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The
Series:
FLCL (short
for Fooly Cooly or Furi Kuri) is one
of the most unique and
profoundly personal anime series ever created. It is not like anything
else you
have seen in anime. Indeed, it is not like anything else you are likely
to see
in anime again. It is a blazingly pure and honest work of art that
transcends
the boundaries established by the medium and that manages to create a
new path
of originality with storytelling destined to inspire generations of
devotees to
come. Future anime artists will look at the foundations of FLCL
and the series will inspire them to create their own bizarrely
personal stories.
So what does FLCL
even stand for? If one were to ask that question in a literal sense the
truthful response is that the title makes little to no logical sense
whatsoever.
I have about as good a guess as anyone else does regarding the funky
origins of
the title and how the creators thought that peculiarity up. In other
words - the
actual title of the show essentially equates to pure randomness. This
is of
course particularly interesting as the series is filled to the brim
with seemingly
random occurrences and perhaps rainbow-colored sprinkles of mad genius.
A lot
of people will tell you randomness is what the show is actually all
about. They'd
be dead wrong, but it wouldn't be a bad guess.
 
It's hard to even try and describe with words what
makes FLCL such a truly
groundbreaking experience in anime. It's perhaps the most difficult to
describe
series I have ever had the sheer luck to have even seen. On the one
hand, it is
such a clear milestone in the medium because it seems to have little to
nothing
holding it back: if there is something outlandish the series wants to
attempt
to do the odds are it will attempt to accomplish that idea as a goal,
regardless of whether or not an audience will follow along. The
glorious
realization is that people didn't stop watching the show. This is how
is built an
audience - through being unafraid of holding back a genuine (albeit
wacky)
self. This doesn't paint a strong enough
picture as to describing the true success of FLCL as
a milestone though. At the core of the story is a coming of
age tale. The lead character is a young boy (aged 12) named Naota, and
when we
are introduced to him we realize he is going through all the typical
pangs of
youth. It's as though the audience can peek into his thoughts: What is his course in life? When does he get
to grow up and be an adult? Naota notices the ridiculousness of
many of the
adults around him - childishness that is juvenile at best. He is also
just now
beginning to face puberty, an issue that is of course affecting him.
His older
brother moved away to America in order to play baseball and he is left
feeling both
alone and confused. He still has family, but they don't pay that much
attention
to him at all. You can tell he feels distanced.
To make
matters worse, the ex-girlfriend of his
older brother (who is several years his senior) is now hanging out with
him. They
are essentially fooling around. Both are lost and confused without the
older
brother and feel helpless. One of these characters struggles to grow up
while
the other is simply hanging on to the past. <>
OKAY. That
doesn't sound too bizarre. Does it? I mean, seriously. What am I
talking about? I thought I said this was a series unlike anything
you've seen
before. Oh, that's right... we are then introduced to a wacky girl named
Haruko
who drives a wild motorbike, has a pink hair-do, and runs Naota over at
their
introduction. She claims that she is an alien (you know the type --
from outer
space). Naota seems dazed and confused at this point (and I'm not
saying that
he's high). Soon he has a giant bump on his head that sort of shoots
outwards as
if his forehead were inflicted with what I'll refer to as "Pinocchio's
bad luck".
Before we know what we have even witnessed before our very eyes the
series continues
to become even weirder as a giant robot shoots out of that bump on
Naota's head.
Interestingly, unlike typical anime robots this one has a giant
television for
a head, looks rather silly, and ends up helping out around the lead
characters house:
cleaning up, taking care of some of the shopping, and other such daily
routine
tasks. Wait... where was I? My point
has been made.
The
animation is beautiful to behold with finely detailed
backgrounds and a strong use of colors. The character designs are
genuinely believable
and bring a peculiar sense of realism to a series that would otherwise
seem too
cartoony at times. The series direction by Kazuya Tsurumaki is
exceptional.
Moments of sheer insanity are often followed by quiet moments of
reflection and
solace that are interjected with little or no time allowed for those
who require
a way to slowly adjust to the uniquely offbeat style. This method
actually creates
a chaotic pace to the show that is perfectly befitting the storyline.
 
Last
(but most certainly not least) is the great
music by Japanese rock band The Pillows.
Nearly every classic moment in FLCL
is backed by phenomenal music by
this rock group. The Pillows ended up
becoming one of my all time favorite bands after watching this series
and I have
subsequently heard all of the group's many albums (and I even purchased
a live
concert DVD that had to be imported from Japan once I became 'Region
Free').
The thing that strikes me the most about the music is how upbeat it
always is.
The sound this band creates is uniquely their own (Honestly, I can't
think of even
one similar sounding group) and it
inspires a lightning-bolt level of pure happiness. The music is bliss.
Let me just make it painfully clear again (in case
there is any lingering doubt): this is one of the weirdest anime series
you
will ever see. It is also a surprisingly heartfelt series that manages
to evoke
many emotions with a plethora of themes (self discovery, growing up,
and
finding love). For many viewers it will manage to bring back fond
memories of youth
and for those who witness FLCL while actually
close to the age of Naota the show will play to even better results. I
was only
12 years old the first time I witnessed this delightfully crazy show.
It had a
profound impact on the rest of my life as both a landmark anime (one
that helped
to establish my devotion to the medium) and as a series which actually
helped
me through rough moments while growing up - it always reminded me that
no
matter how messed up things can become in this world that there is hope
for
tomorrow. That is no small feat for a short 6 episode long anime series
to
accomplish. Somehow it all just clicked in the right way and at the
right time.
I'm certain that this series will still have a profound impact on
others; for
those who have yet to experience the magic of FLCL.
 
The
DVD:
Video:
The recent transfer for FLCL will
be subject to much debate amongst series fans. Funimation has seemingly
used
the same upscale that was employed for the most recently produced
Japanese
editions. In bringing the series back into the media market in North
America
the company has provided both DVD and Blu-ray editions as options for
fans.
Either release presents the material in Standard Definition. The
Blu-ray
release is an upscale with a higher bitrate encode. This
DVD release is quite crisp (very sharp by DVD
standards) and looks pleasing
overall with strong color reproduction. There are also a few issues
with the
transfer that are likely to plague both editions. The primary issue I
have with
this new upscale is that sometimes line reproduction for outlines
becomes a
noticeable issue in a number of scenes. It can become a bit distracting
at times
and is certainly an annoyance. I still found this to be a better
overall presentation
than what I witnessed on Cartoon Network's Adult
Swim broadcasts. All six episodes
are presented in their original aspect ratio of 4:3 (full frame).
Audio:
FLCL
has two audio options available: English stereo or Japanese stereo. For
either
option the audio is only as good as one can reasonably expect. The
series was
produced over 10 years prior to this DVD release and it doesn't appear
as
though Funimation put a lot of effort into enhancing the audio for
today's typical
standards (i.e. don't expect a nice 5.1 surround sound mix). The
dialogue and
music are easily reproduced and enjoyable for stereo mixes and that is
what
ultimately counts the most. I am partial to experiencing the series
with the
English dub as that is how I first experienced it, but the Japanese
stereo track
seemed to be just slightly more robust in reproducing the music by The Pillows.
Extras:
There
is a lot of extra content included
-- Certainly far more material than I anticipated. The highlight of the
extras
is the inclusion of six commentary tracks (one for each episode) with
director Kazuya
Tsurumaki. These are some of the most enlightening commentary tracks
that I
have ever experienced for an anime series release. Tsurumaki cover's a
lot of
ground in his commentaries. He discusses inspirations for different
moments
throughout the series, provides background information on planning and
executing
elements of the series, explains why he directed certain sequences the
way he
did, notes references (including Japanese culture elements that might
go over North
American heads - as some of the references did for myself) and he just
all
around seems like a nice guy that you wouldn't mind listening to for a
few
hours (and you probably will).
 
Five music videos are also included.
Four of these simply feature clips from FLCL.
They were moderately entertaining but feel somewhat non-essential. The
following songs by the Pillows were used: "Come Down", "Little
Busters", "Last
Dinosaur" and "One Life". Rounding out
the music videos is the actual live-action video featuring the band,
The
Pillows, for 'Ride on Shooting Star'. Unlike the other music videos
(which
preserved the 4:3 full frame aspect ratio of the series) this last
video is
presented in non-anamorphic widescreen. I wish it had been enhanced for
widescreen TV sets but I am happy to at least see the video's
inclusion.
A
few short Outtakes videos
(containing flubbed audio by the English VA's) are included with
accompanying
animation. These contained around 7 minutes of content in total. I
enjoyed
these clips - some of them made me laugh out loud. However, I would
probably
never re-watch them.
Funimation
has also provided
trailers for recent and upcoming releases by the studio.
Final
Thoughts:
FLCL
is a mind-bender: a lovably weird series
that pushes the boundaries
of Japanese animation and that tells a compelling coming-of-age story
with a
unique flair. It is essential viewing for any anime fan. This release
by Funimation
now provides fans with an affordable opportunity to own the series at
last (the
series was previously released as three 2-episode volumes at a cost of
almost
$30 apiece). While it may not appeal to
everyone, if it turns out to be your cup of tea it's worth
revisiting for
years to come. Highly
Recommended.
Neil Lumbard is a lifelong fan of cinema, and a student who aspires to make movies. He loves writing, and currently does in Texas. |
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