Reviews

FLCL (Anime) add (All reviews)
Aug 7, 2016
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*Edit
After re-watching, I have come to have quite a lot of respect for FLCL, and I very much enjoyed it. Still, these were my original thoughts, and I will let this review stay as it is.
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Anime has certainly pumped out weird stuff over the years. People look at these weird things and say, “This is why I don’t watch anime.” While FLCL probably isn’t the weirdest anime to come out, it has set sort of a standard.

“Hey dude, I watched this weird anime!”
“Is it as weird as FLCL?”
“Well…no…”

Now, weird doesn’t necessarily mean bad. Some anime that could be compared to FLCL include the dark mentality of Neon Genesis Evangelion, or the visually over-the-top Kill la Kill. If you value anime as a medium of art, one might say that FLCL is like an abstract painting. You look at it and develop an interpretation of what you are seeing. The thing is, FLCL is not like an abstract painting. FLCL is more like a canvas that had paint splattered on it by a fan.

Before I start hammering FLCL, I’ll talk about what I like about it. Firstly, I am a huge rock-and-roll fan. From the hard rock sound of Led Zepplin and Deep Purple, to the progressive rock of Rush and Pink Floyd, up to the punk and grunge of the early nineties. I happen to very much enjoy the soft-core rock and punk soundtrack of FLCL, and I think the songs fit well without overpowering what’s on the screen. I repeatedly found myself tapping my foot to FLCL’s music. Still, I usually felt like I was listening to the same songs over and over, and as time went on, the music became hypnotic rather than engaging.

Now, about the animation. Things I look for in animation beyond its actual quality include its use of cinematography, if it is versatile at using different art styles, and if it can do something with visuals that make it unique from other anime. FLCL accomplishes these feats. Even so, while I think FLCL succeeds on a visual level, I will soon discuss why the initial shock of FLCL’s visuals work against it.

Ok, that ends the portion of this review where I discuss what I like about FLCL.

The story of FLCL fails at every level. You’ve probably heard things about it like, “FLCL really has no story,” or, “FLCL is a tale of coming-of-age,” or even, “the story of FLCL is all up to one’s interpretation.” You see, the writers of FLCL deliberately squeezed out as big of a mess as they could have to make for the story. The story in of itself is just a big ruse. They want you to think you’re trying to pull meaning from a hidden symbolism, but there is nothing there to begin with. When Picasso and Dali painted, they didn’t just throw paint at their canvas. There was an actual method to their madness. Trying to gather a hidden message from FLCL is just as big a waste of time as watching FLCL in the first place.

Initially, I did enjoy the humor of FLCL. At the time, I wasn’t sure why I enjoyed it. After an episode or two, the humor didn’t change, but I stopped enjoying it. Why is that? It’s because the humor of FLCL is just as big of a ruse as its story. The goal is to use shock value to spike a reaction. Now, this has worked in anime like Gurren Lagann and Kill la Kill, so why doesn’t it work in FLCL? It’s because the only thing FLCL has is shock value! It doesn’t have a story or humor, just mindlessness! Watching a boy getting pooped out of a robot might be funny the first time, but as the story of FLCL makes less and less sense, what is at first perceived as humor really just becomes a psychotic mess.

Also, about FLCL being a coming-of-age tale, it has nothing to offer. One might praise FLCL for going beyond the normal bounds of everyday taboos, but sick and twisted doesn’t equate to “good.” The initial premise is a young boy and 17-year-old girl and the sexual tension between the two. Oh, there’s also an even older woman in the mix! This comes back around to FLCL and shock value. “Wow! No other anime would dare cross over such bounds!” Yeah, no. In this anime, the perverseness of this plot element is just a piece of the travesty that is FLCL. Oh, and the sexual innuendo of FLCL is disgusting! I mean, I don’t particularly love the bouncing breasts in anime like Gurren Lagann and Konosuba, but it’s almost as if FLCL is trying to make you gag on the repulsive dialogue that sometimes happens behind closed doors.

Oh wait…FLCL is trying to do that! It’s all it ever does!

Character wise, I can’t necessarily say FLCL is totally awful. I mean, there is the obnoxious and perverted Kamon, the unrealistically insane Haruko, and the overly dramatized Mamimi, but our main character Naota is actually a pretty cool kid. In fact, he’s the only character in the cast that I like. Still, when he starts growing robots and cat ears, you’ll probably forget all about the things that make him seem realistic. Aside from Naota, Haruko and Mamimi, everyone else in the cast is forgettable. Also, the fact that this anime is six episodes long helps the supporting cast feel even more forgettable. The plus size to FLCL only being six episodes long is that it will only suck up a mere two hours of your life.

All in all, FLCL is nothing but a collage of scraps of trash that is attempting to present itself as abstract art. Still, while I am hammering the life out of FLCL with this review, if you can find it in yourself to like this anime, I will be happy that you did not waste your time like I did. For all I know, I just might not have the mental capacity it takes to comprehend the enigma that is FLCL. Besides, opinions are subjective in the anime community. I just happen to have a very strong and negative one, and it won’t be changing any time soon.
Reviewer’s Rating: 2
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