Naota Nandaba is a twelve-year-old boy in the small town of Mabase who has decided that nothing amazing ever happens here. His older brother Tasuku has gone to America to play baseball. His father runs a bakery. His grandfather is theoretically an adult but mostly isn't. Naota has been fooling around with Tasuku's ex-girlfriend Mamimi, who calls him by his brother's nickname and treats him as a substitute. Everything is ordinary and mildly miserable until Haruko Haruhara arrives on a vintage Vespa, runs Naota over, hits him over the head with a Rickenbacker bass guitar, and moves into his house claiming to be an alien researcher hired by his father. A horn begins growing from Naota's forehead. Robots shoot out of it. A corporation called Medical Mechanica is ironing something enormous on a distant planet. None of this is explained — not immediately, not clearly, and perhaps not ever — but all of it means something, and what it means has everything to do with growing up, sexuality, boredom, grief, and what it feels like to be at the age where nothing in the world has properly named itself yet. FLCL — pronounced "Fooly Cooly," alternatively "Furi Kuri" — is a six-episode OVA produced jointly by Gainax and Production I.G, directed by Kazuya Tsurumaki, and written by Yoji Enokido — the creative team behind Neon Genesis Evangelion, Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex, and Revolutionary Girl Utena. Released in Japan between April 2000 and March 2001, it is one of the most formally inventive and critically celebrated short-form anime ever produced, deploying manga panels, South Park-style cutout animation, shadow puppetry, and conventional animation within the same episode while The Pillows — a Japanese alternative rock band — provide a score that functions as an emotional language running parallel to the story. The English dub produced by Synch-Point aired on Adult Swim's Toonami block in 2003 and introduced FLCL to a generation of Western anime fans. Originally distributed on DVD in North America by Synch-Point; re-licensed by FUNimation and released on Blu-ray on February 22, 2011 in a premium slipcover edition. A FUNimation Classics reissue followed February 5, 2019. Notable Staff & Voice Talent Director: Kazuya Tsurumaki (Neon Genesis Evangelion episode director, Diebuster)Screenplay: Yoji Enokido (Revolutionary Girl Utena, FLCL, Ouran High School Host Club)Character Design: Yoshiyuki Sadamoto (Neon Genesis Evangelion, Diebuster)Studio: Gainax / Production I.G (Neon Genesis Evangelion, Ghost in the Shell: SAC, Mahoromatic)Music: Shinkichi Mitsumune & The PillowsFeatured Bands: The Pillows (all music throughout series)Opening Theme: "Ride on Shooting Star" by The Pillows Japanese Cast:- Mayumi Shintani as Haruko Haruhara- Jun Mizuki as Naota Nandaba- Takumi Yamazaki as Kamon Nandaba (Nightwalker, Macross II)- Suzuki Matsuo as Shigekuni Nandaba- Ikue Ohtani as Mamimi Samejima (Pokémon — voice of Pikachu, Tenamonya Voyagers, Night Warriors: Darkstalkers' Revenge) English Dub Cast (Synch-Point — ADV Films):- Kari Wahlgren as Haruko Haruhara (WXIII Patlabor Movie 3)- Barbara Goodson as Naota Nandaba (Tenchi Movie 2, Love Hina Christmas Special, RG Veda, Akira)- Jennifer Sekiguchi as Mamimi Samejima- Dave Mallow as Kamon Nandaba (Kurogane Communication) Blu-ray Features (FUNimation 2011 Slipcover Edition) - All 6 Episodes — Complete Series- Premium Slipcover Packaging- Episode Commentaries (Director Kazuya Tsurumaki and others)- Production Gallery & Artwork- Textless Opening & Closing Songs- The Pillows Music Videos- Original Japanese Trailers- FUNimation Previews Spoken Languages: English & Japanese Audio, English Subtitles Edition Details Japanese Title: フリクリ (Furi Kuri / FLCL)Runtime: ~150 Minutes (Complete OVA Series, 6 Episodes)Director: Kazuya TsurumakiBlu-ray Release Year: 2011 (U.S. Release, February 22 — FUNimation Entertainment, slipcover edition); FUNimation Classics reissue February 5, 2019Original Release Date (Japan): April 26, 2000 – March 16, 2001Publisher: FUNimation EntertainmentRating: 17+Region: Region A (North America)Note: Premium slipcover packaging edition. Originally aired on Adult Swim Toonami 2003. The Pillows perform all music throughout the series.Genre: Sci-Fi, Comedy, Coming-of-AgeThemes: Puberty Allegory, Robots from Foreheads, The Pillows Score, Gainax x Production I.G, Multi-Style Animation Media assumed VG+ unless otherwise noted.
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