Anime Spotlight: FLCL
Synopsis: Naota is your average middle school student surrounded by the same thing day in and day out. He talks frequently about how boring Mabase is. One day while out with his older brother’s used to be girlfriend, Mamimi, he gets hit by a Vespa driven by Haruko. Haruko also manages to beat him upside the head with her guitar. From this day forward Naota has a bump protruding from his skull. He does his very best to hide it with hats and bandages.
Shortly after his first run in with Haruko he finds that she’s been hired by his father and grandfather to be their housemaid. This woman is masked in mystery through most of the series, but Naota knows something is awry when the first bump on his head turns into a robot, Canti
We follow Naota through many bumps on his head as he tries to figure out what the hell is going on in his life.
Cast/Crew: This series was directed by Kazuya Tsurumaki who also directed for Neon Genesis Evangelion. Our lead, Naota was voiced by Jun Mizuki and Barbara Goodson. Barbara also voiced for Paradise Kiss and X (the series). Our crazy lady with the guitar was voiced by Mayumi Shintani and Kari Wahlgren. Kari has voiced for multiple cartoons including Wolverine and the X-Men, as Emma Frost, and Tak & the Power of Juju, as Jeera.
Reflection: This is not a series for the casual watcher. There, you’ve been warned. If you have an interest in watching this series make time to watch it at least twice. There’s a whole lot of crazy in a very short period of time.
That being said, it’s a phenomenal series. A lot of funny. A lot of sexual innuendo. A lot of crazy robots. There is nothing that I can say that can give this series justice. The story is amazing once you can wrap your head around the Haruko character. She has a tendency to just be insane and make absolutely no sense most of the time.
This is probably one of the most fucked up things you’ll ever watch, besides Gummo, but it’s well worth it.
Why you should watch: You’re into crazy sci-fi anime with a large dash of comedy.
Why you shouldn’t watch: You like things to be spelled out. You don’t like having to view something multiple times to really grasp the story.
This is my favorite anime of all time! I remember catching it on adult swim and it was so bizarre I kept watching it. I bought the DVDs and watched many more times, even once with the commentary subtitled (it really helps explain a lot of the inside jokes and what the story is about).
I guess the best comparison I can make to this show is that it’s like watching a really amazing music video. You may not always know what’s going on but it is so visually and musically exciting you don’t want to look away. The soundtrack is also great by the J-Pop band The Pillows. I have a few of their albums and would kind of compare them to Weezer.
I highly recommend this anime if you like spectacular action sequences set to catchy pop-rock.
Dang RC! Maybe you should be writing these reviews for me!
You’ve already reviewed all the anime I’ve watched except maybe Hellsing.