The format of this piece will be a description of Elfen Lied Episode 1 Scene 4 with a to scale time line with emotion sections plotted with the following [itg-mediatip href=”http://somegamez.com/project/elfen-lied-study/attachment/episode_1_time_line” mediatip-type=”localimage” mediatip-content=”{&aquot;url&aquot;:&aquot;http://somegamez.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/episode_1_time_line.png&aquot;,&aquot;id&aquot;:2917,&aquot;link&aquot;:&aquot;http://somegamez.com/project/elfen-lied-study/attachment/episode_1_time_line&aquot;}” mediatip-link=”undefined”]Key[/itg-mediatip], where [itg-tooltip style=”color: #ca3c08; text-decoration: overline underline; font-style: italic;” tooltip-content=”<p>High Emotions refer to Emotions that connote ‘happy’ like feeling e.g Joy, Surprise and Love.</p>”]High Emotions[/itg-tooltip] are plotted below the time line (black line) and [itg-tooltip style=”color: #ca3c08; text-decoration: overline underline; font-style: italic;” tooltip-content=”<p>Low Emotions refer to Emotions that connote ‘sad’ like feeling e.g Anger, Fear and Sadness.</p>”]Low Emotions[/itg-tooltip] are plotted above.
Following this there will be a number of pie charts in the following format. Pie charts on the left are [itg-tooltip style=”color: #ca3c08; text-decoration: overline underline; font-style: italic; font-family: ‘Source Sans Pro’, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 21.8182px; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 1; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: #ffffff;” tooltip-content=”<p>A sum of the number of occurences of a category of emotion.</p>”]Totals[/itg-tooltip] of the scene, and pie charts on the right are [itg-tooltip style=”color: #ca3c08; text-decoration: overline underline; font-style: italic; font-family: ‘Source Sans Pro’, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 21.8182px; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 1; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: #ffffff;” tooltip-content=”<p>A sum of the time spent during the episode on each category of emotion.</p>”]Screen Time[/itg-tooltip]. Lastly the raw data for this scene will be presented in the form of a table.
Follow this link to the main entry for this article series.
Spoiler Alert! You’ve been warned!
With that out of the way lets begin! (A video of the scene is at the end of the post if you wish to watch it first!)
Fourth Scene
We start with torrential rain, and darkness enshrouding (29) Koutas house, a complete contrast to its appearance in the episodes second scene. It is a foreboding transition from the previous scene where Kurama announced that Lucy should be killed, and not captured.
The scene shifts to a well lit room with Yuka speaking with some cheer (30), and Nyu looking inquisitively at the contents of Koutas bag. Nyu reaches out, and pulls at a box which falls opens to reveal a pink looking seashell.
On seeing the seashell Yuka inquires about it to which Kouta explains that it is indeed a memento of his sister Kanae, and we transition into a ‘Happy‘ memory at the beach (31). Sadly our brief Happiness turns to Sadness as we find out from Kouta that his sister has passed away.
Nyu then takes Koutas memento, and unbelievably breaks it in two causing us to feel Rage (32). It is as if the memory of Kanae has been defiled by Nyu, and to rub salt into the wound she is shown looking happy about what she has done.
As you would expect Kouta flies into a Rage, screaming that Nyu should leave the house which she tearfully does. Following this we are shown a number of dimly lit shots of the house, and melancholy music (33) likely creating a sad atmosphere.
Yuka then presents us with a reason for Nyus behavior, and we see Kouta seeming to understand as he turns his head away from Yuka. Perhaps we may also feel his Shame for our preemptive (34) Rage? Yuka shows us that the seashell may indeed be a a token of bitterness rather than the happy memento we though it to be (35).
Suddenly we are shown a helicopter in the distant darkness (36) causing us some brief Nervousness as we may conclude that it contains Kuramas response to Lucys escape.
Within the helicopter we find Bando, and the SAT team assembled to deal with Lucy. Bando begins to discuss the mission saying ‘Disgusting’ things like terminating a minor is a sign that things are looking up in the world (37).
Finishing up with Bando, the scene finally shifts back to Nyu standing at beach (38), and though we remain Nervous considering whats coming for Nyu. We are again conflicted about the nature of Nyu vs Lucy given what we see is Nyu who is looking so vulnerable, yet what we are hearing is that she is a vicious killer.
Considering the scene in its totality. We find that the heart of this scene is further exploring Koutas past, and we now realize why Kouta was sad while at the beach during the second scene. It is from this Happy memory of the past that Koutas relationship with Nyu is developed with a mix of Rage and Shame.
In this scene Yuka functions as a ‘clarifier’, as she both explains Nyus behavior when Nyu cannot, and creates the avenue for Kouta to talk about his sister that allows for character development.
In the closing moments of the scene Bando again makes an appearance, and again (as in the previous scene) we are inclined to dislike him through the tone set by how he is treated by others, and given his ‘disagreeable’ speech.
Considering the timeline we find that Low emotions start, and end the scene which at least in regard to the ending, perhaps leaves us in anxious anticipation for the next episode.
Pie Charts
The scene is mostly comprised of Low Sections but the single High Section that does occur is long resulting in the 14% difference between High Total and High Screen Time.
- Joy is the only emotion that has a lower Total value than Screen Time.
- All Low Sections Totals are higher than their respective Screen Time Values. Fear and Joy are given the same screen time despite Fear having more sections.
- Cheerfulness, Rage, Sympathy, Disgust, and Shame are equal in Totals but vary significantly in terms of Screen Time.
- Nervousness and Sadness were highest in terms of Totals, though Sadness and Cheerfulness and Nervousness are near equal in terms of Screen Time.
- Shame and Disgust occurs once, and in a very small of Screen Time.
Raw Data
| # | Time | High/Low | Primary Emotion | Secondary Emotion | Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 29 | 19:01 – 19:08 | Low | Fear | Nervousness | Introduced to foreboding looking scene of a house. |
| 30 | 19:08 – 20:04 | High | Joy | Cheerfulness | Bright interior; Yuka speaks cheerfully; happy memory of shell. |
| 31 | 20:04 – 20:27 | Low | Sadness | Sympathy | Koda remembers that Kanai got sick and died; Koda says shell is memento. |
| 32 | 20:27 – 20:58 | Low | Anger | Rage | Mew breaks Kodas sea shell; Koda gets angry and tells Mew to leave; Mew runs out. |
| 33 | 20:58 -21:24 | Low | Sadness | Sadness | Sad music and visuals. |
| 34 | 21:24 – 21:30 | Low | Sadness | Shame | Yukas interpretation offers a different sympathetic perspective on Mews motivation which makes Koda think. |
| 35 | 21:30 – 21:59 | Low | Sadness | Sadness | Yuka mentions Kanai lived a happy life and that she wouldn’t want Koda to be bitter; Yuka goes out to look for Mew in bad weather. |
| 36 | 22:00 -22:05 | Low | Fear | Nervousness | Army helicopter is shown. |
| 37 | 22:05 – 22:15 | Low | Anger | Disgust | Bondo talks about killing a minor. |
| 38 | 22:15 – 23:00 | Low | Fear | Nervousness | Bondo pulls a gun on his fellow soldier; pretending to kill him. Mew is shown at the beach. |
Totals Counts
Statistics related to Totals in Elfen Lied Episode 1 Scene 4.
High/Low
| High | Low |
|---|---|
| 1 | 9 |
Primary Emotions
| Anger | Fear | Joy | Sadness |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | 3 | 1 | 4 |
Secondary Emotions
| Cheerfulness | Sadness | Shame | Rage | Disgust | Nervousness | Sympathy |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 1 |
Screen Time Counts
Statistics related to Screen Time in Elfen Lied Episode 1 Scene 4.
High/Low
| High | Low |
|---|---|
| 56 | 182 |
Primary Emotions
| Anger | Fear | Joy | Sadness |
|---|---|---|---|
| 41 | 57 | 56 | 84 |
Secondary Emotions
| Cheerfulness | Sadness | Shame | Rage | Disgust | Nervousness | Sympathy |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 56 | 55 | 6 | 31 | 10 | 57 | 23 |
Elfen Lied Episode 1 Scene 4
https://youtu.be/wabrvFw0buM