Stranger Things is one of the flagship series of the Netflix platform and with the release of the first volume of the fourth season, it continues to achieve great success and attracts more and more viewers. But where did the original idea behind the series come from? Influences cited by authors Matt and Ross Duffer include anime elf song.
During an interview in 2016, Matt admitted that he took various ideas from Akira, the 1988 masterpiece directed and written by Katsuhiro Otomo, and from a series that remains unfairly eclipsed to this day. Born from the mind of Lynn Okamotooriginally released on the pages of Weekly Young Jump between 2002 and 2005, Elfen Lied received an animated transposition from Studio Arms and Studio Guts in 2004.
The series has as a protagonist Lucy, a Diclonius, a non-human species characterized by the presence of horns on its head and fairly unique abilities. The Diclonius uses long and resilient invisible limbs called vectors manipulate things and objects like humans never could. Lucy is initially held in a government office, where she is subjected to constant testing and experimentation. Luckily, in a moment of anger, he succeeds killing those holding it there and fleeing.
This incipit shares many aspects with Stranger Things and that Story of Elf. A parallel between the two works is the fact that both protagonists have amnesia regarding their past. However, it should be emphasized that if the two series may seem similar at first glance, the manga and anime of Elfen Lied is much more macabre, brutal and violent compared to the Duffer Brothers series.
