Unfortunately i am not good at making reviews of shows i do care about a lot, since its hard to explain in a "spoiler free review" why in this show it works, and what makes it great.
I will adress some of the bigger complaints about the show, which are: the show is confusing, it does not have a plot, or people hate the characters. I will adress each in their own section. So, let me have a quick rundown over MALs topics (story, art, sound, characters).
STORY - 8
Some people have a really big problem with the story in this show, i don't get it. The series is episodic with each episode focusing on a certain character plus our mc, and each episode evolves said character while constructing to the final goal of developing our MC and telling the story as a growing up story (forget the more frequently used term right now).
The usual complaint about the story being confusing or the episodes being confusing is lost on me, since it was really easy to get, the "real" story or why a certain character comes to this town is only revealed in ep4/5. But the first 3 episodes are necessary build up for these characters, especially Naota. The final scene wouldn't have the same impact without us knowing the exact circumstances of this kid's life.
I found that it handled its themes pretty well, with each episode focusing on one problem (for example the second one being about bullying and how a certain character copes with it).
As i said there exists story in this show. In fact, FLCL manages to tell a much better story than most 12 eps anime with half the time. I find it weird that most people say this when a series starts episodic.
Art - 9
This was a really experimental work, with quick changes in style and because of that it might not be for everyone, some people might even hate it because its not conventional sometimes. I loved it, from the wacky manga panels type art to the amazingly executed fight scenes. It also has a really good artstyle.
Sound - 9
Again another amazing thing about FLCL, i wish most anime would have soundtrack at least half as good as FLCL. Even if you dislike the show, its almost impossible to not like the music. Also the VA's did a really good job and the sound effects where great and all that. I am actually writing this review while listening to it, it nothing short of amazing
Characters - 8 - Very important
This will be what makes or breaks the anime for you, explaining why i thought the character episodes worked so well, or why all the character are well thought out and great characters would go into spoiler territory. All i can say is the story revolves around 2 characters, Naota and Haruko. Some people seem to hate Haruko for being crazy as she is, for me this only makes it better for the few moments she is serious. Naota is a extremely well developed teenager with every problem a teenager his age would have. The other relevant characters which are imo Mamimi, Amarao, and Eri Ninamori are also excellent characters.
I wanna make a honorable mention to the quote from ep 2 "I don't know where the truth ends and the lie begins", that perfectly describes the relationship between Naota and Mamimi, i wanted to use it but i don't know where else it would fit.
Again if you don't like the characters its very likely that you will not like the show. I might not like some of these characters as persons (if they existed) but i love them as characters because of how well constructed they are, they might fit a mold at first(tropes, mostly Naota) but even then they are not shallow as most anime nowadays.
Enjoyment who the fuck cares what i give it, should be obvious by now.
Overall - 9
You might go on my list and see that this is not the score i have on there, that is because 9 is the score i have for "masterpieces" and 10's are my favorites among those obviously.
Overall i think this show is a experience most of all.
This is without a doubt a show you should watch, it doesnt matter in which side of the fence you end up sitting on, its worth if only by the sound and the crazyness of it. And theres nothing else quite like it, there are some shows that might resemble it a bit (Diebuster) but theres nothing quite like it.
I usually do a Positives/Negatives but i don't see a point for this anime since i love everything about it, yes everything. By the way the score for each section dont mean a thing, its really hard to describe this anime with simple values, a basis of comparison is needed for it to work somewhat decently, since theres nothing quite like it.
Is it crazy? Yes absolutely, but it is a brilliant kind of crazy.
