Unfortunately, the show does lack in some rather important areas. Fooly Cooly's story is mostly told through the abstract; plot and character are told mainly through interpretive imagery.
The story itself is practically non-existent. The total of six shows have a mish-mashed plot that when put together are barely able to come out in the end with a stable conclusion. Though I didn't really care that much about the absence of the story, I found myself several times rather irked that even simple points in the story would be left behind to make room for other plot points that may not be explained/gone into further depth with. From an overall standpoint a lack of story can many times not hurt your show as long as your point in conveyed in some way. It's hard to figure out most of the time, but as aforementioned Fooly Cooly is able to show some more obscure themes through it's use of visuals.
The characters, in my opinion, are the main Achilles' heel of the show. The main cast all have very diverse mindsets, although many times these mindsets can range from antagonistic to downright nihilistic. It is hard to truly figure out the thoughts of these characters due to their ever changing personalities. Emotions that help you connect with them, like benevolence, kindness, and even weakness are pushed aside for honestly pathetic innuendo and simple jokes. Due to this it was extremely difficult for me to get invested in the character's plights or relationships. The only character I felt I empathized with for the most part was Naota, whose story is told as a story of maturity and self-growth- a development that I was very ready to connect with. Yet even the main character, Haruko, had a personality that was changed not by her experience, but instead was shifted to fit to whatever situation she was thrust into, and left no notable impact on her. Even at the end of the show, all of the events that had taken place around her seemed to just become null and void, and it was basically just like how she had started off.
To the casual, FLCL is a show that supplies eye-candy visuals and beautiful landscapes. However that is basically it. In my opinion, where the depth of the show is can really only be found by those who wish to delve deeper into the abstract mind of the creators. Not a downright terrible show, but still a short-lived firework from my perspective.
