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Title: FLCL Collection
Distributor:
Madman Entertainment (Australia)
BBFC Certificate: N/A
Suggested Retail Price (SRP): AU$59.95
(approx £25)
Episodes: 1-6 (of 6)
Audio Options: English 2.0;
Japanese 2.0
Subtitles: English
Reviewer: Rich (Webmaster)
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Apparently this was made because Gainax wanted a series to
rival the surreal style of Revolutionary Girl Utena, what they came up with was
part Evangelion, part His & Her Circumstances and totally mad as a spoon.
The story revolves around a young boy called Naota, who, following his brother’s
departure to America, has become a stand in for him in the affections of his
brother’s girlfriend, the messed up Mamami. If her flirtatious ways aren’t
enough, they are soon joined by Haruko Haruhara - an insane woman who rides a
Vespa and wields a Rickenbacker bass guitar as a weapon. On top of all this
robots keep popping out of his head (one of which has been kept as a servant by Naota’s father) and he can possibly harness the greatest power in the universe
to save the earth from the mysterious Medical Machina.
Make any sense? No? It won’t really after watching it either. FLCL (pronounced
Fuli Kuli) may be completely off the wall, but this doesn’t mean it’s bad. The
character design, artwork, animation and music is stunning, the characterisation
is great and the story itself is intriguing. It is also incredibly funny,
combining the use of weird visual styles that were so successful in His & Her
Circumstances with Excel Saga level insanity and some truly bizarre parodies. Taking surrealism to new levels, you can really expect the unexpected – Giant
hands, fake eyebrows, scooters that can cause a sonic boom, kissing in
bullet-time, computer game character worshipping, pyromaniac schoolkids,
mechanical dog raising, Lupin fetishes, animé & manga references, the list goes
on. It’s a bit of a shame that this is only 6 episodes long, but it does succeed
in tying everything up well.
The sheer insanity may be a bit off-putting for some, and others may question a
seventeen year old treating a fourteen year old like a lover, but the comedy and
execution of this more than overcomes these questions. There is a lot of depth
there if you want to look for it, but even if you don’t FLCL is still a stylish
and hilarious comedy that is well worth owning. Ratings
Feature:
Extras:
N/A
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