Papuwa Anime Review

Papuwa
ADV Films
Complete Collection - 6 discs
650 mins. - 26 episodes
$59.98 (2008)
$29.98 (2006-07) Vol. 2-6 ea.
$29.95 (2006) Vol. 1
ISBN 702727152726
Japanese/English Audio - English Subtitles
Director - Kenichi Nishida
Studio - Nippon Animation

Synopsis: A long time ago two mystical stones, one red and one blue, were in the possession of two clans.  The two clans battled and eventually the young boy who possessed the intense power of the blue stone fell into a deep sleep.  The one who possessed the power of the red stone went far away.  All of this happened on the first Papuwa Island...

Kotaro arrives on Papuwa Island and is chased by a crazy pink dinosaur

Years later the young boy awakened and escaped back to Papuwa Island, but lost his memory.  This boy was Kotaro of the Blue Clan.  When he arrived on the island he was shocked to find strange talking creatures along with the pint-sized Papuwa and his man-maid, Liquid.  Liquid used to work for the Ganma Army of which Kotaro's father, Magic, is the chairman.  Fearing Kotaro will lose control of his vast power if he remembers his name, Liquid tricks Kotaro into thinking his name is Rotaro.  Now Liquid cares for Rotaro, Papuwa (who is tiny yet immensely strong and has other powers), and their pet friend, Chappy, on the second Papuwa Island.

Rotaro (really Kotaro) comes to live with Chappy and Papuwa

The island itself is a mystery and one must travel through a bizarre vortex in the ocean to arrive on it.  Once on the island it is nigh impossible to leave unless you can find the exact path which you traveled to get there.  Let's just say most people are trapped on the island.  The island's inhabitants are anthropomorphic creatures of all varieties.  These include (but are not limited to):

• Tanno the transvestite fish who wears fishnet stockings over his hairy human legs
• Ito the hermaphroditic snail who wears a pink bow and always has its tongue hanging out
• Oshodani the drumming sea otter who is constantly using drumsticks to drum on things
• Komoro is a 'magic' mushroom and constantly tricking others into thinking he is an edible mushroom.  His body is hallucinogenic when ingested or inhaled
• Hayashi is a pink tyrannosaurus rex who is obsessed with good looking men 

Tanno and Ito are the biggest queens on the island!

Magic is concerned for Kotaro's welfare and sends several groups from the Ganma Army.  These include:

• Special Battle Unit
• Harlem is the leader and Magic's brother.  He underpays his crew and steals their money to fuel a massive gambling addiction.  He possesses great fighting power.  Liquid used to work for the Harlem and remembers the time as pure torture.
• Rod is Italian and never wears a shirt.  He tells bad jokes and is crude.  His skill is wind.
• Marker is Chinese and a skilled warrior.  He is calm and looks down on his fellow team members.  His skill is fire.
• G is German and doesn't talk very much.
• Ganma Army
• Tottori is a ninja although not a very good one.  He uses an unorthodox style which consists of kicking off a sandal.
• Miyagi looks and sounds like a dumb surfer dude.  He uses the Brush of Literalization which can turn whatever he has written on into that word.  
• Koji is a complete dumbass and Umako's older brother.
• Arashiyama uses fire and studied under Marker.  He is terribly awkward and Marker instilled in him an off-putting vanity.  His power is activated when he suffers extreme emotions (like anxiety during social interactions).
• Shinsengumi are mercenary swordsman
• Isami Kondo leads the group, but is horribly inept.  He apparently likes good-looking young men.
• Toshizo Hijikata is the most capable swordsman among the Shinsengumi and a great warrior.  The absurdity of Papuwa Island annoys him greatly, but he grudgingly befriends Liquid.
• Soji Okita is a good-looking young man who Kondo is fixated on.  He fends off Kondo's attention by repeatedly stabbing him with his sword.
• Umako Harada is a burly woman with a five o'clock shadow.  She's as strong as the Hulk and just as stupid.  She falls in love with Liquid (to his absolute horror) and grows a beard.

Liquid may protest, but he actually likes being man-maid to
Papuwa, Rotaro, and Chappy

Liquid, Papuwa, Rotaro, and Chappy spend their days on Papuwa Island having adventures and getting on each others nerves.  Despite appearances, Liquid is actually fond of caring for the three and he protects them from those sent by the Ganma Army.  He strives to preserve the zany peace of the island and is a powerful warrior from his days in the Special Battle Unit.  The groups are trapped on the island and find a strange equilibrium with its inhabitants.  

Harlem, leader of the Special Battle Unit

Magic will not give up on finding Kotaro and eventually his older brother, Shintaro, returns to find him.  Shintaro is the most powerful member of the Ganma Army and lived on the first Papuwa Island.  Will Rotaro regain his memories of being Kotaro?  If Kotaro and Shintaro come in contact will they destroy the second Papuwa Island?  Why is it called Papuwa Island anyway?  How many transvestite and hermaphrodite creatures can possibly exist on one South Pacific island? 

Oshodani the drumming sea otter and Komoro the 'magic' mushroom

Pros: A couple decent jokes (mostly in the end when Shintaro and Magic show up on the island), Komoro is kind of funny because he's always tricking people and getting them high, this show is probably the inspiration for the television series Lost

Umako (pre-beard)

Cons: Severely homo-erotic nonsense, weak character designs + incredibly annoying characters, simple animation, no plot, only one girl in the entire show and she looks like a hairy man (with a beard), dub if fairly awful

Toshizo has a wardrobe malfunction to the delight of Tanno and Ito

Mike Tells It Straight: This series easily ranks in my top 10 worst anime of all time.  It failed on many levels, but I'll bash it in the next paragraph.  Let's talk about some of its good points.  The series is zany comedy and has a few good jokes in there.  The last few episodes were okay once Shintaro and Magic appear on the island.  They're both crazy like all the other characters, but offer a mildly sane perspective in comparison and it's a serious breath of fresh air (favorite Shintaro quote when he sees the she-male Umako "Man, that was gross. Maybe the most disturbing creature I've seen on the island").

Liquid is actually a fierce warrior!

The rest of the series was inane nonsense and dragged on endlessly.  All of the characters were effeminate, transvestites, hermaphrodites, she-males, or victims of bad jokes involving those characteristics.  Seems like Papuwa was the only truly male character who was not part of the non-stop gags.  This series was based on a manga sequel to the manga-turned-anime Nangoku Shonen Papuwa-kun by Ami Shibata.  The first anime series was 42 episodes long and it boggles my mind that a sequel would ever be produced.  WTF!?  The first series spawned two video games and it must have gained some sort of popularity.  I do not recommend this series in the slightest.

Shintaro arrives on Papuwa Island and kicks the crap out of Liquid

TO BUY and Recommendations:

Squid Girl Season One Anime Review

Squid Girl Season One
Shinryaku! Ika Musume
Anime Works-Media Blasters
Complete Collection - 2 discs
300 minutes - 12 episodes
$59.99 (2012) Blu-Ray
$24.99 (2011) Parts 1-2/ea.
ISBN 631595120776
Japanese/English Audio - English Subtitles
Director - Tsutomu Mizushima
Studio - Diomedea

Synopsis: From the depths of the ocean comes the disarmingly cute and rambunctious Squid Girl to conquer the surface world!  She is sick and tired of surface dwellers polluting the sea and will teach them all a lesson by subjugating the whole 1,000 of them!  Her first target is a beach restaurant called Lemon and all the humans congregating within!  Squid Girl does everything with an exclamation point!

Squid Girl vows to make the surface dwellers pay for polluting her ocean!

Little does she know how woefully unprepared for a surface invasion she really is.  She has no strategy planned and knows practically nothing about human culture.  She appears at the restaurant and makes a big scene yelling around, but the owners are not having any of it.  Eiko is the store manager of the family-run restaurant and calls Squid Girl out on her invasion plans.

Squid Girl appears at the Lemon restuarant and announces her
conquest of humanity!

Squid Girl is not so easily turned away and demonstrates her impressive squid tentacle powers (her hair is really tentacles).  Too bad she smashes a hole in the shop while trying to swat a fly!  Now Squid Girl is on the hook for repairing the damage, but she doesn't have any money!  She must work at Lemon as a waitress in order to repay her debt.  Her invasion plans put on hiatus until she repays the debt, Squid Girl slowly learns about humans and makes some friends.

Squid Girl accidentally puts a hole in one of the restaurant walls (Eiko
is standing menacingly behind her while she freaks out)

Her tentacles are a huge advantage as a waitress and she's an excellent worker if a bit clueless.  Eiko's sister, Chizaru, is Lemon's cook and she is delighted to have Squid Girl as an addition to the restaurant when it's discovered that she can spit up black squid ink for noodle dishes.  Customers love the squid ink pasta!  Eiko is completely grossed out as she watches people eat what Squid Girl hacked up a few moments ago.

Squid Girl gets put to work in the restaurant to pay back
the damages for the hole she made.  She's a great server!

Squid Girl meets all sorts of humans - Takeru is Eiko's and Chizaru's little brother and he loves hanging out with Squid Girl (he calls her Squid Girlie), Sanae is a local girl who develops an obsessively romantic crush on Squid Girl, Goro is a dumb jock lifeguard with a crush on Chizaru, and Nagisa the part-time waitress at Lemon is the only human who is genuinely scared of Squid Girl.

Squid Girl spews out some squid ink for the restaurant's new
specialty dish - squid ink pasta!

Then there's Cindy the extraterrestrial researcher from America and the three MIT graduates who work for her.  She's convinced Squid Girl is an alien and wants to capture her for study.  Squid Girl becomes a popular attraction at the beach and a rival restaurant owner creates his own knockoff version!  Join the fun as Squid Girl's bungled attempt at taking over the human world actually gets her accepted into it.

From left to right: Eiko, Nagisa (the only one who is actually scared
Squid Girl will invade the surface world), and Chizaru (Eiko's cute older
sister who is actually really scary)

Pros: Lots of comedy and some genuinely funny moments, Squid Girl is a likable protagonist if a bit clueless, good animation, Squid Girl's tentacles are cool, a few great chapters with ghosts and creepy dolls, includes OVA episodes

Orcas are a squid's natural enemy and Squid Girl is deathly afraid
of them (and can't tell the difference from a floaty)!

Cons: Squid Girl's speech is laden with ocean-themed puns (are you squidding me!?) which can get a little old, some of the characters are one-trick ponies and get boring, not much background is offered on Squid Girl's origin which was a disappointment, opening them song is manic, non-ending

An unscrupulous owner of a rival beach restaurant creates a knock-off
Squid Girl, but it's really scary.  Run kids!

Mike Tells It Straight: Squid Girl is a simple show with a simple premise - a girl with blue tentacles on her head comes out of the ocean to subjugate humanity, but doesn't have a clue about human culture.  Hilarity ensues and the plot goes absolutely nowhere.  The show is basically a comedy with lots of slapstick, misunderstandings, and ocean-themed puns (she's come to ink-vade!).  I still have no idea why I liked it so much...

Eiko dreams she has a tiny pet Squid Girl

Each episode is cut into three parts which are usually unrelated and feature a different situation Squid Girl gets herself into - getting caught doorbell ditching, the three MIT underlings trying some new invention, or focusing on a supporting character's feelings.  The story doesn't have a plot progression, but events keep happening in a linear format and will sometimes reference past events.  No real ending to speak of and Squid Girl's outfit is totally ridiculous (why would a squid wear a dress?).

Cindy the alien researcher imagines Squid Girl's invasion of Earth!

It's not all bad and the positives seem to outweigh the negatives.  Squid Girl is very endearing and cute (I blame the tentacles).  There are some genuinely funny moments and my favorites were the creepy stories about ghosts/possessed dolls.  They just came out of nowhere and made me laugh out loud.  Squid Girl is a great straight man (er, squid) for all of the other characters to play off.  The animation is solid (Blu-Ray release helps).  The sub and dub script writers did a great job with the squid and ocean puns in Squid Girl's speech.

Sanae makes Squid Girl pose for cosplay pictures

I found the show to be entertaining and a nice bit of comedy fluff.  No cumbersome story to bother my tired brain cells at the end of the day - just fun and goofiness every time.  It's a cute show, not quite suitable for younger viewers (due to the scary ghost and creepy doll episodes, plus a small bit of fan-service), and great for those starting out with anime.  It's a typical comedy anime, but somehow...better.  If you hate this genre of anime then you'll probably not want to watch Squid Girl, but it's great if you want a short, funny series without a ton of over-the-top fan-service.  A second season was released in Japan, but apparently will not see a US release by Media Blasters anytime soon.  Too bad!  It's available on crunchyroll and I'll be checking it out soon.

This image pretty much sums up the show

TO BUY and Recommendations:

Birth: A War of Two Worlds! Anime Review

Birth: A War of Two Worlds!
Planet Busters or The World of the Talisman
ADV Films
Movie - 85 mins. - 1 disc
$24.98 (2004)
ISBN 9781578132959
Japanese/English Audio - English Subtitles
Director - Shinya Sadamitsu
Studio - Idol/Kaname Production

Synopsis: The planet Aqualoid was once a prosperous planet, but now it's a post-apocalyptic wasteland due to the arrival of the Inorganics.  They have one mission - to destroy organic life in the universe, starting with the higher life forms.  The Inorganics are not unopposed and a powerful weapon is forged - the SHADE!  This weapon takes the shape of a sword and falls to the surface of Aqualoid.

Rasa and her little yellow friend Monga

Living amid the ruined wasteland of their once proud home are Nam and Rasa.  The pair scrounge a living as scavengers, mercenaries, or bounty hunters.  Rasa is a beautiful, but clumsy girl who always manages to get into yet miraculously escape trouble.  Nam is a hot-headed scrapper who discovers the SHADE in a meteor crater.  He briefly meets the astral projection of a beautiful woman named Arlia.  The arrival of the mystical sword attracts the attention of every Inorganic on the planet and soon Nam is fighting for his life.

Our hapless group (from left) - Bao, Rasa, Monga (on Rasa's shoulder),
Arlia (top), Nam, and Kim

Rasa meets up with him and they are joined by two of their mercenary friends - Captain Bao and his ship's mate Kim.  Bao is hopelessly in love with the shapely Rasa and quickly commits to defending her against the Inorganic threat.  The SHADE represents a counter-balance to the Inorganics and they will throw every resource after gaining possession of it.  This effort includes massive Inorganics the size of city blocks and even small moons.

Nam attempts to get the SHADE to work properly

The odds are quickly stacked against our small band of plucky fighters and hope seems lost when Bao remembers a doomsday device stashed on Aqualoid which could save the day.  Will our group risk destroying the entire planet as a last ditch effort to save themselves from the relentless Inorganics?  Can Nam figure out how to use the SHADE's power in time?

Nam does some deep thinking with the SHADE in his hand

Pros: High-flying action scenes with crazy camera angles - pretty impressive for animation from 1984, Rasa is shapely and shows off her butt through most of the show, Rasa's little critter friend Monga is kinda cute

Cons: Animation is rough (this was made in 1984 after all) and very inconsistent, characters are pretty annoying - especially Bao who seems like a randomly idiotic moron, dub is terrible, mecha designs for the Inorganics are pathetic - they look vaguely like shapeless Zakus (from Mobile Suit Gundam), Inorganic bikers are ridiculous - the little kid one is supremely lame, ending is totally nebulous and unsatisfying

An immature little Inorganic biker causes some major trouble

Mike Tells It Straight: Birth has a pretty good sci-fi premise, but never really capitalizes on its potential.  I love a good post-apocalyptic story versus a group of blood-thirsty machines and can dig the old-school animation style, but this show was pretty pathetic.  The characters are one-dimensional with zero development, mecha designs for the Inorganics are horrible, and the plot goes absolutely nowhere with a lame ending.  Rasa and her shapely butt seem to be the only draw for this show and be warned - it's not worth it.  I was grossly disappointed with Birth - don't waste your money.

Rasa rides on her saucer skiff while Monga holds on tight

Birth was obviously a high-concept experiment back in 1984 with some great chase scenes (the camera movement is ambitious even for today).  A lot of sketchy and interesting animation, but the story seems to be of secondary interest (or ability) to the creative team.  The plot is simple, but not well-portrayed and story resolution is fuzzy at best.  I understand the nostalgia factor for this show which was released by Harmony Gold as The World of the Talisman and later as Planet Busters.  The story, dialogue, and music were changed in the previous releases, but ADV's version is more faithful to the original.  Well, the original apparently sucked and fans of the previous releases will be disappointed.

TO BUY and Recommendations:

Eden of the East Anime Review

Eden of the East
Funimation
Complete Collection - 2 discs
275 mins. - 11 episodes
$54.98 (2010)
$59.98 (2010) Blu-Ray
$49.98 (2011) Blu-Ray/DVD combo
ISBN 704400088407
Japanese/English Audio - English Subtitles
Director - Kenji Kamiyama
Studio - Production I.G

Synopsis: Saki Morimi is on a post-college graduation trip to America where she takes a detour to briefly visit Washington DC before heading back to Japan.  She arrives at the White House and tries to throw a coin into the fountain on the other side of the fence for good luck.  The fountain is much too far away to reach and her throw catches the attention of two police officers stationed by the fence.  She is freaking out at the prospect of getting arrested when a naked Japanese boy runs up waving a gun in one hand and a cell phone in the other. 

Akira walks up to Saki in front of the White House gate

Needless to say the police forget all about Saki and turn their attention to the naked guy.  He appears to escape and they take off in pursuit.  He reappears from behind some parked cars to talk with Saki and apparently has no memory of why/how he got to the White House.  She ends up giving him her jacket to cover up and as a 'thank you' for helping her out.  They go their separate ways, but she realizes her return airline ticket was in the coat.  She rushes to chase him down.

"I'm sorry officer, my penis is much larger than the other
Japanese man's you're looking for"

Meanwhile the naked guy has tried to use the cell phone he's carrying and talks with an operator named Juiz who calls herself a 'concierge'.  She gives him an address where he's been staying and he runs off to find clues about his lost memories.  In his apartment he finds guns and several passports with different names.  He chooses one with the name Akira Takizawa and learns he has 8.7 billion yen in a digital bank account.  Saki catches up with him and the police are looking for the pair.

I need to get one of these phones and a concierge

Akira and Saki catch a plane back to Japan where they find some more clues to his past.  As their plane is landing they see a smoking crater where a missile detonated.  Several missiles struck Tokyo recently in an apparent terrorist attack, but amazingly there were no casualties.  The attack was dubbed 'Careless Monday' and people have written it off to inept terrorists.  The two arrive at the address from Akira's passport and find it to be an abandoned shopping mall in one of the missile-damaged areas.  Saki heads home and goes to a job interview the next day while Akira tries to piece together his origin.

One of the missile explosion sites from 'Careless Monday'

It seems Akira is part of a game (the members are called Seleção) where participants are given 10 billion yen and charged with 'saving' Japan.  They are also given an advanced cell phone with the words 'noblesse oblige' on it and access to a concierge (named Juiz) who can facilitate any request to help them accomplish their goal.  Akira tests the extent of Juiz's abilities by asking her to have the president say the word "Uncle" while watching him on television.  Next thing you know a cabinet aide whispers something in the president's ear and he says "Uncle"!

Akira and Saki on his scooter heading to search for more clues

A broader conspiracy begins to unfold with Akira and the other Seleção at the center.  Who is behind the game and why did Akira lose all of his memories?  20,000 NEETS (people currently "not in education, employment, or training") have recently gone missing around the same time as Careless Monday.  What is Akira's link to these events?  Could he be the terrorist mastermind or the charming young man Saki has fallen for?

This suspicious photograph casts doubt on Akira's true nature.
Are those NEETS in the background?  Ewww, where are their clothes?

Pros: Excellent animation and production values (almost seamless melding of hand-drawn character animation with CG elements), Akira and Saki are likable characters, lots of funny moments interspersed with intense drama, neat portrayal of modern cell phone and social media technology, great conspiracy theory plot with cool reveals as it progresses, good opening/ending themes

"Bang."

Cons: Completely implausible, short series at 11 episodes [for the price], not much action, some of the characters were pretty lame (the "Johnny Catcher" and most of the Eden group), plot jumps around without making much sense after a great first episode, oddball scene with Akira hallucinating a bunch of creatures coming out of television sets was completely random (no explanation later), ending is kind of a head scratcher

"You're not the J-Johnny Hunter are y-you?"  "Oh, don't worry. I'm
just going to use this cigar cutter on this little cigar down here" Snip!

Mike Tells It Straight: The first episode of Eden of the East is awesome - easily a cut above the rest of the anime out there and a great plot setup for a major conspiracy theory finale.  The two main characters were great together with Saki being an idealistic college grad trying to make it in the real world and Akira an irresistibly charming young man with the world literally at his fingertips.  Animation was absolutely top notch with lush backgrounds and seamless CG mixed in.  A visual triumph.  

Akira's dog has cute little fairy wings

Akira's missing memories and the slow reveal of the Seleção game were truly intriguing concepts that made me blow through this show in two evenings.  The game's rules were interesting and I really dug the idea for the Eden of the East cell phone app (image recognition engine with social network add-on).  Adding the NEETs and political drama intensified the thrill-ride.  The short length (11 episodes) of the series made the plot race by quickly considering all the moving parts to the story.

WTF is the deal with this scene!

Despite my enjoyment this show definitely has its flaws.  The characters didn't really evolve (except maybe Saki) and were just shallow, one-note caricatures (even Akira).  Some story elements were pretty lame - like the whole "Johnny Hunter" thing, the totally weird computer-spawned creatures that Akira hallucinates, and the amount of time spent on the shut-in character "Panties". Akira was a bit too cheerful and the last episode felt like a non-ending (two sequel movies were released afterwards to finish the story).

"It's party time!"

Criticism aside, it's a good show and really entertaining.  A lot different than most anime out there and covered an actual social problem (NEETS).  If you can forgive its flaws and go along for the ride then this show is really fun.  Don't expect it all to wrap up in a nice neat little ending - we're just getting started with the Eden of the East storyline in these 11 episodes.  I'm planning to check out the two sequel movies: King of Eden and Paradise Lost to get the finale of the story and recommend you do the same.

TO BUY and Recommendations:

Fooly Cooly (FLCL) Anime Review

Fooly Cooly (FLCL)
Furi Kuri
Funimation
Complete Collection - 1 disc
150 mins. - 6 episodes
$39.98 (2011)
$44.98 (2011) Blu-Ray
$69.95 (2007) Ultimate Edition
ISBN 704400052415
Japanese/English Audio - English Subtitles
Director - Kazuya Tsurumaki
Studio - Gainax/Production I.G

Synopsis: Naota has always been in his older brother's shadow, but now his older brother has left to play baseball in America and Naota just feels lost.  He hangs out with Mamimi, his older brother's ex-girlfriend who smokes and constantly ditches school.  She got dumped, left behind, and is in worse shape than Naota.  They live in a depressing town with a huge factory shaped like a giant iron (like for ironing clothes) owned by Medical Mechanica.  Every day at the same time a huge cloud of steam is released from the factory covering the town in a hazy glow.

Beware crazy pink-haired girls riding Vespas!

The two are walking home one day when Naota is run over by a crazy pink-haired girl riding a Vespa scooter. She stops to hit him in the head with her electric guitar.  Miraculously he survives, but now has a big oddly-shaped lump sticking out of his head.  The crazy girl says her name is Haruko Haruhara and becomes the live-in housekeeper at Naota's house.  She is obsessed with the lump on his head and naturally his dad bunks her in Naota's room (on the top bunk).

Haruko brains poor unsuspecting Naota with her guitar

Weird things start to happen.  A full-on robot battle erupts from the lump on Naota's head and Haruko is there to finish it with a choice bash from her trusty guitar.  One of the robots moves in with Naota and becomes a servant doing chores for the family.  Naota's grandfather has the robot pick up nudie mags from the drug store for him.  It gets weirder.

Then she just shows up at his house eating dinner!

More robots and some Space Pirate King erupt from Naota's head.  The earth is in danger and Haruko (if that's her real name) seems to be in the center of it all.  A special agent from the Bureau for Interstellar Immigration is hellbent on stopping her.  Naota won't admit it, but he's got a major crush on her.  How's a teenager to cope alongside all the raging hormones?

Yep, that left a mark

Pros: Creative and fun, highly imaginative and off-beat humor, literally made me laugh out loud, energetic (almost spastic at times), doesn't take itself too seriously, great music and soundtrack, very good dub, unique coming-of-age story for both Naota and Mamimi, aged well after a decade

Grandpa, two school buddies, Dad, Canti, Haruko, Naota, Ninamori, Mamimi

Cons: Bit pricey for only six episodes, blu-ray version is not perfect due to original 4:3 aspect ratio of show, random over-the-top humor aspect of this show can turn some people off as can the animation style jumps

Hanging out with Haruko = get ready for more trouble!

Mike Tells It Straight: FLCL (aka Fooly Cooly, Furi Kuri [kinda love thang]) knocked me on the floor when I first watched it.  It was hilarious, had great action scenes, felt sexually deviant (like every teenager does when the topic of sex flashes across their minds), and contained some poignant moments.  Definitely not for the kiddies due to the sexual innuendo and a bit of mindless violence.

Canti can be pretty badass when he wants to be

It's a manic ride and filled with cultural/genre parody in-jokes.  May be hard to follow at times, but tied together by a simple coming-of-age story as Naota finally emerges from his brother's shadow.  The deep moments were rare and a bit out of place.  The animation style was varied with a little bit of everything thrown in and you can't beat this show for range of visual styles.

Now what is she really up to?

Gainax was responsible for Neon Genesis Evangelion which is an anime classic (it turned mecha on its ear).  I like the idea of them putting out a wacky show like FLCL to free themselves from the darkness of Evangelion.  Another Gainax nut-fest is Magical Shopping Arcade Abenobashi which I also enjoyed and thought was similar, but with 13 episodes the craziness made my head hurt.

Yeah, this just about sums it up

The original FLCL dvds were scarce/expensive until 2007 when they were re-released, but I was excited to see Funimation put out a new version in 2011 on one disc.  Little did I know the aspect ratio couldn't be changed (from 4:3 to widescreen 16:9 for current televisions) and the SD didn't translate as well to HD.  I don't recommend putting a premium on the blu-ray version - it's not remastered and lacks any improvements to the visuals.  Got the dvd set already?  Keep it, this new version doesn't really enhance the experience enough to justify a repurchase.

Naota gets to swing the bat

I consider FLCL to be another classic anime and well worth checking out.  If you can't take the wild tangents and jokes then it won't be for you.  Watching the show again after many years was great - I noticed a few more aspects of the plot and it made a bit more sense (plus the cool visual tricks Gainax pioneered which have shown up in shows since).  The humor was still there after all those years and it felt kinda uplifting (like after I watched Gurren Lagann).  Go for it!


TO BUY and Recommendations: