After watching this, some people most probably forget about the anime and act as if they never watched it at all. A few others will make a fool of themselves and praise the anime just to try to belong (at least apparently) to the goddamn elite of edgy motherfuckers which completely grasped the meaning beyond FLCL. In my case, I looked several videos with explanations about the series, and what I extracted as a conclusion is (I might be wrong tho, is my opinion after all ): forget it. There’s no fucking meaning at all, at least not between the plot-related elements. This artwork is the epitome of nihilism, it is just simply a gathering of over-the-top, random shit which the authors thought would look cool in a single series.
Nevertheless, the thing beyond FLCL is precisely the exact point of all this randomness, the catch beyond this fucked up amalgam of cultural references, bizarre Japanese humour, and awesome animation. An OVA of 6 episodes is just not enough to develop a complex, fully developed series, with its characters’ development and everything it involves. Instead, Gainax decided to spend their money in contracting a shitload of different artists, getting The Pillows for their soundtrack (making up for one of the best OSTs I have ever heard) and mixing all the elements in apparent incoherence but outstanding aesthetic in order to portray effectively one concrete thematic: childhood problems, and the stage of becoming an adult.
While watching FLCL for the second time, I noticed that the only one which was more fucked up in the head than me in that single moment in time was probably the MC, Naota. Naota, whose brother is in America playing baseball, gets involved in the crazy master plan of Haruhara Haruko, which stays in his home as a kind of servant. Meanwhile, he has to deal with other problems regarding incipient adolescence (most of them with girls such as his brother’s girlfriend Mamimi and drinks) and with the fluctuations of NO waves, which apparently are responsible of him getting robots out of his head.
When I look back and think about my childhood, I can relate it’s fast pacing with FLCL, and the overall thinking that the world is awkward and that my thoughts don’t belong in the mysterious world of adults and that shit happens around me and I can’t possibly do anything are things that FLCL show in both subtle and over-the-top ways, depending on your perspective towards the anime. The feeling after watching this anime is refreshing, because through its blatant lack of explanation and the constant thought of wondering what the fuck is happening in every moment that it delivers, it reminds us of that age ago in time when we still were oblivious to how the world worked and how we still had a lot to discover. It is certainly a nostalgic ride, but it is as well a friendly reminder that we still keep inside us, really deep inside, a forgotten kid which is desperately still trying to become an adult, but it never will until we die. “Forever young, I wanna be forever young”, Marian Gold sang. And, in a sense, it is true, because no matter how old we are, there will still be things which surprise us, which encourage us to be wiser, or stronger, or more adult than we already are.
In the end, what’s “furi kuri”? That’s a question that still not even “furi kuri” itself can answer. However, there is a thing that is crystal clear, and it is what FLCL isn’t: your average anime. You will never find an anime which could hold the slightest similarity to this. Ignore the “recommendations” section: this is a completely unique anime, and even though I couldn’t personally said it is one of my favorites although it really grew on me the second time I watched it, I say: go for it. It may not be your cup of tea, but it also could be exactly what you are looking for.
