FLCL/Fooly Cooly: It's A Weird 'Un



Watch it! That babe is sizin' ya up for a whackin'! L-R Mamimi Samejima,
Naota Nandaba, Haruko Haruhara & Kanti. Credit: Gainax Production IG.



                                      FLCL/Fooly Cooly: It's A Weird 'Un
                                                                        
                                                               by

                                                                   Jay Agan

      FLCL is the anime that answers the question: Huh? Actually it doesn't answer anything. I don't think it questions anything either.

      There's this kid, Naota Nandaba, & he's got a problem. A whole buncha problems really. About 12, just hitting puberty, & like any guy that age, is kinda messed up. His dad has little time for him, running a business & publishing a scandal sheet 'n all. His brother's away in the States playing pro baseball.

      It doesn't help his brothers' 17 year old girl friend, Mamimi Samejima, is hitting on him. Even if she's a year under what the law would call a pedo, it's still creepy as all get out. Oh yeah. She may be an arsonist. There seems to be some connection between her & mysterious fires happening in the area.

      Then there's a girl in his class, Eri Ninamori, who's quite fond of him. Jealous too. Not happy at all with an "older woman" pursuing the object of her affections.
     
      As if it wasn't strange enough, there's this space alien chick, Haruko Haruhara, who's also seemingly hot after his underage bod. Turns out she's just rankin' on him to keep him off balance so she can use him as a "portal" to draw her enemies out into the open for battle & find her actual "boyfriend" (We are to assume that incredibly strange creature is in her age group.). It doesn't help the situation any when she takes up residence at the kids' home as a live in maid/menace sleeping in the same room as he. Wholesome family fare indeed.

      Oh yeah. The space babe is an ultraviolent whacko using her Vespa scooter & bass guitar to beat the krap not only out of the "enemy" but of the kid as well. A mandatory prelim to luring the "bad guys" latest manifestation to a fight. By the way, the enemy appears by emerging out of the kids' fore head. You gotta see it to know what I'm sayin'. The first enemy, Kanti the robot, eventually sides with psycho chick & and also stays at Naotas' house.

      Seems corporate intrigue is also involved, with the medical profession, government, & large eyebrows. What the ..... ?

      I guess the ultimate goal is not to decipher or read anything into it (The opportunities are endless.) as much as you are supposed to "enjoy" it. I don't know about that. Maybe you're supposed to get into the confusion. Not sure if I want to .

      The title, FLCL, is pronounced Fooly Cooly (Furi Curi). It's sorta kinda explained in comic book form in episode 1. Not clear, but may have something to do with an old rock song and/or "gettin' jiggy down there". Wether this show is part of a plot to make pedophilia more acceptable or is just a confusing jumble of anime weirdness is not clear. I do know this is not the kind of anime you'd intro neophytes with. Or church groups for that matter.

                                     Article copyright © 7-8-2011 Jay Agan

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Evangelion 2.0 I Can (Not) Get Into This or Is This Head Trip Necessary?




Creepy kid, Asuka and Mari from Evangelion 2.0 You Can (Not) Advance.
Photo credit: Studio Khara

 
                                    Evangelion 2.0 I Can (Not) Get Into This

                                                                  or

                                             Is This Head Trip Necessary?

                                                                  by

                                                                     Jay Agan

Disclaimer: The following is not a misinformed review of a show I did not watch. Rather it is a reasonably informed non-review of a franchise I have no intention of getting into.

      I'm pretty much turned off by the "giant robot" sub genre as there is so much of it out there. I know there are a few good ones but as "90% of everything is krap", one hardly knows where to look. One I was urged to look into is the Evangelion franchise. After some examination, I have decided not to.

      Where does one begin with this? First we have the TV anime from the 90s. Because of time/budget constraints (And the creators' personal problems.) the 26 ep series ended rather vaguely. Because of the "defects" in the last two episodes there have been 4+ supplementary movies of rehashing/reinvention, corrections, & retellings. Already it looks like it would be too much of an investment in time, money & energy. I'm sure I could figure it all out if I got in, but life is short.

      Now there's this Evangelion 2.22 You Can (Not) Advance flick out complete with a new character. Along with the previous reinventions this looks like another attempt to inject new life into a tired item. Time to drop it & move on.

      A turn off to many shows/movies for me is "deeply flawed characters" & the Evangelion series/flicks abound with them. Some more than deeply flawed. I understand, some are severely damaged psychologically &/or downright a------s. This is something pioneered by James Stewart & Randolph Scott in restarting their careers & should have ended after Clint Eastwood. Now it's everywhere. I like my "good guys" larger than life & above that moody, edgey, introspective garbage. Ya gotta be GOOD to fight the "good fight".

      Which brings me to another gripe I have with this Evangelion phenomenon. It seems (In my eyes.) that the "good guys" not only act like the "bad guys" but actually are nothing more than another set of villians to begin with. Which brings me to:

                                         The Human Instrumentality Project

      I have absolutely NO sympathy for anyone (Albeit many unknowingly.) whose ultimate goal is to meld the human race (Including ME!) into a colossal puddle of sludge. I don't care about good intentions of relieving me (And everyone else.) of conflict, pain, & lonliness. I LIKE this "simian" construct I inhabit & the individuality that goes with it. I don't care to be "one with the glop"! Do the latter episodes of the series & parts of the movies show any of the general population being assimilated? If so, are they happy with this "arrangement" or does it come on without warning? I'm not a "rapture believer" but even if I were, this is something I'd be more than happy to be ..... Left Behind (Score one for Mr. LaHaye!).

      What the heck is this? Animes' "spiritual" equivalent to Obamacare? I mean ..... is this mandatory? Can I opt out? How many states have filed suit so far? Are Gendo & that creepy Ayanami kid going to implement this before the 2012 elections? Will the Supreme Court strip out the more onerous provisions before getting slurped up?

UCC coffee. Is LCL listed in the ingredients?

      As far as I'm concerned, Shinji, Asuka, NERV, & the rest of that sick bunch can go "save" someone else. Not interested. (If it's FLCL instead of LCL, I might consider it.) One can only hope they & the "angels" cancel each other out & leave the universe (And ME!) in peace.

      As I already have Gunbuster, I think I'll just spend my dough on Diebuster & complete that saga instead. Evangelion in any form? I'll pass.

                                              Article copyright © 1-27-2011 Jay Agan

addendum:

      I have recently bought (At Armageddicon 6) & viewed Evangelions 1.11 & 2.22 & have somewhat revised my opinion of the franchise. As these & the next two films will be the "definitive" version I will settle for that & pass on the previous works. I must say the artwork excellent & plot to be fast moving. Only real technical gripe is a little too much on the "quick cuts" in the action scenes. Why go to all that trouble "drawing" everything when you can't see anything long enough to appreciate it?

      As for my views on antiheros, they still stand. At least here we don't have one weekly episode after another of Shinji doing his Holden Caulfield/Woody Allen routine. Gendo seems genuinely sincere in his desire to "help" mankind which makes him all the more a menace. You can deal with a greedy thug, but a comitted dogooder/altruist? There's no limit to the damage such a "crusader" can do to any & everyone. In his case it's the total "destruction" of mankind & individuality into a single colossal mass of nonentity.

      I would have thought Lilith to be a lot prettier & a LOT smaller than "the thing in the basement."
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DISCLAIMER: All images used on this blog are strictly copyrights of their owners. I do not claim credit/ownership for any images used here in my blog unless stated otherwise. If I have offended anyone by posting any images on my blog, please contact me via email and I will remove specified image(s) ASAP.

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Upcoming Animes. Well, Not Really. Pt. 1

                                          
                                          Upcoming Animes. Well, Not Really. Pt. 1
                                                                          
                                                                       by
                      
                                                                         Jay Agan


  1. The Melancholy of Haruhi Hirohito- She didn't mean to set the world on fire but that's the way it turned out. As usual, Hideki Kyon gets the blame.

  2. Surreal Experiments Lain- Just gets weirder & weirder.

  3. Cowboy Boogie- Young Jack Spiegle is on the run from organized crime & hasn't a clue as to why  they want him dead. Hiding on Earth at his his great uncle Doohans' salvage yard, he gets in contact with a husband & wife private investigation team on Mars. The two former bounty hunters (Personal friends of a deceased uncle Jack never met.), throw in & help with his problem.
    
     Along the way, Jack falls head over heels (Sometimes literally!) for a singular, loopy, red haired, data tech genius/entrepreneur. And what's up with that strange little dog of hers?

  4. Outlaw Superstar- Melfina has disappeared under more than mysterious circumstances. Gene, Jim, & Gilliam set out to find her. A certain beast babe, & an even more certain asassin for hire, join in with their own agendas for locating her.

     Fred breaks down & marries Reiko, finding out how "the other half" lives.

  5. FLCLSMFT- Alien babe on a Vespa, looking for a lost "boyfriend", whacking folks over the head with a bass guitar. And she's a heavy smoker.

  6. The Place Promised In Our Early Days But the Politicians/Economy Blew That to Heck & Gone- Title pretty much says it all.

  7. The Angel Beats of Haruhi Suzumiya- The fate of not just the planet, but of the entire universe lies in the hands of the mentally bonked leader of the SOS Brigade. Yuri Nakamura, leader of a rival school "club", & still having it in for God, takes matters into her own hands. Chaos ensues..... more so than usual.

  8. Paranoia Insurance Agent- Pay him but he will hit you anyway.

  9. 5 Centimeters Per Hour- The real long version. You know. The "directors' cut".

  10. Needless- Yes, I know. It's already an anime. An apt title for just about 90% of anime, don't you think?
                                              
                                                 Article copyright © Jay Agan

Upcoming Animes. Well Not Really. Pt. 2

Upcoming Animes. Well Not Really. Pt. 3

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                                                 Article copyright © Jay Agan