<p>I've made my comment into an answer.</p>

<p>Actually, the graffiti has been there at the beach all along since episode 1. As people have pointed out, the yellow part could be a stylized "wash".</p>

<p><a href="https://i.sstatic.net/xp4Fd.png" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/xp4Fd.png" alt="wash"></a></p>

<p>If you rotate the image 180 degrees, it now reads like "Asian" (and the signature-like part "RMdVd").</p>

<p><a href="https://i.sstatic.net/cjobG.png" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/cjobG.png" alt="Asian"></a></p>

<p>Now, no racism or anything, just making an observation. There is a term in Urban Dictionary (I know, it's written by random people) that is exactly this: <a href="https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=asian%20wash" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Asian Wash</a><a href="https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Asian%20Washed" rel="nofollow noreferrer">(ed)</a>, which means</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>Some one of non-asian decent who is highly confused and believes they were born into the wrong race and are truly asian. They obssess over the people, food, and language.</p>
</blockquote>

<p>I won't even try to claim that it defines those (Asian) humans/Diclonii who wants to live as (Asian) Diclonii/humans. It might just be what is written in the graffiti, which could be anything, right?</p>

<p>Likewise, I won't try to claim that the symbol on Kouta's shirt defines who he is. But it is the <a href="https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=%E2%91%A8" rel="nofollow noreferrer">baka symbol</a>, right?</p>

<p><a href="https://i.sstatic.net/7dfko.jpg" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/7dfko.jpg" alt="Baka Kouta"></a></p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-09-26T16:00:16.880Z
2017-09-26T16:00:16.880Z
Gao
<p>This does not look like Japanese (kanji, hiragana, or katakana). The closest you could get to Japanese would be by flipping the final ‘letter’ on the top line horizontally to get 「ツ」(<em>tsu</em>) or a「レ」 (<em>re</em>) plus a 「"」(<em>tenten</em>) and reading the final 2 ‘letters’ on the bottom line as「水」(<em>mizu</em>), but 1) since the rest of the lettering does not match anything in Japanese, that would be illogical to do, 2) the chance of mixing katakana with kanji is low, and 3) “re” is never paired with a “tenten.”</p>

<p>If we take it to be the alphabet, you can come up with a backwards “N”+“USH,” OR possibly “WASH,” OR you could interpret the final letter as an “L.”  However, none of those explain the two vertical dashes on the right side. The bottom line could be either “PARNZIK” OR “PNRNZIK.”</p>

<p><strong>The artist would not expect the Japanese audience to be able to decipher the lettering of the graffiti</strong> in this scene. Students in Japanese schools learn to read and write English letters in a certain, standardized, clean form, and get tripped up if they see the letters in an unconventional form. In general, they do not develop individual handwriting for writing in English. Thus, this graffiti was not meant to convey any particular message to the viewer and is not necessary for understanding the plot.</p>

<p>As an aside, in real life, many examples of graffiti are not written in letters/spellings that allow outsiders to read them.  It may be that this is what the artist was going for, either 1) for realism or 2) for the ability to avoid coming up with an actual message for background art.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-04-17T05:20:01.387Z
2015-04-17T05:20:01.387Z
seijitsu
<p>In the <em>Elfen Lied</em> special episode 10.5, there was a scene where Nana is standing next to a wall where bearing this graffiti:</p>

<p><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/7miaJ.jpg" alt="enter image description here"></p>

<p>I don't know if is important or not, but the writing is so noticeable that I would like to know: what's written there?</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-03-28T23:01:27.903Z
I can't read Japanese well enough to give a definite answer, but this graffiti doesn't look like it's made of Japanese characters.
Nolonar
CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-03-28T23:28:49.213Z
I don't know the context, but the yellow part just looks like a stylized "WASH", while the bottom looks like "PARNZIK" (a name?). Regardless, it is not Japanese.
Cattua
CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-03-29T01:06:45.030Z
The subtitle text is in German and translates to, "exactly it is their fault." Not sure if it's just the Op's sub-preference... If not then that could be related to the context of the graffiti.
FatalSleep
CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-03-29T01:45:08.690Z
OP, with the prominent use of the German language throughout the anime, it may be graffiti that is in German. With that said, it would be nice if any native or fluent German speakers can let us know their thoughts, as I too would like to know any significance of this.
Sultan of Swing
CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-03-29T04:53:10.480Z
Actually, the graffitis have been there at the beach all along since episode 1. If you rotate the image 180 degrees, the word reads like "Asian". "[Asian Wash](http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=asian+wash)"? LOL, and I just noticed that in the OVA episode, Kouta is wearing a shirt with a ⑨ on it. Baka Kouta.
Gao
CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-03-29T11:15:03.897Z
@Why_SE_bulling_new_users What I was wondering is was if the German subs were part of the video itself or your sub preference. If it wasn't your sub preference then it might have to do with the graffiti...
FatalSleep
<elfen-lied>
What does this (possibly Japanese) graffiti say?
# What does this (possibly Japanese) graffiti say?
Posted by: username_0 on 2015-03-28
In the *Elfen Lied* special episode 10.5, there was a scene where Nana is standing next to a wall where bearing this graffiti:

![enter image description here](https://i.sstatic.net/7miaJ.jpg)

I don't know if is important or not, but the writing is so noticeable that I would like to know: what's written there?
**Tags:** elfen-lied
> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: I can't read Japanese well enough to give a definite answer, but this graffiti doesn't look like it's made of Japanese characters.  
> **username_2**: I don't know the context, but the yellow part just looks like a stylized "WASH", while the bottom looks like "PARNZIK" (a name?). Regardless, it is not Japanese.  
> **username_3**: The subtitle text is in German and translates to, "exactly it is their fault." Not sure if it's just the Op's sub-preference... If not then that could be related to the context of the graffiti.  
> **username_4**: OP, with the prominent use of the German language throughout the anime, it may be graffiti that is in German. With that said, it would be nice if any native or fluent German speakers can let us know their thoughts, as I too would like to know any significance of this.  
> **username_5**: Actually, the graffitis have been there at the beach all along since episode 1. If you rotate the image 180 degrees, the word reads like "Asian". "[Asian Wash](http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=asian+wash)"? LOL, and I just noticed that in the OVA episode, Kouta is wearing a shirt with a ⑨ on it. Baka Kouta.  
> **username_3**: @Why_SE_bulling_new_users What I was wondering is was if the German subs were part of the video itself or your sub preference. If it wasn't your sub preference then it might have to do with the graffiti...  
---
## 2 answers
### Answer by username_5 on 2017-09-26. Score: 3
I've made my comment into an answer.

Actually, the graffiti has been there at the beach all along since episode 1. As people have pointed out, the yellow part could be a stylized "wash".

[![wash](https://i.sstatic.net/xp4Fd.png)](https://i.sstatic.net/xp4Fd.png)

If you rotate the image 180 degrees, it now reads like "Asian" (and the signature-like part "RMdVd").

[![Asian](https://i.sstatic.net/cjobG.png)](https://i.sstatic.net/cjobG.png)

Now, no racism or anything, just making an observation. There is a term in Urban Dictionary (I know, it's written by random people) that is exactly this: [Asian Wash](https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=asian%20wash)[(ed)](https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Asian%20Washed), which means

> Some one of non-asian decent who is highly confused and believes they were born into the wrong race and are truly asian. They obssess over the people, food, and language.

I won't even try to claim that it defines those (Asian) humans/Diclonii who wants to live as (Asian) Diclonii/humans. It might just be what is written in the graffiti, which could be anything, right?

Likewise, I won't try to claim that the symbol on Kouta's shirt defines who he is. But it is the [baka symbol](https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=%E2%91%A8), right?

[![Baka Kouta](https://i.sstatic.net/7dfko.jpg)](https://i.sstatic.net/7dfko.jpg)
---
### Answer by username_6 on 2015-04-17. Score: 2
This does not look like Japanese (kanji, hiragana, or katakana). The closest you could get to Japanese would be by flipping the final ‘letter’ on the top line horizontally to get 「ツ」(*tsu*) or a「レ」 (*re*) plus a 「"」(*tenten*) and reading the final 2 ‘letters’ on the bottom line as「水」(*mizu*), but 1) since the rest of the lettering does not match anything in Japanese, that would be illogical to do, 2) the chance of mixing katakana with kanji is low, and 3) “re” is never paired with a “tenten.”

If we take it to be the alphabet, you can come up with a backwards “N”+“USH,” OR possibly “WASH,” OR you could interpret the final letter as an “L.” However, none of those explain the two vertical dashes on the right side. The bottom line could be either “PARNZIK” OR “PNRNZIK.”

**The artist would not expect the Japanese audience to be able to decipher the lettering of the graffiti** in this scene. Students in Japanese schools learn to read and write English letters in a certain, standardized, clean form, and get tripped up if they see the letters in an unconventional form. In general, they do not develop individual handwriting for writing in English. Thus, this graffiti was not meant to convey any particular message to the viewer and is not necessary for understanding the plot.

As an aside, in real life, many examples of graffiti are not written in letters/spellings that allow outsiders to read them. It may be that this is what the artist was going for, either 1) for realism or 2) for the ability to avoid coming up with an actual message for background art.
---
