FLCL by Djudge

Furi Kuri
Also Known As: Fooly Coolly
Genre: Action/Comedy
Format: 6 OVA
Allegiance: Gainax
Director: Tsurumaki Kazuya
Vintage: 2000-2001
Intelligence Agency Report by: Djudge
Naota’s life in Mabase is the epitome of drab. Nothing exciting ever happens there, period. His family is about as immature as one can get and now his brother’s just left to play baseball in America. Just when things couldn’t get any worse, he gets run over by a beautiful, if psychotic, girl who, after a strange exchange of words (and guitar blows) speeds off. In the wake of this strange meeting, Naota then sees his world turned upside-down as robots start spontaneously popping out of his head and wreaking havoc on the town. It seems that the scooter-riding stranger is back and she has answers to what’s happening to Naota. So much for boring days…

Field Agent Report by: Djudge 
Plot
Characters
Impact
Visual
Audio
9.00
9.50
9.25
9.25
9.75
Overall 9.50

Having coming fresh off the heels of watching the hyperactive, and occasionally senseless, Komodo no Omocha, I began to develop the sense that I would never again see such an outrageous blend of varying atmospheres. After watching FLCL, I once again became aware of the fact that anime continuously reinvents itself; in this particular case, for the better.

As in previous Gainax titles, FLCL revolves heavily around the development of the relationships between the characters in its story. In this particular venture, the main character, Nandaba Naota, is faced with interacting with intrusive personalities on his journey through adolescence. It is through these relationships that the real meat and potatoes of the plot are fleshed out. From the eccentric housemaid Haruhara Haruko to Naota’s enigmatic older brother Tasuku, each of the characters in the FLCLuniverse leaves their mark on our unsuspecting protagonist.

One other additional trait FLCL possessed worth mentioning is the set of remarkable rock tunes provided by The Pillows. Looking back at how the songs were implemented with near perfection into their respective scenes, it’s very feasible to say that FLCL is as much a treat for the mind and eyes as it is for the ears.

Overall, FLCL provides a great wealth of anime goodness for a select few of the overall viewer base. Those who see it will definitely have conflicting opinions on just exactly how effective Tsurumaki was in his directorial debut. However, the fact remains that they have all seen a prime example of how far anime can go as a viable art medium.