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while this show was hard to follow, it was entertaining none the less
This is an older title, but since the anime has become one of the essentials for anime newbies, let’s take a look at the manga version of FLCL.
First off, FLCL takes the award for surrealism. The plot is still being debated among viewers, and it’s still hazy even in the linear format required by the manga’s style. It’s been a few years since I last saw the anime, but the manga seems to have a slightly different ending. On the other hand, I probably was still in “WTF” shock mode by the last episode of the OVA, so I may have missed some important details.
Here are a few plot points that I can say with some certainty. Naota lives in a town dominated by an iron-shaped factory, with his perverted father who writes a popular independent magazine, and his crazy grandfather. Naota’s older brother left to go play baseball in America, so Naota is alone in the town with Mamimi, the brother’s ex-girlfriend who Naota likes, but she’s missing more than a few marbles. It’s a pathetic life, much like Evangelion’s Shinji, but it’s his life. Then he gets run over by a girl with pink hair on a Vespa scooter, wielding a guitar like a club.
Haruka is a space alien, who came to Earth for...something. She uses Naota’s brain to teleport various objects from space, including Canti, a robot with a monitor as a head. Mamimi sets fires around town. The Pirate King manifests from Naota, armed with two guitars. Haruka is on the side of the good guys; no, she’s on her own side. She might still be good. Stay good, Haruka. She kisses Naota, then leaves him the Vespa, so he can fly in Outer Space and find her someday.
Yes, FLCL is such a GAINAX title. This is End of Evangelion -level insanity. I think it makes more sense in the manga than in the anime, but that may be due to the fact that I had already been exposed to the anime (and various interpretations of what the hell happened) by the time I read the manga. I’m fairly certain that you’ll be still overwhelmed by questions at the end, no matter how familiar you are with FLCL.
Ueda’s artwork is sketchy, with thick black lines and balloons that takes over the panels as part of the visual experience. The characters are cartoon-ish, but not in the conventional anime style. Think more of Spike and Mike’s Sick and Twisted Animation, and it matches the experimental style of the anime perfectly. The panels are arranged linear enough as to not make reading an exercise in comprehension, but the story will make you frequently stop to just stare and piece together what you just saw. That’s one point for the manga over the anime--you have the time to stop and think before moving on.
Give this two-volume manga series a try if you’ve seen the anime and would like to understand it a little more, or if you’ve always wanted to check out FLCL; after all, two manga volumes are a lot cheaper than a DVD thinpak collection. It’s certainly something...different.
