FLCL Volume 1

LABEL: MVM
RUNNING TIME: 60 mins approx.
RATING: 12
VIDEO FORMAT: 4:3 Non-Anamorphic
AUDIO FORMAT: English 2.0, Japanese 2.0
SUBTITLES: English
DVD REGION: 2
AVAILABLE: 14th April 2008


Synopsis
Naota lives in a small, Japanese town and complains that life is boring – until, that is, excitement comes speeding down the road on a yellow motorcycle and smacks him on the head with a Rickenbacker bass guitar! The instrument's owner, Haruko, claims to be an alien space trooper on a highly important mission – somewhat worrying, given that Naota's father has employed her as a housekeeper...

Review
Once upon a time, a Shinichi Watanabe TV series and and a Satoshi Kon movie met in a karaoke bar. After one too many glasses of sake, and oblivious to one another's more “interesting” qualities, the pair stumbled into bed for a night of unbridled, wacky and surrealist passion. Nine months later, after hours in a dingy office at Production I.G., a child was born. At first its parents were horrified with what they had created, and sought to euthanise the unfortunate newborn in an industrial shredder – but at the last minute they were interrupted by a dynamic figure, swinging in through the open window like a Nipponese Batman. Smiling, the omen bent down, and gently plucked the damp script from its parents papery arms. “Never fear.” he said. “I am the mighty Kazuya Tsurumaki, and I shall raise this child as if it were my own. I shall feed him e-numbers, then force him to watch endless repeats of The League of Gentlemen, and I shall call him... FLCL.”.

For legal purposes, it should be pointed out that neither Watanabe nor Kon – both industry legends – were involved in the production of FLCL*; it's just that the metaphor seemed rather appropriate. Set in a present-day Japanese town in which “nothing ever happens”, FLCL concerns a twelve year-old lad by the name of Naota who despairs of his boring life and spends his days fending off the unwanted attentions of his older brother's ex-girlfriend, all the while wishing that something interesting would happen to break up the monotony. One day, on the way home from school, he is almost run over by Haruko, a rather excitable young lady riding a banana-yellow Vespa, who smacks him on the head with her bass guitar. A large, square and vaguely-phallic lump soon sprouts from the point where the guitar struck, and later – as Haruko watches on – erupts, turning into a human-sized robot before scuttling off. To make matters worse, Naota's sex-obsessed father promptly hires both Haruko and the robot as housekeepers, guaranteeing that Naota will never again get a moment's peace.

If this all sounds straightforward enough, try imagining the whole thing portrayed through a haze of surrealism on par with Kon's best and imbued by some of the most random dialogue since the last season of FAMILY GUY, and you're halfway there – this is most definitely not for anime newbies or the faint of heart. Despite having been a big hit for some time on both the fansub and import scenes, FLCL is one of those titles that makes no effort to bridge the gaping Eastern-Western cultural divide, instead revelling in its Japanese-ness and sticking two fingers up to anyone who doesn't get it (which, to be honest, will be most westerners). There's comedy here, of a sort, but it's married to intermittent periods of high drama and intermixed with a bevy of Pythonesque phantasmagoria – idiosyncratic doesn't even begin to cover it. Of course, being a project from Studio Gainax and the mighty Production I.G., FLCL looks absolutely gorgeous. Stunning, fluid animation and sumptuous backgrounds belie a TV production of surprisingly average budget, all wrapped up in that trademark ballistic I.G. Style.

FLCL is not the finest example of permeable anime. Outlandish, individual and almost painfully obtuse, it will almost certainly prove impenetrable to both newcomers and casual viewers. It is, on the other hand, the perfect example of the potential of the medium – love or hate it, it's esoteric, beautifully kinetic and unashamedly Japanese. If you're determined to find a solid negative point, the only one of offer is the RRP; £15.99 for barely sixty minutes of animation is a premium not seen since the late nineties. Shop around, though, and you can easily find this first volume for under a tenner, so it's not a complete disaster.

Here's the bottom line: It's not important what the otaku think. It's not important the press think. What's important is that anime this diverse is out there, on these shores, allowing you to make your own mind up. Don't hesitate to do just that – you might just discover tastes you never knew you had.


Picture
A wonderful transfer, crisp enough to cope with the high kinetics and rapidly-changing colours. A little artefacting is evident during total blacks, but these are rare and never obtrusive.

Audio
A solid stereo track featuring an appropriate dub. There's little to choose from between languages.

Special Features
A nice little mix, which sadly doesn't make up for the lack of episode content. A (subtitled) director's commentary is joined by a live action music video of the opening theme, character sketches, an un-subbed Japanese promo spot (basically a trailer), text-based cast profiles and the usual clean opening/closing titles.



Matt Dillon


*In case you're wondering, it's pronounced “Fooly Cooly”, which seems to be a synonym for hanky-panky...

FLCL is available from Monday 14th April from major retailers including Amazon and Play.