Song of the Elves

—From the lyrics of Lilium; theme tune of the anime Elfen Lied (Song of the Elves).

The opening scene—set in a secure chamber accessed via machined blast doors—depicts a severed arm in a pool of blood, the fingers twitching. Armed guards stare terrified at a figure in a strait-jacket harnessed to wall inside a metal cage, its head encased in a steel helmet...