The author of the Elfen Lied manga series, Lynn Okamoto, shared some curiosities about this manga series through her personal Twitter account on June 7. Okamoto, then a novice in the manga industry, wanted to create a manga series in the same style as the popular harem series Love Hina, but he soon discovered the power of a story that could be told on its own, thanks to the advice of its experienced editor.
まだ連載前の新人だったころ、ラブひなみたいな漫画が描きたいと思って連載用のネームを描いたのがエルフェンリートでした。— 岡本倫 (@okamotolynn) June 6, 2020
"When I was a rookie before [Elfen Lied's] serialization, I wanted to draw a manga similar to Love Hina, so I made a rough draft for that series that would later become Elfen Lied."
その後担当さんに色々指示されてラブひなからは遠く外れていったのですが、思い出すと1話目はほぼ最初から今の形のままだったので、ここからラブひなに行けると思っていたぼくが間違っていたんだと思います。 pic.twitter.com/rRaQIwIWdE— 岡本倫 (@okamotolynn) June 6, 2020
After seeing that, my editor suggested I drop the idea of doing something similar to Love Hina. However, now that I remember well, the first chapter stayed almost the same as the draft I presented, so I think from the beginning I was wrong thinking that I could do something similar to Love Hina from that, "the author commented on the panels attachments in your post.
While it's easy to find some similarities between some aspects of Elfen Lied and Love Hina, it's safe to say when looking at both series together, Elfen Lied had a huge departure from the romantic comedy. Although it never ceases to be curious to know where Okamoto's inspiration came from when creating the manga, especially with two completely different works from each other.
Source: Official Twitter Account
© 岡本 倫 / 週刊 ヤ ン グ ジ ャ ン プ / 集 英 社 SHUEISHA
