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FLCL is easily the greatest thing I have ever seen. No, really, I mean it.

The most common criticism of this show is that it is a bit difficult to understand. Anybody who makes this criticism needs to rethink their life choices. This show was not meant to be understood on a single viewing. Hell, FLCL was not meant to be fully understood even after 20 viewings. FLCL does not give you all the answers, and that's what makes it great. The story is dense, character motivations are hard to initially grasp, but it's clear to the audience that it's all there.

FLCL is a coming ... of age story. It's about being thrust into a world that is beyond your understanding. It's about reevaluating yourself to find your place in the world. It's about looking at the people who surround you and deciding who you want to protect. FLCL does not tell you it's about these things, but anybody who watches this show will get all of that without even thinking about it. If you want a show to tell you exactly how to think and how to feel, watch something else. Despite it's bombastic nature, FLCL is actually very subtle in communicating its message about adulthood.

I don't even need to talk about the soundtrack of FLCL, because The Pillows are great, and every song is perfectly used to set the tone of each and every scene of the show.

The visuals are possibly the most impressive thing about the show. It's amazing how much of the humor of FLCL is conveyed through animation alone. It was clear that the animators poured their hearts into every frame of animation here. Mundane tasks become wicked sakuga, the artstyle is constantly changing, the animators literally paste their faces into one scene, frames are reused to comedic effect, and THE NOSEBLEED SCENE OH MY GOD. None of these things would have worked in any other medium, but FLCL pushes itself to explore the boundaries of animation.

FLCL is for everyone. It is brilliantly paced, the characters are incredibly well written, and it pushes anime to new heights. It may take a few viewings to understand exactly what it's doing, but the absolute confusion of the first viewing is an amazing experience in its own right.