FLCL

Some may compare it to a meaningless black painting, others compare it to a symbolic innuendo of erotica; regardless of whatever opinions you may hold before watching this, you may toss them all in the wastebasket right now. FLCL is the peak of mental curiosity, the crux of anime history at the turn of the century, the meaningless jumble of human desires scrunched into six short quarter-hour episodes. The pace is so fast that the audience is shot as a paper ball from a bazooka down from a helicopter, blown out to the moon by kamikaze winds, and then pummeled in the face by a ... bat wielding Babe-Ruth. But for all this, only one thing is certain: you will have a great time no matter which episode you begin with.

From the very beginning, FLCL appeals to the most basic of human appetite. Camera aiming from one car to the other as if a sniper aiming through his scope:

Legs spread same width as the shoulders, body tight, and then hit the ball like your defeating the enemy. Here the pinky finger is the key. Then you just hit, hit, hit, kaking-bingo!

With a Nicholas Cage like quality, the speaker rambles on about something vague; you suddenly realize that the person talking isn't a hired hit-man, but rather, a teenage girl holding a baseball bat in a left-handed fashion.

He who conquers the left side conquers the world. Setting the parameters... that’s the really hard part.

With no warning whatsoever, and little dialogue-filler, the girl's body somehow ends up on top of the boy's, right before the boy's body gets mowed down by a Vespa and smashed by a guitar.

That's FLCL for you. Fast paced and merciless, the first episode takes you leaps further than the whole of Naruto, miles above Wall Maria, and leagues beyond the discovery of the One-Piece. You are drawn into a world where your emotions are toyed with, hung upside down on a doorknob, and by the last episode, even your perception of the world has changed. You experience anger and anguish. You have just become another human tricked by the antics of Enokido, but you don't care; all you want is one more episode. Funny enough, there isn't any left; you've finished down all the cookies on the plate.


- - = = Introduction = = - -

FLCL, is a classical piece of anime that is watched by people of all ages. At some point while watching anime, you will have encountered FLCL, whether it is on adult swim, anime networks, friend’s recommendations, or something else. This anime is an extraordinary piece of anime literature. It incorporates many ideas from every single field you can find. The fast-paced plot and the new circumstances keeps viewers constantly on their toes even though the story is only an amazing six episodes long.

- - = = Story ---------- 9

FLCL has an awe inspiring plot. The story starts out mild, as everyday live goes, and the plot quickens as every new character is introduced to the story. The whole story might not make sense to first-time viewers, but this just enables the reader to want to watch the anime over and over again until he or she completely understands what the anime is about. Critics might argue that there did not exist any story, and that the whole anime was based off of characters misinterpreting each other, or a bunch of special ed kids coming together. This is certainly not the case. When one reads a novel by Shakespeare, one does not simply drop the novel just because the language is convoluted and hard to understand. It's Shakespeare for Henry's sake and the same goes to watching FLCL - If the story is less than understandable, then watch, watch, and watch it again.

- - = = Art ---------- 7

The art for FLCL is even more amazing. Every single frame in the anime boils down to completely hand drawn parts, and since FLCL was the test subject for Gainax’s newest and most futuristically equipment for anime, the art is unquestionably great. Plus, if you have watched the movie Avatar, which was produced for millions of dollars, you should know that FLCL was created using the same equipment. Ordinary anime take a long time to make, but FLCL takes even longer. There’s no doubt that, in order to go beyond the scope of human perception, to go outside the box, you would need a corresponding amount of time. Invention is everything.
- - = = Sound ---------- 9

I know, I sound like a hypocrite for saying so many absolute statements. The truth is, FLCL was not only made for testing Gainax's equipment’s; it was also used to make a band famous, namely, The Pillows. Few people could ever erase from their memory the soundtracks after watching the anime. A wave of nostalgia passes every time when steam pours out of the large building and covers the city with a warm, white steam; the soundtrack playing in the background presents us with an unforgettable voice that reminds images of towns with nice people and nicer climates.

- - = = Character ---------- 8

The characters were the pinnacle of classical anime. To be able to develop the characters in only six episodes to an extent where the viewer is left with feelings of abandon and awe, is strangely fantastic. It is impossible to let go, because during the six episodes that we’ve experienced, it seems almost as if we were in the town with the characters themselves. Who wouldn’t want to have an alien as a friend?

Haruko - A crazy good looking girl that drives a yellow Vespa. She plays the guitar and sometimes uses it as a weapon. She also goes and save Naota every time he gets in trouble. Rumors say that she is the member of the international police. A classical clichéd character with a catch: she came before the others.

Naota - A regular schoolboy that has a skeptical outlook on life. He leads a boring lifestyle and has an immature dad, who he doesn't like. A character that would be sure to make you root for him throughout the entire episodes.

- - = = Enjoyment ---------- 10

This anime is all about enjoyment. The whole plot revolves around picking you up from the stress and weights of everyday life and toss you into a whirlpool of desire and ecstasy. Who has time for work when you've got a guitar wielding alien sex symbol?

Indeed, nothing amazing happens here. Only the ordinary~

"I like your head. You never know what's going to come out of it next!" -Mamimi


-~-My 50th Anime-~-

FLCL, Furi Kuri, Fooly Cooly, whatever you want to call it, is unique. Everyone I've ever talked to has referred to it as "strange", "crazy", "insane", or virtually every permutation of something that was at once interesting and perplexing; confusing, funny, wild, or just plain nonsensical. FLCL is just one of those things that you've got to see for yourself. No amount of explaining can ever encapsulate the intensity or liken this to anything ever before, or since.

FLCL is like a microcosm of anime; an amalgam of ... everything there is to like and enjoy about anime. It's got drama, it's got romance, it's got giant robot battles, mystery, intrigue, sports, super powers, military, conspiracy, plot twists, music, sci-fi, virtually every enjoyable thing one can think of; it's here, and compressed together in a microscopic 6 episode set.


The artwork in FLCL is absolutely fantastic, made even more so by the fact that this series is 14 years old and still holds up so incredibly well. It encompasses so many different styles: on screen comic book/manga parody, a hundred different styles of traditional animation, a South Park styled scene, and so many more. It's incredibly fluid and easy to watch- it practically flies on and off the screen, with so many key frames in certain parts juxtaposed with moments animated in a 2d cardboard cutout manner.


Fooly Cooly also has one of the most incredible soundtracks produced for an anime. I hold Yoko Kanno and Hideki Nagamuna in the highest regard of soundtrack compositions, but my hat is off to Shinkichi Mitsumune and J-Rock group "The Pillows". The alternative, grunge, groove funk sound of The Pillows meshes perfectly with the zany acts going onscreen. It reminded me a lot of the music of "Scott Pilgrim Vs The World", for reference. Almost the entire series has music in the background, and while never overpowering, the symbiosis with the action and dialogue is incredible. Such a combination was radical at the time, using nontraditional background music and a popular group to perform an original OST instead of solo composition, and it really sets FLCL apart in that aspect.
The sub has been whacked for its flat voice performances, and truth be told, they do sound kind of bored. In the dub however, the actors really capture the wackiness that FLCL is known for, give it some real feeling, but still retain a similar vocal affect that the original Japanese cast did. Mamimi sounds just as empty headed, Haruko is smarmy, nasal, and obnoxious, Naota sounds appropriately apathetic and stuffy, as an adolescent obsessed with being grown should. Just absolutely outstanding from all audible points.


FLCL is one of those things that's both extremely satisfying and really pleasantly entertaining without delving into any one thing too much. It's a comedy, it's an action series, it's a drama, it has any one of a number of overarching themes that one could pull from it- but to me, the main one is that of growing up.

Naota is 12, and has a bit of the old Holden Caulfield complex. He wishes more than anything that he was like his brother, Tasuku (who is away in America, playing baseball), whom he considers to be the epitome of 'grownness' and maturity. Extremely cynical and totally annoyed by everything he perceives to be immature, Naota goes throughout the series trying to find himself, which is reflected in the utterance heard throughout the beginning of each episode: "Nothing is amazing here. Everything is ordinary." despite the exceptional circumstances he finds himself in daily after his fateful introduction to Haruko.

Adjacent Naota is Mamimi- the 17 year old, high school truant, mischievious (only when nobody's looking) and absent minded girlfriend of Tasuku, the brother. Drifting through life, she's seemingly lost, hanging out under a bridge most of the time smoking, and just generally being a vagrant. She becomes infatuously attached to and dependent upon Naota, whom she calls (like his brother before him) Ta-Kun. Mamimi is very childish in both demeanor and life, and she signifies the start point of Naota's coming of age journey. Lost, alone, isolated, and misunderstood- she's a walking metaphor for the angst many feel as a teenager. She's often seen smoking as well, with her signature "Never Knows Best" phrase written on the cigarette.
The aforementioned Haruhara Haruko (say that one ten times fast) shows up one day to break up the monotony in the life of Naota (and his skull, at several points), riding her yellow Vespa scooter and wielding a Rickenbacker 4001 bass like a true battleaxe. After their initial train(scooter)wreck of a meeting, Haruko proceeds to knock some sense into Naota, and smash the story into orbit.

Like puberty and adolescent hormonal raging, Naota's life too spirals out of control, from the start of the series until the FLCLimax. From the tame, slice of life style beginning to the brain ironing conclusion, everything escalates, everything heightens to a nearly incomprehensible level until it just explodes. Naota too, who was initially unsure of himself, of Mamimi, and just what the hell is going on with his life finally comes around to seeing the big picture, much in the same way that the story of FLCL does. His relationship with Haruko is what marks his change from being the child he was before, but not yet ready to be an adult and leaves him right where he's supposed to be; a confused, but ultimately more mature adolescent.


It's plain to see where many anime have taken influences from FLCL, the signature style and overall wildness of the show have been immortalized through time and endless inspiration for other anime, past and present. Zany 4th wall humor, crazy situations, over the top ridiculousness, giant robot battles, introspective dialogue, nontraditional storytelling, it's all one giant snapshot of anime as a medium and so many of the things that make it great. Detractors will say that there is no story, and it's just a disconnected series of weirdness in an attempt at absurdist humor, but Fooly Cooly is so much more.

Fooly Cooly is art.

We have Yōji Enokido, Kazuya Tsurumaki and my personal hero, Hiroyuki Imaishi to thank for this product. Much like Mr. Imaishi in more recent days, and Gainax before, I like his head. I never know what's going to come out of it either.

There are two conceptions viewers have about FLCL, whether it is one of the greatest anime ever created, or one of the most sub par and overrated show ever made. I believe it to be a mix of both, having an interesting approach on the execution of it, as well through different animation style and soundtrack used. Nevertheless, there is little plot to be made out of the story, as well as being very chaotic in all departments - which isn't a bad thing on its own, it is compelling and is a positive change to the usual approach.

The synopsis of FLCL is quite misleading, ... as it gives a primary impression of being a continuous story, but it doesn't. The story of FLCL initially plays out simple, Naota the protagonist being overrun by a woman on Vespa. This may seem as something simple at first sight, yet as story progresses things become stranger and more chaotic, nevertheless interesting.

This is where the main problem begins with the anime, following no clear and definite storyline to which audiences can guide themselves through. It is very chaotic, jumping from one chaotic event to the other, in particular the first half, as it is a conjunction of random events with no connection to the plot. In the second half some story progression takes place, to suddenly steer onto disarray again, with slice of life moments as well as over the top action scenes that make no sense.

However, FLCL's main focus doesn't lie in narrating a plot; it centralises on symbolisms and excessive allusions to sex, leaving the viewer to make his own interpretations of it, as it vague and random. One thing that mustn't be disregarded is the fact that it follows the storyline to a very basic line, but is being buried with all the randomness and chaos of the show.

The characters of FLCL are one wacky cast of eccentric and mentally unstable people, based on stereotypes. It must be said that the representation of those were well done, in respect that viewers observe and learn what makes them behaviour in a certain way. Audiences will recognize the main protagonist as an insecure teenager with his own problems of love, and the thoughts he has. The woman being the most eccentric one, and Mamini making moves on Naota, while at the same time rejecting him. There is character development to be found, but the problem is - as the series in a whole - that it is buried into way too much irregular and chaotic events, which makes it difficult to relate to characters.

All these erratic events couldn't be represented well without the suitable animation and sound. Through the art style, the behaviour of the characters are transmitted, as well adding a chaotic tone it. There were some inconsistencies to be found, but whether it was intentional or not, I wouldn't know. Other positive aspect of it is that the movements and actions that take place are very fluid.

The soundtrack used in FLCL is well done too, which added to the general atmosphere of the anime. One thing that bothered me were the voice actors: the characters emotions/behaviour didn't match with the characters, and sounded very uninterested and indifferent. For example, the animation shows them in uproar, seemingly screaming, yet the voices are indifferent sounding as if they had a cold while recording. It can be excused by implying that it adds to the shows identity, yet I don't agree with it.

FLCL was overall an interesting watch, yet never really enjoyable as the narrative lay all over the place, in conjuction with the excessive random events alongside undesirable voice acting. Does this mean that it is not recommendable? No, this anime is suited for anyone who has likes this type of random and chaotic anime: after all it is produced by the studio Gainax. Viewers who prefer an anime with proper narrative and deep characters should skip this anime.

Thank you for reading.

FLCL is just one of those animes that everyone says they like simply because....everyone says they like it. Go on any anime site and look up Fooly Cooly and you'll find it has some of the highest ratings. Go home and watch this and you'll be bored off your bum.

The graphics are good, very nice to look at. Then it will switch to crappy bottom of the barrel graphics in the middle of a scene. The story is boring and confusing. Now don't get me wrong I like confusing if there is a point. There is no point to fooly cooly. None whatsoever. This ... is six episodes long and it took me FIVE MONTHS to finish this, im not even kidding you. I would just watch it in like ten minute intervals weeks apart.

Some guy gets hit in head, a robot pops out of the bump, and then that robot, (who is also his dads butler) fights other robots that come out of the kids head.

They have a couple hot chicks in this. Haruko is quite the looker and there are some pretty sexy scenes with her. However, for some reason the creators thought it would be a good idea to show her eating her boogers in a couple scenes. Why?? I dunno.

When you watch an anime you love, you dread the fact that it must eventually end. I guarantee you, if you watch this, you wont be able to wait for the darn thing to be over.

Upon viewership, I am compelled to say that this is perhaps the best anime I have yet seen. Don't take that as a compliment. This is anime we're talking about. Day-old bread is a king's feast to the dumpster-diving hobo. In any case, there are many of those that I have seen who criticize this anime based on, in general, one particular issue: that it lacks a coherent plot.

To this I must respond in analogy. Imagine the classic modern American prototype: fat and greasy. He really loves pizza. One day, he wanted to go somewhere to eat. He checked Google Maps and found a Chinese ... restaurant. He drove there in his electric car (which he had purchased because he cared about the health of the environment; yet there happened to be more oil than electricity in the car, due primarily to the littering of fried foods that he had only partially vacuumed up) and arrived at last, naturally trying to park as close as possible so as to reduce the walking distance. To his utter dismay, upon entering and gazing at the menu, there was, as it turns out, no pizza sold in the Chinese restaurant. What heathenry! Such blasphemy! For there is no better food! He stormed out of the restaurant (or so the meteorologists had mistaken, as they thought they heard thunder) and angrily wrote a soiling review.

PizzaSteve1996 two days ago
This place SUCKS! No pizza on the menu!
Did you find this review helpful? Yes No

Would you not find his criticisms rather ignorant? Perhaps a bit insulting?

Now why then would you come into an abstract experimental show expecting a reasonable, coherent plot? Stick to pizza hut, I recommend.

(TLDR at the bottom, thanks for reading.)

A lot of people can't understand why FLCL is so beloved, often writing it off as a bizarre fever dream made into anime. FLCL is much more than that and the purpose of this review is to explain to people who don't enjoy FLCL why so many people do love it.

At its heart, FLCL is a story about maturity.

There is a plot to FLCL that strings all these events together but this review is not going to explain because it's not that important. FLCL wasn't made to be easy to understand but was made to just be a pure ... expression of creativity, when it was made the staff at Gainax took a bunch of things they liked and combined it together and then used that to tell its overall message. It's why Haruko rides a Vespa and why she hits Naota over the head with a Rickenbacker bass guitar and not a bat or some other object and why the pillows performed the soundtrack for this anime.

This story is told entirely from Naota's eyes and therefore not everything is literal. Naota calls this a boring town even though it is clearly not boring, plenty of exciting things are happening, but none of that matter because it is boring to him. This is one of the reasons FLCL gets progressively more bizarre as the story goes on, to show how Naota is changing throughout.
Naota is constantly looking up to his brother in FLCL as he is this idealized symbol of maturity in his eyes even though he is just as selfish as any other teenager is. And due to Naota's brother seeming like this beacon of maturity a recurring metaphor for coming of age is swinging the bat. This is one of the reasons that Mamimi is often shown with a baseball bat and never swinging it and how Haruko is often seen with a bat. This brings me to my next point, how different characters are used to show different stages and types of maturity.

Naota often disregards the adults in his life as immature man-children and honestly who can blame him. But Naota only sees the adult's in his life as immature because he has a very narrow view of what a mature person is, to Naota anything that isn't his brother isn't mature Ironically because of this Naota see's himself as the most mature character in the story which just show's his immaturity and how through ou the series he comes to accept people for whoo they are showing his personal growth. I'm now going to address some of the other characters in the show and how they contribute to this story of maturity.

Ninamori is incredibly similar to Naota as a character as they both think of themselves as mature characters, the only difference being is that while Naota looks down on others while Ninamori tries to hold up a facade of maturity while using the people around her to try and bring her parents back together. She tries to appear mature by bottling her feelings and attempts to seem like a very logical person. She's fake. But one of the best things about Ninamori is that the series often shows how this facade is just that, a facade, there are a few scenes where Ninamori is caught of guard and then shows her true face. This is one of the ways she is shown as an immature character while showing that isn't mature. Until and the end of her episode she realises that acting as a fake character isn't going to solve anything and she admits to herself and everyone that she is fake and she just accepts life for what it is and doesn't try to fight against it, becoming more mature. If anything the core message of Nanamori's arc is to just be honest with yourself.

Describing Mamimi isn't easy because she doesn't easily fit into this theme of maturity, she's much older than Naota and Ninamori but is also much more immature she doesn't have a specific episode for her character arc as Ninamori does, she's just there. But while Mamimi's arc doesn't say anything about being mature it says a lot more about being immature. Mamimi is obsessive, it starts with Naota's brother but when he leaves it is Naota and Canto. When they continue to move forward with their life and leave her in her wake it is then the medical mechanica robots. What this is showing is how she needs something to lean on and how that this isn't healthy. In the most literal representation of this, the medical mechanica robot, FLCL shows how that everything will eventually outgrow her. She starts feeding the robot but as it gets bigger and bigger it eventually becomes too powerful for her to control and leaves her, she is once again left in its wake, she is lonely because she is not living for herself. At the end of her series, after everything has left her, she decides to be proactive and not reactive and leaves the town, she starts to focus on herself and others. Due to this, she matures in her own way.

Haruko is in a weird position in all of this because she isn't really a character, she doesn't change, she doesn't show different sides to themes of FLCL, she is not the main focus of the character-driven scenes of the story. She's a trigger for everyone else's development in the show, she is the chaos that disturbs the peace of Mabase. She is what gives everyone the push they need for their own growth and perfect or a series like FLCL because she encapsulates everything the show is about in one cohesive whole.

And in the final episodes Naota learns that he should just be honest with himself, he stops trying to protect Mamimi, he stops trying to comprehend Haruko and stops trying to pretend to be mature and instead starts acting selfish, childish and completely true to himself. He finally swings the bat, he finally beats Haruko and free's Atomsk but in the process loses Haruko, but instead of fighting against it he just accepts that Haruko is gone. He has come of age.

When you combine this message with some of the most inventive and memorable animation anime has ever made, one of the greatest ever soundtracks and wrap it all up in a tight 6 episode package you get one of the best anime ever made.

TLDR: While there is an overall point to FLCL it can still be enjoyed as an over the top bombastic spectacle of animation and creativity. You can enjoy it however you want to.

Disclaimer: The following review is based on my personal opinions, and does not feature many objective analyses. As such, this may not coincide with yours, or the general publics opinions.
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“Nothing amazing happens here. Everything is ordinary.”

Do you enjoy watching a show which won’t give you a headache from overthinking everything every new scene? Do you find the drama and well-written dialog between characters to be one of the high points in a series? Maybe you just like to sit back and watch a beautiful piece of art in the evening...

Then, boy, is this show not for you!

Having been called an artistic masterpiece by some, and ... a total mess of bullshit by others, there’s no doubt that FLCL is probably as far from the above statements that you can get.

With it’s very fast-paced nature, the symbolisms and the general confusing feeling of the show, this is not something you would watch for fun...

Story: (5 / 10)

At a first look you’d probably, like many other, say the story is pretty much non-existent, and that the entire series is made up by random scenes put together, trying to merge way too many genres or styles. And while this may be true, there’s also no doubt that there is a deeper meaning behind everything that happens, and that it’s all sort of a metaphor for something more complex.

However, this is not going to be what your common viewer is probably sitting and thinking about while watching the show (even less so seeing how fast-paced it all is). The way it was explained to me was that it’s all pretty much a story about maturing, and a young boy's journey into adulthood. And yes, if you really take the time to analyze every aspect of each scene, then you could probably reach this conclusion rather easily, but seriously, people don’t do this...

This is why I could technically rate the show very high in the story section, looking at it from an analytic, or “art-perspective”, but I’m not... I’m rating it lower, because when something makes you think this much about what it’s all really about, while giving you barely any hints along the way at all, it doesn’t deserve a higher score, in my opinion.

Art: (7 / 10)

The general art quality, the animations, and the mix of different art styles is actually very good, to be honest. It all serves to make it feel like this is really supposed to be some kind of artwork, and in some scenes it all helps to portray the confusing and weird things that are taking place.

Sound: (7 / 10)

Both the voice acting, and music is also pretty good. While I personally don’t find the opening or ending songs very appealing, they all fit very well with the overall feel and theme of the show. This fact also applies to the background music, which also goes very well with all the weird stuff going on.

Characters: (5 / 10)

Most characters actually seem to be designed, yet again, around this concept of it all being a work of art. There really isn’t a lot of development at all (then again, it’s only 6 episodes), a lot of things the characters do is very stupid, and weird, and there really isn’t anything that makes you relate to, or feel for a character. It’s all just way too weird...

Enjoyment: (4 / 10)

When I see somebody mention FLCL, I don’t start thinking about “that one show about maturing, and it’s deep symbolism”. I think about that one weird show that just left me saying “wat”, over and over; Because to me, that’s all it is. It’s not a piece of art, it’s not a story about maturing, it’s a complete trainwreck of weird scenes put together, to appeal to a very specific type of audience.

DISCLAIMER: While I don't entirely stand by what I said in this review as I have grown some more respect for the show in question, I don't feel like deleting something I passionately worked on or replacing it with something I won't have any fun making. Let this review be an archive of my original thoughts.
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*MILD SPOILERS FOR FLCL*

Well, this is gonna heat up, now isn't it? ...

Meh.

Ah, FLCL. What an enigmatic beast of a show. A show that, while not the weirdest anime ever, was popular enough to set a sort of standard in weirdness for viewers to compare to, a standard that isn't ... entirely easy to break, however, the likes of Watamote and Carnival Phantasm are definitely up there. This is a show that there are really two main opinions are, seeing as this is one of the most controversial anime for the fandom they split itself in two more so than anything Gainax did before or since: You have the guys who think this is some brilliant art-piece meant to symbolize a new take on a coming of age story, and you have the ones who think it's just a pile of random schlock randomly slapped to resemble a poor attempt at a coherent story. Well, judging by the score, you probably know where I stand, but if you SOMEHOW didn't read it, or just wanna find out why I'm ON that side, well, let's find out, shall we?

STORY: 5/10

Let's get this out of the way. If this is supposed to resemble a metaphor about a coming of age story, they didn't do a good job. I get that you wanna make your anime loony, but if you wanna put a story into it, you at least need some coherence and explanation besides an underlying message that doesn't tie everything together and leaves certain moments to the wayside like they were just filler in an already short series. Why does a giant robot come out of a kid's head? What the hell is with that pirate king stuff near the end (it comes out of left field)? Why does Naota suddenly take a liking to Mamimi despite no previous pretenses? I dunno. The show doesn't, or at least, it seems that way at first. The metaphor these seemingly random moments have in common is that it's about Naota becoming more mature. However, Naota doesn't even develop too much or get fleshed out much besides the random, slapped together, love interest part, but at least he (kinda) knows where to start (developing, we still don't flesh him out too well, probably because of the short run time and all we need to knelt is the the misses his brother and that his immature about trying to be mature). In fact, Naota only wants to see his brother (who never shows up), and by the end of it, we get nothing involving that plot point that Naota keeps bringing up as if it was meant to mean something to the progression of the narrative. It had some interesting moments in certain episodes involving things in episodes 3 and 4, and even has the fun quirk of allowing the robot that spawns from Naota's head to join the house as a maid. It's actually hard to describe the ultimate narrative aside from what I've listed because it's nothing but a bunch of poorly slapped together esoteric nonsense about this so-called "coming of age" story. Also, a bunch of irons wanna flatten the world for...some reason... I get what they were trying to go for, however, this is ultimately the story's greatest downfall. The progression of the metaphor may have been cohesive on the inside, but it's wrapped in a surface blanket sheer lack of cohesion and sense that expects us to go along just because things are flashing and moving around. There are definitely moments that add nothing to this metaphor, like the entirety of episode 3, and as times, it feels like it's wasting time. It shoves random plot points with its only justification being that it'll eventually push the progression of its metaphor, which isn't called for when things come out of left field without proper justification. On the surface, there's nothing of a cohesive plot, but underneath, is a metaphor, even if the surface doesn't always correlate to the metaphor. You have to peel it back to get something out of it other than you wondering that the devil is going on, and even then, the metaphor isn't always handled that well, nor does it justify some of the...more ludicrous moments...

Part of why I dislike the plot comes down to this: some of what I've criticized can be explained by the symbolism of the characters' actions. That is a good use of symbolism. Most of it had to be explained via "it's symbolic and can't be logically explained via the text alone", and that is a blatant misuse of symbolism, and it's part of why I hate this show.

CHARACTERS: 3/10

Our biggest problem here lies with Naota himself. Imagine an asshole character who frowns around this stupid world and its stupid people, providing social commentary and one-liners like say, Duckman or Ragna the Bloodedge, except with none of the crucial elements that makes these kinds of characters work. Transfer that to a 12 year old, and you get THIS asshat! Nothing is likable about this little turd. He had this brother subplot I mentioned that dragged on without any actual relevance or closure. His only development aside from that tacked on love crap, is Haruko making him accept that he has to try and DO things, which was appreciated, but didn't help much, that and he at least learns where he may want to start growing in order to reach the maturity he arrogantly pines for. I appreciate him growing, bit I personally hate him with a burning passion. Speaking of Haruko, she's definitely a wildcard to say the least. Selfish, brutal, crazy and unpredictable, she lives life crazy and had all sorts of fun, until Naota gets this "Pitate space King" thing which makes her angry that she can't have it, for she was in love with the pirate King from space. She's not the most pleasant character ever either, but was probably the most pleasant of this weak cast. Quite an oddball. Plus, she's is literally this show's insanity sealed in a can. Other characters are ether minor annoyances, or inconsequential to much aside from being there just to have some semblance of a plot, so they're not worth much, aside from Mamimi, a wierd 17 year old stoned out smoker who only really talks and somewhat flirts with Naota because he resembles her ex-boyfriend, which when you read between the lines, you'd know that she's kind of tragic, even if the show's tone never presents it that way, and you'd have to look really hard to effectively find depth in Mamimi's character. The only other characters of note are Eyebrows guy who kickstarts the plot points of the second half of the series, hat robot who becomes a maid, is a "God of death" and a part of this bunch of irons who wanna flatten the world. The side-characters are good at helping out Naota as discovering where he needs to develop in order to mature, but at the cost of anything to make them memorable aside from quirks, and even then, very few of them stand out as characters rather than parts of the plot. We are simply not given a decent reason to want to tolerate any of these characters, and while they might not be terribly written, I can't stand any one of them, especially not the main character.

ART: 8/10

The animation is often very fluid, more so than some other anime around 2001-2003. Some scenes in the last two episodes are very well directed and feel larger than life. It is very fluid and sometimes, very nice to look at. Too bad that some of the fluidity is for awkwardly drawn nonsense, like the Gonzo looking scenes in episode 1. It also makes fun of a variety of styles, to mixed effect, but overall, this looked better than a lot of anime at the time, which is expected from Studio Gainax. Episodes 5 and 6 have the best usage of fluid and varied animation, while episode 1 looks very different and honestly lower in quality compared to what came after, or is it just me? It doesn't look consistently good in the actual art department is where I'm getting at, but the animation is certainly impressive.

SOUND: 4/10

For me, the background OST is nothing special or noteworthy in the slightest aside from one track: "Last Dinosaur" by The Pillows, which is actually a pretty catchy tune. I had to research each of these themes for this review since I had no idea they existed, and they weren't worth it to me. The OPs vary in quality. OPs 1 and 2 are terrible, OPs 3 and 4 are mediocre, and OP 5 is actually kinda nice. They were all done by The Pillows, by the way. As for the dub, some of the non-mains sound ok. Haruko varies from sounding annoying as sin to actually sounding alright, and same goes for Naota, only more severe. I get that Mamimi's voice actress wants to sound like someone actually smoking in real life, but she sounds WAY to much like she's permanently drowsy! It feels like some are either over-performing, or like sometimes some of them aren't really trying, and before you say "it's supposed to sound different since they are to sound like non-actors", there's a difference between that and either doing a bad job and/or not giving a damn. That just about covers it without getting too angry. At least the side characters sound decent.

ENJOYMENT: 3/10

I couldn't STAND episodes 1 and 2! They were obnoxious and insufferably boring at the same time; a horrific combination so bad, I actually put it on hold (nearly dropping it) to go seek Hetalia to escape, like this was some bad relationship. Episode 3 felt pretty mediocre and a kinda dull, and is honestly pointless given everything. Episode 4 has some nice moments, but made me feel the most uncomfortable an anime episode has ever made me since that rape scene in SAO episode 24. I get that the subjects of sex and puberty are icky and gross but still. Episodes 5 and 6, while still being annoying on terms on trying to slap a poorly conceived narrative, were actually pretty cool in some scenes, espdcially eouside 6, which is the only episode I sort of enjoyed. Too bad that one of the jokes were repetitive and annoying as sin while others really miss for me 96% of the time. That bit episodes 1 and 2 in the ass in particular, since it's comedy isn't very good, aside from thwacking Naota in the head with a bass.

OVERALL: 4/10 RAW SCORE: 44/100

This anime is what happens when you try to do something horribly weird and asinine and try to pass off as clever and cool. There's at least SOME method to its madness, but not enough at the surface level to sell me on this one, nothing I can agree with. There's nothing wrong with being weird if you either actually do a good job cleverly incorporating a well done story like a method to your madness (like Gurren Lagann) or if you go all out with it to have a blast (like Carnival Phantasm), but it tried to do both, and ended up being a mostly awkward failure on both worlds, at east in my eyes since I don't agree with anything its characters do or say, let alone truly comprehend what It wants to tell me (probably due to how insufferable the series was to me overall). It tries so hard to push this metaphor, and to its credit, if you can decipher it, you might be able to forgive its obnoxious aspects and seemingly incomprehensible story, but it shoves all this into the screen expecting you to easily get it and move along with the narrative. If you're unable to decipher the metaphor and instead are stuck in a pool of its insanity that gets obnoxious at times, then you basically have no real reason to wanna come back, which is the show's greatest downfall; showing a metaphor so crazily, esoterically, and so nonsensically that it can turn a bunch of people off, which means that depending on one's tolerance for BS with no surface level coherence, it either succeeds or fails at its job. Well, I know how crazy divisive this anime is, so this is definitely one of the two interpretations you'll get, and whichever one you get from this ludicrous work, is totally fine, as long as you don't try to shove it down the throat of someone who disagrees. With all that said, I bid you adieu.

As a person that's very honest with anything he watchs I have to say I've watched this atleast 12 times, or more. I just finished it again, because I decided why not? Why not give Fooly Cooly another chance, maybe I'll see what is so good about it.

But, no. If you're anyone who wants full story explaination, and not just a brainless story filled with random scenes that only gives you so much information then this is not for you at all. I don't mean to be mean, but I've seen this show being so popular, but behind it anyone I've ever talked to ... about it that's liked it says they don't know what's going on that it's just funny, and has action.

I agree it does have action, but I hardly found it amusing the second time around. If you're looking for something small, easy to finish, and just one of the animes such as "Eh it's okay.. but I don't think I'd watch it again" You'd be all for this, it's a definate thing to see atleast once I guess.

The dub, or sub either one wasn't annoying for me that's why I rated the sound so high.

FLCL is one of the most amazing anime ever. It’s difficult to find words to describe how magnificent the plot of this series is. Many say it’s just randomness with nothing to it, but I say otherwise. If you really look into this show and pay attention past what is happening on screen, you will realize the amazing plot that this series has set up for those who think hard enough about what they are being presented with.

Story 10/10: The best part about this anime is the plot. It was set up in a way where there are two plots happening at the same time, ... you can look into both of them while you are watching the show. There is the “lol so random” plot which you would experience if you take everything that happens seriously, which is a good route to take if you are easily amused and you already like a lot of anime comedies, however, there is an even better plot going on behind the scenes the whole time.

There is a symbolic plot in this anime, and it’s just about the most complex and well thought out plot I’ve ever seen because the creators managed to have the regular plot of the random things that happen while having literally everything symbolize something for an alternate plot. It gives you the pleasure of imagining things in your head like you’re reading a book, while enjoying the viewing pleasure that is FLCL. Anyways, if anime doesn’t make you laugh often, then you are not going to enjoy this show if you take it seriously. I felt so bored during the beginning episodes of this series until it hit me that the entire anime is an allegory!

I shit you not when I say this, but nearly everything in this anime is not what it seems. Some try to make theories out of the random side of the show, and they don’t work for a reason, that’s because it wasn’t meant to be that way. The real plot is in the symbolism. The real plot is about the coming of age of the main character, Naota. It is about him as his world is changed forever when he begins to mature and let go of his old childish ways. He begins to come to terms with his sexuality and go down the path of trying to achieve maturity through sexual acts with older women in an attempt to grow up now that his older role model in his life, his brother, leaves for college in America. It is the amazing tale of how this cool kid grows up, told through symbolism of things that seemingly have no meaning yet make their own story alongside the symbolic one.

A fun thing to do while watching and after finishing this series is to theorize about what’s going on. You can theorize about not only the symbolic plot but also the silly plot that is mainly comic relief and randomness, but can still be pieced together to mean something less significant, but fun none the less. When you finish watching it, you should go explore other’s theories of the series on the internet. There are many interpretations of the series, and they’re all quite interesting.

Art 10/10: This series has an amazingly expressive art style that really allows the viewer to feel the mood of what’s going on through the animation. It often changes from traditional anime styled, to a slapstick-cartoony style to many more. FLCL also makes references to other anime and media. At one point, the show is animated like South Park. I’ll put it this way, it was a visual pleasure to watch this anime.

Sound 10/10: This series has great rock/punk/alternative soundtrack that really fits with every scene you are thrust into with this anime. Not to mention a phenomenal ending song, which sets this anime up to have a legendary soundtrack. Also, I figured I would put this in the sound section, the dub for this anime is amongst the best I’ve seen. I would put it up against Gurren Lagann and Samurai Champloo in terms of dub quality.

Characters 10/10: Like I’ve said, the character development of this series is something else, especially considering that a lot of it was portrayed through symbolism. You get to see the main character go through the struggle of puberty and coming of age in such a masterful way. Not only him, but all the other relevant side characters are unique and get developed almost as well as the main character.

Enjoyment 9/10: I put this at a 9 only because it wasn’t quite as entertaining as some of the other series I’ve seen but it was still great. As I’ve said there are two different ways to enjoy this series. 1. You can just laugh at the over-the-top-ness of it or 2. You can look into what everything is really symbolizing and enjoy making the story your own.

Overall 10/10: I put this anime at a 10 because of the amazing way it strung together the two very different plots, a legendary soundtrack, stellar character development, and great artsyles to top it off.

So, when you watch this anime, I highly recommend that you really take a deeper look at the bigger picture that this anime is trying to show you, I guarantee you’ll be in awe at the sheer amount of thought put into each and every detail of this story.

FLCL (Fooly Cooly or Furry Curry) Such an interesting anime. you either love it a lot or hate it. I'm like the first person to ever be in the middle. I analyse this fairly and honestly. There are so many things I love about the series and so many things I hate.

STORY (3/10)
The story is one of those things I dislike. There is no real story. No real conflict. Just a bunch of random things moments and a climax filled with a bunch of little "figure it out yourself" scenes. It's one of those things that the creator puts in for no reason and just ... expects fans to put their own "symbolism meanings" into it. I really wish there was a plot some of the characters could have been really good and interesting if they were just expanded on.

ART (8/10)
The art style is really unique. It reminds me of the early 2000 anime movies and its cool how the art style changes and random points in the story.

SOUND (10/10)
All of the soundtrack is performed by one of my favorite Japanese rock band "The Pillows" Their songs are used as insert songs and they are inserted so well into the story. The best time was in the second episode when Mamimi is staring at Canti fly into the air and "Hybrid Rainbow" comes on :D AWESOME.

CHARACTER (5/10)
Yeah, probably the worst part of the show besides the story. The only likable character is Naota and even he can be annoying sometimes. Mamimi is okay and I felt really bad for her but she was a bit psycho and it seems like she subconsciously used Naota because she just wanted someone to hang out with. Haruko was terrible, I hated her since the first episode and always assumed she was evil since the beginning (so no mystery there) Naota has the worst father ever and a (probably asshole) brother. I originally hated Ninamori but then after episode 3 I began to like her a lot.

ENJOYMENT (8/10)
I think this is the reason why people like the show so much. It's just so zany and fun. It's a good show to kill three hours with your buddies on a Friday night.

OVERALL (6/10)
Overall this show has a lot of problems. I can completely see why people hate it and why people love it. It was the most interesting anime have ever seen and will definitely never forget it.

Style - wildly inconsistent. Some parts are very good, other parts not so. 2 out of 3.

Character - Naota is a kid who's obsessed with appearing mature. Haruka is a selfish alien who wants to gain Atomsk's powers. Naota's dad is a moron. The rest of the cast are all weirdos too. So none of the characters are either mature or likable. It seems they're more there to get a laugh than for the viewer to relate to them. 0 out of 4.

Story - Nothing in FLCL makes any sense. The whole thing is designed to be so random that you laugh at ... it for being so random. Trying to understand flcl is a futile endeavor because there is nothing to understand. Everything is designed to be either cool or funny. There is no deeper meaning. Essentially, what happens is that an alien lands on Earth for her own selfish gains, and manipulates humans in order to do so. Eventually she fails and goes away. That's all. Don't start interpreting shit because once you start it will never end. It's style over substance, end of story. 0 out of 3.

Overall 2 out of 10 for being LOLSORANDUM shit.

There are already many reviews about this anime I will just add a short one.

Watching FLCL or Furi curi is exactly like going to a modern art museum and seeing a bunch of art experts or so called intellectuals watching a canvas and stating :
" it blows my mind!" "It is a masterpiece!" "It is so original and clever !" "I can see sexual innuendo"….

… and then from time to time a child will come to the museum, watch the very same canvas and say quite innocently : "Mum, why is there a white, empty, blank painting with a signature here?..."

And everybody says ... : "SSSHHH!"

"FLCL" was the absolute worst anime--no, TV show in general--that I have ever had the displeasure of watching. I started watching it because of all the hype. On every website it was stated to have a deep story line, and it always had a high rating. I have seen a few "mini-anime" with eight episodes or less, and they were always endearing albeit short. I thought, why wouldn't "FLCL" be the same? I was very wrong.

STORY: There was no story. I have NEVER completely dropped an anime before, but I could not force myself to finish the last three episodes. ... I have a feeling that everyone says that they like "FLCL" just because everyone else is saying it. It can be related to that "The Emperor's New Clothes" story. Anyway, there was no plot. Nothing. All that there was were random clips strewn together. I have no idea why the creators did this. The anime was not "too deep for me." It was not deep at all. It was a literal "crack" anime. In the first episode, there was a random manga blip. I have absolutely no idea what happened in the three episodes that I watched aside from one girl getting a pet cat and the girl with pink hair hitting people with her guitar. Oh yeah, and the kid grew robots out of his head or something. When reading the other reviews, I noticed other people also did not understand the story. That's certainly not a good sign.

ART: The art was good. It is definitely not the most impressive art that I have seen, but it wasn't bad. To be honest, most of the time I didn't care enough to look at the screen, so I missed much of the art.

SOUND: The music was nice. It fit into the weirdness well, and I wouldn't mind becoming a Pillows' fan.

CHARACTERS: There was no character development from what I watched. At one point, I think the kid's dad and the girl with pink hair had an affair or something, but I'm not sure since they were attacked by a robot. I was completely detached from the characters. I can't even say I hated them. I was too apathetic towards them to even notice their bad sides. I don't even remember their names, but the pink haired girl could possibly be on my "Worst Anime Character List" as number one.

ENJOYMENT: I had no ounce of enjoyment. I wasted my time watching three episodes. I had three more to go, but I couldn't do it.

OVERALL: This is my least favorite anime. This is the worst anime that I have seen. Truthfully, I have seen nothing, NOTHING, worst than this show. Avoid this at all costs. Do not try to act "cool" by saying this is a good show. I have seen many boring, uninteresting, or mediocre anime, but even then I could understand that people have different tastes. Not so with "FLCL" because, unless you had some sort of brain defect, no one can decipher anything (not even the fans) out of this annoying, overrated garbage.

FLCL is kind of a hard anime to review, mainly because since it’s so unique, people are bound to have different opinions on it. To some, it could all be a nonsensical, weird show about robots or something. Other people will see it as a work of art that is about the coming of age, or even a social statement about how how we, as a society, need to change our ways. One things for sure, though, and that Fooly Cooly is bursting with creativity, and is something I highly encourage you to watch.

The story of FLCL is interesting. It’s a little complicated to explain, ... but I’ll try my best to explain it without spoiling too much. The story begins with Naota with his brothers girlfriend, Mamimi. One day, while Naota and Mamimi are hanging out together, a girl riding a Vespa hits Naoto in the head with her electric guitar. After that, really strange things begin to happen, but I won't spoil the surprise The rest is basically up to you to figure out. But, that’s what's great about the show. The show will leave wondering what the hell you just watched, deciding what the show really is about. And, with only 6 episodes and an insane plot, this show allows for a lot of rewatchability.

The characters are just as weird too, although not as much. Lets begin with Naota, an adolescent kid who seems pretty empathetic. He doesn’t really care about much, even with all the crazy stuff happening around him, but he does have conflicting ideas about growing up and about life. Mamimi, Naota’s brother’s girlfriend, who seems childish, as she usually stays on the fantasy side of life, and can be a bit destructive. And finally, the weirdest of the bunch, Haruko Haruko. The best word to describe Haruko is this: unpredictable. Haruko is an eccentric, insane character who doesn’t let anything get in her way. She’s a bit hard to understand, but she’s hell of a fun character to watch. After that, we have a small cast of supporting characters. Theres Canti, a robot, special agents, and some school friends. My only gripe with the characters are that since the show is only 6 episodes, there isn’t really any character development and the characters don’t really have that much depth to them, with Naota being an exception.

The aesthetically unique animation is incredible and really shows off that what you're watching is something not to forget. It’s oozing with style The most fascinating thing about is that it always changes once in a while. It can go from looking like a manga, to having amazing detailed fight scenes, to a weird scene that look like it were drawn purposely half-assed.(you’ll see what I mean). There’s even a scene that is drawn like an episode of south park for some reason! This only helps push the weirdness that FLCL, which all in all, only makes it better.

Oh man, the music… the music is just so good, and really is something you should listen to. The japanese rock band, The Pillows, did an amazing job doing the music for the show. The songs do mostly just stick to the same style and tone, but it is focused enough that it really fits the show. The tracks really make FLCL commit to the crazy insanity it is with some heart pumping, upbeat, incredible pieces.

I would definitely recommend that you watch FLCL, if only for the fact that you can hands on see the insanity that is this show. It may not be for everyone, but if you can handle the shows weirdness, you might be able to see the show’s underlying themes, and appreciate for what it is. A nonsensical, thought provoking, enjoyable show that is loads of fun.

FLCL is the most off-the-wall, confusing, insane series I have ever seen. Where everything on screen has some kind of deeper meaning, every character a metaphor for a part of life and every piece of music a sublime expansion of the already over-powering visual assault.

And boy do I love it.

FLCL is not without its flaws, at times the very zany nature that makes it so great will fail to succeed as the majority of it does. Often it will leave you completely baffled, demanding another viewing to fully understand.
However, all this is inconsequential when looking at the whole because almost every other part of ... FLCL is genius.
The overarching story of FLCL is supplamented by the smaller arcs, character development is wonderful and each member of the cast is entirely unique, with their own problems to overcome.
The soundtrack is entirely by a band called The Pillows, and it is perfect for the feel of the show. It elevates the series another notch or two, with LITTLE BUSTERS being the highlight.
I broke tradition for this series and decided to watch the dub, and I made the better choice. This is one of the few instances where the dub is better than the sub.
The art, at surface value, isn't anything to write home about .. until it starts changing. The animation is constantly evolving with the plot, changing and loosening as it goes. There are so many visual parodies and homages that it's hard to keep count, at one point it even breakes into South Park animation. There is always something new to look at.

FLCL is a series that is gauranteed to polarise its audience. Some will love it, and some will hate it. This review is entirely my own opinion, and really FLCL needs to be seen to be understood.
I can't describe everything great about this seres, so in short; watch it and form your own opinion.

Nonsense for the sake of nonsense is the ideal way to describe 80% of FLCL. It truly stands out for its extremities, as the high points are great, and the low points are absolutely miserable, which would be nice if it wasn't mostly low points

good stuff:
The music is great, it does a great job building the emotion the story fails to deliver. The artstyle is great, it's full of personality and provides the only actual humor in the show. Character designs and backgrounds are genuinely top notch, and at least makes the slop shine.

The first 2 episodes are actually really good! Despite ... still holding a lot of the flaws contained in the rest of the show, they stand out in isolation as a very interestingly told story about Samejima and Naoto, who in these episodes are very likable, acting as excellent foils to one another. These 2 episodes nicely cover the ways these 2 characters have grown before we come to meet them, and cover the themes of coming of age through very interesting paths.

bad stuff:
This anime feels pointless. The dialogue amazes me with it's insistance on providing nothing to the viewing experience. Conversations between characters are built entirely of disjointed feeling interactions and irritatingly unfunny and uncomfortable innuendoes that shatter any interesting character dynamics or relationships, alongside defeating any chance of making it's cast feel as though they have depth. On the topic of innuendoes, FLCL is unabashedly horny, which in it's own right is annoying and distracting, but this is elevated by the main character being 12. Watching a 12 year old go through several plot lines that are thinly veiled representations of sexual acts, usually with Haruko, an adult, is outright disgusting, and makes covering the screen the most pleasant way to watch a wide handful of scenes. That's also failing to mention that other minors in the story are sexualized as well, whether that's a 17 year old or another 12 year old. Gross.

Haruko in her own right is utterly abhorrent, and weakens the anime with her presence significantly. The character seems like it's trying to act as comic relief and a plot device in Naoto's arc, but fails spectacularly at both. FLCL is to it's core not funny, trying to grab laughs by dangling the idea of sex in front of the viewers like jingling keys, shown through Haruko more than any other character. Her jokes consist of: grooming Naoto, hitting Naoto, and saying mindless gibberish. Every scene including her became significantly more difficult to watch, as she never said anything that wasn't annoying or creepy, which is a shame since most the scenes have her in them.

The plot also has a way of going nowhere. Things are poorly explained in seemingly an attempt to be deemed deep. Symbolism is handled in a similar way, much of it feeling unrelated to anything else in the story, making any idea of provoking thought to fall through relatively quickly. The 3rd episode is absolutely horrible in every way, from symbolism to the constant sexualization of an elementary schooler. Naoto's dad is also aggressively unfunny and as a result aggressively annoying.

FLCL is an amazing show if you desire to be bored to death. It is nonsensical, annoying, and frankly one of the worst anime I have ever watched.

Story
There is none. Literally, nothing. The echoes of a fart in the wind carry more story than this show.

Art
If I wanted some randomized, shit-sprinkled, splattered art piece, I'd just ask Jackson Pollock to do one for me. This was a mess. No consistency and it ruins the experience.

Sound
Why would I ever want to listen to some people talking at a table just for a heavy guitar rift to suddenly play as if the action had just taken off. ... Like they forgot that literally sitting at a table and talking is just mundane and doesn't need heavy music.

Characters
Who? Unrememberable. Characters need some sort of growth.

Enjoyment
None. Zero.

Overall
If you want anime that are actually interesting to watch and observe, then watch Akame ga Kill! or Elfen Lied.

Seriously, even SAO is better than this dogshitty shit trash.

The average non-anime watcher probably has a lot of negative perceptions about how a typical anime is like. Extremely exaggerated, childish editing. Awkward sexual interactions between middle schoolers. An unrealistic and contrived plot littered with moments of "randumness XD". I could go on and on, but you get the point. That's why many of us -myself included- are pleasantly surprised when the first couple shows we watch break that negative expectation bias.

That's also why nobody's first anime is FLCL.

It takes a certain level of mental degeneracy only ever spotted among longtime anime fans to not only sit through something this insufferable, but somehow ... find the will to go and label it a "masterpiece" afterwards. "Fooly Cooly", a name just as meaningless as the content of the show itself, is most definitely not a masterpiece - a better way to describe it would be a polished turd. There is no discernible plot, no interesting conflict, no funny jokes (though there are certainly attempts), no suspenseful action, nothing that you might typically associate with a "good" show. The characters range from generic to insanely obnoxious and with nothing in between, and the animation and soundtrack are pretty mediocre too. There is nothing to be gained from watching this show - you won't learn anything or have any interesting discussions with anyone about it, because there is nothing interesting to discuss. The only thing this show does well is make you cringe.


Oh, and one more thing. The entire show is basically a metaphor for adolescence. Okay, cool. Does that change the fact that it was trash? No, it doesn't. The symbolism within the show isn't impressive, it's actually pathetic - considering how so many other shows (anime and non-anime alike) incorporate symbolism WAY BETTER and without sacrificing lucidity and quality in the process. Just because something has a "deeper meaning" doesn't make that meaning substantive, and there's no reason you should have to watch a show five times just to finally notice all the contrived bullshit the producers put into it while masturbating to how "smart" it was. Literally anyone can create an allegory, the trick is to make one that is actually understandable and entertaining to watch, and that's where FLCL fails horrendously.


Don't watch this show.

Ok, this is the most random rating in the anime world. There is no possible way this anime deserves an 8.


> STORY:
There is a story, it just doesn't make any sense at all.
Watching the first episode, it makes sense until the opening comes up. After that, it's all too WTF. I just started to feel dizzy with all this nonsense.
Think about it: a girl comes and knocks the boy with a motorcycle and after that she hits him with an electric guitar. It's just as I'm saying it here, it makes no sense, neither in the first episode, nor in any of the other ones.
Basically ... it's about robots that come out of people's foreheads. Confused? Then watching the anime will make you try to kill yourself.

> ART:
Nicest part of the anime. Characters are well designed and there are beautiful and detailed backgrounds.
Still, people's faces change every episode but their expressions are always the same.

> SOUND:
Seriously, this is what really made me give up on watching FLCL.
The conversations are all random and don't make sense, so you have to try hard to understand anything. It's already bad like that, but they insist on making it worse by playing VERY loud rock songs ALL_THE_TIME. I just wanted to throw a bomb in my computer.
Even with all that, the songs are kinda good, it's just that they shouldn't be on this anime.

> CHARACTERS:
Really, they scare me. The main character is an almost emo who doesn't like to talk to anyone but still has a girlfriend and a girl from his class is into him.
His girlfriend smokes (she's about 15). She also keeps making slutty things to the boy and he doesn't like it at all.
Then, there is the crazy (weird) girl who knows all about gigantic robots. She is the real WEIRD thing on FLCL. It isn't explained how she knows about the robots, who she is, what she does or why [the hell] she likes to beat people while making crazy faces.
All the other characters seem to be obsessed with something, and ALL of them remind me of smeagol from Lord of the Rings.

> ENJOYMENT:
People can say what they want about this, but it didn't get my attention and I didn't even grin at any moment. Is it hilarious? No, it's not.
Even being so short it's very hard to watch all 6 episodes.
If jokes even made sense, only some sense, I would have given it a 6.

> OVERALL:
There are random animes out there, many of them are very good, but their randomness makes sense, unlike the randomness from Furi Kuri (or FLCL or Fooly Cooly or what the hell you like to call it). It just makes no sense and you feel like throwing up.

Really, really bad.