WhenStranger Thingscame around in 2016, the hype was tremendous. Matt and Ross Duffer created the series, a Netflix original, with relative freedom regarding the show’s structure, tone, and content. And the show was unconventional on several fronts. The Duffer Brothers, as they are usually referred to, who produced the series, had never done television before, and its director had been directing movies for the past fifteen years. The series that became popular and influential itself, was inspired by many works of art and entertainment and ended up mixing the elements of nostalgia with a great cast of kids, who are the pillar of the show, thus becoming critically acclaimed for its plot, direction, performances, and outstanding and nostalgic recreation of the atmosphere of the 1980s, and the heavy influence of pop culture, mainly 1980s movies and TV shows.Stranger Thingsbrilliantly captures the feeling of classic movies that inspired its creators, with regular people grappling with very extraordinary things. The Duffer Brothers hoped the show would lead younger generations todiscover the things they loved growing up. Its success made not only their dreams come true, but it also surpassed that. The Duffer Brothers mentioned that their main influences were Steven Spielberg, John Carpenter, and Stephen King, but they added that their influences in fact come from a thousand different places, and some clear homages make viewers enter an easter egg hunt all the time, and they also mentioned a huge influence that comes from anime: the controversial and great psychological horror, sci-fi, drama anime seriesElfen Lied.RELATED:The Duffer Brothers Suggest That Stranger Things Season 5 Will Be Shorter Than Season 4
What Is Elfen Lied About And How It Influenced The Duffer Brothers’ Stranger Things?
The beginning of the 2000s was a very rich and unique moment for great anime series and movies, such as the (in)famousSword Art Olineanime series,Hayao Miyazaki’sSpirited Away, a movie that won the best-animated feature award in the second year of the category’s existence at the Oscars, the debut ofNarutoin 2002, and, at the end of 2004, the adaptation of the manga series by Lynn Okamoto,Elfen Lied,hit the screens, brought by Arms Corporation, directed by Mamoru Kanbe, it ran on TV in Japan in 2004, and in the US in 2005, adding up to thirteen episodes and an OVA. Even suffering from censorship due to theextreme violenceportrayed in the series,Elfen Liedwas a revolution for anime lovers missing a surprising, thrilling, and touching sci-fi series – onlyElfen Liedis much more than sci-fi, psychological horror or drama only, it crosses and merges genres, something that is shared withStranger Things. This short anime series is deemed incredibly controversial, mainly on account of its graphic violence and overtly sexual nature, which is generally there for the purpose of shock value, but it has become amazingly popular.
Elfen Liedrevolves around the exchanges, views, feelings, anddiscriminationbetween humans and diclonii, a human-like mutant species born to humans that have been infected by a diclonius, with horns that look like cat ears and vectors, which are transparent arms that can go through air and objects at high speed. The diclonii aim to exterminate humans and extinguish all humankind to create a new world for their species. The main character, the diclonius Lucy, is the product of disturbing biomedical experiments, and she is not alone in that. She lived in a secret government facility until she managed to break out, not without killing a lot of people. She found refuge and romance with a human boy, while fighting against, and frequently murdering, thegovernmentagents who were trying to track her down. Does any of this ring a bell? The connection is real, and confirmed by the creators ofStranger Thingsthemselves.
In an interview with Daily Beast, the Duffer Brothers revealed the inspiration they took fromElfen Lied, and how the anime is connected to the series. Admittedly fans ofAkira, they said they lovedElfen Liedand ended up transporting some elements intoStranger Things, and the biggest part of the connection between the anime and their TV show is related to the character of Eleven. This inspiration is even more noticeable throughoutthe series’ Season Four.
And What Is This About Stranger Things Tokyo?
Heavily influenced not only by general pop culture, classic and cult horror movies but also the very peculiar, but incredible anime seriesElfen Lied, it comes as no surprise that it will have spin-offs after coming full circle with thefinal live-action season. AStranger Thingsspin-off has already been confirmed. The series will soon come to an end and has already been expanded into a game, with fans even creating anime-like art and videos for the show. Rumors say the first spin-off will be an anime, reportedly calledStranger Things Tokyo.
Below are the fan art and video created for the series by Emmi, and soon the dream of aStranger Thingsanime can come true, and with an original story.
Apparently,Stranger Things Tokyois in production, and here is everything we know so far. According to reports, the anime spin-off series has been in development for quite some time, and, while not many details have leaked, this is a brief summary of what to expect — “An encounter with the Upside Down evolves into agrand adventure for video-gametwin brothers on the outskirts of 1980s Tokyo.” Supposedly meant to be around 6 hours long, it is being labeled the first of theStranger Thingsspin-offs.
The Duffer Brothers had not only confirmed a spin-off, but also said it is going to be 1,000 different from the original series, and they added that it is going to be a story connected to the world ofStranger Things,but that it will be more about how they aretelling this story.
Stranger ThingsSeasons 1 — 4 are available on Netflix, and the final season is likely set to premiere in 2024.Elfen Liedis available on Amazon Video. Plenty of time to catch up with the original series, and watch the anime that inspired it, while waiting for its spin-off.
Source:What’s On Netflix
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