This is a coming of age story; although, it is far from the typical boy meets girl or boy becomes man story. This is about faithfully symbolizing adolescent development. No detail is left out, but due to the short 6 episode length, a viewer must pay a great deal of attention in order to catch everything. The first time you watch this series, you will likely laugh it off as stylistic fun ruined by a horrible story. Fortunately, it is so short that you have a chance to watch it again and revaluate your first impression. If you think FLCL is bad because of its "plot," then there is a good chance that you don't understand what the "plot" is.

Despite having only 6 episodes, FLCL is surprisingly deep when it comes to character development. This is particularly true with regard to the main character, Nandaba Naota. He is a boy who is becoming a man, but the series forces you to understand that even a truly remarkable event cannot make a boy a man. He must travel the path long after the series is over, and that is given excellent setup through his interaction with all the other citizens of Mabase. Other primary characters include Naota's father Nandaba Kamon, his older "girlfriend" Samejima Mamimi, Vespa riding and guitar toting alien Haruhara Haruko, TV headed robot Canti, "eyebrow guy" Amarao, and class president Ninamori Eri. All of these characters exert influences on Naota, symbolizing the path to adulthood that can only be found through trial and error. Ninamori Eri's character is especially compelling, because she faces the same struggle as Naota without the same guiding light that he has in the form of friends and family.

The Pillows are amazing. Although I don't really feel that anymore needs be to be said, I will elaborate slightly... The Pillows are SO amazing, that they were featured as guest artists in the best music related anime of all time: Beck. The music fits the anime perfectly, always keeping pace with the constantly changing mood of the moment.

Director Tsurumaki Kazuya, character designer Sadamoto Yoshiyuki and Studio GAINAX seem to have set a single goal for the animation and art in FLCL. Simply put: All crazy, all the time. FLCL's animation techniques and styles are more varied than and just as original as those in The Matrix. Wide zooms, panning shots, 3d action interrupts, and beautiful colors/lighting are the signature elements of FLCL. The action becomes intense, but nothing is ever forgotten with regard to scale and timing. Little details, like ripped clothing and character injuries stick around, unlike in many other titles. Symbolic metaphors play as big a role in the dialogue as they do in the animation. Characters have "real" body movements, offering human gestures and movements that further portray the uniqueness of their being. Although it may not be a fair comparison due to its brevity, FLCL has as good or better animation than any other anime of recent times. From start to finish, it goes all the way to keep even the casual viewer interested.

WATCH THIS OVA MORE THAN ONCE! I cannot stress that simple concept enough. I constantly hear people bashing FLCL for "bad plot" or "bad character development." Some even go so far as to say, "I just didn't get it" or "it makes no sense." I ask these people how many times they watched the series, and I never get a response of more than once. The first time through, you will enjoy the animation and the story as it is on the most basic level. The second time you watch, you will see that this isn't a story about an alien seducing a young teen for personal interests. FLCL is not about aliens or even shock factor at all. Those elements are merely compromises director/writer made for the casual viewer. The real joy of FLCL is in coming to understand how Naota's emotional bonds guide him into adulthood. It is like putting together a puzzle that doesn't form a complete picture: Every part has a meaning, but nothing makes the whole. Life is an unending journey, as is FLCL. I think the best way I can conclude this review is with the very quote that opens the series itself: "Nothing amazing happens here. Only the ordinary."- Naota Nandaba

My personal favorite anime lol. as said by the initial review, incredible plot and complex characters, not to mention a HUGE amount of ambiguity you will spend days theorizing about. No joke, you could spend more time thinking about this anime than you could with most pieces of literature. Ive noticed the only people who arnt in love with this anime dont understand it, and then blame it on something else. Note that ure gonna have to watch this anime a couple times over to get it (I suggest u watch it by ureself, then watch it while u introduce it to ure friends!). Also, FLCL has a rad soundtrack, as previously stated. Learned alot of their songs on the guitar b/c of this anime.

Ok, I give it a ten for the animation, music and even the story. (Yeah, the story) I think that in the 6 episodes of FLCL, you learn alot about each of the characters. Even if you dont understand the plot sometimes when you think it over it actually make some sense. The show is very entertaining and definitely worth watching. For the people who give 0, you either watched like the first episode or just abit of it, thats not the right thing to do man. You gotta watch the entire anime then give a fair rating. I believe that every anime deserves a rating over 0, because the efforts are there to make the anime. Anyways, I recommend this series to everyone who want to see a very entertaining anime.

Perfect, I would have to say the same as some others the first time you watch this anime you will probally give it a low score but every time you watch it it just gets better and better and you see everything fit togather nicely. A first it looks like just a whole bunch of randomness but the more you watch the more you see that nothing is very random at all and it all serves a purpose.

Allrighty.First off the person who gave it a zero really shocks me.. you can tell he has no idea what he is talking about by the fact that he has no explaination for his rating. It is a multi- layered plot. you dont get it!? well think about it. from a japanese point of view. if that isnt big enough a hint. go on ahead and read a plot theisis off of the internet.. as the reviewer makes a good point of, the first time you watch it you will not get too much of the deeper meaning. thats cool happens to everyone. sit back and enjoy the story and animation. if you dont want to see it again, fine, then the anime doesn't get fully apriciated, but it is an enjoyable show none the less. one of the reasons i believe it deserves a ten is because the music is perfect for the story, the animation in one of a kind, stylized, and i dare say it, my favorite style. The story is what really tops it off. barely any other anime is this amazingly well put together with so much care. No other anime is like that. thats what makes it stand out. tens across the board. you bet. deserves every 10. sorry for the long post, but i am adimate about this one.

Well seeing as it looks like the two 0s were most likely the same person, I thought I might as well give it a 10. But seriously, when iIsaw the first episode my only thought was "what the hell is this show" then I turned off my tv. But now I watched it through all the way twice and it's one of my favorite shows.