FLCL (or "Fooly Cooly" in the west) premiered in Japan in 2000, before making it over to the United States in 2003. The series received two sequels, FLCL Progressive and FLCL Alternative in 2018, Each of season has its own strengths, but neither sequel is as important or effortlessly introspective as the original show.
Twenty years later, let's look back at the history of the original series, and why its telling of the traditional coming-of-age story is so memorable.
WHAT IS FLCL?
The six-episode series focused Naota, a preteen living in the Japanese city of Mabase. He lives with his immature widower father Kamon and overly-proud grandfather Shigekuni. The young man constantly feels like he's in the shadow of his older brother, Tasuku, who left home to play baseball in America. Naota lives an average life, going to school with his friends and forming a complicated crush on his brother's self-proclaimed ex-girlfriend, Mamimi. But one day a mysterious, Vespa-riding, pink haired woman named Haruko Haruhara collides with Naota and causes a portal to open up in his head.
This "N.O. Portal" allows destructive robots to escape into the wider world - though one robot proves to be friendly: an android named Canti. Canti stays with Naota, proving to be a powerful ally when it absorbs him to enter its combat mode to fight the robots. Haruko begins to stalk Naoto because of the potential power the N.O. Portal on his head could allow her to access. However, complicating matters is the involvment of Medical Mechanica and the Interstellar Immigration Bureau, each with their own intentions for Naota and Haruko. But this absurd, sci-fi teen story is only the window-dressing for a series more interested in diving deep into questions about growing up.
GROWTH - EVEN WHEN YOU DON'T WANT IT
From the onset, the series establishes itself as a coming of age story for Naota. The preteen is desperate to appear mature, channeling these attempts to live up to his brother's accomplishments. This is clear from his crush on the manipulative Mamimi and his attempts to prove that he's more than just a replacement boyfriend for her broken heart. But, his developing feelings for Haruko highlight his immaturity and his need to confront the real challenges of life.
Mamimi surprisingly gets her own complex character development as the series progresses, providing an entirely different perspective on the what growing up means. Introduced as something of an outcast, her loneliness and apathy hint at deeper issues. Mamimi subverts the "cute but kooky" romantic lead as her manic moments become more problematic and possessive as the series continues. As Haruko becomes more of a presence in Naota's life and pushes him to grow up and become his own person instead of just trying to act like his brother, Mamimi's friendship with him is strained by her wanting him to be just that.
Even minor characters like Naota's classmate Eri have their own unique arcs about finding the balance between childish innocence and mature pragmatism. Some, like Kamon, are shown to be far too casual and immature for their own good. Others, like Commander Amarao from the B.I.I., put on a false air of maturity to cover their own personal failings. FLCL explores the concept of being forced to grow up, even when you're not a kid. No matter how long you fight it or challenge it, life will make you face your problems head-on and make you stand up - just like Haruko Haruhara.
Haruko is perhaps the most emotionally mature and in control of the entire cast - contrasted by the chaos she brings to Earth and Naota's life. She's fully in control of herself, her actions and completely committed to becoming the most powerful thing in the universe using the power that might be inside Naota. This actually positions her as something of a villain by the end of the show, as Naota has to confront the fact what she wants is completely different from what he wants. But Haruko's not totally emotionless, also serving as a strange sort of mentor for Naota as he starts to figure out the kind of person he wants to be and genuinely helping him through his dramas at times.
FLCL went on to become an instant cult hit, thanks in part to its frantic and childish sense of humor. The frantic slapstick and winking meta-humor gives the show an endearing and memorable energy that's unmatched by anything else in medium, a palpable sense of fun. But through all the goofiness, absurdity and robot fights, viewers are forced to confront their own actions and whether they've been able to mature in their own lives - or are simply playing pretend, acting out a practiced impression of a grown-up.
