FLCL (pronounced “Fooly Cooly”), a six-part OVA series aimed at older teens, is, to put it simply, as weird as its title. While at its heart is a rather different coming-of-age story, albeit one with crazy action and pop culture references, it still takes repeated viewings to try and get it (and even then you might not, but you’ll still enjoy it).
Naota Nandaba: The 12-year-old main character who is obsessed with being mature while surrounded by crazy adults. His life is turned upside down when Haruko arrives and robots start popping out of his head.
Haruko Haruhara: A seemingly crazy pink-haired woman who shows up out of nowhere, riding a Vespa scooter and hitting Naota on the head with her guitar. She claims to be an alien space detective and seems to be searching for something.
Mamimi Samejima: The ex-girlfriend of Naota’s older brother who attaches herself to him while he’s away. She has a reputation for being a trouble-maker and becomes depressed as Naota hangs out with Haruko.
Canti: The first robot to come out of Naota’s head, who later becomes Haruko’s helper after she bashes in his TV-shaped head. He can merge with Naota (he eats him, literally) to battle other robots that later appear.
Eri Ninamori: A classmate of Naota’s, she’s the class president and the mayor’s daughter. She seems to have a crush on Naota, even rigging a class election to get them both the lead roles in a play.
Commander Amarao: A mysterious government agent who seems to have a past with Haruko and an idea of what’s really going on. He wears fake eyebrows made of nori that he thinks make him look cool.
Kamon Nandaba: Naota’s father, a journalist who publishes his own trashy tabloid and has an obvious crush on Haruko. Though he acts crazy and immature most of the time, he offers the occasional bit of insight here and there.
FLCL - the storyline:
12-year-old Naota Nandaba is bored with his life in the town of Mabase, where “everything is ordinary”. All the adults he knows seem to act like idiots (especially his dad), his brother’s ex-girlfriend seems to be hitting on him, and the local Medical Mechanica plant seems to do nothing but spew fog-like steam that settles on the town. A boring life, but Naota, who tries to act mature and grown-up, doesn’t seem to mind.
All that changes, however, when Haruko Haruhara, a strange girl on a Vespa scooter, appears and smacks Naota on the head with her guitar. Now things are getting crazy. Robots are starting to come out of Naota’s head, which are fought by Haruko, who claims to be an alien, and Canti, the first robot to come out. Haruko seems to be interested in Medical Mechanica, and the spook-like Commander Amarao seems to know what’s going on. . . that is, if Naota can make sense of it all, while trying to figure out how he really feels about Haruko.
FLCL is one show that will make you think like no other, while at the same make you laugh silly at its bizarre antics... a good one for Buzzing Kids World.
