15 years later, this modern classic is worth your attention.
FLCL is Anime Streaming Showcase’s newest feature.
About me:
Like most people here, I’ve been watching anime for many, many years. I owe blocks like Toonami for getting me into the medium. Shows like Dragonball Z and Ronin Warriors shaped my beginning years, while shows like Neon Genesis Evangleion and Cowboy Bebop showed me that there’s some true artistic ability and expression found within anime (moreso than big burly dudes punching and screaming for hours on end). I now try to watch anime showcasing many genres and storytelling. Anime is just another great, creative medium for telling stories, and I’m happy to share my thoughts on the series I enjoy with you!
Probably the most underrated thing about FLCL is that the English dub is amazing not only because of the acting, but because of the translation.
Like many, many, many imports from Japan, FLCL leans heavily on puns and wordplay.
For instance, Ryu and Ken from Street fighter are parts of their shared move: Shoryuken and mean dragon and fist, respectively. Crono from ChronoTrigger, etc, etc. DBZ is famous for naming wordplay. Gojira is probably the most famous Japanese portmanteau: Gorilla + Whale (gorira+kujira).
SO. It’s really amazing that the English dub manages to convey most of the Japanese wordplay. It’s seriously not a small feat.
I actually think translation is better for native Western audiences in that it adds Western wordplay like double entendre, which modern English speakers who aren’t Dave Rudden usually prefer over straight-up puns.
It’s also remarkable because it used meta-narrative in a time when very little fiction outside of Deadpool or She-Hulk comics made much use of meta-narrative. Because of this, there’s a strong chance that the sequels will feel flat because meta-narratives are much more common and it may feel like FLCL 2&3 are trying too hard.
It’s gonna be a tightrope walk for the sequels to try as hard as they can to be cool while fooling us, the audience that they never tried at all.
Ravenbom, I miss you so much!
You were my go-to dude in the GDar forums, and your opinions and insights were always my favorites to take in.
Miss you too Zabu! Prolly should rejoin the Facebook/social media collective matrix if for no other reason than to get in the Lasertime FB group.
We’d welcome you with open arms! ^_^
I liked this at the time but feel it got super overrated for what it is
I used to think that too, but now I think it’s as remarkable as it ever was.
To each their own, I guess!
I did buy the cd soundtrack tho, this full metal alchemist soundtrack and Pokemon x
Nice!
The Pillows are a fun time. I need to import their discography into my phone to just take it all in while at work.