Anime Hajime Review: FLCL

***Warning, the following may contain spoilers for FLCL. Reader discretion is advised.***

Series Synopsis

Naota Nandaba (voiced Jun Mizuki) is quite cynical for someone as young as him. He lives in a mundane town in a mundane world where nothing special ever happens. He’s surrounded by immature adults, frustrating expectations, and general boredom. It would take one hell of a force to chance the monotony.

And wouldn’t you know it? Such a force comes riding in on a yellow Vespa scooter.

Haruko Haruhara (voiced by Mayumi Shintani) is everything Naota’s life is not. Loud, violent, and unpredictable. Her origins are mysterious, to say the least. Her goals even more so.

With Haruko’s arrival, normal becomes a thing of the past. On a good day, Naota must deal with intergalactic organizations, space pirates, and giant robots emerging from his head. Weather Haruko is a help, a hindrance, or the cause is anyone’s guess.

Yet amongst all the randomness, one thing remains constant. Haruko is unlike anyone, or possibly anything out there.

Series Positives

Naota

Pronounced Fooly Cooly for those who were wondering and I've seen it before. It’s been several years since then. And something must have been distracting me during that viewing. Something big must have been distracting me. So much so, everything was like new. All the better if I do say so myself.

For you see, FLCL was amazing. It was fantastic. Outstanding, superb, mind blowing, and other praise words. This series kicked so much ass.

Haruko

Like I said, whatever I was doing during that first watch had to be of the utmost importance. Because what I saw was one of a kind. Except that phrasing of “one of a kind” is about to get an update. Coming in 2018, FLCL will be getting two new, six-episode seasons.

A collaboration between Production I.G. and Adult Swim, FLCL 2 and FLCL 3 will be a “continuation” of the original. I put that in quotes because I’m not quite sure what that entails. And I plan to keep it that way until we get there. Needless to say, though, whatever may come has some massive shoes to fill.

Yet, even if the sequels are only a quarter as good as this was, we’ll be fine. Where do I even start?

Animation

FLCL was beautiful. It was drop dead gorgeous. The art, the animation, the design, everything was brilliant. It was love at first sight.

Then for it to get even better as the series went on. I mean, wow. There was never a second when this show didn’t look stunning.

Talk about an influencer too. You can’t tell me FLCL didn’t inspire countless anime that followed it. For example, thinking back on it, FLCL’s fingerprints are all over Kill la Kill. And to be honest, FLCL looks better than Kill la Kill. I can’t believe I wrote that, but it’s true.

In actuality, I don’t think I’m that far off about this either. Two former employees of Gainax, the co-production studio behind FLCL, went on to form Studio Trigger. One of them, Hiroyuki Imaishi, was the director of Kill la Kill. Take a wild guess what other show Imaishi worked on during his time with Gainax.

Speaking of Gainax, that scared the crap out of me when I saw their name in the opening credits. Don’t get me wrong, Gainax is responsible for creating some of the most acclaimed anime ever. I do enjoy their work. This includes shows like Kare Kano and Panty and Stocking. As well as a little production known as Neon Genesis Evangelion.

Except, do you know what those three shows have in common? Their endings are weird. Not the fun kind either. In the case of Evangelion, it was full blown in its surrealism. To the point where it almost ruined the series. That is a problem with Gainax. I was afraid something similar might happen with FLCL. It didn't.

For you see, FLCL had a solution to this problem. Instead of making the ending out of nowhere insane, why not have the whole damn thing be that? Even if the final moments went off the rails, it'd be no different from anything else.

This series had so much energy. It was beyond entertaining. FLCL was an absolute blast.

For the upcoming FLCL sequels, Gainax won’t be attached to them. Production I.G., the other co-producer of the original, bought the full rights to the series. I suppose we’ll see who the bigger influence was.

One more thing about the animation. Let this be a reality check if you will. Because it was for me. It didn’t even occur to me while watching. FLCL’s first episode came out in the year 2000. That means when FLCL 2 starts, eighteen years will have passed.

Excuse me. What?

To say FLCL has worn its age well is an understatement. This animation looks as good, and in some cases better than what’s coming out now. Watch this series however you can. But if I can give you some advice, do so in as much HD as possible. You will not regret it.

The Soundtrack

With artwork this good, I often wonder how a series would hold without sound. If you try that with FLCL, you will have made a terrible mistake. The music in this show was every bit as awesome as the animation.

A little behind the scenes. I managed to find several anime soundtracks I had been looking for. That was a good day because it ended a search that had taken over six months. As fate would have it, FLCL would be the review following that triumph. Now I need to start the whole process over again.

I’m not complaining. I only find it funny this would happen this way. Moving on.

With the animation, its presence was immediate. The soundtrack snuck up on you. You’ll need to wait a bit for the music. It came out when it was needed the most. Then when it did, it was something special.

Japanese alternative rock band, the Pillows, wrote and performed all the music for FLCL. They are a pillar for how amazing this series was. Making it that more reassuring to know the group will be returning for the sequels.

Paired together, the animation and music of FLCL created an unbelievable viewing experience. This was fun in its purest form. I came back to this series out of curiosity. Never did I expect to fall for it as much as I did.

And these were just the two biggest highlights. I haven’t even mentioned the characters. Haruko stole the show. She was great. That said, Naota held his own alongside her.

Then there’s the fact FLCL was hilarious, action-packed, and heartfelt. As well as goofy, creepy, and charming. This series had a bit of everything and made it all its own. Damn this one was good.

Series Negatives

I’m not going to sit here and pretend I knew what was happening in this show. FLCL was as cryptic as they come. It was hard to find a point to any of it.

This series spent almost no time explaining itself. Who was Haruko exactly? What was her true goal? Why was Naota so special to everything? His abilities were all over the place. It was near impossible to place anyone. What was going on?

If you’re planning to watch FLCL, get your brain ready to think.

Despite all these questions, they are part of why this show was so addicting. This series let you fill in the gaps yourself. In a sense, you got to create your own story. I, for one, am more than happy to watch each episode many times to get everything. I have no problem diving head first into the madness that is FLCL.

Yet I know that’s not for everyone. And it does showcase an important dilemma.

I’ve seen plenty of series with outrageous and confusing plots. Some I’ve loved. Some I’ve hated. When does ambiguity go from clever to lazy? Where do you draw that line? I know people who can see random images on film with no rhyme or reason and call it art. I also know people who would see the same thing and call it garbage. FLCL is well within this territory.

Unfortunately, there’s only one answer to this and it’s going to sound like a cop out. How willing are you to consider something’s meaning? That depends on how interested you are in the subject.

For me, FLCL’s sheer fun factor was more than enough to keep me on board. This is a world I’m fascinated with. These are characters I want to learn more about. Plus, I get to see some of the most breathtaking animation I’ve seen. As well as listen to a killer soundtrack. This series isn’t going to bore me.

Because of these reasons, I want to see how deep this rabbit hole goes. Even if the end result may be a waste of time.

I say that because I do have an interpretation of everything. It makes the most sense for what this show is and what it was trying to do. Behind the confusion. Behind the insanity. Behind the slew of things that don’t make sense. It comes down to this.

Nothing.

There was no point. There was no meaning. It was all random for the sake of randomness. Things happened because they happened. Things came to be because they did. Everything was at the same time a lie and the truth. Who do you trust? Who do you not trust? Why do you trust? Why do you not trust? Or are even those questions going too deep?

Every problem that got solved, got solved because it needed solving. Sometimes you don’t get the luxury to ask, “Why?”

I have no issues accepting all this as nonsense. Yet I put this in the negative section since there are people out there that won’t accept this. They’re not wrong. Depending on the viewer, this is an aspect of FLCL that's either a plus or a minus.

Thus leaving the series in a reality of, it just is.

Final Thoughts

I’m looking forward to FLCL 2 and 3. But I do not envy the task of the creative team. They need to make something with the spirit of the original. While at the same time not redo the original.

Keep the animation. Keep the music. Except keep it new. Keep it fresh. This series took huge risks. Any successor will need to do the same. Too bad risks don’t always pay off. Yet if they’re not taken, how are you going to call yourself FLCL?

This isn't easy. I wish the best of luck to all involved. From what I can tell, many of the pieces are in place. Here’s to 2018.

Now suppose the worst does happen. 2 and 3 are failures. Keep this in mind. FLCL is a masterpiece well ahead of its time. That’s never going to change. If you haven’t seen it yet, I cannot urge you enough.

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