Lucy (ルーシー, Rūshī) is a teenage diclonius girl, around 18 years old,[citation needed] and the central protagonist/antagonist of the series.
She suffers from a split personality that developed after a .50 BMG round from a sniper pierces the metallic helmet encasing her head as she escaped from the research facility.
Creation and conception/Development
editCharacter outline
editLucy suffers from a split personality that developed after a .50 BMG round from a sniper pierces the metallic helmet encasing her head as she escaped from the research facility. One personality, known as , is childlike and with an infantile knowledge of the world, in contrast Lucy
Nyuu (にゅう, Nyū) is a split personality of Lucy that developed after a .50 BMG round pierces the metallic helmet encasing her head[citation needed]. Nyu has a childlike personality and infantile knowledge of the world, and lacks spoken language skills, being able to say only "Nyu" and "Kohta" most of the time. Near the end of the anime, she develops a wider vocabulary, with the ability to say phrases like "Don't cry, Kohta!"[citation needed]. Nyu is innocent and incapable of violent acts, a foil to the normally cold and sadistic Lucy; she is the manifestation of her "good side". When Nyu is attacked violently (or hit on the head), she regresses into Lucy[citation needed]; likewise, when Lucy is treated with love and kindness, or wants to hide herself from Kohta[citation needed], she will uncontrollably switch back into Nyu[citation needed]. While Nyu exists first due to trauma, it is believed that Lucy subconsciously encourages her presence due to her feelings of guilt towards Kohta and to prevent her from harming him (directly or indirectly)[citation needed].
During the final episode, Nyu cuts her hair to try to remind Kohta of them when they were younger and apologizes for killing his family — coincidentally, this is the same hairstyle Lucy donned in her youth. She is subverted by Lucy for a larger portion of the manga's final volumes. She reemerges in chapter 106, helping her other personality stop a third violent personality of Lucy from harming Kohta. She then urges him to kill her and fulfill the promise he made with Lucy so long ago, which he does[1]. After her death, Kohta names his daughter after her[2].
Lucy hates humans mainly because of how she was treated by her human peers as a child, of whom she eventually killed several after they captured a puppy Lucy had been caring for and beat it to death in front of her. Consequently, she discounts non-diclonii; claiming they are not real people, saying to Nana that she has "not killed anyone yet"[3].
She seems to lack empathy and kills without much concern and normally as a first reaction. She is incredibly sadistic amputating limbs and blinding foes, leaving them to bleed to death rather than killing them outright[4] Despite this lack of concern for human life she will not harm Kohta, and cries and apologizes for killing his family in a fit of jealousy. It's obvious that she loves Kohta, but due to her vengeful nature, she believes he will be content without her existence. As such, she refrains from killing in his presence, except in the anime, when at the end, she kills a whole army in front of him. She never refers to herself as Lucy, preferring to call herself "Kaede"[citation needed].
Abilities
editLucy has four vectors with a limited range of about two meters. However, she can be swift and lethal within that range, and will use any nearby objects as high velocity projectiles to kill at greater distances. She is also capable of stopping or deflecting most standard ammunition when she concentrates on the task.[4]
Reception
editVoiced by: Sanae Kobayashi (Japanese); Kira Vincent-Davis (English)
References
edit- ^ Okamoto, Lynn (2005). "Chapter 106". Elfen Lied, Volume 12. Shueisha. ISBN 4-08-876884-1.
- ^ Okamoto, Lynn (2005). "Chapter 107". Elfen Lied, Volume 12. Shueisha. ISBN 4-08-876884-1.
- ^ Okamoto, Lynn (2002). "Chapter 13". Elfen Lied, Volume 2. Shueisha. ISBN 4-08-876379-3.
- ^ a b Okamoto, Lynn (2002). "Chapter 1". Elfen Lied, Volume 1. Shueisha. ISBN 978-4088763583.