FLCL, hmmmmm

S

Shiro Yui

Brigade Leader
After hearing nothing but praise for this series at nearly every review site I decide to track this show down. Costing me around £35 for the 3 DVD’s I sat down to watch I and…… it sucks. It’s boring, nothing makes any sense, and you feel no empathy for the characters.

Don’t get me wrong, the animation rocks as does the audio (dub is awesome) and the concept is intriguing but I thought it was one huge parody of anime. We’ve seen this before in shows like Nadesico (parodies Yamato and Macross) but that didn’t take itself to seriously, this show falls flat in my opinion and is a little pretentious.

That’s my opinion anyway, what’s yours?
 
I think a DBZ fan watching FLCL is a bit like someone who's favourite film is Charlies Angels 2 watching Citizen Kane.

No offense, I just couldn't resist :D
 
I enjoyed the anime far more than the manga, but still didn't understand it :lol:

This is a bit of a marmite title really I find. When I stopped trying to figure it out I started to enjoy it more. I'm just glad it's quite short :wink:
 
Ramen89 said:
I think a DBZ fan watching FLCL is a bit like someone who's favourite film is Charlies Angels 2 watching Citizen Kane.

No offense, I just couldn't resist :D
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I love this comment, but it's not really fair. It's funny, but you're stereotyping all DBZ fans into a group of Drew Barrymore fanboys (something which I'm not so fond of, since I love DBZ) :D I don't think Hiro has no other knowledge of "higher-concept" anime either. He's got GITS on his favourites, as well as Nadesico.

Anyway, I don't want to try and make you like FLCL Hiro, and all you can really do is learn not to go by reviews. FLCL is a bit of an odd title in that it defies genre and wouldn't be hard to pin down when you go from something with such a linear structure like DBZ straight into it, for example.

Maybe if you re-watch it from a different point of view though, and try reading into things. An example would be like where you picked up on the audio - the constant sounds you hear of fridges, subway trains and electronic equipment could be seen as examples of the electronic fascination Japan seems to associate it's urban landscapes with - Maybe if you look at it like that you'll get more out of it. I don't think Tsurumaki intended it as a piece of pulp fiction which audiences could easily interpret; but I can only speculate...

I feel bad for you though, because it's not nice when you fork out for a title people say is great and then you don't connect with it.
 
I love this comment, but it's not really fair. It's funny, but you're stereotyping all DBZ fans into a group of Drew Barrymore fanboys (something which I'm not so fond of, since I love DBZ) I don't think Hiro has no other knowledge of "higher-concept" anime either. He's got GITS on his favourites, as well as Nadesico.
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I know its not fair at all, I just couldn't resist :lol:
 
Ramen89 said:
I love this comment, but it's not really fair. It's funny, but you're stereotyping all DBZ fans into a group of Drew Barrymore fanboys (something which I'm not so fond of, since I love DBZ) I don't think Hiro has no other knowledge of "higher-concept" anime either. He's got GITS on his favourites, as well as Nadesico.
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I know its not fair at all, I just couldn't resist :lol:
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I still love it though ^__^
 
Ramen89 said:
I think a DBZ fan watching FLCL is a bit like someone who's favourite film is Charlies Angels 2 watching Citizen Kane.

No offense, I just couldn't resist :D
Click to expand...

Ha, that’s pretty good. If u read my last topic on DBZ you would have noticed that Im not that much of a fan. Secondly, I mentioned that it was MY opinion and just wanted to see if there was anyone else with the testicular fortitude to agree. Another reason for the topic was that I noticed in the review on this site had many comments from those who hadn’t even seen the show, yet they game it 10 out of 10.

However, it was pretty funny
 
This thread just puts me off watching FLCL which I've had on fansub for years now, it just never really appealed and comments like 'confusing' ain't gonna make me dig it out anytime soon!

Oh and trivia time regarding Citizen Kane as it's mentioned, one of the best kept secrets is that 'Rosebud' is the nickname Kane gave his wife's you know what :)
 
Don't worry if you didn't understand, there wasn't much to understand. While there are probably many meaningful coming of age metaphores, subtle social comments etc, but smeg it, just slid your brain into neutral and enjoyed the ride. Its utterlly spaced out and great fun.
 
I went an did more or less the same thing as HiroYui with this title an got it based on reviews. An I feel the same way about it to. Just dont understand why it gets the praise it does? But meh to each his own.
 
I loved FLCL. Admittedly, it's done in the rather extreme Excel / Abenobashi style which I know turns a few people off, but I think that it tells a great coming of age story. In fact, one series that seems very similar to it (to me) is Beck. While there is a lot of use of metaphors in FLCL, they're not really that hard to figure out. Just remember what Naota says at the start - "Nothing amazing happens here. Only the ordinary."
 
I keep meaning to get FLCL. Things I've seen and heard about it all point to it being excellent. Since I've just finished going through Cowboy bebop I think my next move has to be FLCL after reading this thread. I have to see what its all about
 
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