Reception for the "Elfen Lied" anime was generally mixed to positive. Reviewers such as Tasha Robinson of "Sci Fi Weekly" and Theron Martin of Anime News Network praised "Elfen Lied" for its story and technical excellence in production quality, animation and color. Due to the many scenes of nudity and gore, Dominic Laeno of THEM Anime Reviews criticized the series as being "overly blatant." Martin criticized the anime for having "sub-par voice acting" in both the original Japanese audio track and the English dub of the series, although he gave it an "A-" rating for both language dubs. Martin also said that the series "ends abruptly with some loose ends to the story that could leave viewers unsatisfied," but also called it "a horror series of exceptional merit." Laeno called the series "a genuinely good watch." Stig Høgset, also of THEM Anime Reviews, called "Elfen Lied" "a very special show, good and bad parts taken into consideration."