This being my first anime review, I thought I would set it out with the basic sections and just see how it goes… so bear with me!
Story:
First impressions of FLCL would suggest it is completely random, with no real underlying plot running through. Of course this isn’t true – there is a storyline seeming to involve robots, aliens and things that appear from people’s foreheads – but I personally found that the plot took a backseat to the experience.
If I had to summarise for viewers without spoilers, I would simply say this is a prime example of ‘willing suspension of disbelief’. Through ignoring the facts and the seriously surreal events that take place (I mean, seriously, Naota is supposed to be 12 years old??) you can appreciate underlying elements throughout. There seem to be several interpretations for the series, but I felt the most appropriate was to consider it an analogy for Naota’s coming of age; of course feel free to find your own meaning! There were serious scenes as well, integrated very well with the rest, so that they were not overly dramatic.
The pace of the story is perfect, especially given that it is taken care of in only 6 episodes, and should keep the viewer interested all the time – and even in moments where I found myself wondering what was going on, the humour kept me watching. And of course this humour was key, with the creators being completely aware of the randomness of the show.
Art and Music:
I found the art fitted perfectly, with more frantic colours and drawing during the more frantic scenes. It also added to the humour of the series, using several effects, such as black and white manga panels, for variety.
The music seemed to be of a relaxed soft rock style throughout, which was enjoyable and settled well in with casual form of a lot of the show. My only complaint would be that, even during scenes where more fast paced music would have probably been more appropriate, the same music was used; and I felt his was a missed opportunity. Sometimes during such scenes the music was purely made louder, which, although it did serve to change the atmosphere slightly, did take away the emphasis from the speech, which I thought was a pity.
Characters:
All the characters were likeable, even if a little unrealistic (I felt realism wasn’t very important however), and, despite some of them having real issues that another series might have used for dramatic effect, these issues are trivialised slightly to make room for the wackiness of Haruko.
The series is centred around Naota (a serious, mature, 12 year old boy) and Haruko (a strange older woman who leads the storyline). I felt this worked well, contrating the two personalities for comedic effect while suggesting they have depth.
Summary:
At first I thought the series was a bit over the top, with events randomly pieced together just for humour. However, the bottom line was that I enjoyed it. Once I got over the seemingly disconnected storyline, I was able to appreciate the depth of the characters more, and have a lot more fun laughing at the spontaneous Haruko.
The show probably won’t stay with you, and it probably won’t be one of your favourites, but the ending seemed to me to be more poignant than it first appeared.
I would definitely recommend it to anyone: after all it’s only 6 episodes long, and I doubt you’ll have seen anything else like it!
