua eius loquetur iudicium" = “The mouth of the just shall meditate wisdom: and his tongue shall speak judgment), the trope chant "Kyrie Fons Bonitatis" ("Kyrie, ignis divine, pectora nostra succende, ut digni pariter proclamare possimus semper, eleison" = “Lord, divine fire, inflame our hearts, so that together we may worthily proclaim forever: have mercy”), and the medieval sequence hymn "Ave Mundi Spes Maria" (“Oh, quam sancta, quam serena, quam benigna, quam amoena esse virgo creditur” = Oh how holy, how serene, how benign, how delightful is this maiden who believed!"). All four pieces can be found in the album “Chant” by the famous Benedictine Monks of the Santo Domingo de Silos Monastery, and it’s a fair guess that’s where the composers lifted the lyrics from.

The Buddhist statue that appears at several points in the series, with what looks like a club/sword and a golden pomegranate in her hands (especially in ep 13) is Benzaiten (弁才天), originally the Hindu Goddess Sarasvati. She is one of the “Seven Lucky Gods,” and the patron of music, dance and general good fortune –all in all, a very bright deity overseeing this very dark story. She’s usually represented carrying a biwa (lute) and a jewel in her hands. Benzaiten is enshrined at Enoshima, the island in Kanagawa prefecture where the events of the series take place. She is also associated with the story of the White Snake –the archetypical East Asian story of falling in love with a woman who is not quite what she seems.

The story of Elfen Lied happened around the City of Kamakura (鎌倉市) of Kanagawa Prefecture (神奈川県).

Lucy's name pays homage to "Lucy", the oldest human ancestor whose fossilized remains were found in Ethiopia.

The title "Elfen Lied" comes from the poem "Elfenlied" (Elf Song) written in 1837 by the German author Eduard Mörike (1804-1875). In 1888 the Austrian composer Hugo Wolf (1860-1903) set "Elfenlied" to music along with many others of Mörike's poems. The poem refers once to Silpelit (a name made up by Mörike) which in the anime is the term used to denote a Diclonius born from human parents.

An interesting aspect of the series is that the full names for all the main characters are never revealed or disclosed throughout the course of the anime. Some are addressed by their given name while others are called by their family names. However, Professor Kakuzawa is the only character whose full name is given around the time that he's introduced in the story.

In the opening credits, in addition to the imagery borrowed from "The Kiss", at least three more of Klimt's paintings are referenced. During the flash of Yuka's image (00:31-00:32s), her pose and appearance come from the painting "Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer I"(1907). During the flash of Nana's image (00:37-00:38s), her pose comes from the painting "Portrait of Mada Primavesi" (1912). And finally, during Lucy's second to last appearance (01:11-01m:20s), her pose comes from the painting "Water Serpents I" (1904–1907).

The title is German and means 'Elf Song', in English.