The similarity of the Stranger Things series with the Japanese anime Fairy Song

The Stranger Things series was well received by the world audience. But do you know that this series is similar to a Japanese anime called Elfen Lied or Fairy Song? Stay tuned with Zumji.

The Stranger Things series should be considered one of the well-known TV phenomena of recent years in the sci-fi and horror genre, which succeeded in captivating many viewers in all corners of the world. This passion is so much that when every season ends, viewers impatiently wait for the new season to air. But the interesting thing about this series is that parts of the story of this series are inspired by a classic and charming Japanese anime. An anime that some fans of this series may not have heard of, or haven’t had the chance to watch yet.

That’s why it’s not bad to have a look at this popular anime, which is recommended to watch especially for fans of the series “Strange Events”. We will also discuss the similarities between these two collections and the differences between them.

The horror anime Tarane Parian was the source of inspiration for the Duffer brothers to create the Stranger Things series

The creators of the Stranger Things series, Matt and Ross Duffer (Duffer Brothers), during an interview with the news website “The Daily Beast” dating back to 2016, talked about the current state of this popular series and the issues that They pointed out that they were influential in the formation of the idea of ​​making this work as well as its characterization. In this regard, Matt Duffer mentioned the name of the anime “Elfen Lied” and further added that there are many things about this anime that attracted his attention and even made him interested in this work. So that part of this interest and attention were effective in making the series of strange things and especially in the formation of the character of “Alon”.

Fairy Song is a work by “Lynn Okamoto” that was first published in 2002 as a manga in “Weekly Young Jump” magazine. In 2004, this manga was noticed and “Mamoru Kanbe” (Mamoru Kanbe) took the responsibility of making its anime as a director. The title of this anime is taken from a German ballad written by Eduard Mörike, a German romantic poet.

The fairy tale is the story of a girl named Lucy, who is a “Diclonius”, a new and mutated species of humans who, although they look completely similar to normal humans, are actually different beings with the power to control vectors and, of course, horns on their heads. They also have Vectors are essentially invisible remote-controlled arms that allow Diclonius to manipulate the objects around him in a variety of ways that humans are unable to do. At first, Lucy is kept in a government facility and subjected to all kinds of horrible and unpleasant experiments. In the end, he somehow managed to kill his bodyguards and escape from this dreaded facility.

However, while trying to escape, Lucy is injured and here we see another character of her. This character is different from the other and has an innocent and childlike attitude. His speech capacity is limited and he is mentally forgetful and cannot remember his true nature. It is here that two students named Kouta and Yuka find him and decide to nurse him back to health, they also call him “New”. However, this humanitarian act of theirs has unintentionally made these two the center of attention of government officials and somehow involved them in a secret operation and a big government conspiracy. Because now all the different groups are trying to take over Lucy and abuse her powerful force to achieve their evil and evil goals.

With these few lines, you must have noticed the similarity between the character of Lucy in the fairy tale and the character of Elon in the exciting series of strange things, because he is also kept secret in a government center due to his unique powers. Elon, like Lucy, runs away and befriends ordinary children, and of course, both of them have supernatural and strange powers. In other words, both Elon and Lucy have terrible powers that can turn the earth into a terrible battlefield and kill many people.

Of course, the idea of ​​teenage boys and girls who try to balance the problems of normal and everyday life and the life-threatening problems of this planet has long been noticed by those involved in the world of creating entertaining works. Just like the same process that we see in the series of strange things, in the fairy tale, Kota and Yuka have to maintain this balance and continue their normal lives while trying to avoid facing government officials.

On the other hand, if we make a more detailed comparison between the two characters of Lucy from the Fairy Song anime and Elon from the Strange Things series, we will find out other points. Lucy presents a more prominent display of violence that Elon refrains from presenting. However, this issue shows us that maybe if Elon had lived in the same conditions as Lucy (that is, the darkness in which he grew up), things could have been different. What kind of creature would Elon become if he felt that deep hatred of Lucy towards humanity in his heart.

We see in the flashbacks related to Elon’s character that children can also show sadistic behavior. Therefore, if Elon had not met Mike and his group of friends, he might have shown similar behaviors. Lucy’s brutal killing spree and hatred of humanity was fueled by the intense abuse she received from both adults and children alike. The hard life along with the abuses he had seen made him a hard-hearted character.

But El isn’t like that, always confronting her powerful and violent abilities, even though she’s also tasted rejection. He also sometimes reacts harshly to harassment, such as punching the school bully in the face, however, he immediately regrets his actions and even considers himself a monster. El also does not suffer from dissociative identity disorder like Lucy. However, he also has things to forget, memories that his mind has sealed away and prevents from recalling.

For this reason, it can be concluded that the Duffer brothers have made the most of the human themes of the fairy song to color and polish their work. On the other hand, it can be argued that these two were even inspired by this anime to create their negative and main character. Yes, at first it seemed more like Elon’s character was inspired by Lucy, but isn’t Vecna ​​more like Lucy? This monster, which hunts teenagers to open portals, seems to have a closer relationship with Lucy. He also has several identities, a rich young man who is sometimes kind and friendly and sometimes a terrible monster who easily kills even the closest members of his family.

Vakna also has a deep and violent hatred for humanity, even the way he kills people is just like the fairy song, combined with cruelty and cruelty. The tools he uses to kill are not unlike Lucy’s invisible arms, which is another similarity the two characters share. Another similarity between these two characters is that, like Lucy, Vokana is the first of her kind. If you have watched the fairy tale, you know that Lucy is the original Diclonius or the queen who is the source of the contamination of humans and the spread of the disease that was supposed to end in the complete destruction of the human race. Vakna was also the first test subject in the same secret government facility where Elon was kept. He too sought to infect people with his own horror, and it is clear that he too had begun a non-stop path that would continue until the last person was destroyed.

But it seems that the Duffer brothers enjoy being inspired by the fairy tale anime, because apart from the characters, the symbols are also of interest to them. Consider the case of watches as an example. Throughout the series, we are connected in various ways to the issue of fixing Kota’s grandfather clock, and even when it seems that Lucy may have survived the final battle, the clock starts working again. Viewers of the Strange Things series also touched this connection well in the fourth season of this series, because the subject of the grandfather’s clock was also considered in this season. In general, it is clear that there are many connections between these two series, to the extent that a group may feel that the series “Amazing Things” is a complete copy of Parian’s song. But in reality it is not and there are still many differences between the two shows.

The violence in the fairy song is so bold that it has made this anime famous

For example, while these two works are similar from various angles such as storyline, characterization and theme, but the way they are presented is very different from each other. Elfen Lied anime presents scenes that seem almost impossible to create in live action. On the other hand, although violence can be seen in the Stranger Things series, it never drowns in it. While Parian’s song has become famous because of the violence it has depicted. On the other hand, maybe the main characters of Stranger Things always survive in some way, but still the deaths that happen are very impressive. Like Lucy, Elon never kills his loved ones or people he hates. Stranger Things’ emotional arcs are better handled, and real suspense has replaced harsh growls.

In a general review, it can be said that the content of these two works, Fairy Song and Strange Things, are similar and even pay attention to similar themes, however, the atmosphere of the Fairy Song anime is much darker and harsher, and we witness an extremely cruel treatment of the characters in the story. This causes the viewer to be deeply affected while watching this anime and, as a result, will continue to think about it for a long time. The concept of Diclonius as a human-like being of a different nature is confusing, but handled well. At the same time, story twists and adding side topics have added to the charm of this anime.

The main question raised by the creators of the fairy song anime is what does it mean to be human, both from the point of view of the biological concept and from the philosophical point of view? Nevertheless, with all the structural and thematic similarities of these two collections, each of them has communicated with their subject in a different way, both in terms of aesthetics and narrative aspects.

It must be said that Fairy Song is an extremely attractive and exciting show in its own way, which is worth watching, and it is very interesting to watch how the Fairy Song anime inspired the creation of the Strange Things series and several other stories. It will also be a must-watch for die-hard Stranger Things fans, as it will help them understand why Matt and Ross Duffer are playing Elon’s character the way they do.

In the end, each of these two works have their own strengths and weaknesses, which made watching them memorable and attractive for the audience. In the end, I hope this review and companionship with Zumji was interesting for you, dear readers. Are you among the viewers and fans of these two series? Did you also notice the hidden and obvious links between the fairy song and the series of strange things? In the meantime, what points caught your attention? We are still eager to hear your opinions, so be sure to share them with us and your other friends.