Alternative TitlesEnglish: FLCL Synonyms: Fooly Cooly, FLCL Japanese: フリクリ
Information
Type: OVA
Episodes: 6
Status: Finished Airing
Aired: Apr 26, 2000 to Mar 16, 2001
Duration:
25 min. per episode Rating:
PG-13 - Teens 13 or older
L represents licensing company
StatisticsScore: 8.211 (scored by 29677 users)
Ranked: #1992
Popularity: #30
Members: 41,027
Favorites: 2,164 1 indicates a weighted score
My Info
Popular Tags
action comedy mecha parody sci-fi |
SynopsisNaota is a normal Japanese 6th grade boy (although a little cynical), but when his older brother leaves for America to play baseball, his brother leaves his homeless 17 year old girlfriend Mamimi behind. Mamimi is sending mixed signals and advances to Naota, and he doesn't know what to do about her. But to make matters worse, Naota's world is totally turned upside down when he is run over by a woman on a Vespa. During their first encounter, she hits him over the head with her guitar, which then causes a horn to grow out of his forehead. She calls herself "Haruko" and her presence changes Naota's life to even further insanity.
Source: ANN |
Related AnimeAdaptation: FLCL, FLCL
Characters & Voice Actors
Staff
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Tsurumaki, Kazuya
Director, Storyboard, Key Animation, Planning |
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Saeki, Shouji
Director, Storyboard, Key Animation |
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Enokido, Yoji
Script |
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Imaishi, Hiroyuki
Storyboard, Animation Director, Key Animation |
Reviews
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tehnominator
31 of 45 people found this review helpful
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6 of 6 episodes seen
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| Overall |
9 |
| Story |
8 |
| Animation |
10 |
| Sound |
10 |
| Character |
9 |
| Enjoyment |
9 |
Forrest Gump's mama always said that life is like a box of chocolates--you never know what you're gonna get.
FLCL shows us that growing up is not like a box of chocolates. It presents us with inevitability and knowing exactly what you are going to get. This is an anime about picking between Choice A and... Choice A. The message it delivers is that it is not the choice that matters. It is not even the end that matters, since the end is unavoidable.
What matters is the person making the decision, and how they determine how the outcome will affect them. It is not where but how the individual ends up that is ultimately the most important thing. FLCL is The Catcher in the Rye if it ever was animated and had a rocking soundtrack, robots and people duking it out with one another.
This anime gives us a tale of rebellious yet helpless people from various walks of life. It depicts their struggle against the constraints put on them by society and even by themselves. Mostly we follow Naota, an adolescent boy who has things suddenly become very tough for him.
You think you're worried about zits? Try being Naota, with a gigantic phallus of a bump sticking out of your forehead. Try dealing with a loudmouth, psychopathic alien, fighting robots, a lecherous father, a girl in school who hates you and likes you at the same time, the aloof, forgotten girlfriend of your brother and the incompetent though annoying military. Being a teenager is as topsy turvy and full of commotion, and what this OAV does is replicate all the feelings one can experience at this fragile time in your life.
What we have here is an explosion of teenage angst captured in animation. All that boiling and often misdirected anger at yourself and at the world is shown in this anime. The hyperbolised effects of puberty and the importance of rock music, lust, jealousy, attraction and confusion are all examined, are all thrust into your face and bombard your senses.
And "bombarding your senses" is an understatement. It will ram itself right into your vision. FLCL is visually a stunning piece of art, utilising various styles (such as manga cut-outs) and thematic symbols to express itself. A guitar and a bat are two recurring props of the anime; one, the age old symbol of rebellion and coolness, the other, just a stick you can turn into a weapon and start smashing things. It is colourful and beautiful in an almost hideous way sometimes. It has presented some of the most cinematic moments in anime, utilising bullet-time and points-of-view in ways that have never been done before. One of the most poignant scenes in the anime is one of the simplest--having the characters look through a half-full water gun at the sky above them. It is a child's toy, but it has the likeness of an adult's weapon, and it reflects the plasticky outlook that we have in our youth.
FLCL's background music and soundtrack is one of the most recognisable and influential. The theme song "Ride on Shooting Star" probably captures the essence of the entire anime, from the sporadic but melodic guitar, to the erratic, heavy drums, and finally to the unconventional and raw vocals. It is driven by indie rock music that accentuate the scenes. It is almost as though we put on the headphones of the characters' favourite music as we watch this OAV.
This is a loud, noisy, confusing, mishmash visual mess of anime, and by God, it works.
FLCL has a very quirky cast of characters. Naota, the lead, is just so incredibly easy to relate to and pitiable. He's the sort of guy who'd ask for a sweet drink, get a sour one, and drink it even though he does not want it. Naota's growth does not revolve around trying to speak against the choices he has to make. His growth is seen when he acknowledges that the choices in his life are just all the same. In the end, he learns to take the things in life he has no control over and just deal with them without fussing too much. It is a sour lesson that he learns, and one he comes to accept. He matures when he changes himself, not the world around him.
The supporting cast of characters is intriguing. How fitting that one of the heroes of this anime is a robot with a giant TV as its head. And Haruko is one of the most insane personalities ever conceived, but her presence is atomic. Most of the character interactions are unconventional, uncomfortable, and brutally honest or brutally deceitful. Things never play out the way you expect them to between them. The entire cast is so heavily flawed and complex, yet these characters are still fascinating and fun to watch. Even the Godot of the series, Naota's brother, shows his own cruelty and selfishness without ever once showing his face for the duration of the series.
This little OAV ends up being one gigantic metaphor for coming of age in a society where life goes on as it always has gone on. Even if we fight against it, guns blazing, guitars screeching, bats swinging, heads pounding and with everything erupting and exploding around us... it really does not matter in the end to the wider world. Life is not affected. It is us who end up being affected. That is what is significant. Not so much what we do that affects others, but mostly what we do that affects ourselves.
In this anime, life is not so much random chocolates as it is a can of sour soda that we open up and guzzle down.
We know it is sour. But we will drink it anyway. read more
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AzureEclipse
59 of 91 people found this review helpful
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6 of 6 episodes seen
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| Overall |
10 |
| Story |
9 |
| Animation |
10 |
| Sound |
10 |
| Character |
9 |
| Enjoyment |
10 |
FLCL is as close to a piece of literature as you're ever going to get with an anime series. Fast paced as it may be, the story beautifully presents a theme of growing into maturity, and accompanies it with stunning visuals I've yet to see surpassed. Many comments have been made on how plot is very difficult to follow due to both its speed, and also because of all the symbols, motifs, and dialogue that doesn't reveal its meaning until the very end. Never in any anime have I seen foil characters like Amarao and Ninamori played as such a beautiful literary supplement to the main character Naota's journey into adulthood. To me, this series is the perfect balance of seriousness and humour. It makes you laugh, it makes you think, it pumps you up, its aesthetics impress you, it tells an eloquent story with a great mixture of science fiction and real life, it does everything a good story should do. Add to the mixture a soundtrack comprised almost entirely of music by The Pillows, and you have yourself and incredible piece of film work.
I highly recommend watching this series multiple times (it is short enough for sure - about the length of a movie all together). Each time I watch it, I start to pick up more subtleties, like pieces of foreshadowing dialogue, thematic development between characters and their foils, and witty humour. The director's commentary is also extremely insightful to the themes of the story, and I would definitely spend time watching that as well.
Most importantly, I can't stress enough to not be quick to judge this work. If you don't understand everything (and you undoubtedly won't after the first viewing), it certainly does not mean FLCL is "random" or "plotless". It is in my opinion WELL worth a second and third watch in order to pick up as much as you can.
I can't sing enough praise about FLCL. It holds a dear place in my heart, and I hope everyone that reads this can find a great enjoyment in it as well. read more
Recommendations
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This anime has the same feel as FLCL. It is directed be an artist that did some animation for FLCL. I recomend this anime for any FLCL fan.
Very similar humor, as well as similar animation. It's not like we're ever gonna get to see how FLCL ends, but Tengen Toppa Gurren-Lagann I think carries the same sort of tone very well, and even takes things a step or two further in the drama department.
Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann has insane mecha action similar to Furi Kuri, even the drills thing. The whole series is mad and basically in the same genre.
A young male protagonist with a cute girl beside him, unidentifyable (did i just make up a new word?) action/fight scenes, fast-moving frames and story. Besides, Simon is clearly a copy of Naota. If you liked one, you will probably like the other.
Furi Kuri is mainly a kid seeking out adventure and to escape the chains of what society has causing him to do. Well if you're looking for that adventure to take place then Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann is your key to really FIGHT DA POWAH!
TTGL is similar to FLCL is random comedy and random events, but instead takes it to a basically epic level with more robots and extreme explosions!. So I highly recommend this anime to FLCL fans.
The Same Studio, Awesome Animation, A great story, And Furi Kuri has even better music, Both of these animes are must watch. ^^
These two series have a lot in common. Since they're both made by the same company, GAINAX, then you can expect them to be a lot alike.
Both animes focus on growing up and becoming a man but they don't show it in a boring way. These animes will get you pumped and energized just from the first episode. The energy level in one anime is pretty much equal to the other. Other things these anime have in common are: they both focus on first love, estranged parent-child relationships, being yourself, mecha and how to be cool. If you liked one, you'll like the other.
And if you're quoting characters from one show, you'll be doing the same or the other.
Both were made by Gainax, they are mecha, they have amazing fight scenes, same style of animation since they are both Gainax.
FLCL and Lagann are Gainax's own flesh and blood, meaning that they contain incredible action with madness everywhere. Although for Lagann this is mostly true for first episodes, that's enough. Furthermore, both series showcase robots. In FLCL they come out of the hero's head, in Lagann they're head-shaped themselves.
TTGL was created by a team with three of the four directors from flcl. And they have a similiar feel
Classic Gainax. From story and style to bizarre mecha and over the top action, both series share a similar epic quality amidst the chaos.
Both are from Gainax Studio, both are created by same person, both have a lot of crazy, insane, surrealistic, GAR scenes and battles. Also both begin with a child who is afraid of the situation in which he got (Simon and Naota Nandaba) and a conrade with a lot of EPIC moves (Kamina and Haruhara Haruko).
Both deal with things that just rock your face off. TTGL with sheer GAR and FLCL with sheer cool. If you love one, you will love the other.
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The anime actions, the crazyness that you dont understand but makes you wanna watch it anyway.
Simliar animation, lots of random crazy funny moments, but the pervertedness is a few more clicks up the scale than FLCL
those two have many, many mindfuck-moments, it isn't really an anime who can watch anyone (some could even barf)
the animations are often cartoon-like, the storyline is very weird and the characters are mad... more than mad, just mindfuck!
for people, who are sometimes high, and those ones, who aren't epileptics surely a commendations
Same action and comedy styles.
What these two have in common is their lack of boundries. Both go places and do things that will leave your jaw on the floor. The writers of both series were really on the ball when it come to maign dialigue which is nothing short of hilarious. Plenty of action and side splitting comedy with just a touch of drama to move the plot along; a pefect combination.
Same humor, same crazy characters and both are fucking insane.
First of all, they both have a similar animation style. They both are really crazy, with no apparent logic or storyline. Aaand... both are really funny xD
both have a unique style of animation and both have over the top humor. These are the kinds of animes that you don't take seriously and are best enjoyed watching with friends while getting wasted. :)
If your into chaotic action and humor with an underlying story of epic proportions then you would be well served with either series.
If you want something random, try this on for size.
Both of these can be described with 4 words. Insanely awesome and trippy.
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Opening Theme#1: "One Life" by The Pillows (ep 1)
#2: "Instant Music" by The Pillows (eps 2-3)
#3: "Happy Bivouac" by The Pillows (ep 4)
#4: "Runners High" by The Pillows (ep 5)
#5: "Carnival" by The Pillows (ep 6)
Ending Theme"Ride On Shooting Star" by The Pillows
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