Elfen Lied

Story: Humans born with horns, also known as Diclonius (and sometimes Silpets), are immediately killed off or become test subjects. Lucy, a Diclonius, escapes the facility holding her captive. As the facility's agents pursue Lucy, she suddenly becomes a housemate with a caring young man named Kouta and his cousin, Yuka.

"Elfen Lied" is actually a German song called the "Elf Song."

Main Characters

Kouta
Age: 19
Living in his family's old run-down inn while he attends the university, Kouta leads a quiet and dull life until he stumbles across a Diclonius he takes home and dubs Nyuu. He's extremely nice and protective towards girls, and he takes her under his wing while keeping a good relationship with his female cousin, Yuka. Although he is a nice guy, Kouta was a witness to his father's and sister's deaths.

Nyuu AKA Lucy
Age: 18
Vectors: 4
Range: Approximately 2 meters
A Diclonius held within an insular research facility for more than 8 years, Lucy manages to escape using her vectors. In escaping, Lucy ends up with a split personality that can only say "Nyuu" throughout most of the series. Lucy reappears when she is pushed emotionally and physically, causing her sweet and innocent Nyuu side to change into a killing machine. Lucy walks around with a chip on her shoulder, killing people who regard her inhuman. Although she uses her vectors violently and indifferently, Lucy leaves Kouta alone.

Yuka
Age: 19
Yuka finds Kouta after years of miscommunication to find that she is jealous of his attention towards Nyuu. Despite her jealousy, Yuka takes out her frustrations on Kouta, but in the end, she always apologizes and feels bad. She secretly is in love with Kouta, but her feelings come out spontaneously, especially when she tries to bring up the past. Besides her random jealousy, Yuka is a caring and loving person with a motherly persona.

Mayu
Age: turns 14
Mayu, a homeless pre-teen, becomes a constant witness to the occurrences between Lucy, the research facility agents, and the other Diclonius. Because of this, Mayu stumbles across Kouta's path, and soon afterwards, becomes a member of the household. They learn that she was sexually abused and she ran away from home to escape it. Since then, she became homeless, living off of bread scrapes. Despite her past, she fully trusts Kouta and Yuka, regarding them as her "parents" of the household.

Nana AKA Number 7
Age: Unknown
Vectors: 4
Range: 4 meters
A test subject from the research facility, Nana is sweet and adamant. She has never used her vectors against a human. She absolutely adores her "father", Director Kurama, and would do anything for him. After receiving orders from Director Kurama, Nana goes to retrieve Lucy. In spite of Nana's longer distance, Lucy proves to be the stronger Diclonius, cutting off all of Nana's limbs sardistically. Although Nana seems naive and a bit selfish, she is a caring person, and ends up becoming best friends with Mayu.

Director Kurama
One of the heads of the research facility, Director Kurama supervises the experiments and treatments of the Diclonius at the facility. He has a stoic character, but his character is broken when he is reminded of his own past. His wife gave birth to a Diclonius, and soon afterwards, died, making his life focused on just the Diclonius. His weaknesses lies in his "daughter," first believed to be Nana, who calls him "Papa."