Over The Edge Page 14

LiKe THAT?
WHERE PRE WAN You ‘To
A STAN HERE a

ALRIGHT URSELA , WE'tE tra!] INoW- WaTOR MY
WE NEEQ To GET CowesTAl] | LAST ainda
SNERUNG SUL!

SNEAK!

SNEAK!
SNEAK!
SNEAK!

| Continued from page 10
WHAT £7 Do

“There (7 1s!
Tit TAKE THAT }
TERROR IS OVER!
FACE MY WRATH!

Continued on page 16

oe

By: Kathleen De Vere

This review is all about a lit-
tle known, but spectacular
anime called Furi Kuri or
FLCL for short.

FLCL was released as a
series of six OAVS on
Japanese TV from March
2000 to April 2001. It was
produced by studio Gainax
(Evangelion) and the anima-
tion was done by Production
1.G (Ghost in the Shell).
Suffice to say that the anima-
tion quality of FLCL is fantas-
tic. The character designs
are all very original and the
backgrounds are stunning,
the colours are crisp and
clear, but muted so they don’t
turn out to be candy colored
and fake looking. The whole
look of the animation is very
natural, but FLCL is one of a
new generation of anime, as
it was drawn in the traditional
cell processes, and then
coloured digitally.

What can | say about
FLCL? It’s really, really, real-
ly, odd. It seems normal for
about the first two minutes,
but then it becomes increas-
ingly surreal and increasingly
enjoyable. The main charac-
ter is a twelve year old boy
named Naota, whose brother
has gone to America to play
baseball, leaving his girl-
friend Mamimi behind. We
enter the scene with Mamimi
seeming very *ahem* physi-
cally attached to Naota.
Relax, this is not an eechi
kind of show. The focus
quickly moves on as Naota is
run down by a yellow Vespa,
a type of Italian moped, and
given a terrible head injury. A
girl leaps off the bike to revive
him, then as soon as he
recovers she creams him
with her gas powered bass
guitar, knocking him out cold
again. This is the introduction
of Haruko, a self styled
“alien” who is there to ‘inves-
tigate’. Soon after receiving
the injury a large bump forms
on poor Naota’s head, and
soon enough, giant fighting
robots emerge from it! Yes
this show has everything,
robots, girls, explosions, and
a surreal medical instrument
factory looming over the town
in the shape of a giant iron

November 5, 2001

Sintra cegupwight Kaori ube 2004
that released steam, but
doesn’t have any entrances
for workers. I’d tell you more,
but after that the story starts
to get really weird, and you
just have to watch. it for your-
self.

One other great thing about
FLCL is the fantastic sound-
track. There is not a single
piece of J-pop in_ sight,
instead everything is over-
driven distorted alt rock,
courtesy of the Pillows a
Japanese band, who are
heavily influenced by the
Pixies. It’s great be able to
rock out to the fight scenes of
FLCL instead of cringe your
way through the sugar sweet
voice of an idol singer like in
so many other anime. Even
though all the songs are in
Japanese, they are really
catchy and fun to listen to. I’m
seriously considering buying
the CD.

FLCL isn’t out in North
American markets yet, but it
is being released through
Sync-Point. They are releas-
ing 3 DVDs of FLCL under
the name Fooly Cooly, and
they will come with dub and
sub tracks on them. Volume
one is ready for pre-order, but
they will not be in stores until
February of 2002 at the earli-
est.

Don’t be discouraged by
the wait though, it is worth
every minute, as if you get to
see FLCL. | can’t say enough
good stuff about it! It is defi-
antly one of the most original
series I’ve ever seen. FLCL
gets 4.5 stars out of five.

Haruko, with her bass and
Vespa moped.
FLCL © Studio Gainax 2001