Initial Review for Newcomers: FLCL is an abstract, slice of life anime, so please be open minded if you are interested in watching it. It is the coming-of-age story of a young boy whose life is turned upside down and inside out when a human alien comes into his life.
Dub or Sub?: Dub. The dub is considered to be very good by most people. The sub is also acceptable.
Story/Characters (7/10): The story is technically a slice of life with a twist. The protagonist, Naota Nandaba, lived his life day by day until... he gets hit in the face by a Rickenbacker 4001 bass guitar in the first episode. Then, a robot comes out of his head in a later episode! He tries to continue his normal life e.g. going to school but trouble ensues when the bump on his head acts up or when Haruko shows up. Nevertheless, the show will only get more metaphoric (of his maturity from kid to teen) from the first episode onward.
In general, the show is wacky, comedic slice of life. It parodies itself, (the manga) and the sci-fi and mecha genres too. The show is ripe with metaphors of maturity and sexual innuendos. Even the title of the show itself is presumably a sexual innuendo. The whole show just screams 'the coming-of-age Naota'. Every interaction hints toward his eventual maturity. Even his choice of soda(s) is a hint. Naota does try to resist the changes that occur in his life (given his cynical attitude) but they are simply out of his control.
Art/Animation (9/10): The art/animation is modern but it does feel a bit old. The colors could have been more brighter and the animation was decent.
Sound/Music (10/10): The sound/music was awesome. It was some of the best music that I have heard in a long time. The ending theme is a classic that many people should listen to.
Enjoyment (8/10): I enjoyed it. It totally reminded my of my teen-teenage years when I started to grow up.
Summary/Overall (8/10): The story was good and exciting. The character development could have been expanded a bit more but its okay. The music deserves a lot of praise. The amount of satisfaction after watching this was good.
Review #10
