FLCL

[Reply #40 on:]

This could be a thread killer, but the series has already run by anyway, right?

Ninamori Eri:

Better with short hair, or long hair?

I vote long hair.

[Reply #41 on:]

me 2!

[Reply #42 on:]

Which character is that again?

[Reply #43 on:]

The Mayor's Daughter, who is the center of Episode 3. She's also seen later during Episodes 5 and 6, in the truck with the rest of Naota's classmates.

But I preferred her with shorter hair. Oh well.

[Reply #44 on:]

*old, old bump*

FLCL is making another two week run on Cartoon Network's Adult Swim.  It starts off tonight (Oct. 20) at 12:00 AM.  Right after Futurama!

[Reply #45 on:]

WOOOOHOOOOOOOOO!

[Reply #46 on:]

I nearly missed the first episode of FLCL tonight. I really really really wish they had made more episodes of this. I mean, I love it how it is, but there's just something about FLCL that makes me want to have more of it. Is there a serialized manga for it?

[Reply #47 on:]

There's a FLCL manga available at Borders bookstore, but it looked like it just follows the story that's already there.  I don't know if they will go past the telling of the stuff that's already out there after they finish the original story.  It would be cool if they did though.

[Reply #48 on:]

And I almost fell asleep last night! I thought it was Inyuyasha,so I was 'meh'then I realized it was FLCL! I will be teh tired for the next 2 weeks though.

[Reply #49 on:]

I missed last night due to seeing Battle Royale with my neighbor, but I'll catch it next week.

Yo!  NibblerJr.  How was NYC?

[Reply #50 on:]

I saw FLCL last night.  This will be my third time through the series.  It's amazing how much better that series gets everytime you watch through it.

[Reply #51 on:]

i wathed it last night too...im glad that put it back on...about the book how many are ther ive only seen 1.... and how many dvds are there ...there pretty spendy though...

[Reply #52 on:]

When will it reach the UK? WHEN?

[Reply #53 on:]

flcl is the only japanimation ill actually watch. i saw all the episodes but im still trying to make sence of it. maybe cn running it again will help me out

[Reply #54 on:]

 

Originally posted by Pitt Clemens:
Yo!  NibblerJr.  How was NYC?

Greaat! IM me for details.

[Reply #55 on:]

 

Originally posted by Nurdbot:
When will it reach the UK? WHEN?

Better question: When will good anime reach the broadcast channels!?

[Reply #56 on:]

Never.

This is going to sound odd, but these are the things that FLCL reminds me of.
-the smell of ocean water
-the sun setting on an autumn night
-falling in love
-brisk air in the big city
-meeting someone for the very first time and connecting
-travel

Okay, this was a weird post, and it probably didn't make any sense. I just had to say what was on my mind, in Beat poetry style.

[Reply #57 on:]

Just saw Episode 2 again for the first time...In english anyway...I've seen it about 10 times in the Japanese version.

I've figured this episode out by the way:

Show spoiler

Mamimi was setting the fires in order to bring Tasku back to her. (remember, she's not too bright)  Since she met her true love in a fire, she was trying to recindle him in the same way.  As for waht connection there is between Naota, Tasku, Canti and Atomosk I'm not quite sure, but there must be something there.

Got to love that rip on "End of Evanglion" segment.  I sure as hell do.

[Reply #58 on:]

^ Maybe that means Mamini is a psychopath. (see Melllvar's post in an old test thread.)

Pitt, just out of curiousity, how many times have you seen FLCL? Is this your first time, seeing it through the English version?

Oh, and The Pillows, the band thad does the music for FLCL, is really really good. Right up there with Bebop for "Best Anime Music."

/edit -- Is it just me, but do the things that come out of Naota's head remind anyone else of an Eva and an Angel, respectively?

[Reply #59 on:]

I think "OMGWTF!!!" would've been a much better title for the series.

[Reply #60 on:]

Hey, they stole my idea...

[Reply #61 on:]

 

Originally posted by evan:

Oh, and The Pillows, the band thad does the music for FLCL, is really really good. Right up there with Bebop for "Best Anime Music."

I really like the soundtrack for this anime, so I bought the vol. 1 soundtrack from CDJapan.  I listen to it all the time.  There are a bunch of Pillows CDs available at CDJapan as well, I'd like to pick one up eventually.  The third FLCL DVD has a video for "Ride On Shooting Star", too.

[Reply #62 on:]

Wow Pitt. Your right I never realized thta about the fire thing. Now if only the rest of the series would make sence.

I was surprized when i frist heard hte music for this show. its awesome. My favorite is the end theme.

[Reply #63 on:]

   

Originally posted by evan:
^ Maybe that means Mamini is a psychopath. (see Melllvar's post in an old test thread.)

Pitt, just out of curiousity, how many times have you seen FLCL?

A bunch.  I discovered it early in 2003, and I'd seen the whole thing before college got out.  I was watching it like mad, because I wanted to catch every little detail.  (Believe me there are alot).  Check out the sequence in the fourth episode when Naota comes back home late at night, look at all the heads that pop up out of nowhere.  Creepy.


   

Oh, and The Pillows, the band thad does the music for FLCL, is really really good. Right up there with Bebop for "Best Anime Music."

Crazy sunshine, Beautiful morning with you, One life, I think I can.

Oh my, YES!  I hope futurama fans all over the states are staying tuned in for this work of animated and rock-and-roll brilliance.

   

/edit -- Is it just me, but do the things that come out of Naota's head remind anyone else of an Eva and an Angel, respectively?

The fight between Red-Canti and the Robot hand in ep. 1 is quite clearly taken from the climactic scene in End of Evangelion: Air, in which Asuka rips apart the Eva series while Bach's "Air on the G-string" plays in the background.

Show spoiler

Be sure to watch tonite, when Emi and Naota-kun bump their heads together, and you can see the FLCL jump-gate transfer from Naota's head to Emi's head....You know if I can make this much sense out of FLCL, maybe I should study more quantum physics.

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[Reply #64 on:]

I need to get Vols. 2 and 3 for FLCL. Unfortunately I gotta pay off my monitor with the credit card before I can use it for anything else.

[Reply #65 on:]

In the origonal Japanese it was even more of a rip of End of Eva, Anno (the guy behind Eva) plays the voice of the cat who has a line at the end of the segment.

[Reply #66 on:]

How many eps are there of flcl? I heard there are only 6. but im not sure if this is a lie.

[Reply #67 on:]

Pitt, about your earlier post on the meaning of episode 2; I always thought the meaning was

Show spoiler

Mamimi is obsessed with the game that she is playing at the begginning of the episode.  The game, "Firestarter" revolves around pleasing the god Cantide by burning down buildings.  Fast forward to when Mamimi first sees Canti.  She believes that he is an angel, because he has wings, a halo, and is flying.  She then starts to believe him to be Cantide, the god for her game.  So, she begins setting fires in order to please Canti.  Later on in the episode, she approaches Canti, telling him that she has earned the divine privilidge of being with him, or something along that line.

[Reply #68 on:]

Show spoiler

^^^
That's a part of it, but deep down, it's rally all about her dealing with issues about Tasku.  He left, she's bummed, so she burns stuff.  It makes her feel like a servant of God, serving Canti/Tasku, but remember she was setting fires before she even saw Canti for the first time.  So I think it really started with her love for Tasku.  [Audio=Johnny_Cash_-_ring_of_fire.mp3]

If I broke up with a girl, and found out that she missed me so much she became an arsonist, to fill the void.  I don't know how I'd feel.


Maybe creeped out to the very max, but yeah, at least a little flattered.

Edit: Props to the dub.  Ninamori was WAY more spoiled rotten in the english, and I liked it.

[Reply #69 on:]

Here's something I'm not totally clear on.

Show spoiler

Did Mamini set the fire that destroyed her school? If so, and Tasku saved her from the fire, it's much more likely that she would continue to do it to get his attention. I think that the "Firestarter" videogame is more a symptom than a cause.

[Reply #70 on:]

Wow, Evan, that's a good question.  I'd never even considered that possibility.

To change the subject completely; I have a question about episode three.  When Ninamori sleeps over at Naota's house, where exactly does she sleep?  I mean, Haruko was sleeping in the top bunk, right?  So did Ninamori and Naota sleep in the same bed together, or what?

[Reply #71 on:]

Probably.  Or maybe they pulled out a sleeping bag.  And I think Naota slept on the couch in at least one episode.

[Reply #72 on:]

[Reply #73 on:]

He definitely slept on the couch.  Ninamori would have been fine with the two of them sharing the bed, but when she suggested it he got upset and went to sleep on the couch.  If Haruko hadn't been there he might have considered staying, but I'm pretty sure he would have gone to sleep on the couch anyway.  He's not really the type to swing the bat, you know?

[Reply #74 on:]

Any thoughts on Progressive?

[Reply #75 on:]

I think it's pretty good if you watch it as it's own thing and don't try to compare it to the original.  I think it might have suffered from being forced into the same six-episode format as the original; it might have done better if it had more episodes to work with.

I want to be Ide when I grow up.  (Too bad I'm already about three times his age.)

[Reply #76 on:]

Yeah, I think that summarizes it pretty well.  I got a little hyped up wanting more FLCL myself, when I first heard about it.  By comparison, I suppose it makes me more appreciative of FLCL, demonstrating that it really does stand up amongst the peers in its medium

I expect we can live forever, so your suggestion to be Ide when you grow up isn't that far fetched to me.

Have you seen the first episode of Alternative, and if so, any thoughts?

[Reply #77 on:]

I wasn't really on board with the idea of more FLCL when I first heard about it.  Naota's story was finished; there was no need for a sequel.  I'm glad they didn't try to give us a sequel and instead gave us a new story about new characters.  I like Hidomi and Ide, and I enjoyed watching their adventures.

I caught the first episode of Alternative on April Fools Day, but it was after midnight, and in Japanese, so I don't really think that I was able to form a proper opinion yet.  I'm looking forward to seeing the rest, but it's going to have to live up to both original recipe and Progressive now, and that's going to be a tall order.

[Reply #78 on:]

I don't know if I preferred Alternative or Progressive better.  I liked reading theories about how they intersected, and how Alternative was a prequel to FLCL.  I don't remember if I was totally on board with that necessarily, logical, though perhaps it worked: Haruko is really the lynchpin for that.

I definitely like the original best.  I guess it's too tall of an order to expect something to rebuild its box.  I used to watch it as I fell asleep a lot; it feels lonely and comforting, like how I wanted to be as a child, loosely connected to the world, with odd fitting families of sleep overs--perhaps I had that once, then a new chapter of life begins again.

I enjoyed the new ones though, the opening to Progressive was super stylistic and the ending to Alternative was bittersweet.  I think the director for FLCL really made it what it was though: an animated feature not necessarily about anything, though it was, filled to the brim with everything cool a grown child would want in his own animated feature.

[Reply #79 on:]

I don't know if I preferred Alternative or Progressive better.

Like I said, it's probably better if you don't compare them, either to the original, or to each other.  I thought that Progressive was limited by not having more episodes to work with to tell its story.  Alternative didn't have this problem.  It made full use of the six episodes it had and didn't really need more.  Instead, it was limited in another way: by being tied to FLCL at all.  I mean, here you had this cool show about a girl and her friends in her last year of high school, trying to come to grips with the fact that it's all going to end soon, and her life is going to change, and then all of a sudden you've got Haruko fighting a robot, and it's like, what is she even doing here, this has nothing to do with the rest of the show, but then, without Haruko, what is the show even about?

I liked reading theories about how they intersected, and how Alternative was a prequel to FLCL.  I don't remember if I was totally on board with that necessarily, logical, though perhaps it worked: Haruko is really the lynchpin for that.

I read the same theory about Alternative being a prequel.  It seems more like an unused idea for the series than a viable theory.  In many ways, the original is something of an unintentional period piece.  The references to Crystal Pepsi, the teacher's "new VW" beetle, Mamimi's cell phone, and so many other things place it firmly in the late 90s/early 2000s.  Progressive and Alternative clearly take place more recently (the ubiquitous smartphones are a dead giveaway).  In fact, with the talk of space travel and people going to live on Mars, it's clear that Alternative is actually set in the near future.  I just don't see how it could be a prequel, although I do see how the idea could have been used.

I definitely like the original best.  I guess it's too tall of an order to expect something to rebuild its box.

Well, that's the thing about sequels: in trying to recapture what was great about the original, you're prevented from surpassing it, because you're not actually aiming higher, you're just trying to hit the same mark again, although sequels can, and often do, fail to reach that mark.

On the one hand, I wish that Progressive had been allowed explore the mythology of FLCL a bit more.  It didn't really answer any of our questions about the original; it just raised further questions and then didn't answer those either.  But would it have been better if it tried to answer those questions, or would we have just complained that it was trying to make FLCL into something that it's not?

On the other hand, I wish that Alternative had been allowed to be its own story, unconnected to FLCL.  But if it hadn't been connected to FLCL, would we still be talking about it?  Would we even have watched it in the first place?

I used to watch it as I fell asleep a lot; it feels lonely and comforting, like how I wanted to be as a child, loosely connected to the world, with odd fitting families of sleep overs--perhaps I had that once, then a new chapter of life begins again.

I enjoyed the new ones though, the opening to Progressive was super stylistic and the ending to Alternative was bittersweet.  I think the director for FLCL really made it what it was though: an animated feature not necessarily about anything, though it was, filled to the brim with everything cool a grown child would want in his own animated feature.

I think that what FLCL is really about is growing up.  All three shows are about growing up, but in different ways.  In some ways, Alternative is almost a mirror image of the original.  Naota is a kid who can't wait to be an adult.  He's in such a hurry to grow up that he can't appreciate what he already has, but once your childhood is gone, you can't ever get it back.  Kana is a teenager who isn't ready to be an adult.  She tries too hard to hold on to her adolescence, and looses what was really important.