Lind Land Reviews: FLCL

[Lind_L_Tailor]

In the words of the venerable Abraham Lincoln, "What the fuck is this shit?!"

FLCL is, without a doubt, probably the most confusing anime i've ever watched. So much so that it makes it difficult to even put why so into words without descending into Angrish. The plot is basically this: Boy meets girl, girl hits boy in face with guitar, girl lives with boy, robots and guitars come out of boy's head, ?????, Profit.

Frankly, FLCL is just plain irritating. It seems to be a tradition of GAINAX's works to try and take something, and take it to Beyond The Impossible levels. In this respect, FLCL would probably be their take on Excel Saga. Whilst on crack. And given that Excel Saga was most likely made on crack to begin with, that's saying something. Of course, with Excel Saga, there was a comedic bent to it, an absurdist sense of humour behind it. FLCL, on the other hand, makes no sense whatsoever. While it seems like it may be trying to be a mindfuck anime, what it really is, is unintelligable bullshit. And that's coming from somebody who enjoyed Serial Experiments Lain.

Although that isn't to say FLCL has no humour. It is a comedy, or at least it seems to be, on some level, ignoring that comedy series are supposed to be funny. It does do some genre-hopping though, often going to Evangelion-ish stark atmospherics. In fact, the rare occassions on which it does this are the only bearable moments in FLCL, the only moments where there appears to be a method to the madness, an actual meaning behind all the confusing crap, and more or less the only thing that keeps me from flat-out giving this a 1/10.

On that note, the mindfuck aspects of this series - and not the confusing parts, that would be everything; I mean the actual stuff that had any meaning behind it - are, in fact, quite interesting. There's a lot of subtext in there about abandoment and small-town life, most notably in the final episode. There's also quite a strong punk rock motif in the series, which I found was a nice touch.

And whilst on the subject of punk rock, it seems only fitting to point out that the soundtrack to FLCL is absolutely fantastic. Not only is the music great, but used very cleverly within the series, creating all the right rushes at the right times. On top of that, the art is nothing short of stunning. The style is unique and interesting, coined with a brilliant production, possibly trumping any other i'd seen. Dubbing aside, all the technical aspects are fantastic. Honestly, I only wish that GAINAX had put this level of professionalism into something worth watching, like Evangelion.

Final Words: Why the hell does this show have such a huge fanbase?

Animation/Graphics: 10/10
Story/Plot: 1/10
Music/Background: 10/10
Voice Acting: 3/10

Overall: 2/10

For Fans Of: Excel Saga, Neon Genesis Evangelion.

[BlackJack]

I guess you already know what I think.

[Lind_L_Tailor]

I guess you already know what I think.

Indeed I do.

[BlackJack]

Indeed I do.

Then I'll leave it at that.

[Daesy]

This review made me Roffle!!! Now i gotta see it.

[Doaj]

Based on the individual ratings you gave it, it should average out to a 6. But, nonetheless, your review only made me want to see it- and I did not beforehand. Firstly, that image is awesome- secondly, I love nonsense. Thirdly, I find we don't often agree on animes, so I'd probably like it a lot more than you did. lol. Good review, nonetheless.

[BlackJack]

Based on the individual ratings you gave it, it should average out to a 6.

I've addressed that on one of his previous reviews.
His overall score is independent of the sum of its parts.

[blexmer]

Personally i like FLCL. The randomness is a large factor of the show, but also it had the potential of having a deep plot.
the only negative is that they rushed the storyline to fit it into 6 episodes, so that might be part of the reason that you didnt think the plot had depth.
They didnt focus on a large group of characters in each episode, and one of the main characters was mysterious as a trait, so that might also contribute to you feeling like the storyline was thin. Individually the episodes i felt had a well written system.

It's Character development was well but to thinly spread and didnt reference all the characters together.

I still rate it in my top 10

[Lind_L_Tailor]

I never said the show didn't have deep plot. Actually, the plot was very good, but I felt it was rarely given proper focus. The "humour" always seemed more important. Regarding the characters... actually, it occurs to me that I never really made any comment on the characters in this show. That's probably because they were never really a plus or a minus in my book, but I will sya I see where you're coming from, even if I don't really agree.

[Inu]

inb4 2deep4u

[Lind_L_Tailor]

inb4 2deep4u

Inu, give it a rest.

...Although I do get the feeling someone is going to try and pull that bullshit excuse on me again.

[BlackJack]

When it comes down to it, it's just an opinion.
One that is in a definite minority, but still, just an opinion.
Nothing to get mad over.

[Lind_L_Tailor]

Nothing to get mad over.

Considering how often I hear it, usually in very obnoxious fashion, yes, yes it is.

[blexmer]

hahaha. i love running into episodes of this randomly on Adult Swim. I notice random details they added in for laughs.

Like in episode 4, 9:30 seconds in the main character accidently pulls something away without realizing it. *cough*

i froze when i noticed that. XD