FLCL
| This article contains material related to Japanese animation and was done by an Otaku. Don't be scared by the huge eyes and enormous tits. |
“A truth ceases to be true when more than one person believes it.”
'Fooly Cooly' (NASDAQ symbol: FLCL) is a term with an unclear meaning, though according to scientific research, it is used in Tab and is similar on the molecular level to googly-googly. It's also (apparently) the subject of the TV series FLCL, made by Gainax studios, which chronicles the lives of the citizens of the town of Mabase, Japan. Mabase is actually Oriental Avenue in the special Pan-Galactic edition of Monopoly, and Darth Vader (playing as the iron) has landed on it. To enjoy Neon Genesis Evangelion, watch Fooly Cooly instead; understand one, understand both.
Story[edit]
Pan-Galactic Monopoly is the latest of several thousand versions of the semi-popular board game. It was created to commemorate the day when the number of Monopoly versions first passed the number of people who actually knew how to play the game.
Pan-Galactic Monopoly uses the regular monopoly tokens, except that they are very, very large. Actually moving the pieces around requires a small fleet of starcruisers, and since the spaces are very far apart (Oriental Avenue is on Earth, Vermont Avenue is on Pluto, etc.) the game takes an exceedingly long time to play. Not that this is a deterrent to the handful of people who actually like Monopoly.
Since Darth Vader has bought Mabase, he now has total control of the region's economy. Space pirate Haruuharao'haraharahurarahaharahara Haruko (playing as that weird little car that looks nothing like any vehicle ever made) seeks to undermine Vader's prescence in the area so she can get back "Atomsk" - an atom bomb Joe "Fooly" Cooly built in his mother's basement, so she can build a hotel on Boardwalk (Alpha Centauri).
Exactly what any of this has to do with Fooly Cooly is unclear.
Some theories however have stated that the giant iron in the middle of Mabase is actually Haruko's game piece and that she is pissed because Vader had bought Mabase and built more than 4 houses on it (in fact, more like 4000) and is protecting her piece from rent collectors. However, this theory makes sense and accounts for some things, such as Haruko's violence. That is why it cannot be true.
Characters[edit]
The cast of FLCL is an eclectic group of locals, most of whom appear to be slightly deranged.
Naota[edit]
Nandaba Naota redirects here.
“To be premature is to be perfect.”
“I'm jealous.”
“You guys are pervs.”
A somewhat detached voice of sanity, and a typical angsta gangsta. For some reason, in spite of the fact that he is only twelve years old, he is the main love interest of every single woman in Mabase. It's troubling to decide which is the bigger conundrum: that a little emo bastard like him is such a chick magnet, or that a guy can be emo when every chick he meets wants to fuck his brains out. Science has no answer to either question, but if it turns out that the former is unrelated to the latter, they intend to bottle it and sell it to horny men everywhere.
Under the policies of Minitrue, the minority opinion is inherently doubleplusungood, but somehow Naota has managed to cling to his outmoded ideals of "normalcy" and "a day when nothing gets blown up." Fool.
Mamimi[edit]
Mamimi is a young woman who, as far as enthusiasm goes, is flatlining. She enjoys child molesting (Naota--see what we mean???), arson, playing a video game that invloves burning things, and smoking. Lots and lots of smoking. Did I mention she smokes a lot? And you know what she does with the cigarette butts? Uses them to burn things. Isn't it nice when your hobbies tie into each other? She has has a strange affinity for calling anything around her "Takkun". A typical sentence for her would be "Hey Takkun where are you going? Takkun don't go into the water. Takkun, why aren't you doing your homework at home? I told you, his name isn't "Taro-kun", it's Takkun. Takkun, why are you just sitting there?" Yes, that is all one sentence in which case she was referring to Naota, her cat, and her thorazine respectively. Sweet Christ, no wonder her ex-boyfriend fled the country on the pretense of playing baseball overseas.
Ninamori Eri[edit]
The love child of the Mayor of Mabase, who evidently likes to have an open cheating scandal amongst the city. She is obsessive, snobby, the class president and once again loves our very emo bitch friend, Naota. Her spare time consists of rigging school play votes to get the lead, running away from her scandalous father and his night-time lover, calling Mamimi quote a, "Molester", pretending she doesn't need glasses and oh yeah rigging school play votes to get the lead. She too is just like Naota. No, she's not an emo bitch, but she can get some wierd shit popping out of her head also.
Junko Miyaji[edit]
The crazy, loving-pubecent teacher at Naota's school. She loves to pin her hair in cute clips and complain about how much men are disgusting, women reach their prime after puberty, but it's all down-hill for the boys. Her crappy car tends to be crushed a lot, but that really doesn't compare to her hatred of men.
Commander Amarao[edit]
CHAR! Aznable's younger brother who, having previously trained extensively under Cap'n Crunch, Commander Amarao is in charge of Japan's crack Stop the Space Aliens and Weird Mutant Lizards Division. There are two schools of thought about his eyebrows. One is that he was born without them, and has, over the years, attempted to replace them with seaweed, cardboard, and pieces of reflective glo-tape that failed to help him pick up dates. The other is that they are a pair of parasitic entities slowly draining his brain of intelligence as they grow larger and larger. Freudians believe it resembles a penis or breasts, since all we are concerned about with his character is his eyebrows. He has the hots for Haruko, but she passes him up for a twelve-year-old boy--you'll never guess who!
This character apears to be a Freddy liker. He also has two greenish brothers (Leeron from Gurren Lagann, and Agent Yoshida from Kappa Mikey).
Lt. Kitsurubami[edit]
Amarao's chief assistant, Kitsurubami is a student trying to pay her way through college by blowing things up and asking weird, open-ended questions to the Commander during his less strange moments, which are rare. She later quits the force due to sexual harrassment.
This character apears to be a Jason liker.
Gaku[edit]
The "chu" kid who cosplays as a mouse in his free time.
Haruko[edit]
Haruko Haruhara Crazy, psychotic, pedophilic, possibly masochistic alien chick who shows up in Mabase and quickly becomes the town favorite by beating everyones face in with a bass guitar. However her true calling came later when she found she could get a cheap laugh out of making giant robots jump out of Naota's head. She was trying for giant rabbits, but you can't have everything. Also is known for stealing Paul McCartney's Rickenbacker and using it to hit things. Her current bounty is $32 million.
(In the English dub, Haruko mentions the title of the William S. Burroughs masterpiece Naked Lunch in the second manga scene, which is fitting, as the series' overall effect is that of an early attempt by Burroughs at Evangelion fanfiction.)
“There is no problem that can't be solved with a bass to the face!”
Masashi[edit]
Big lips kid, who always hangs out with "chu" kid.
Kamon[edit]
“You can grow up to be an outlandish pervert, just like your father!”
“I could blow up the whole goddamn world in this thing!”
Kamon is Naota's father, and knowing this, some of Naota's emo-ness can be excused...but not all of it.
As evidenced by the "electric-chin-massage" he performed on Haruko, he's a gigantic perv. There was something in there about him dying, or something, but he was reincarnated as Jesus, probably[1]. Whilst getting used to his new cybernetic body, he became acquainted with his "switch", and forgot that Naota had just beaned him with a guitar, and that Mamimi had just doused him with petrol.
Medical Mechanical[edit]
A massive iron full of giant robots bent on taking away all the cheese, motorbikes, and cellphones in the universe and eating our souls... Customer Service lines open between 9 - 5.
The Vespa[edit]
An intelligent moped leading a double-life of being Haruko's moped during the night, but a sentient creature wandering aimlessly and without regard to the Physics of walls during the day. A great club-goer, albeit very silent.
The Vespa is in reality one of the Wonder Twins shape-shifted in an attempt to see Haruko's panties. He didn't realize at the time that Haruko wears pants.
Canti[edit]
“...”
A robot who came out of Naota's head. He is a Medical Mechanical robot heavily modifed by the Mythbusters to see whether all that stuff in The Terminator was really possible or not, and is used to do the combined tasks of five kitchen appliances and a howitzer.
Episodes[edit]
FLCL originally aired in America at 12AM over the course of a week and a half on Cartoon Network, in August of 2003. CN, which was sensing heavy competition from other TV networks (many of which were showing their beguiling test patterns) entered with FLCL. This was in hope of catching the crucial "legacy insomniac" demographic. Although both viewers who actually saw the whole run thought it was fantastic, the market share was only deepened a little when the series came out on Laserdisc and U-matic tape cartridge later on, allowing fully a dozen more people to watch the series.
Fooly Coolant[edit]
...Haruko was just outside Mabase when the drugs started to kick in.
She accidentally checks into the Nandaba bakery, believing it to be a hotel, and starts drawing elaborate battle plans on pita bread. Naota brings her into school as his science project, and gets an erection on his forehead.
PyreStarter[edit]
Commander Amarao, Kitsurubami and the rest of the gang arrive in Mabase with a warrant for Haruko, who has racked up $3.2 billion dollars in driving violations (and 67 cents stolen from a bum) and is to be terminated with extreme prejudice. Meanwhile, Mamimi is the only member of a cult dedicated to worship of robots, video games, fire, and the Robotic Lord of Video Games where you set things on fire. Also, Naota has an erection coming out of his head.
Marquis de Sade[edit]
Commander Amarao and Haruko beat each other up with day-old bread while Naota's father Kamon videotapes the whole thing as part of a documentary he's doing for the BBC. Meanwhile, Ninamori rigs the votes in the school play so that Naota plays the lead and she can act out furry sexual fantasies on him. She sleeps over at his house, and an erection comes out of her head.
Fuliculi Fulicula[edit]
Mamimi, who has hitherto been a background character who sets things on fire, is made an exchange student to Italy. Naota comes to visit and, after a series of mistakes, ends up doing battle with a giant robot in the Coliseum. Bruce Lee shows up and wails on a guitar, hard. Rock on.
Haruko Hears a Who[edit]
The Monopoly game quickens. Haruko and Amarao battle for the key to the box that contains Atomsk. The episode ends bafflingly when Jules and Vincent show up, shoot Amarao and take the case back to Marcellus Wallace. John Woo appears and settles everything by killing everyone, but this doesn't really settle anything at all, or does it?
FLCLearance[edit]
Haruko and Naota run off to Las Vegas. Kitsurubami resigns from SpecOps and becomes a waitress. Amarao, in a full body cast in the hospital, rethinks his life and puts in an application to be the guy who shouts "A new car!" on The Price is Right. Mamimi burns down Rome and is hailed as the reincarnation of Nero.
Fooly Koolaid[edit]
A controversial episode of an actual and only sponsorship deal that failed miserably and never aired.It was supposed to be the ending.Instead of a robot coming out of Naota's head,Kool Aid Man comes out thus decapitating Naota's head shouting "Oh Yeah".But it backlashed horribly as everybody jumped off a bridge and drowns.
The writers were confused and released a statement "If everyone is dead, then that wont be good,because all we then is 18 minutes of an annoying one-trick cordial jug".The deal was liquidated.But Kool Aid want too bummed,they already had their claws in Family Guy and Robot Chicken.
THE END! ^_^
Or Is It?[edit]
New episodes have apparently been ordered. Several class action suits are planned against the studio if they don't take the opportunity to make Donald Trump references.
Footnotes:[edit]
- ↑ This is kind of sketchy, as this conclusion was drawn from a security camera videotape that had been partially overwritten with a Charlton Heston movie.