- I N T R O -
FLCL is a series that's full to the brim with chaotic comedy, amazing action scenes, hidden metaphors and underlying themes.
It's a coming of age story focusing on our protagonist Naota, just a normal ordinary sixth-grader living in an ordinary city where nothing exciting ever happens. Naota took it upon himself to look after everything his older brother Tasuku left when he went to America to play baseball, from from his top bunk bed to his ex-girlfriend Mamimi Samejima, who hasn't stopped clinging to Naota since Tasuku left.

Little does Naota know, however, that his mundane existence is on the verge of being changed forever: enter Haruko Haruhara, a Vespa-riding, bass guitar-wielding, pink-haired psychopath whose first encounter with Naota leaves him with tire tracks on his back and a giant horn on his head. Though all he wants is some peace and quiet, when Haruko takes up residence at his parents' home, Naota finds himself dragged into the heart of the greatest battle for supremacy that Earth—and quite possibly the entire universe—has ever seen.

- S T O R Y -
FLCL tells a story that is a lot more clever and thought provoking than one would expect.
Often requiring knowledge of the left and right brain and color perception, how the red represents aggression and anger, and how blue stands for calmness and wisdom.

The main focus is the character development of Naota, his road to maturity.
Growing up isn't the easiest thing, and this goes double for Naota. As he is surrounded by people who are older than him but lack the maturity that he has. He doesn't understand women and often confuses their signals.
He tries his hardest to be taken seriously, but he feels alienated from both the adults in his life and his classmates, as he still isn't ready for the adult world, despite trying so hard to seem like one, but he also isn't a part of the other young people, because he's running away from his childhood despite secretly wishing to have one.

Everyone has that someone that they look up to, and to Naota that's his older brother Tasuku, with his brother now gone to America. With his rolemodel gone, he now forces himself to grow up which puts a lot of pressure on and tires him.
He pretends to be ignorant about other's problems, despite caring, and he even though he doesn't like sour drinks, he drinks them to appear more mature.
He's trying to cast away a childhood he wants to have.
The thing Naota has the most trouble with is his own feelings, he doesn't know how to deal with his own feelings.
Throughout the series, the dialogue is filled with sexual innuendos which represent Naota's mind being assaulted with thoughts of sex (mainly because of Haruko). With no trusted adults to go to for help, his feelings of isolation only grow and grow.

FLCL does have a plot besides character development, which is really Haruko's part.
She is the one that actually progresses through the plot, but the main character we see is Naota.

Medical Mechanica, a monolithic industrial corporation that makes a lot of robots has captured Atomsk, the Pirate King who is actually the most powerful space pirate in the universe.
It is unclear what relations, if any, Haruko had with Atomsk, but one thing is for sure: She wants his powers and her current goal is to free him from Medical Mechanica's confinement by directly warping robots randomly out of N.O. channels. To do this she needs brains that matches the proper signals, so she comes to Earth in hopes of finding someone.

- C H A R A C T E R S -
Each and every FLCL character is not what they seem. All of them face their demons and struggle with something, or have hidden objectives.

Mamimi, Tasuku's ex-girlfriend is using Naota to vent her sexual frusturations and is a severely depressed chain-smoker. Mamimi can be seen to lack control over her life or willpower, hence the near-constant smoking and child-like reliance on others, whether it'd be Naota or his older brother Tasuku. This could also explain why she loves taking care of things that are weak-willed, which she leaves (or which escape, like Ta-kun, the black kitten) when they start to show independence.

Eri Ninamori is much like Naota, with the exception that she's a bit more selfish.
She projects a proper, even slightly stuck-up personality, and conceals personal information to an almost obsessive degree; she does not even let her classmates know that she needs corrective lenses, instead wearing contacts while at school. Even with her class president status, however, Eri isn't above breaking the rules to get what she wants. She rigs the voting during the casting for the school play in order to get the lead role and have Naota cast opposite her, which (along with letting him see her wearing glasses) hints at her crush on Naota. Other hints are her expressed dislike of Mamimi and a final scene with Naota by a vending machine that mirrors Mamimi and Naota's early-series interactions. Ninamori is highly intelligent, if a little jaded. Much like Naota, Ninamori attempts to act mature

Mentioning anything about Haruko except that she's completely nuts would be a big spoiler.

- A N I M A T I O N & OST -
The animation was extremely fluid and gorgeous, it really sets the right atmosphere for the show. It's full of color and energy.
The OST is probably one of the best I've heard in anime, the western inspired indie rock in FLCL fits perfectly and the only one we have to thank for that is The Pillows, an amazing band that to lend it's talent to FLCL's production.

- O V E R A L L -
FLCL is a great series, a coming of age story with a lot of energy and chaotic comedy that also has underlying themes about growing up and sexual frusturation.
It's a lot of content packed into just 6 episodes but it manages to convey everything perfectly without feeling rushed.