Flowers of Evil is a coming of age story that borrows its title from the very famous volume of poems by Charles Baudelaire. This was based on a successful manga and directed by the same guy that did Mushishi. These elements seem like they would combine to make an absolute masterpiece of universal acclaim...unfortunately that isn't quite what happened.
Production:
When the original mangaka, Shuzo Oshimi, talked to director Hiroshi Nagahama, they had some creative differences that in my opinion adversely affected the anime. Nagahama felt that the story was very personal and realistic, so it would lend itself more towards a stage production or perhaps a TV miniseries. However, Oshimi was insistent that it be turned into a successful anime, so Nagahama decided to compromise by using rotoscope animation to give it a more realistic feel. In case you were unaware, rotoscoping is an animation technique in which animators trace over footage, frame by frame, for use in live-action and animated films and TV shows. An excellent example of Rotoscope animation done right would be the year 2000 film Titan AE. Incidentally, this was also the film that almost single-handedly ended the use of rotoscoping in big budget animated films in the West. Despite a solid script by Joss Whedon and fun characters, it struggled to find an audience and lost a LOT of money at the box office, becoming one of biggest bombs in Hollywood history! This is because good rotoscoping is an INSANELY expensive process and after Fox Animation Studios went bankrupt as a result of Titan AE bombing, it was seen as far too risky vs. cheaper and less labor intensive CGI animation. It is possible to use rotoscoping on a small budget, but it will look UNGODLY horrible like Adult Swim's "Tom Goes to the Mayor". If you know anything about Japanese film and television, you are well aware that the Japanese generally don't believe in having sky high budgets. The decision to use rotoscope on a highly limited budget was the single largest flaw with this anime. Fans accepted that Mushishi moved at a snail's pace because it had beautiful art and animation. If it looked like Tom Goes to the Mayor, it simply wouldn't have the same critical acclaim that it does!
Story and characters:
The main character is named Takao Kasuga and he is a socially isolated teen in a small town that likes to read classic poetry and feels isolated from his rural, working class peers. He is sort of like a less abrasive version of Holden Caulfield if I had to compare him to anyone. Takao especially loves Baudelaire and constantly bemoans the fact that none of his peers like French literature. Meh, if he wanted to know what isolation feels like he should try being a Russian literature fan in the deep south United States! Takao has a crush on a pretty girl (it is difficult to tell with the puke inducing animation) named Saeki and considers her to be his "muse". One day, Kasuga decides to impulsively steal Saeki's gym clothes and bring them home, but he is caught by the class stalker and social outcast named Nakamura. Kasuga feels extreme, crippling guilt over stealing the underwear and allows himself to be blackmailed by Nakamura and forced to do outrageous deeds in order to prevent Saeki from learning the truth. The problem is that the plot often seems like a comedy, but plays itself extremely straight faced and serious! Kasuga's guilt over stealing panties and acting like he just murdered his own family is so melodramatic and absurd that it is impossible to take seriously! Imagine taking the famous painting "Ivan the Terrible and his Son Ivan" and replacing the corpse of his murdered son with a pair of ladies underwear!" Look into his horrified, tormented eyes and feel his pain!!! This anime expects you to observe such a painting thoughtfully and NOT laugh your ass off, which is asking a lot! The other major problem is that the romance between Kasuga and his blackmailer Nakamura is telegraphed from the 2nd episode, and yet at no point does she EVER become remotely likeable or sympathetic!
Art:
I mentioned in the production section pretty much everything I wanted to say about the art. Basically, it isn't just bad, it is an absolute effrontery to your senses.
Sound:
There really isn't much of a soundtrack to speak of. Occasionally an atonal and unsettling theme will play, but mostly it uses silence. Once again, the silence worked in Mushishi because there was pretty art to look at and allowed the viewer to become absorbed. When your art is an absolute abortion, the strategic use of silence doesn't work effectively!
Overall:
Flowers of Evil is an anime with a LOT of problems in my opinion, but that doesn't make it a horrible anime. This was a highly ambitious project that tackled real themes that teenagers must deal with and has some instances of good writing, high culture, and impressive intelligence. The main character at times can be sympathetic and if this were a well directed stage play that perhaps toned down the panty stealing "played straight" melodrama, it would be at least very respectable if not loveable. It turned out kind of a mess, but I DO award points for effort and I think a 6/10 rating is honestly pretty fair for this one.
