entertain

FLCL is a six-episode OAV (original animation video) by Gainax, the
same folk who did Neon Genesis Evangelion (another must-see for anyone
interested in anime. Watch it now.). It’s based on a manga (Japanese comic
book), like so many other anime are.

This is definitely one of the weirdest and the best anime that I’ve ever seen.
It starts out seeming like a slightly twisted romance between Naota, a twelve-year-old
boy who has always lived in his older brother’s shadow, and Samejima Mamimi, Naota’s
brother’s girlfriend (who, because his brother has left for America to play
baseball, has decided to force herself on Naota). He doesn’t mind her so
much, but the situation makes him uncomfortable because of his age, and because
she is his brother’s ex.

They live in a little average town, and meet every day under a bridge.
After watching the first episode, all first impressions will have disintegrated
completely, because the weirdness has already started.

After getting hit by the mysterious pink-haired Haruhara Haruko on her
bright yellow Vespa, then being clocked in the head with her motorized guitar,
Naota has a rather long and strangely shaped bump protruding from his
forehead. At home, he bandages the bump over, and goes downstairs to discover
that his father has hired Haruko to be the housekeeper, which naturally drives
Naota crazy. Later, Naota goes to see Mamimi, who says she is going to overflow,
at which point the bandage on his forehead is forced
off, and his head “gives birth” to a large red robot with a
monitor for a head, followed by a big, white, robotic hand. The two begin to
battle, and after the hand is defeated, Haruko shows up and takes out the
robot with her guitar.

From there, things get stranger and stranger. To fully appreciate the
weirdness of this anime, it must be watched, for it is half weird plot, and half
bizarre animation.

Overall, I’d say this is the 3rd on my top 10 anime list. (You can see that
list in my archives.) This whole anime is just so well put together in
every way; the animation is brilliant and fully lives up to Gainax’s
previous titles.

The soundtrack is also really great; it’s done almost entirely by a JRock
(Japanese rock) band called the Pillows. It’s like a cross between Nirvana
and something like Green Day, with a disturbing and dissonant twist.
Unfortunately, this soundtrack is not currently released in the US,
so you’ll have to either buy the CD imported, or download
the tracks, and wait for the CD to come out in the US. Since the CD is $35
imported, the latter option will probably BE the path for all but the
obsessed. (I plan on ordering it soon.)

The First DVD is scheduled to be released in the US under the lame name “Fooly
Cooly” on August 27th, and the other disks will surely be released later.
I’m gonna hold out for a boxed set, but you can preorder the first disk at Amazon.

If you’re feeling impatient, you can download the six episodes with
file-sharing programs like KaZaA (kazaalite.com) And while this isn’t
technically legal, it does no one any harm as long as you buy it when it is
released. I and Bamboozled.org in no way condone the downloading of
copyrighted material, but I personally don’t think there is anything wrong with
downloading stuff as long as you intend to pay for it when it is available.

This title IS definitely something everyone with any interest in anime
should watch one way or another.