You're probably wondering what I'm doing writing a review about a manga that ran from 2002-2005 in 2019. With my patience for sitting down and watching an anime dwindling, I've been attempt to explore manga and LN's more and more, and Elfen Lied was perhaps the first anime I had ever watched, so it felt natural to try and visit the original manga. Boy was this a mistake.

(Spoilers will be included in this review!)
The manga and anime do not start straying apart by any significant means until volume 5, chapter 43. This chapter introduces a character who's sole purpose is to add in a diaper fetish, and to tie in the iconic song "Lilium," which in the manga is "Elfenlied." Her role is so insignificant that she was easily replaced by a music box in the anime. This is about the point where I knew I was in for a ride that would probably only be going downhill.
Next comes convoluted "this character hasn't died yet" convenience one after another. Remember how in the anime, Kurama comes to understand his sins and his failure as a father to Mariko, and with this he accepts their deaths as he embraces her in his arms? Well... this comes close I guess? They embrace, and a giant non-explosive warhead then comically crushes only Mariko despite them being embraced, before another is fired and crushes Kurama. They're dead, right? Nope! Mariko has somehow saved them both, and is now docile in a "Nyu" like state. Shortly after this, she dies anyways when facing off Lucy, just to have Kurama live in comatose grief for the next 2 years until he gets the perfect conditions to have a happy ending with Nana, which also tries to bait that she's his lover now! Real sweet.. I guess? The count for these ridiculous encounters only increases as the manga goes on, and they're ridiculously predictable, as well as frustrating. Maybe just don't put characters in situations where they should by no means survive if you're not ready to kill them off yet?

The contrived conveniences aren't the end of my frustration with this manga. I guess at some point or another I should address the characters that actually had some purpose.
- Kouta is Kouta, there's nothing to say on him. He's bland, he gets a backbone occasionally, but he doesn't really offer much outside of caring about and protecting his family.
- Yuka is... Yuka. She's basically obsessed with Kouta, can't properly express her feelings, and classic tsundere style punches or kicks Kouta anytime something embarrassing happens. I tried to sympathize with her character more than I have in my previous watchings of Elfen Lied, but I just couldn't. She cares about Kouta remembering her more than she cares about Kouta remembering and coming to terms with the deaths of his father and sister, and sobs about it in every other scene.
- Mayu doesn't really get much further development in the manga, she's probably one of the most stable characters next to Kouta. She's sweet, she cares about her new family, and wants to keep them together and safe. She also... ends up with a crush on Bandou. And kisses him. About 30 minutes after he just got done calling someone else a pedo for nearly raping her.
- Nana is probably one of the most frustrating characters for me. She's adorable, well intentioned, and despite her lack of knowledge does her best to contribute to the Kaede residence. Right up until Kurama disappears after promising her he'd return. Remember how in the anime, Nana learned to live with the grief and move on? In this she becomes borderline obsessed with Kurama, to a point where it seems like she's ready to ditch her closest friends over him without a 2nd thought. It reaches a point where it's all she seems to think or talk about.
- Lucy/Nyu is probably the strongest character of the series much like the anime. She's still intricate, deeply scarred, and ultimately tragic. She is however, robbed of her complexity, and to explain that gripe we're going to move on to the next topic.

The Diclonious virus, the biggest threat of this world and what ties this whole story together. We're often lead to believe in the anime that it is normally not the diclonius children themselves that leads to mass killing and destruction that occurs around them. They have a "killing instinct" of sorts embedded into their DNA, that's often awakened by cruel treatment or the enforced message that there's no possible way diclonii and humans can co-exist, that they are freaks that must be exterminated. Up until the point where it straight up takes control like another personality and forces that character to do harm. Isn't there supposed to be some moral gray in this series? How does this voice become so prominent that it can completely take control of a "host" and force them to be violent and destructive. Diclonii become exactly what the anime seemingly tries to fight the message of: a race that could never co-exist with humans, that will only bring ruin, that is to face genocide. Despite this manga trying desperately to tie the end of every character's story in a pretty bow, this is the fate of the diclonii race.

I could honestly continue ranting for quite some time, so let's try to wrap this up. Elfen Lied is a story with a lot of potential that ends up wasted trying to prove just how """mature""" this series is. I can deal with ecchi, it's not my cup of tea but I can tolerate it. This manga pushes it too far on more than one occasion purely for the sake of it, down to our previously mentioned diaper fetish character. Any mature themes feel like they're muddied down to "this guy good, this guy bad," and despite handling these themes, somehow nearly every character you may root for ends up with a happy ending now matter how contrived the plot got to place them there. The diclonii are now nearly extinct, humanity does not have to answer for it's crimes of mistreatment and experimentation against an entire race, and everyone's happy, yaaay! This manga left me with a bitter taste in my mouth, and I wish the ugly art had been enough to steer me away from it in time.
If you're looking to experience nudity, blood, gore, and darker themes but don't mind them being toned down, just watch the anime. It's better in practically every regard down to the resolution, and while many questions get left unanswered in the anime, it does not create nearly as many that are quite as ridiculous as the manga does.