“ | Forget infection. Those were made to destroy the world! | ” |
–Arakawa, witnessing the raw power of unchecked vectors, driven by pure rage |
Vectors, also very rarely known as Receptors, are invisible "arms," telekinetic in nature and origin, that most Diclonii appear to possess. They are a Diclonius' primary means of defense and, more commonly, offense against humans. However, it is believed that their real function isn't to kill, but to infect humans with the Diclonius Virus, as pointed out by Kurama.
In the series[]
Depending on the field of science, a "vector" can be a force with definitive direction (physics), a means by which a virus is spread (biology) and a description for a course to be taken by an aircraft or directing an aircraft in flight to a desired point. All of these definitions apply to the vectors used by the Diclonius race, as they have traits of both. In addition to manipulating objects according to the Diclonius' will, they mutate human DNA so that all of a male human's children will be Diclonii from the point of infection onward. In the manga, diclonii with powerful enough vectors, such as Mariko or Barbara, will use them to float and aviate themselves. Nana also uses her vectors to push against the Sea Candle in the air in a later chapter but it is unknown if this is really causes her to fly or just give her a boost. Lucy also seems to "fly" later in the anime.
Vectors are telekinetic energy weapons that manifest as invisible arms and are even called "arms" by those who wield them. In the manga, they appear to merely hover around their owner or, in a few instances, lie limply on the ground behind or around them until needed. However, the latter trait is eventually phased out of the manga's representation of them and they appear to only hover later on. In the anime, they appear to come straight out of their owner's back but at times, most likely do to animation goofs, will manifest away from the owner's body.
Regardless of how they manifest, they are mainly used as weapons, with which the Diclonius can move, bludgeon, or, most commonly, cut up any offending person or object in their way. They can destroy or repel most materials and projectiles, with such notable exceptions being the specialized prison doors at the Diclonius Research Institute and the fifty-caliber bullets used in such weapons in the AW50F and the Desert Eagle. When it came to the Mariko Clone's attack on the institute they were detected as immense soundwaves but it could be that the powerful waves came from the vectors rather than being made up of soundwaves themselves.
Depending on the individual Diclonius' power, they can be strong enough to bring down military helicopters and even sink islands, yet can perform extremely delicate tasks as well, such as killing humans by manipulating their blood vessels, or, in Lucy's case, piecing together damaged cells to repair them. They can be used as shields, such as when Mariko protected Kurama and Nana from a missile strike and when Alicia and Barbara used theirs to save Nousou from being crushed by a helicopter. They can be used for any mundane task, such as cleaning. Shown by individual Diclonii and the Vector Attack Craft alike, they can be used to transport their owner as if they were regular limbs or by launching them through the air.
Vectors are stated to be made up of molecules, and the vibration frequency of these molecules determines their abilities:
- Low: can go through objects without causing physical interference
- Medium: lift and throw objects, disrupt blood vessels
- High: slash through most material of low density, carry liquid on surface
- Extremely high: visible, explosively powerful
The number of vectors varies from individual to individual, as does the maximum length at which they can stretch them. Mariko possessed the most vectors of any Diclonii, 50 in the manga and 26 in the anime, and had a range of 11 meters. At the end of the manga, Lucy's vectors, typically numbering at 14 (manga) or 4 (anime) and 2 meters long (were growing in the manga start from around 1 meter and a few feet/inches at first then 2 meters for the majority until the start of end of the story where they would grow more again), numbered around 19 or 20 and had a worldwide range and were powerful enough to sink whole islands and potentially destroy the entire world. Overusing their vectors can cause a Diclonius' body to deteriorate due to entropy and even eventually melt.
Despite their enormous power, vectors can be disabled at least two ways: by inhibiting the egg-sized pineal gland in the frontal lobe of their brain, and by breaking one or both of their horns. Nana and numerous others associated with the Diclonius Research Institute utilized both methods to incapacitate Lucy and other Diclonii. In Nana's case, she used her vectors to pierce the pineal gland to disable Lucy and Mariko's vectors for a few hours at a time. The Diclonius Research Institute used mind control devices in different Diclonii's foreheads to inhibit their vectors and their more volatile personalities. On two separate occasions, Lucy's horns were broken (first by the explosion of Mariko's bombs and the second time by Cynthia's vectors and the Agent shooting her). Both times, she reverted to her Nyu personality, and it's been stated that if a Diclonius loses one or both horns, they can become comatose or even die in addition to losing their powers. In the anime, vectors can be grappled with by other vectors to stop them from reaching a target, which can be best seen during Lucy and Mariko's showdown in Episode 13. This does not appear to be the case in the manga, where they can be felt by those they injure and perhaps even heard if one considers the sound of air rushing around them as they move, and otherwise, they are unable to be seen or acted upon by other forces save for rare exceptions.
Trivia[]
- In the anime, it seems as though vectors can be seen if covered in blood, as Lucy's vectors leave bloody hand prints on at least three occasions, meaning they can hold onto and even carry blood molecules. However, this could possibly just be an artistic effect, as the bloody hand prints only show up in the first episode and promotional artwork and don't actually appear onscreen past the first episode.
- When launching a Diclonius into the air, vectors leave hand-shaped imprints in the ground. They also can leave hand imprints in other things with enough force, such as the hand marks left around Lucy's room in the orphanage during her childhood flashback.
- Kouta's little sister Kanae claimed to have seen Lucy's vectors at the festival, but it remains unclear how. This could have been that they were covered in blood or a mistake on the mangaka’s part.
- It is possible for both humans and Diclonii to sense vectors as they move around them as they can be felt and produce airwaves and sound waves.
- In Lucy’s past in the manga, when she first starts killing random people, it seems in some translations that she mentions once that “normal people can’t see my hands” indicating that only she (and potentially other Diclonii) could see them. This plot point or idea is never mentioned again and the story just seems to go with both humans and Diclonii only being able to sense vectors via sound and touch until vectors become visible.
- In the anime vectors that are meant to be visible remain transparent in appearance with a warped effect over what the arms are covering. The manga depicts them as solid white with sparks almost as if they were made of light. It is unknown if visible vectors are meant to look that way or if it's just artistic effect but because the visible vectors can appear as transparent at times they may not be too solid looking but light still shines around them so it still remains unknown if there is meant to be light coming from visible vectors or not.
- They are often unofficially called “ghost hands” or “ghost arms” by fans and viewers because of their ghost-like qualities.
- One mentioned alternative name for vectors is also receptors but this is rarely used compared to the more common alternative of simply arms.
- Vectors are shown to have massive inconsistencies in size going from around the size of a usual arm to being super massive. When killing the bullies at the orphanage, even while Lucy's vectors were meant to only be around one meter at this time, she has very massive vectors that are large in size. This is the only instance we see of Lucy, or any Diclonius, with such massive vectors while being of such a short range. While the number and range of vectors are always mentioned, what size they are supposed to be, despite something that should have as much effect as numbers and range, never does get mentioned.
- While numbers of vectors are a mentioned trait, the story in the manga never uses this as a way a Diclonius may have an advantage over another, only range. The anime however does at least have a scene where Lucy and Mariko are fighting and Lucy does start running because Mariko's vectors outnumber her's and Lucy is unable to hold them all off.
- While the advantages or disadvantages of vector ranges are actually used in the plot compared to numbers, even ranges can be very inconsistent despite the fact they are supposed to be given an exact number. This is more explained in the narrative gaps page and brings up specific scenes where this happens.
- While most of the time vectors are often shown to have more of a vague hand and arm-like appearance the cover of Chapter 6 depicts them with nails which are usually not drawn on them in other instances. It is unknown if vectors are meant to have more detailed features onto them if they were meant to be portrayed in "realistic" manner.
- There is a huge difference between the purposes of vectors between the anime and the manga. In the anime, while it keeps it vague if a Diclonius’ violent instincts are a result of nature or nurture, it is certain that it’s main purpose is to spread the virus to make more Diclonius children to live on Earth. Meanwhile the manga zig-zags on their purpose until the very end of the story where it is noted that the Vectors purpose isn’t to replace and make a new species of humanity to live and thrive, but to be able to destroy the entire world. The narrative gaps page goes in detail on why both versions of the purpose of vectors have huge flaws for their own very different reasons.
- It has been speculated, but not confirmed, the number and range (or size) of vectors could be based on the user's personality, mental and emotional state. The following is only speculation so it should not be taken as fact but something to keep in mind when it comes to a possible reason for the variance of vectors. Manga only examples will be used as vector numbers were reduced in anime, most likely for animation purposes;
- Lucy could have 14 vectors of 2 meters because she is used to killing more while Nana has the lesser 4 vectors of the longer 5 meters because she is less violent but probably more into strategy than outright violence.
- Mariko could have the most numbers and range at 50 vectors with 11 meters because she is scared and always trapped in darkness and because of her having the most horrible way of barely living, became more and more violent over time. Her isolated nature could have boosted the tendency to want to reach out more and more causing them to grow in length.
- Nyu was also incapable of using vectors until she "grew up" and things became more threatening. Given how she shared a body with Lucy, this could at least show that the nature of vectors are purely psychic and not just limbs similar to "normal" limbs that happen to be invisible. As two members who are within a "system" (more than one identity within the same body) one should be able to move the same hands and legs as the other member, Nyu was capable of doing this with their physical body but unable to use vectors mentally. It should also be noted that Nyu only had or could only use 4 vectors (at first) compared to Lucy's 14.
- In the vastly more popular anime and manga series Soul Eater, the character Medusa Gorgon is a witch who uses vector-based powers as one of her main abilities and attacks. She is also a scientist and doctor/nurse who has a pink haired child she experimented on who is named Crona. As a witch in her series, this means she has destructive instincts and she even attempted to destroy the world, she also raised up and forced Crona to be a killing machine but this wasn’t completely successful. Funny enough the official series that was meant to serve as a spiritual successor to Elfen Lied, Brynhildr in the Darkness had witches in place of Diclonii.
- Medusa and Mariko, the Diclonius who had the most powerful vectors at her natural limit, share the same voice actor in the English Dub.
- Crona Gorgon and Lucy/Kaede are one of the more popular comparisons made by fans of both series with more information here.
- The idea of vectors only being able to defeat vectors seems to be an idea taken from the anime, such as Lucy and Mariko’s fight in that version, as before then, while Diclonii would defeat each other using their vectors in a fight as a weapon and Nana would use her’s to tap the brain of a Diclonius to disable their abilities for some time, it wasn’t a part of the story then that only vectors can directly fight against vectors and not just the body of the target. This seems to be a huge inspiration to items such as the Vector Attack Crafts.
Gallery[]
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