FLCL

FLCL
Genre	Science Fiction, Surreal comedy
Anime
Directed by	Kazuya Tsurumaki
Studio	Gainax, Production I.G
Manga
Written by	Hajime Ueda
Published by	Kodansha

FLCL (フリクリ, Furi Kuri, also Fooly Cooly) is an anime OVA series co-produced by Gainax and Production I.G. The series was created and directed by Kazuya Tsurumaki, and written by Yōji Enokido.

Furi Kuri follows Naota Nandaba, a twelve-year-old boy living in the fictional Japanese suburb of Mabase. The industrial town houses and the Medical Mechanica building are the reason for Haruhara Haruko's visit to the usually quiet suburb.

Plot

Naota's life is confined to going to school and living with his father and grandfather. The usually tranquil life in Mabase is rudely interrupted by the arrival of Haruhara Haruko, who bursts on the scene by running Naota over with her Vespa scooter and hitting him on the head with a Rickenbacker bass guitar. Later, Naota is shocked to find Haruko working in his house as a live-in maid.

Haruko's search for the alien being Atomsk puts her at odds with Medical Mechanica. At the same time, Naota is being watched by Commander Amarao. The Commander believes Haruko is in love with Atomsk and Medical Mechanica is out to conquer the galaxy. The fortuitous circumstances get Naota involved in a three way battle between Haruko, Amarao and Medical Mechanica.

Characters

Main article: List of FLCL characters

Nandaba Naota is the protagonist of the series, obsessed with appearing mature and attempts to act nonchalant. He idolizes his older brother Tasuku, who represents for Naota what it means to be an "adult".

Haruhara Haruko is Mabase's newest resident, an extraterrestrial investigator for the Galactic Space Patrol Brotherhood. She becomes the Nandaba household maid while working to find Atomsk, the most powerful space pirate in the galaxy.

Canti is a Medical Mechanica robot. He was manufactured by Medical Mechanica and was used to by MM to capture Atomsk. It is later revealed that Atomsk can manifest through Canti, with Naota being the catalyst.

Mamimi Samejima is a high school truant. She is lonely and depressed, adopting several pets and naming them all "Ta-kun" as a replacement for Naota's brother, and develops pyromaniacal tendencies. She thinks of Naota as a replacement for Tasku, befriending him, but later grows disinterested when Naota begins to show independence.

Eri Ninamori is the daughter of the mayor of Mabase and the president of Naota's sixth grade class. Ninamori is a complex character- like Naota she's obsessed with acting grown-up but she often loses her composure in anger or excitement. Ninamori is so concerned with her public image that she hides her frustrations over her parents' divorce and the fact that she wears glasses.

Design

FLCL's odd style, hyperactive pace, convoluted, esoteric plot, and tendency to break the fourth wall sets it apart from other contemporary anime. It can be categorized as a work of comedy, drama, science fiction, romance, philosophy, poetry, and a parody of contemporary culture in general. It is an abstract designed storyline about growing up and losing the childish viewpoint of life, that all people once had, and seeing the true reality of the world.

Style

Although most of the series is done in a standard "anime" style, the animation frequently veers off into other realms, including bullet time, black and white, stills, two elaborate sequences drawn as semi-animated manga and a couple of shots in episode five that recreate the look of South Park.

Cultural references

Haruko flying on her Bass Guitar in a bunny outfit and wearing earrings is a reference to the promotional video of Daicon IV (an anime convention that took place in Osaka in the 80's). Haruko announces, "Daicon five!" as she rides in, in a satirical reference to the show. This animation, along with the promo video for Daicon III, were some of Gainax's very first works.

The series also references such pop culture icons as Anna Nicole Smith, John Woo and South Park, not to mention Neon Genesis Evangelion (Gainax's most famous production), Pepsi, Lupin III,Initial D, Gundam, Tank Girl, and Ashita No Joe. As well as showing reference to popular Japanese anime shows such as in Haruko's eyeless smiles(a subtle nod to the way the titular character of the anime Crayon Shin-chan smiles), the English-dubbed FLCL also shows references to "The Red Hot Chili Peppers," "Rage Against the Machine," "Filter," "Slash," "Naked Lunch", and Paul McCartney, Richard Cheese, Elvis Presley, Jimi Hendrix, and Hamtaro.

Language

There are some places where dialogue is different from the Japanese version, an attempt to make the dialogue easier to understand in the English translation. (Example: Haruko uses the term "mouth to mouth" repeatedly throughout the series, though the "Th" sound does not exist in Japanese, making it sound like "mouse to mouse". This is used in a pun in "Full Swing," when she crawls out of the Kamon puppet's mouth wearing a mouse suit.)

A common mistake by English-speaking fans is to say that the meaning of "Furi Kuri" in Japanese is "Breast Fondling." This mistake arises from the fact that "kuri kuri" is occasionally used by manga artists as a sound effect for breast fondling. In the anime itself, they make references to "kuri kuri" during the first manga scene, when Shigekuni describes kneading bread by making hand gestures that unmistakably resemble groping motions. Due to incredibly fast pacing of the scene, many fans mistake his statement as referring to "furi kuri" instead of "kuri kuri." Much Japanese onomatopoeia follows a pattern of being four kana long and having a sound repeated twice. "Furi furi" is also used as a sound effect in a later episode when Haruko is petting Naota's cat ears. FLCL's direct Japanese to English translation is: A Pretend chestnut. Kuri or chestnut can also mean to twist. It would seem the best translation might be pretend twisted(distort, pervert) or pretend disarrangment (disturb the operation or functions [,as in twisting]; also to make insane).

Regarding the Japanese that is left in and often misunderstood, the above case is further clarified by referring to the translation notes for episode one from the 25 page book with DVD one released by Synch-Point:

9. Chi-chi o kuri-kuri - Chi-chi means "breasts" or "boobs" in Japanese. Kuri-kuri is a twisting noise. Chi-chi also means "father."

12. Kuri - A homonym for a twisting noise and "chestnut". Kamon says "Like twisting..." Haruko hears, "like chestnuts".

Further comments in the booklets discuss the severe loss in translation of the plays made in Japanese via homonyms, synonyms, and so on. One example of trying to preserve this in English is the "empty", "MTV" and various homonyms in English during the Kamon/Haruko manga sequence.

Media

Main article: List of FLCL episodes

FLCL was originally released in Japan as an OVA anime on six DVDs. The story was also released as a two-volume manga by artist Hajime Ueda, and a three-volume novel serialization by Yoji Enokido, who also wrote the script for the show. The first of the three novels will be released in America on March 11, 2008. All were released in Japan starting in 2000, and in 2003 in the United States. The series is sporadically run on Cartoon Network's Adult Swim. The anime has subsequently been released on DVD in North America in three volumes by Synch-Point which feature exclusive extras not on the original Japanese DVDs, of which were six volumes containing one episode each.The manga was released by TOKYOPOP in two volumes(ISBN 1-59182-396-X and ISBN 1-59182-397-8).All soundtrack discs - Addict, King of Pirates and FLCL No. 3 - were released by Geneon. The CD for King of Pirates also contains 'drama tracks', which continue the story in the usual joking manner, such as one segment that has Naota meeting girls with similar names to Haruko and Mamimi.

FLCL has also been seen on Cartoon Network's Adult Swim block in North America, starting in August 2003. Starting on August 5 (as part of the late night line-up for the 4th) and continuing on four days a week for three weeks, the entire series aired twice.

The original releases of the Region 1 FLCL DVDs contained booklets with interviews and insight into the series. Later releases of these DVDs did not include the booklets. On January 24, 2007, Synch-Point re-released the series in an Ultimate Edition DVD box set. The box includes all 6 episodes on 3 discs, a bonus disc containing music and extras, sticker sheet, 6 postcards, and an Ultimate Edition Collector's booklet. First orderers of the set also received a black wristband and an order form for a T-Shirt. The set lists for about $70, but at the time of writing, Amazon.com was selling it for $56. Major retailers currently list the series as in stock on their website, but brick and mortar availability is still sporadic.

Manga

The manga interprets the series with all of the key elements intact, but loses some details and changes the dialogue (One being that Canti is Atomsk). It is a much darker and more graphic take on the story, highlighting the sex and violence (Naota purposely kills his actual father with the baseball bat in a rather grisly scene because he thought Haruko and his father were sleeping together; Shinguki and an unnamed war buddy later suicide-bombed the Medical Mechanica building). The manga has also been mildly controversial for its unique art style, especially the uses of ink to roughly outline objects and shade areas. Volume 1 is more like the first two episodes while Volume 2 is more like episodes 3 through 6.

Music

Main article: Music of FLCL

Most of the background music was written and performed by The Pillows, which has generated mass success and appreciation since the series' release abroad. The ending theme is The Pillows' "Ride on Shooting Star". The remaining music was written by Shinkichi Mitsumune. Two soundtrack CDs — Addict and King of Pirates — and a one-CD "best-of" compilation (FLCL No. 3) were released in Japan and later in America.

Another interesting note is that the action sequences were choreographed around the individual tracks used, and not the other way around. The song Little Busters plays when Canti taps into Atomsk's power. There are also many references to guitars, which are used symbolically and physically (though rarely musically) throughout the series.

Reception

The American reception for the series, although not widespread, has been enthusiastic following its release on Adult Swim in the summer of 2003. Anime.com also gave the series an enthusiastic review in October of that year, although there was also a minor reference to it in the September "issue". In 2003, it also went on to win third place for Best Animation Film at the Fantasia Festival.Fooly Cooly also played January,2008 every Monday from 11:30 or 3:30 m

FLCL has garnered both positive and negative reception among reviewers, sometimes diverging to extremes in both directions. Christopher McDonald of Anime News Network called it "downright hilarious" and "visually superb" with great music, citing the packaging of 2 episodes per DVD as the only weakness of Synch-Point's original release. Eric Gaede of T.H.E.M. Anime Reviews praised the animation, but described the characters as unsympathetic, the plot as incoherent, and the merger of Gainax's stylistic elements as incompatible.

It was also a success from a corporate standpoint. A Time Warner press release from August 12, 2003 lauds the success of Cartoon Network, and mentions FLCL:

Animé series FLCL (Monday-Thursday, 12 a.m.) premiered with impressive numbers. [...] The Monday, Aug. 4 telecast of FLCL ranked #42 among all shows on ad-supported cable among adults 18-34.

On February 24, 2007, FLCL was nominated for "Best Cast", and won "Best Comedy Series" and "Best Short Series" at the first American Anime Awards show.

In the November 2007 issue of Anime Insider, FLCL was ranked 4th in their list of the best English-licensed anime of all time.

External links

• FLCLworld Extensive Fansite & Forum
• FLCL Synch-Point's official site

[[{{{1}}}|{{{1}}}]] ([[Wikipedia:Featured list candidates/{{{1}}}/archive1|nom]])