Nana (Elfen Lied)

Nana (ナナ), or Silpelit #7 is a main character in the Elfen Lied manga and anime series. Nana was one of the Diclonius not euthanized at birth, but rather taken and experimented on at the Diclonius Research Institute. She has the physical appearance of being a young teenager, and her chronological age is somewhere in the single digits; the manga explains in greater detail that Silpelits age more rapidly than humans (or a "Queen Diclonius" like Lucy).

She developed a deep attachment to Director Kurama and believed him to be her father, providing her with the emotional support to endure all the hardships and depredations of life as a test subject, as well as prevent her from becoming mentally unstable like so many other Diclonius subjects, such as Mariko.

Nana had an unusual personality for a Diclonius, not having the desire to kill or even to hurt someone. She is neither homicidal nor sadistic. Her character seems to defy the standard belief that a Diclonius' killing instinct is inborn, and yet it does not disprove it, either. Although her vectors stretch longer than Lucy's, Nana doesn't attack others with the intent to kill. She would rather incapacitate, though later in the series, toward Lucy, in particular, she displays a desire to kill. It is Nana's empathy for others that limits her from fighting vigorously, let alone killing.

The bond between herself and Kurama made it possible for Nana to endure the difficult life of a test subject at the Diclonius Research Institute, allowing her kind, sweet, and compassionate personality to blossom. She can understand the pain of others, and thus doesn't wish to cause anyone any harm. This empathy puts her at odds with Lucy, who had no one to provide her with emotional support and stop her from becoming a cold-hearted, sadistic killer. Without Kurama by her side, she would've lost her sanity years ago. However, she is very naive and lacks knowledge of the outside world.

Sometimes, Nana enters a state of rage and fury, so high she might kill someone, even if it goes against her orders. When in this state, her personality is more like the other Diclonius, such as Lucy and Mariko. She only enters this state in extreme cases, like when someone threatens her Kurama or her friends, notably Mayu. Shetried

At least she tried!

Even in domestic affairs, Nana gives things her all and tries her best. After moving to the Maple House, Nana begins to feel useless since she feels like a freeloader and is guilty of being a "burden" to her friends. To feel more useful and avoid being kicked out, Nana tries over and over to complete menial tasks such as cooking and cleaning, but either burns the food or injures herself in the course of doing her chores. Mayu is the one who often has to comfort her and insist she has a place with them whether she's useful or not. In the end, Nana ends up delegated to handling Wanta's meals (and, in the manga, Piyo-Piyo's meals), since he's an important part of the family. She's also easily moved to tears at the thought of others caring for her, such as Yuka and Kouta buying her so many clothes and assuring her she can stay with them.

Nana is possibly the exact opposite of Lucy. While Lucy's personality is serious and cold, Nana's is friendly and kind; Nyu is similar to Nana's personality while Nana is more mature than Nyu but sometimes goes into trances with possibly the DNA Voice influencing her or even taking over and acts cold-like Lucy's personality. One time, in particular, was remarkably similar to Lucy's fall into the path of a cold-blooded killer, and it took the force of a magnum bullet grazing her skull to knock her back to her senses. Nana is in the middle of the spectrum of Lucy's split personalities: she's not as mature as Lucy, but more so than Nyu. In fact, she is incredibly childish since she is a rapidly aged child who lacks "normal" education and experience. Given her age and lack of proper education, her love of Kurama is the view of a child, making it unlikely she fully grasps the implications of her wishing to be his wife and disturbing implications aside, as a sterile Silpelit, she very likely doesn't know how babies are made nor how her caste is sterile either or a mix of both.