FLCL (anime series)

Cafe Society
1

I know that this board isn’t crawling with anime fans, but there are more than a few on here. And to be honest, I just can’t keep up with the people on the more “hardcore” anime boards. So with that preamble out of the way:

I went to Japantown over the weekend and picked up the first DVD of FLCL (Fuli-Kuli), just because the cover art looked cool. After watching the disk (two episodes), I’m still not sure what to think about it. For starters, it looks amazing. It looks like they took the last 30 or so years’ worth of animation styles, put them in a blender, and kept all the stuff that passed the cool filter. I’ve always had an image in my head whenever anyone says “anime” that hasn’t been attached to any particular movie or TV show, and it turns out this is it.

But it doesn’t make a lick of sense. I don’t think of myself as being particularly dense, and I’m usually fine with all the subtext and just plain wacky stuff that goes in anime. “Evangelion”? No problem (Right: AT fields == alienation. Enough. We get it already). “Serial Experiments Lain”? Sure, I’m with you. I’ve even seen enough anime & manga at this point to get some of the obscure references they make to each other. But when they have young kids make out with their brother’s girlfriend then get hit over the head with a gas-powered guitar from a woman riding a vespa causing a giant robot to leap out of a horn on the kid’s head and start flying around with angel wings and a fake halo… you lost me.

So, anybody else seen this yet? I recommend it if you’re looking for something cool to watch, but just don’t come to me for explanations.

2

Furi Kuri is totally but wonderfully out there. You’re stuck if someone asks you what it’s about.

I especially liked the music video at the end, and the shirts the musicians were wearing.

Also, I want my own little metal-eating robot doggie.

3

I’ve been waiting for the full Region 1 dvd release before attempting this series.

4

I’m withholding my analysis until I’ve seen it all. Gainax seems to have a habit of holding their explanations until the end.

I love the first disk, though–can’t wait to see the rest. Even though I hated Evangelion (yes, I saw all of it, yes I saw the movie–still think it sucks), I can always count on Gainax being entertaining. I’ve liked just about everything they’ve done outside of Eva.

5

The show just keeps getting weirder and more entertaining, guys.

It doesn’t have a whole lot of depth compared to Eva or Lain, but it is a lot more entertaining, and a million times funnier, IMHO.

6

well, it all makes sense in the end, actually.