Anime Review - FLCL

FLCL

An Anime Review By
Le Chupacabra

Gainax Entertainment
6 OVAs/Episodes
Age Rating 15+

Naota is your average adolescent with his fair share of the odd trials and tribulations that are juxtaposed with the experience of growing up. Of course things don’t truly get wacky till the day a crazy woman on a scooter crashes into him and then to complete the deal, wallops him on the head with her guitar. Then something strange begins to grow out from poor Naota’s cranium…

“What. The. ?” was the first thing that came out of my mouth after I finished the 6 OVAs that constitute FLCL (aka Furi Kuri). Watching FLCL was like having gone into a non-stop head-banging seizure at a heavy metal concert, having your face slapped silly, gasping for breath while drowning and also taking a trip through the minds of Dali, Picasso and other avant-garde artists. Not in that order mind you. But that’s what FLCL is… avant-garde in every sense of the world. It’s a pure assault on all of your senses; FLCL is craziness incarnate.

But is it any good? And what is it really about?

To be honest it’s nigh on impossible answering both those questions. FLCL is definitely entertaining – it certainly takes that word to unimaginable limits. An eclectic concoction of brilliantly performed rock music (by The Pillows… no, I’ve never heard of them either) and some truly memorable artwork, FLCL leaves your head reeling for hours. Images flash by at light speed and often need you to rewind and take in what you missed. But you should definitely not pass up any part of it. Rife with sight gags and subtle (and not-so subtle) cultural references, FLCL is what can be called true art.

Now the striking thing about the story of FLCL is that there seems to be nothing solid about it. It’s infinitely subliminal – it’s full of messages seemingly about everything. The beauty of it all is that each viewer will find his or her own interpretation of it. Adults will look at it from their perspective while kids will look at it from theirs. I’d like to believe that each one’s impressions will be unique. FLCL is symbolic, it’s insanely incoherent and you know what, you’ll probably never even make any sense of it even after hundreds of viewings. That is what FLCL is about, I think.

If it’s anything, FLCL is truly a work of genius and unbounded creativity that’s as profound as it is mystifying. It will shatter the limits of your imagination and perspective. And it’s definitely guaranteed to bring about some temporary insanity as well. You’ve been warned!