Is Elf a teenager the same age as Jyugo? Or a much older man whose age does not match his appearance?
I don’t know how many people have seriously thought about this question… But I’m one of those who really thought about it, and did a little research, re-reading the entire manga from beginning to end… From Elf’s first appearance, his meeting with Jyugo, chapters about Noriko Sanzou's past, and right up to the very final chapters, which also contain some information regarding how old our pointy-eared friend is. And I should note that this actually gave me a more or less clear answer to my question. Well… I'll lay out the facts.
First of all, I think we should pay attention to the fact that Jyugo, during his first meeting with Elf, literally tells us about his age:
"I've never seen a guard around the same age as me before… Even if I assume he's an inmate, there shouldn't be anyone besides me who can get out…"
Jyugo tells us that Elf is definitely a teenager. Or Jyugo mistook him for a teenager… Okay, let's not rush to conclusions.
After all, the chapters that contain information about Noriko Sanzou's past tell us otherwise. As far as we know, Noriko Sanzou is 30 years old at the time of the events of Building 5. She is a grown woman, but Elf was present in her past, and he seemed to be her age, a little boy.
In this case, it would seem that the theory that he is a teenager is crumbling. This is logical, yeah. However, regarding Noriko’s age and appearance, not everything is as clear as it seems… Because next to her all this time was her younger brother Houdzuki, who is 8 years younger than his sister, but also looks almost the same age as her.
And if Houdzuki at the time of these chapters, for example, is 8 years old, then Noriko is 16… Thus, the chapters about Noriko Sanzou’s past cannot give us an accurate assessment of whether Elf is really her same age in childhood or not, because her appearance is completely does not exactly match her age and misleads us. In addition, apparently, Noriko saw Elf not in reality, but in her dream. (Chapter 132)
However, I propose to follow further, bypassing the profile of Elf from the anime, where his age is indicated as 16 years old… Much further.
In chapter 422, we are shown none other than the moment of Elf's creation… Isou, Mashiro and Hiiro are near a large scarlet test tube, talking about a child who once existed, and whose cells were a panacea for all diseases.
And as far as we can see, this moment occurs some short time after Jyugo's birth, since Mashiro talks about Elf's "incompleteness" at the moment when Hiiro learns that he injected Elf's cells into Jyugo's body. (Unfortunately there is no English translation here, sorry)
And finally… Based on all this I can conclude:
Elf is not just a teenager like Jyugo, he is even a little younger than Jyugo, and he is certainly not a grown man.
And who knows, perhaps in chapter 61 Elf’s phrase that in the past he and Jyugo played a lot together has the most direct meaning… ;)
Thank you for your attention!
And for reading this all to the end xD
