Fooly Cooly to me reflects the confusing and bombastic nature of early adolescence and childhood, where nothing makes sense and everything feels unfair. There's something indescribably profound about the nostalgic feelings I have towards this show, reminding me of how I was when I first watched it. I really felt like Naota in a sense, being swept up by the charming and immature Haruko (who was mildly attractive or something) while rejecting normalcy and being entirely confused by the utter bull on screen I found a stupid enjoyment at the admittedly amazing animation and soundtrack while still under the impression that it was written by
...
and for obnoxious evangelion fans who spent more time analysing the show than actually watching it.
So I moved on with my life, watched the sequels which were... slightly worse (uncreative but admittedly under rated) and then entirely forgot about the show. I had my brief stint into shonen (one piece isn't that long you degenerates) alongside the usual trashy slice of life romances and found my way back to FLCL. I guess I had been confused at the hype and wanted to reassure myself that it was mid (I had begrudgingly given it an 8 whilst secretly giving it a 7). And what with it being a short show I thought why not?
Now by this time I was still a dumb stupid idiot brain child (I am currently also an idiot child but slightly less than before) but I had lived a little bit more life, experienced a tiny scrap more of life and love and sadness etc. etc...
And through this spiteful re-watch to justify my obsessive ranking of which I made super double triple sure I had gotten entirely correct in spite of the highly subjective nature of my own opinion. I found... Well...
Something Amazing
FLCL is well and truly one of if not my favourite anime I have seen and definitely my favourite show to re-watch. Ever since re-watch #1 I have had a near constant itch to just watch it again, just one more time, one more hit. Saying this in the least precocious way possible (even though I think it's too late for that now) I just sort of got it. I'm not particularly sure at what point at to what ends, but I slowly started to piece together the random bullshit that made up this amphetamine fuelled drug trip of an ova series.
The whole point of the show. Is that there isn't a point. And that sometimes that's okay. I think that we all have experienced a time when we have had a series of unfortunate events that lead to you doing something shitty, and with my dumb stupid idiot monkey brain I often find myself replaying these events in my head again and again and again like a toddler with ADHD re-watching Hotel For Dogs for the thousandth time.
Sometimes, it's just nice to stop searching for meaning on this microscopic space rock floating in infinite nothingness until we, already basically nothing, are soon consumed by the limitless expanse of space and become slightly more nothing than we already were. And obviously there are actually themes and character arcs and so on and so forth which I have learned to appreciate more over time. But what really connects with me is how it is one big perfectly summed up expression of how it was growing up. I guess the reason why it made no sense to me when I was younger was because I hadn't really had a punt at the whole growing up thing.
This immaturity and stubbornness, refusing to grow up. Longing for something more when there is crazy bullshit happening right in- you that you refuse to acknowledge because it is normal.
The beautiful contrast between the planetary stakes and the close knit friendships and homely Japanese house vibes. The stupid arguments and profound moments, where Naota and Mamimi just sort of sit, and look. The desperate longing for affection and approval and fooly cooly and fooly kura and so on and so forth.
Fooly Cooly is and forever will be in my holy trinity of life changing shows. I don't know if it changed my world view or made my life even slightly better.
But it was nice. To sit down and remember those simpler days that really weren't any more simple but were just thought of in that way because you were too narrow minded to see how complicated life already was.
Fooly Cooly reminds me of a specific memory, I honestly don't know why it stands out to me so much but it obviously stuck with me. I was out with the neighbourhood kids who I didn't particularly care for. I think I felt obligated to go out with them and socialise because that's what you were supposed to do at that age. We were playing along the roads and my friend ran after me across the road and lost his croc, now chasing me barefoot across the spicy tarmac. I was fast, I was top 3 in the school in primary school, I wasn't particularly fast but I could run circles around even the fastest of people because of my immaculate turning speed. We crossed the road and I had got to a comfortable distance away from him when he realised that he had lost his shoe, only for a car to drive past before he could go to retrieve it. His croc was flattened. It was a flat croc, with the comical cartoon tire lines on the rubbery pancake. It was and still is very funny to think about, but what happened afterwards really sticks with me. We stayed out really late, at that age really late was close to sundown and it being summer meant that we were out to about 9 or 10. I remember sitting down on the grassy brooke on the other side of the road to their house and feeling the lightly damp grass on my scuffed and scraped hands, my chest puffing in and out from running for way too long sustained off of half a can of coke and a froob. I looked up to the streetlights which illuminated the dimmed street in a tinny copper orange matching the now setting sun which had all but retreated. I remember sitting there and being generally naffed off, with a pounding headache and aching limbs and I just thought, I don't know why, think of me as a little philosopher in the making. I remember thinking that this was what life was. And that this was nice.
There was something calm and cathartic about being knackered from playing it at an age old enough to be deemed incredibly embarrassing. I thought that despite this experience not being particular standout or even that enjoyable. I felt a little bit sad that there weren't going to be many more times that I would be able to feel this way. I don't know why I was such a downer to be completely honest, and I'm not sure if this really was the last time I did something like that, but I still find myself looking back to that one time and if just for a second longing for the innocence and simplicity and grunge and confusion of back then.
Right now I am turning 18 in August. At that point my childhood will be pretty solidly and completely in the past. I'm slightly scared about what the future will hold. Jobs, taxes, mortgages and marriage, work acquaintances and loading up the dishwasher. It's always scary to move on to something new, if I were in the same spot as I was two years ago I would be dreading being 18. But now.
I Think I'm ready.
Every now and then it is nice to take a peak into those feelings. And FLCL is a tiny window into my stupid childhood. I don't expect anyone to relate or even slightly identify with anything I have been spouting. And this is probably the least useful review I have ever written.
But if you have gotten this far (I did not intend to ramble this much) I have one thing to say to you.
Thank You. For taking a moment to sit down and listen.
Life is full of these tiny moments that you don't realise are important until they are long gone. I try my best to hold on to those memories. Because we only get a few of those special moments before we die and evaporate or something.
I guess if I had to sum up what this show means to me. It is the ability to find meaning in the meaninglessness of life. Not everything is going to make sense, and that's okay.
And I think there's something beautiful about that.
(P.S it is 12 O'clock and I have had three exams in three days so this entire thing might be complete and utter bullshit. I am completely delirious and will never look at this ever again in my life)
Jun 8, 2022
Fooly Cooly to me reflects the confusing and bombastic nature of early adolescence and childhood, where nothing makes sense and everything feels unfair. There's something indescribably profound about the nostalgic feelings I have towards this show, reminding me of how I was when I first watched it. I really felt like Naota in a sense, being swept up by the charming and immature Haruko (who was mildly attractive or something) while rejecting normalcy and being entirely confused by the utter bull on screen I found a stupid enjoyment at the admittedly amazing animation and soundtrack while still under the impression that it was written by
...
Jan 19, 2022
Boku no Hero Academia 5th Season
(Anime)
add
Please stop doing training arcs. PLEASE. The plot is good. Where are you going. I don't give a shit about mud floor man or mushroom girl or cum pot head. Just allow the story to happen.
I find the stuff with Shigaraki and Re-destro very good in this season (8-9/10) it's a really fresh take on the big shonen villain that I'm very interested in seeing. Obviously bones knows how to make things look very nice when they decide to, but the art is competent elsewhere. The main cast of the show is a bit bland in my opinion, Deku isn't that interesting and his development ... |
