is a Japanese

manga are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long history in earlier Japanese art. The term is used in Japan to refer to both comics ...

series written and illustrated by

Lynn Okamoto is a Japanese manga artist and a former employee of Bandai and Arc System Works. His most famous work is the series ''Elfen Lied'' which was adapted in a 13-episode anime series by the studio Arms. He lives in Tokyo, Japan. Works * (2002–2005 ...

. It was serialized in

Shueisha is a Japanese publishing company headquartered in Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan. Shueisha is the largest publishing company in Japan. It was established in 1925 as the entertainment-related publishing division of Japanese publisher Shogakukan. The ...

's manga magazine ''

Weekly Young Jump is a Japanese manga magazine published by Shueisha. Launched in 1979, it is published under Shueisha's '' Jump'' line of magazines. The chapters of series that run in ''Weekly Young Jump'' are collected and published in volumes under the "Y ...

'' from January 2012 to March 2016. An

anime is a Traditional animation, hand-drawn and computer animation, computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, , in Japan and in Ja ...

television series adaptation by

Arms Arms or ARMS may refer to: *Arm or arms, the upper limbs of the body Arm, Arms, or ARMS may also refer to: People * Ida A. T. Arms (1856–1931), American missionary-educator, temperance leader Coat of arms or weapons *Armaments or weapons **Fi ...

aired between April and June 2014.

Plot

Ten years ago, Ryouta Murakami along with his childhood friend, Kuroneko set out to search for signs of alien life. Although Ryouta is skeptical about her theory, Kuroneko insists that aliens are real. During their search, a tragic accident occurs which gravely injures Ryouta and kills Kuroneko. Due to his strong memory, Ryouta cannot forget about Kuroneko. Since then, he has been continuously staring at the night sky in order to prove that aliens exist, and also to fulfill Kuroneko's dying wish. Presently, Ryouta is a top student at his school and the sole member of the Astronomy Club. Until he gets the shock of his life when a new transfer student named "Neko Kuroha" arrives in his class. She bears a striking resemblance to Ryouta's dead childhood friend, although she dismisses the fact as a bluff. Ryouta later notices something amiss about Neko: First, when a student is miraculously saved after nearly drowning by a mysterious force; and later when Neko predicts that Ryouta will also die and displays superhuman strength when saving him. It is then revealed that Neko is a witch who escaped from an alien research lab. Ryouta becomes a part of Neko's life, learning more about her dilemma and the hidden forces that exist in the universe. As he sinks deeper and deeper into a world of magic and artificially created witches, Ryouta must use any means necessary to preserve and shelter other escaped witches and allow them to live normally, despite knowing the scientists of the lab would kill any outsiders involved.

Characters

Astronomy Club

; : : Ryouta is a high school astronomy club president with a photographic memory, stemming from his connection to the

Edda "Edda" (; Old Norse ''Edda'', plural ''Eddur'') is an Old Norse term that has been applied by modern scholars to the collective of two Medieval Icelandic literary works: what is now known as the ''Prose Edda'' and an older collection of poems ( ...

through Vingulf experiments. Bound by a childhood promise to Kuroneko (Neko), he shelters magic-users in an abandoned

observatory An observatory is a location used for observing terrestrial, marine, or celestial events. Astronomy, climatology/meteorology, geophysics, oceanography and volcanology are examples of disciplines for which observatories have been constructed. Th ...

while seeking "Death Suppressants" to delay their Hatching process. After Valkyria's incident, he struggles to restore Neko's memories. Kidnapped by Vingulf, Ryouta discovers his experimental origins and shortened lifespan. During a confrontation with Loki, their merged consciousnesses erase Loki's manifestation, leaving Ryouta's spirit to wander. Neko later joins him within the Edda, where they encounter a child resembling Kazumi. ; : : Neko is a B-rank magic-user with telekinetic abilities, capable of destroying inorganic matter. Identical to Ryouta's presumed-deceased childhood friend (confirmed by a three-dot birthmark), she bears research number 7620. Memory loss accompanies her power usage, prompting Ryouta to limit its activation. As astronomy club vice-president, she privately enjoys singing while researching

constellation A constellation is an area on the celestial sphere in which a group of visible stars forms Asterism (astronomy), a perceived pattern or outline, typically representing an animal, mythological subject, or inanimate object. The first constellati ...

totals. Her true nature emerges as a prototype Valkyria with latent SS-rank powers, potentially the sought-after

Brynhildr Brunhild, also known as Brunhilda or Brynhild ( , , or ), is a female character from Germanic heroic legend. She may have her origins in the Visigothic princess and queen Brunhilda of Austrasia. In the Norse tradition, Brunhild is a shiel ...

. This awakening grants Mako-like abilities, including

micro black hole Micro black holes, also known as mini black holes and quantum mechanical black holes, are hypothetical tiny (<1 )

Kansai-ben The is a group of Japanese dialects in the Kansai region (Kinki region) of Japan. In Japanese, is the common name and it is called in technical terms. The dialects of Kyoto and Osaka are known as , and were particularly referred to as suc ...

, she infiltrates Ryouta's school and club. Though prone to lewd behavior and sensitive about her physique, she develops genuine feelings for Ryouta, wishing to bear his child as existential proof. Her true abilities exceed AAA-rank classification. During Loki's assault, she sacrifices herself by hacking Edda's genetic memory—reducing Ryouta to instinctual behavior while her body dissolves. Named after Austrian ski jumper

Gregor Schlierenzauer Gregor Schlierenzauer (; born 7 January 1990) is an Austrian former ski jumper who competed from 2006 to 2021. He is one of the most successful ski jumpers of all time, having won the Ski Jumping World Cup overall title, the Four Hills Tourname ...

, she ultimately survives this ordeal. ; : : Kotori (research number 1107) is a B-rank magic-user specializing in spatial transposition, effectively teleporting objects while nullifying their kinetic energy. A clumsy but optimistic cook, she joins Ryouta's astronomy club. The institute targets her as a potential existential threat, later proven when her latent abilities emerge: the Grane-based magic negation and the apocalyptic "Ain Soph Aur" light that merges all cellular life. She activates this final ability to save the world through self-ejection. Her origin as an alien vessel is revealed posthumously, with a clone briefly assisting the astronomy club before perishing. ; : : Hatsuna is an A-rank magic-user with potent regenerative abilities, capable of restoring fatal injuries to herself or others within a five-minute window. Her power enables complete regeneration from just her harness, making her virtually indestructible unless deprived of medication or ejected. After testing Ryouta's loyalty, she develops strong affection for him and becomes vital to the astronomy club's survival. She forms a bond with classmate Takaya, but upon hatching, she kills him when he intervenes. Makina destroys her body, though her surviving Drasil unexpectedly revives both herself and Takaya.

Vingulf

A Sorcerian secret research organization that discovered alien remains in

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

in 1910 through a joint operation involving gold miners and Ryouta's great-grandfather, a Japanese geologist. Rather than disclosing the finding, the group initiated classified studies aimed at achieving divine annihilation. Relocating to Japan during World War II, the organization established autonomous operations. It currently maintains research subject A008 and

Loki Loki is a Æsir, god in Norse mythology. He is the son of Fárbauti (a jötunn) and Laufey (mythology), Laufey (a goddess), and the brother of Helblindi and Býleistr. Loki is married to the goddess Sigyn and they have two sons, Narfi (son of Lo ...

in incubation for their role in humanity's prophesied transformation. ; : : The chief professor overseeing magic-user experiments, he views B-rank subjects as failures and pursues perfect alien specimens at any cost. A protease enzyme developer in college, he leads the retrieval of Kotori. Initially unaware of Ryouta's involvement, he confirms it through Mako. His sole empathy is shown toward his deceased sister , whose brain he implants into Kotori's Grane harness against orders. He dies shielding Mako from gunfire. ; : : A research staff member initially sympathetic toward magic-users, valued by Chisato for his intellect. After failing to capture fugitive B-rank subjects, he is dismissed and survives an assassination attempt that causes brain damage. Abducted from hospitalization by Mina, he later recovers and locates the magic-users' hideout, demonstrating unexpected combat prowess against Takaya. Upon learning of Nanami's forgiveness and Chisato's death, he abandons his mission and joins Hexenjagd at Miki's invitation. ; :A newly-appointed employee placed to work at the Vingulf research lab. Not suitable for the job, however, she finds sympathy with the aliens and magic-users. She teams with Kazumi and the astronomy club during their infiltration inside the institute. ; :A woman who is Chisato's replacement and acquainted with the higher-ups. She has a sadistic and nearly bipolar personality and is also a magic-user with a harness just like that of Valkyria. It is shown that she can negate anti-matters. She has a shadowy objective when literally sending out magic-users that are about to hatch and ensure chaos. Onodera intends to use Valkyria to shape the world. ; : Makina, originally named , is Ryouta's presumed-deceased younger brother and Sorcerian's prototype hybrid. His unstable physiology deteriorates outside controlled environments. Possessing superior destructive and teleportation abilities beyond Valkyria, he attempts to claim Neko, triggering conflict with Ryouta. During a global broadcast, he assassinates the

President of the United States The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president directs the Federal government of the United States#Executive branch, executive branch of the Federal government of t ...

to prevent alien disclosure, aspiring to become humanity's new

Adam Adam is the name given in Genesis 1–5 to the first human. Adam is the first human-being aware of God, and features as such in various belief systems (including Judaism, Christianity, Gnosticism and Islam). According to Christianity, Adam ...

. After Sorcerian's revival renders him obsolete, he is consumed. Vingulf subsequently reveals Ryouta as his designated replacement. ; : Takachiho, father of Makina and Ryouta, leads Vingulf while maintaining a fabricated death. He controls Sorcerian—the conscious origin of all Drasils—which awaited a Valkyria before acting. His objective is reviving

to annihilate and remake humanity, for which purpose he engineered his sons as alien-human hybrids. Though claiming paternal care for Ryouta while indoctrinating him with religious concepts, Takachiho is ultimately killed by Loki.

Other Witches

; : : Nanami (research number 5210), a soft-spoken AA-rank magic-user with memory manipulation abilities, develops admiration for Ryouta's observational skills. After her physical form dissolves from harness ejection, she persists as a consciousness within Ryouta's mind, manifesting during critical moments. Her illusions grow tangible over time, including an

Aphrodite Aphrodite (, ) is an Greek mythology, ancient Greek goddess associated with love, lust, beauty, pleasure, passion, procreation, and as her syncretism, syncretised Roman counterpart , desire, Sexual intercourse, sex, fertility, prosperity, and ...

projection, though this cognitive occupation dangerously expands. To preserve Ryouta's life, she guides him to document essential Vingulf intelligence before erasing herself from his memory, resulting in her complete termination—retained only as a name in Ryouta's recollection. ; : : Kikako (research number 5010), an AA-rank magic-user designated "Bombardment Unit", fires destructive energy beams from her mouth for assassinations. Defeated when Kotori binds herself to a pole and swaps their positions, Kikako is returned to the lab. Though promised clemency for mission completion, she faces violent interrogation about the Kotori encounter. ; : :An AA-rank hybrid magic-user with two types of magic: Being able to slice anything within a 3-meter radius around herself, and manipulating time by one minute; although it will cause her to hang up immediately. Her research number is 6001. She dies after failing to kill Neko, melting away after her harness is ejected. ; :An AAA-rank magic-user. She possesses the power of technopathy and has computer hacking skills akin to Kazumi, even being implied to be the most powerful in that regard. Chisato gave Freya a room full of video games in exchange for her cooperation and is now under the care of Yuki. Freya briefly engages in a battle against Kazumi. ; :Codenamed Skadi. The strongest AAA-rank magic-user. She possesses the power of foresight, much like Kana. The difference between their abilities though is that Mizuka sees the future via her dreams and can peer further than Kana as well as with an accuracy of 100%. However, much like that of Kana, Mizuka's body also suffered a massive penalty for this power and is unable to move nor hear. Mizuka bonds with Yuki. In a future dream, she gives Kazumi options as to which future she wishes to choose. Using the last of her power, she melts the moment she informs Black Suit of Kotori's whereabouts. It is presumed that Mizuka predicted the entire series' events. ; : Onodera deploys three magic-users to eliminate Black Suit following the Valkyria Incident. Rie's abilities remain unknown as she dies before demonstrating them. Misaki possesses invisibility limited to her naked body, while Rurumi controls others through voodoo dolls. The group encounters a mobile Kana, preventing Rurumi from attacking her. During a hospital infiltration, Rurumi's harness hatches, creating a monster that consumes her. When Rie mistakes the creature for Rurumi, she lets it devour her out of guilt. Misaki rescues Kana and Kitsuka before Initializer destroys the monster, resulting in Misaki's harness ejection for mission failure.

Valkyria

; : : Mako, an S-rank hybrid magic-user, possesses eight abilities including teleportation, regeneration, presence detection, and

anti-matter In modern physics, antimatter is defined as matter composed of the antiparticles (or "partners") of the corresponding particles in "ordinary" matter, and can be thought of as matter with reversed charge and parity, or going backward in time ...

manipulation—her most destructive capability. Though four powers remain undocumented, her combat effectiveness is unmatched. Psychologically unstable yet devoted to Chisato (her rescuer from genetic collapse), she claims sisterhood with Neko and acts protectively. After Neko's micro black hole consumes her physical form, Ryouta destroys her remaining Drasil, though she ultimately reunites with Chisato in the afterlife. ; : Hrist, real name (), is an SS-rank Valkyria created after Mako's death, becomes Vingulf's most powerful magic-user. Initially restrained via crucifixion, she escapes using awakened teleportation abilities only to be recaptured. Unlike Mako, she demonstrates compassion by refusing to kill, though Onodera forces her compliance by threatening prolonged witch executions. After attacking the

National Diet , transcription_name = ''Kokkai'' , legislature = 215th Session of the National Diet , coa_pic = Flag of Japan.svg , house_type = Bicameral , houses = , foundation=29 November 1890(), leader1_type ...

, Takachiho delivers her to Loki for consumption to enhance his power.

Hexenjagd

A resistance group meaning "witch hunt" that is built by scientists who defected from the Organization due to the threat that they posed to God himself. Hexenjagd is responsible for the magic-users' escapee. ; : : Miki, founder of Hexenjagd, contacts Ryouta through Neko's device with the objective of capturing Kotori to destroy her Grane. She declares all magic-users must die, explaining their souls now inhabit alien "Drasils" within their harnesses, with suppressants merely feeding these organisms. In exchange for assistance locating Kotori, she provides death-suppressant ingredients and protocol (as Mizuka predicted). After Kotori's death, Miki honors the agreement by supplying the complete formula, enabling Kogorou to medicate the remaining magic-users. ; : :Initializer appears as a young boy with unknown origins. His magic-nullification ability requires conscious activation and knowledge of the target's powers, lasting eight seconds except during three-day new moon periods. He can instantly destroy hatched Drasils. A prototype similar to Makina (who calls him "the old man with the defective body"), he predates a more advanced model that passively neutralizes magic, coexisting with Hrist. ; : :A former Vingulf researcher who got wounded during Neko's escaping attempt. She gave Neko a package and entrusted her the following mission: "Save the world from utter destruction and ruin". The package contains an alien's fertilized egg and a communication device. Neko later gave the alien sample and device to Ryouta.

Supporting characters

; : : Kogorou, Ryouta's maternal uncle, is a scientist tasked with reproducing magic-users' medicine. Skeptical of supernatural phenomena until witnessing Kana's foresight and Nanami's death, he previously attended college with Chisato, whom he admired. His examination of an alien fertilized egg leads to research on countering Vingulf. Through

JAXA The is the Japanese national air and space agency. Through the merger of three previously independent organizations, JAXA was formed on 1 October 2003. JAXA is responsible for research, technology development and launch of satellites into o ...

satellite analysis, he traces Vingulf's connection to a Dresden-based institute. Kogorou employs extreme measures against those attempting to claim credit for the alien discovery. ; : :A middle-school student who lives next door to Ryouta that he tutors. Kitsuka has a crush on Ryouta that he is completely oblivious to. She later becomes classmates with Kana when she starts attending middle school and befriends her after learning of her secret. Kitsuka is afraid of swimming but gains courage thanks to Kana. Sometime later, Kitsuka is found to have been taken to Vingulf in means to be Ryouta's

Eve Eve is a figure in the Book of Genesis in the Hebrew Bible. According to the origin story, "Creation myths are symbolic stories describing how the universe and its inhabitants came to be. Creation myths develop through oral traditions and there ...

of the new world. ; : :Ryouta's classmate. She regularly expresses how intelligent Ryouta is, even though he usually was distant from females. Risa befriends Neko the day of her transfer originally due to saving her from drowning and invites her to karaoke. Risa later gets into a car accident, and Hatsuna heals her burned wounds. As the story proceeds, she realizes Neko's mysterious power. ; : Takaya, Ryouta's classmate, first appears at a maid café staffed by Neko, Kazumi, and Hatsuna. A handsome but aggressive-seeming youth with underlying kindness, he drops out after rumored violent incidents. Upon discovering Hatsuna's secret, he develops affection for her and confesses when learning of her predicted death. His confession accidentally triggers her hatching, though she later revives him after restoration. Despite genuine care, his social ineptitude manifests when he immediately pressures Hatsuna for sexual relations upon dating. He subsequently supports the astronomy club. ; : Mina, Kana's long-lost sister kidnapped a decade prior, investigates Vingulf as a journalist while searching for missing children. She uncovers inconsistencies in media reports about Valkyria's destruction, suspecting a cover-up. With a colleague, she identifies Black Suit's hospitalization as a Vingulf connection, orchestrating his escape only to lose him. A hospital photo reignites her search until reuniting with Kana at the maid café. They bond over shared memories before joining Ryouta's class trip to

Ishigaki Island , also known as ''Ishigakijima'', is a Japanese island south-west of Okinawa Hontō and the second-largest island of the Yaeyama Island group, behind Iriomote Island. It is located approximately south-west of Okinawa Hontō. It is within t ...

, where Mina dies shielding Kana from Makina's attack.

Media

Manga

Written and illustrated by

, ''Brynhildr in the Darkness'' was serialized in

's manga magazine ''

'' from January 26, 2012, to March 31, 2016. Shueisha collected its 181 individual chapters in eighteen volumes, released from May 18, 2012, to May 19, 2016.

Anime

An anime adaptation was announced on November 11, 2013. The anime is directed by Kenichi Imazumi at studio

, with Yukinori Kitajima acting as head writer and Hiroaki Kurasu as chief animation director and character designer. The series aired between April 6 and June 29, 2014, on

Tokyo MX JOMX-DTV (channel 9), branded as Tokyo MX (officially stylized as TOKYO MX), is an independent station, independent television station in Tokyo, Japan, owned by the . It is the only television station that exclusively serves the city and parts ...

, and later on ytv, CTV, BS11 and AT-X. For episodes 1–9 the opening is "Brynhildr in the Darkness -Ver. Ejected-" by Nao Tokisawa. From episode 10 onwards, the opening is "Virtue and Vice" by

Fear, and Loathing in Las Vegas is a Japanese electronicore band from Kobe that was formed in summer 2008. The band currently consists of vocalist So, keyboardist Minami, guitarist Taiki, drummer Tomonori, and bassist Tetsuya. They are best known for their heavy use of vocod ...

. The ending song is "Ichiban Boshi" by

Risa Taneda is a Japanese voice actress affiliated with Office Osawa talent agency. She is also a member of the seiyuu idol unit ''Rhodanthe*'' () since 2013, along with Nao Tōyama, Asuka Nishi, Manami Tanaka and Yumi Uchiyama. Some of her major roles ...

Aya Suzaki is a Japanese voice actress and narrator affiliated with I'm Enterprise. She is widely known for her work, such as Tamako Kitashirakawa in '' Tamako Market''. Biography Suzaki is good at singing, and lists soft tennis and scuba diving as her ...

, M.A.O, and

Azusa Tadokoro is a Japanese voice actress and singer. She is affiliated with the talent agency HoriPro International and signed to record label Lantis. She participated in an audition sponsored by this agency. Her notable roles include Aoi Kiriya in '' Aika ...

Episodes

Reception

Nicole MacLean of ''

THEM Anime Reviews THEM Anime Reviews, otherwise known as THEM or T.H.E.M. Anime Reviews, is an anime review website that writes about current and past anime in any form, including OVAs and ONAs. The website offers reviews, editorial content and hosts forums. ...

'' panned the series, finding it inferior to Okamoto's ''

Elfen Lied is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Lynn Okamoto. It was serialized in Shueisha's Seinen manga, manga magazine ''Weekly Young Jump'' from June 2002 to August 2005, with its 107 chapters collected into twelve volumes. ''El ...

'' due to overlapping themes. She criticized its "shoddy" story and underdeveloped characters. She further criticized its excessive reliance on harem tropes, arguing they undermined its sci-fi/horror premise.

References

External links

Official manga website

Official anime website
* {{Arms Corporation Anime series based on manga Arms Corporation Dark fantasy anime and manga Mystery anime and manga Norse mythology in anime and manga Science fiction anime and manga Seinen manga Sentai Filmworks Shueisha franchises Shueisha manga Works banned in China