Elfen Lied Season 1 Episode 5

What is the coldest moment in all of Elfen Lied? Lucy vs. Nana? Kisaragi? Kanae? The puppy? The blood Kurama willingly takes onto his own hands? For me personally, these are all eclipsed by Mayu's backstory, revealed in this heart-wrenching episode.


Her stepfather's crime is horrendous, yet it is her own mother who invites this predator into their lives, and who somehow fails to ever catch her barfly prize abusing her daughter. Mayu's mother is the embodiment of the joke about licensing people before they can become parents. Does she disbelieve Mayu when told the truth? Does she urge her to put up with it, with a vague promise that things will get better? No--she slaps her pre-teen daughter and treats her like a sexual competitor, angry over the 'attention' she is getting. The stepfather is a monster, but a comprehensible one. Not so for Mayu's mother, and we all know there are too many like her in RL and not enough Yukas and Koutas to take in all the Mayus. The second coldest scene in this episode (though not second for the series) comes when the woman on the beach claims (I have my doubts) that Wanta is really her dog, and warns Mayu from seeing him again. Happily, the dog is smart and ditches this witch, and we get to see Mayu happy in Maple House, even as the menacing Professor Kakuzawa gets his hands on the innocent Nyu--just not for very long. Just remember, her supposedly unpunished parents were still stuck with each other, while Mayu got a better--if quirky--family, so there is some justice.

Human beings always have a reason for doing what they do, thinking what they think, and fearing what they fear. Nothing is completely irrational; there is always something, or several somethings that add up, that causes certain behaviors. This episode showcases the darker side of human nature, revealing just why a 13 year old girl is living alone on the beach. While the physical act of it is disturbing, the truly disgusting thing about it is that it actually happens, and lot more than the media lets on.





This episode was extremely realistic in portraying human behavior, though it didn't progress the plot much at all. 9/10.

man i feel so bad for mayu!!! that F*GG*t!!!! i woulda killed her step father! and her mother! what horible parents!!!! well im glad she is with them now!! yuka pisses me off so bad!! i mean really!! she makes me want to slap her!! any way im glad mayus dog came back!! nyu is getting on so well! saying yes like that was cute!! to bad that a** hole found her! im glad hes dead! and it seems that lucy knows about her other self, she didnt seem to mind to much, so i dont know. with the death of that guy the other people mush have realized that lucy is there. well i cant wait to see the next one.