Understanding FLCL

[Ashdate]

There's been a lot of talk about FLCL around the forums (that I've noticed at least), and a lot of people seem to have watched some or all of this series and have walked away utterly confused. I thought I might clear some things up for them. Honestly, NOTHING in that show is completely random, there's a purpose for nearly everything that happens. It may look chaotic, but the show actually has a reason (no matter how small) for everything I can think that happens during the show.

For the benefit of those who watched the show, but didn't understand everything that happened during it, I'm going to try and explain the most important parts that happen in each episode, along with some of the themes. I can't guarentee that I'm 100% correct here, but hopefully this clears some stuff up. Some of the information I present here is based off of director commentary, while other stuff is good guesses.

I want to make it clear that I in no way think you should have to take a magnifying glass to a show to see how 'wonderful' it actually is. If you didn't like it, then I in no way feel you are wrong. I would ask that you watch it again with a bit more knowledge behind what is happening, but ultimately I don't think you shouldn't need a guide to follow a book/movie/etc. I hope those who read this enjoy possibly learning a bit more about this anime tho.

Spoilers, of course!

Episode 1
This is basically where the three main characters, Naota (~12 yrs), Mamami (~17 yrs), and Haruko (age unknown, says she is 19) are introduced. We also meet Naota's dad (Kamon) and some of his classmates, the most important of whom is named Ninamori. Naota's brother is playing baseball in America, and this is kind of hurting Naota, because he's now without a rolemodel.

In Mabase (the town that FLCL takes place in) there's a giant factory called the Medical Mechina Plant. No one knows who works there, or what it does, except that it releases giant clouds of steam every so often. Yes, it looks like an iron.

His brother's girlfriend, Mamami, is hanging around with him, and essentially she's using him. Naota is perfect for her, because he'll do pretty much whatever she says no matter how much he protests. Needless to say Naota is kind of confused about her behavour, and he mistakingly thinks it's love.

Mamami calls Naota 'Ta-kun.' This is kind of important, and not just for the pun that occurs in episode 6 due to it.

His brother has found another woman in America, and apparently Mamami either doesn't know about it, or (more probably) does know about it, and refuses to accept it. (We learn more about this in episode 2).

Naota is about to tell Mamami about his brother's new girlfriend, when Haruharu Haruko comes along and smashes him with her guitar. This is explained in episode 4, but essentially certain heads can be used to open what basically amount to 'dimensional gates (that use a force described as 'N.O.)' Large objects can be transported great distances quickly through them, and it just so happens that Naota's head seems to work. Later that night, a horn grows from his head. He pushes it back in and covers it with a bandage, which looks ridiculous but there's little he can do about it. We also find out that Kamon was also hit in the head by Haruko.

Later, when he confronts Mamami again and finally tells her about his brothers unfaithfullness, Mamami goes into a panic. This triggers Naota's 'head' and a robot (later named Canti or Cantide in episode 2) along with the right arm of another robot. Canti appears 'red' here. After defeating the other robot, Haruko arrives and smashes Canti upside the head, turning it blue. The horn is now gone, Canti is (for some reason) now working for Haruko, and Mamami seems generally back to normal.

Thing you might not understand: Mamami's cigarettes all have 'Never knows best' written on them. Essentially, Mamami is kind of a nihlist. She's the kind of person who was disappointed when the world didn't end in the year 2000 like Nostradamus predicted. Her cigarettes kind of reflect her outlook on life, in which maybe 'never is the best option.'

Thing to note: When Naota narrates that he was wrong to think Haruko reminds him of his brother, he wasn't exactly talking personality or appearance wise. He was talking about her swing (his brother plays baseball, remember?).


Episode 2
This episode is about Mamami. We learn that she's enthralled with a game called 'Fire Starter' or 'Fista.' Essentially, you play a servent for the Great Angel of Fire Cantide, and your job is to stop Endsville from growing by burning parts of it. This episode really does a good job of showing you Mamami's mentality, which is a little unstable to say the least.

In Mabase, arson has been a common occurance lately. There are also new horns growing from Naota's head. He covers them with a stupid looking hat.

Canti is out searching for 'his head' (the back of which was smashed in episode 1). He's finding bits and pieces of it everywhere. While wearing the 'outfit' Haurko was wearing near the start of the episode (an angel halo and wings). Mamami sees him and mistakes him for the god in her videogame, Canti. The place she finds him at it the burned remains of her old school.

We learn that Mamami is being bullied, and as she's sulking away back to wherever she goes (her 'home' is the bridge we first see her at during Episode 1) her Fire Starter game falls from her pocket. Naota picks it, and starts putting two and two together.

We learn that Mamami met Naota's brother years back after their school was set on fire. There is strong evidence in the episode to suggest that it was Mamami who set the fire, but she was never found out. The school remains (albeit completely wrecked). I should note that there is no real evidence to suggest that Mamami was the cause of any of the arson that is mentioned earlier in the episode. Regardless, Naota finds her 'praying' to Canti (the god), but Canti is nearby still looking for the pieces of his head. When Naota interupts her, she floats over to Canti (the robot) to kiss him and accept her rewards for being a great follower. This causes Naota's head to trigger again, and the rest of the robot from episode one appears (only his right arm was shown in episode 1).

(To note: Naota's head triggers in times of severe emotional distress. I just wanted to point out that it wasn't random).

The robot appears to be after Canti, and it pretty much starts kicking Canti's ass. Haruko comes along, but even she can't completely handle the robot. Canti grabs Naota and swallows him, and once again turns red, and then procedes to lay the smackdown on the robot. He knocks the robot away, and transforms into a giant cannon, and fires a glowing ball, which helps Haruko defeat the robot. The charred remains of the school are blown away, leaving nothing but ash on the ground. Canti turns back to being blue, then 'poops' out Naota, who then swears to stand by Mamami through whatever happens.

Thing to note: Mamami 'adopts' a stray cat in this episode, and calls it 'Ta-kun.'


Episode 3
This episode is about Naota's classmate and representative, Ninamori Eri. Her father (the mayor of Mabase) is involved in a scandle, and it looks like her parents might divorce. Ninamori takes a calm, adult approach to the issue, and refuses to act like it's that big of a deal. Throughout this episode, it's made abundantly clear that Ninamori likes Naota.

There's something new growing out of Naota's head, and instead of a horn(s) it's a pair of cat ears! Amusingly enough, Naota's school is putting on a play, better known to us as 'Puss n' Boots,' or 'The Marquis of Carabas' and Naota is supposed to be playing the part of the cat!

Of course, Naota doesn't want to be in the play at all. His new ears hidden beneath another hat, he ditches rehersal to hang out with Mamami, who dicovers his new look.

Later, Naota finds Ninamori while waiting for Haruko to show up. Ninamori blurts out the situation with her parents, and how she's pretty much, etc. and then tries to pass it off as no big deal. Haruko shows up, and as usual causes a huge accident to trail behind her, and she smacks into Naota.

Naota goes flying, and her and Ninamori whack heads (that's kind of important). Naota falls unconscious, and Ninamori discovers his cat ears.

For accidently running into the mayor's daughter, Kamon (Naota's dad) invites Ninamori to stay the night (he just doesn't want her to sue him). Her and Naota talk a bit, and she tells him that she rigged the votes so they'd both be the leads in the upcoming play. I should talk about the play a bit, because it's kind of a metaphor for what Ninamori is doing. In Puss in Boots, the lead male (Jack, whom Ninamori would be playing) decieves the king with the help of his cat and marries the princess and lives happily ever after living a lie.

At rehersal the next day, Naota is grumbling, because he sees the play as something a kid would do. Ninamori confronts him in front of everybody (including Haruko, who was there delivering Naota some curry), and in a heated exchange Ninamori whacks Naota's hat off (revealing his cat ears), which causes Naota to yell about how she rigged the play. Ninamori's head starts to hurt, and suddenly Naota loses his cat ears, which appear on Ninamori's head!

You see, when they bumped heads earlier, the robot transfered from his head to hers. Her emotional state causes the robot to burst forth. Canti and Haruko fight the robot and evenutally come out on top due to the magical effects of curry.

Thing you might not understand: I would like to mention about Ninamori's glasses. She normally doesn't wear them, but during the scene at Naota's house where she tells Naota about how she rigged the play, we see her with a pair on. She tells Naota that she needs them, but she doesn't. They're another lie. Perhaps she's using them to look older. At the end of the episode, we see her wearing some glasses, but they don't have any lenses in them. Essentially, Ninamori is changing (being more open about her feelings, especially about her parents, who apparently stay together), but there's only so much someone can change overnight.


Episode 4
Out of all the episodes, this one perhaps requires the most explaination.

Haruko is playing on a rival baseball team as a ringer, and with her, they're destroying the Mabase Martians (the team Naota's grandfather coaches, and the team that Naota plays on. Naota's brother used to play for them). Noata shows up for the games, but no one knows how good he is, because he's never swung his bat.

Essentially, when you're at the plate there are three things you can do. You swing and hit the ball, you can swing and strike out, or you can simply not swing. To Naota, the best option is to not swing at all. It's not as good as hitting the ball, but it's better then swinging and striking out. It's kind of a middle ground. This is the opposite of Haruko's way of thinking, which is to always swing and worry about the consequences after.

We're introduced to a new character, Amarao (the red head with the huge eyebrows). I'll explain more about him in episode 5, but we find out he works for the Bureau of Interstellar Immigration (B.I.I.), and knows quite a bit about Haruko.

There are two stories in this episode. The first involves Haruko and Naota's dad, Kamon. They appear to be pretty friendly lately to Naota, who's getting increasingly jealous. It cumulates in a scene that IS pretty confusing, because there are scenes of Haruko's head being ripped off. Essentially, he finds his dad, who is subtly bragging about Haruko (who's out playing ball). We see Naota's thoughts spliced in, which is where the 'Haruko gets her head bashed off by a cat' scenes come in. In a fit of anger, Naota takes the baseball bat he's carrying and smashes the TV that he's next to, which causes Kamon to collapse. It turns our that 'Kamon' is actually a robot. When Haruko hit his head way back in episode one (off camera) it apparently killed him, so she replaced him with a robot. Naota finds the body, and brings him back to life by pouring water on him (it's a Japanese thing, I think...).

The second story involves a satillite weapon that's crashing towards earth (towards Naota actually). It's operated by the B.I.I., who now need a way to destroy it without bringing suspicious apon themselves. The solution the B.I.I. comes up with is to get Haruko to destroy it.

Amarao explains a LOT about what has been happening lately, telling Naota who Haruko (a.k.a. Raharu) is, what she's after (the King of the Space Pirates, Atomsk) and how she's trying to get it. Essentially, Atomsk was captured by Medical Mechina, and Haruko wants him. Amarao thinks it's because she's in love with him. That's why she's using Naota's head: there are only so many heads that will actually work (Kamon's head didn't), and because it's through the things that keep popping out that she hopes to find Atomsk.

Haruko comes back, and together her and Naota go to stop the satilette. She reaches into his head and pulls out his 'bat' (or weapon), which is an electric guitar. Haruko sets Naota up to smash the thing back into space, and leaves. She does this to test Naota. She needs him to be able to be able to 'take a swing,' and thus far he's refused to. She feels that he won't swing, and goes to leave, when (to everybody's surprise) Naota gets a good crack at the satillite. He's not strong/powerful enough to send it back, but Haruko leaps back in the help him.

This is somewhat of a turning point for Naota, and specifically, Mamami (who's observing the entire thing, hoping that Nostradomous was just late coming). She always thought Naota would be under her thumb, but she now sees that he's willing to take risks and make his own decisions now. He's no longer hers.

Naota falls asleep riding back home with Haruko, and she cracks up laughing. Naota will do just fine. In reverse to Mamami's situation, Haruko now knows that Naota is willing to take chances, and it's because of that she might be able to achieve her goal...

Thing you might not understand: After Haruko pulls Naota's guitar from his head, you see a scene where all the girls at the B.I.I. similtaniously get a nosebleed. Well, you probably know that getting a nosebleed in Japan is said to be the result of having a perverted thought, right? Well, lets just say phallic objects appear a few times in this series...


Episode 5
This episode parodies a lot of things, from John Woo movies to Southpark. But mostly John Woo. Oh, and there's new horns growing from Naota's head.

Kamon still has the hots for Haruko, and while attempting (unsuccessfully) to get in her pants, he becomes enraged at how she treats Naota, and challenges his son to a duel to determine who she'll love. She accepts.

Meanwhile, the Bureau of Instersteller Immigration has a plan. They don't want the Medical Mechana plant to activate, and they rightly assume that the robot Canti is part of the key (that's why the two robots that popped out of Naota's head immediately went after it). They hope to destroy it. They reveal that when Canti is red, he's Atomsk, the space pirate that Haruko is after. Their attemps to destroy him fail miserably.

Amarao is sprucing up to meet Haruko, who pays him an unsuspecting visit while he's getting his hair dyed, and a huge gunfight ensues. We learn that Amarao has known 'Raharu' from long ago, and when he mentions Atomsk she gets really really angry.

Meanwhile, Naota notices how distant Mamami is being, and attempts to talk to her. She starts talking about Haruko, and how she's changed him, which Naota mistakes for jealousy. He drags Mamami to a cafe, and confuses that he likes her, and is rejected. After all, Mamami never liked him, he was just convienant and manipulatable. she knows she's not in charge anymore (reflected by the fact that HE dragged her to the cafe, something he would never have done before). His rejection triggers the latest robot to pop form his head, which turns out to be a giant gunslinging desparado of sorts.

Haruko finishes up with Amarao just in time to see the new robot. Amarao protests that she can't keep beating the robots they send forever, but she pays him no heed, and takes his 'bat' from him (it's an incredibly tiny object. She uses it as a slingshot in the ensuing fight).

Mamami and Naota have ended up on top of gigantic robot, and in a panic Mamami starts asking for Tatsuki, Naota's brother. Naota always assumed he called him 'ta-kun' because of his name (Nao[ta]) but it's actually based on [Ta]tuski. He yells at her that he's not his brother, calls Canti to his side, and demands that he never call him Ta-kun again. Canti turns red as he swallows Naota, and the Atomsk powered robot goes to help Haruko...

... who is getting beat badly by the robot. With Canti's help, she manages to turn the tide slightly, but after Canti loses his ammo (he only has one shot; previously in the series it continues to return to him like a boomerang, but it's knocked away by the robot) things look bleak. The robot is almost at the plant, when Canti pulls a guitar out of his screen: it's Atomsk's 1961 Gibson EB-Zero! He smashes the robot with it, which sends it's terminal core flying. The rest of the robot collapses into a hand which looms next to the Medical Mechina plant.

Thing you might not understand: At the end of the episode, we see the 'ball of light' which normally shoots from Canti fall off the billboard it slammed into, and melt to reveal that it's Naota. That's why it kept returning to Canti, and while there was only 'one shot.'


Episode 6
The final episode! Haruko has gone missing along with Canti. The first part of the episode show how Naota is taking it, which is to say, not well. Amarao meets him and slaps a pair of his giant eyebrows on him. It's never really explained, but the theory is that the eyebrows stop his head from working (see episode 5).

Mamami lies beneath the bridge, looking at Tatsuki's number on her cellphone and trying to decide whether or not to call him. A cute little robot pops up from he water, and Mamami 'adopts' it as her new Ta-kun, under the condition that he helps her take revenge on all the people who have pissed her off (she's kept a book it seems). She feeds him her cellphone (it eats metal and electronics), destroying her chances of ever talking to Tatsuki.

Haruko ends up coming back, much to Naota's relief. They go off together on a journey, but don't get very far before crashing and sleeping on a park bench.

All that night, Mamami leads 'Ta-kun' around, checking off people on her revenge list, as the robot gets bigger and bigger. The next morning we see that it's huge, and completely out of Mamami's control. It finds Canti, and absorbs him! It turns out that this is the terminal core from (which sounds somewhat like 'ta-kun' in Japanese apparently), and it's headed to the giant hand next to the Medical Mechina plant! it gets there, but for a reason that baffles the Bureau of Intersteller Immigration, it just sits there. They rightly assume that it's missing something.

That something is Naota, and Haruko has brought him to the plant! Amarao tries his best to stop Naota from being Haruko's tool, but it's too late. Naota is willing to do anything for Haruko, including being thrown into the jaws of the monster, giving it the tool it needs to start the hand and cause the plant to activate.

JUST before the hand can grasp the plant, a red light appears between the two. It's a red Canti, and as it holds the hand and plant apart, a red figure crackles out of his head. It's Naota, and he's got the powers of the pirate king.

Haruko is furious, because the power of Atomsk is HERS. She attempts to fight Naota, but with the power of Atomsk along with both his guitar and the pirate king's, Haruko falls with little effort. As Haruko gets up from the ground, Naota rushes towards her, looking like he's about to deal her the final blow, but he stops just short, and all the Atomsk energy is dispelled. Naota says three words: 'I love you' and kisses a shocked Haruko. Atomsk then pours out of Naota's head (it's a giant red bird) and sucsk up the giant hand, and topples the plant. It then flies off into the sky, leaving Haruko behind. She's lost him again.

We then find out what happens to all the main characters. Naota has learned to take risks, and has grown up from the entire affair. Mamami heads to a bigger city to study photography, and Haruko leaves in search of Atomsk again.

Thing to note: We see Haruko's wristband (a simple band with a broken chain link attacked to it) quiver during scenes when 'Atomsk' appears in Canti (i.e. when he's red). The brief time we finally see Atomsk in this episode, you can see a broken chain link attached to it's nose. It's what she's been using to track Atomsk, and suggests that the two used to be together.

Thing you might not understand: So Haruko spends the previous 5 episodes fighting the Mechical Mechina robots that pop from Naota's head. Why in the last episode does she help one achieve it's goal? This is somewhat unclear, but there are a number of things we can assume. First, Haruko is absent at the first part of the episode, presummed missing. During this time, she might have been investigating the plant and/or hand (like she was back in episode 2). Perhaps she discovered a way to release Atomsk by letting the plant activate.

My theory is that she was tired of letting the robots pop out, when it didn't appear to fufill her goal at all. Naota criticizes her in this episode from selecting bad ramen, but Haruko tells him that she's okay with that. Basically, she takes the chances and worries about the consequences afterwards. Mabase and the planet meant little to her (see episode 4), so it's probable she took the chance, and hoped for the best.


Themes
Food: One of the more prevalent themes in FLCL is spicy, sour, and sweet food. Essentially, kids like sweet food, and adults like spicy food. this is used to illustrate the next theme, which is...

Growing Up: Probably the biggest theme in FLCL. We see both Naota and Ninamori attempting to act like adults during the series. One of the things the show is attempting to say is that it's basically more mature to act like a kid, if you're a kid. The character Amarao is shown to be what would result if Naota continued to act like he did. Amarao attempts to show that he's grown up (through his big 'manly' eyebrows, and such). In the scene where the animation styles flips between a Lupin style, and a South Park style, we basically see that even tho he talks big, he's a child underneath, eating sweet things, and hating spicy food. Comments like 'I'm old enough to take out life insurance' help solidfy the fact that he's attempting to justify his age rather then to actually be it.

random tidbits
Fooly Cooly?: There are two explanations I've heard that tell what 'fooly cooly' or FLCL actually means. One involved kneeding bread (we see a glimpse of Naota's grandfather demonstrating this to Haruko in episode one). The second one I've heard is that it's slang in Kyoto for 'nipple tweaking.' I cannot confirm either.

The cat: It's a little unclear what the heck the cat that inhabits Naota's house actually is. Haruko seems to communicate with someone with it, and other times it's beating her up. Likely it's just a ploy to distract Naota.

The grandfather: Twice during the show (episode 2 and 4), we see Mamami act very reserved around Naota's grandfather. In episode one, we hear a comment during the crazy manga scene from him which suggests that he doens't like her. It's probable that he didn't approve of Naota's brother Tatsuki going out with her.

he who conquers: The very first line in the movie is a quote from a boxing manga I believe. We see Mamami incorrectly apply it to baseball.

lefties: The director has this opinion that lefties are somehow better then righties and doing stuff. This comes out in FLCL; Both Naota and Mamami are righties, while Haruko (and Naota's brother) are lefties. This is also the reason for Naota commenting on Mamami incorrectly holding the bat at the start of episode one.

first name: They didn't translate it at all in the N.A. release of FLCL, but Mamami refers to herself in the third person.


That's all I can really think to write about FLCL right now. If anyone has any questions, I'm fairly confident I can answer most of them. Thanks for reading!

- Eddie

[Tevesh]

Superb explaination! It took me three tries on my own before I understood everything completely, and I think you only missed one portion, which is the cat.

Haruka talks to the cat as a communicaton device, similarily to her wristband being a 'Atomsk sensor'. Its brain is right enough for the N.O. transmissions in just communication, so when she gives bad news back to Atomsk's Pirate Headquarters, the cat beats the crap out of her.

Another thing is that I've watched FLCL on a variety of DVD players, including a Satelite Laptop, a Dell Laptop, a Dell Home Computer, a PS2, and two different DVD players, and the subtitles are subtly different with each. The PS2 was the worst by far, but the differences are mostly trivial. Essentially, comments like "Mark of the Devil" translates to "Mark of the Demon" but some things could matter when you're dealing with themes.

[Ashdate]

[nave]

i own the box set of flcl and i must have watched it a dozen times and i still dont understand but i dont really have 2. i just enjoy it.
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