It’s a shame because the setting is good. The premise of the story is good. And the characters are interesting. It literally has the ingredients for a genuinely good anime - but it’s so focused on sending a series of messages indirectly that it forgets to actually slow down and provide anything of actual substance.
You’re going to get told over and over again that “You just don’t get it!!” and that “It’s all metaphorical! There’s a hidden meaning behind every scene!” - but I just don’t buy it. FLCL makes an incredible amount of REFERENCES - and that’s all. Yes, I get the fact that there are supposed to be metaphors about sex, the coming of age, and this ‘alien’ women that flips his life upside down.
But there’s no real meaning behind any of it. None of it actually adds anything to the story other than some nice background commentary on some facts about puberty. I just don’t get what’s so brilliant about that. Nothing that we’re interested in is ever really explored, and there’s very little coherence for the series of events that we bear witness to. There’s no specific reason why the story unfolds in the way that it does.
To be honest, I didn’t even make it halfway through, and I couldn’t care less. I’m sure some of it makes more sense when you get to the end and rewatch it - but this isn’t something fun or enjoyable to watch. It’s a puzzle. A series of moving images that needs constant Freudian levels of analysis to appreciate in any regard.
For me, that is not a ‘pro’ of FLCL. Sure, it’s different and unique - but it’s not always better. Some might call me ‘unintelligent’ for this - but I would not agree. It’s not really a metaphor if the manifest content (the face value story) is nonsensical and only the latent content (underlying tones) mean anything. Most ‘intelligent’ stories at least have a face-value story that makes sense on its own to keep you distracted and engaged with something else - and then upon revaluation you notice certain hidden meanings and themes which were not apparent at first. But without a superficial layer, you’re just peering into a bunch of ‘ideas’ that don’t really come together in any meaningful way.
Instead of this manifest content distracting us from the hidden meanings, it is the complete other way around. It’s like there are so many ‘hidden’ ideas and themes shoved down your throat that you’re distracted from realising that the actual story that you’re supposed to be watching bears no relevance to any of this nonsense that you’re trying to figure out.
Other than that, the art and animation can go from piss poor to extremely impressive in a matter of seconds and can add some charm to an otherwise highly cartoonish show, the soundtracks are nice and very well placed, and the character designs are really cool and interesting. It’s just a shame that all of the most important foundations for a good story were thrown out the window in preference for sending a ‘message’ which isn’t even anything groundbreaking or unique in the slightest. Like how can someone seriously say “The way that FLCL describes a young boy starting to mature so brilliantly and amazingly is impressive” with a straight face is beyond me. I just don’t get what’s so brilliant and ingenious about describing puberty through a series of metaphors.
I really don’t get it. But hey, if that’s your thing then go for it. I guess it’s like marmite - you either love it or you hate it.
