The Night Owl wrote...
Its poorly written, the entire begining is the biggest flaw that this anime actually has, its one of worst animes out there to recieve such rave reviews by people like you, who are enchanted by the desperate attempts at character development, forced relationships and gore.
You just descriped probably about 90% of anime out there really, and probably the majority of movie and games for good measure. I think you missed the point, like I said as a package it's overall better than other, not piece by piece. For example, I played ME2 and really enjoyed it and didn't regret the 60$. Now, if I'm to judge its story drive and narrative, I think ME2 probably will get an F in an AP literature class. But overall, it's a pretty fun and entertaining game because after all, I (and hopefully most people) remember it's for entertainment, not a thesis paper. And <i>enchanted by the desperate attempts at character development, forced relationships and gore</i>? As I said I think Witch Hunter Robin is crap, and my opinion on Claymore is not really that high so I doubt Elfen Lied could have lured me in with just those.
And overated? A lot of thing are overated. And what if Lain is old, don't people nowadays still worship the original Evageleon? Which, honestly I think is just average. It was a product of a dysfunctional man who was going through depression, idk, maybe that's why it was interesting. I'm looking forward to the completion of the new series because the guy in charge is supposed to be in the correct mindset now. But alas it's called taste, no need to criticize others because yours stand out. I'm not a a trench watcher, and most of my top tittles are obcured one, but that doesn't mean the mass is always wrong.