In a few words: love, sex, guitars, robots, rock and roll. Vespas, hospitals, nurse outfits, giant hands, even larger hand irons. The end of the world, and the end of childhood. All of adolescence condensed into two hours and thirty minutes. Is it a music video? A science fiction series? A comedy show? Why did the main character just get hit in the head by an electric guitar? Is that girl really an alien, like she says? What does it mean to overflow? Did they really just go there? Yes. They did.
FLCL isn't a show you watch—it's a show you feel. It possesses real, tangible weight, and absolutely none of it comes from pretension. It's a heartfelt evocation of adolescence, while at the same time steering clear of anything remotely cloying or sentimental. It is an Important Work that gleefully gives the middle finger to Important Works everywhere while riding a yellow Vespa into the sunset, cackling insanely. It is also completely impenetrable. Viewers watching it for the first time will be dazed. Viewers watching it for the second time will be confused. Viewers watching it for the third time will be elated. Viewers without a working knowledge of Japanese culture will be insulted. Viewers used to the conventional will be repulsed.
The soundtrack is phenomenal, most of it coming from the works of a Japanese rock band called the pillows. The animation is fantastic throughout, and some of the action sequences in the show are some of the most stylish ever filmed. The cast of characters is uniformly fantastic, from Naota to Haruka, Mamimi to Ninamori. The English dub is probably one of the best ever recorded. It used to cost about $350 on DVD, but now you can get it for around $20. It's a steal for that price. No joke.
It's not for everybody. But if it is for you, and it might just be for you, then it could very well end up in your favorites. Maybe even up there at the top. FLCL is my favorite anime of all time, and while it's a highly polarizing show and I've met plenty of people who don't like it, I think it should be required viewing for anyone interested in the medium. There's literally nothing else quite like it.
your head is empty: a review of flcl
In a few words: love, sex, guitars, robots, rock and roll. Vespas, hospitals, nurse outfits, giant hands, even larger hand irons. The end of the world, and the end of childhood. All of adolescence condensed into two hours and thirty minutes. Is it a music video? A science fiction series? A comedy show? Why did the main character just get hit in the head by an electric guitar? Is that girl really an alien, like she says? What does it mean to overflow? Did they really just go there? Yes. They did.
FLCL isn't a show you watch—it's a show you feel. It possesses real, tangible weight, and absolutely none of it comes from pretension. It's a heartfelt evocation of adolescence, while at the same time steering clear of anything remotely cloying or sentimental. It is an Important Work that gleefully gives the middle finger to Important Works everywhere while riding a yellow Vespa into the sunset, cackling insanely. It is also completely impenetrable. Viewers watching it for the first time will be dazed. Viewers watching it for the second time will be confused. Viewers watching it for the third time will be elated. Viewers without a working knowledge of Japanese culture will be insulted. Viewers used to the conventional will be repulsed.
The soundtrack is phenomenal, most of it coming from the works of a Japanese rock band called the pillows. The animation is fantastic throughout, and some of the action sequences in the show are some of the most stylish ever filmed. The cast of characters is uniformly fantastic, from Naota to Haruka, Mamimi to Ninamori. The English dub is probably one of the best ever recorded. It used to cost about $350 on DVD, but now you can get it for around $20. It's a steal for that price. No joke.
It's not for everybody. But if it is for you, and it might just be for you, then it could very well end up in your favorites. Maybe even up there at the top. FLCL is my favorite anime of all time, and while it's a highly polarizing show and I've met plenty of people who don't like it, I think it should be required viewing for anyone interested in the medium. There's literally nothing else quite like it.
In short: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ORGh9uU9NQs