Ueda Hajime

Background: From the Publisher “The complete FLCL manga adaptation--now with bonus color illustrations and remastered story pages! In this surreal sci-fi romp, a sullen Japanese boy finds himself in the middle of an interstellar conspiracy. As his home life unravels, a sexy space assassin becomes his family maid, and his own head becomes a portal for armed robots. Life as he knows it is quickly falling apart, and Ueda doesn’t know who’s friend or foe! One thing’s for certain--he has show more to grow up quick and save his hometown, whether he wants to or not!”

Review: I absolutely LOVE FLCL (Fooly Cooly). I watched the Anime/ Adult Swim versions and this complete set of the Manga with illustrations and color pictures is amazing. The story line is so funny, a random girl on a Vespa runs over a kid (Naota), then becomes his family maid and all hell breaks loose around him. Not to mention Mamimi, who is a pyromaniac and animal collector who is obsessed with Naota’s brother and never leave Naota alone. The armed robots plot line is great just because it is so random and funny. If you haven’t read these or seen the show…please do it! show less

FLCL is best described in the first volume as a mixture of genre-defying madness and a melancholy found in the corruption of the adult world as children characters lose their innocence. It's kind of sad to see the tragic Mamimi who has been abandoned by the protagonist's older brother, and the girl who starts fires because she wants to cleanse the world with flame. There are some funny moments but ultimately this is the Oscar Wilde version of social commentary rather than, say, Kiyohiko show more Azuma's take on everyday life in Azumanga Daioh and Yotsuba&!. It's not depressing, just a tad melancholy. It's funny in many ways, but nothing truly makes sense until the second volume, and even then it gets crazier. I give this five stars but it's best recommended to veterans of manga who think they have tried everything. show less

Furi Kuri is delightful and crazy. I actually found the manga a little easier to follow than the anime, possibly because it allowed me to go at my own pace. I think the art in the manga certainly matches the feel of the story better than the anime.
The story seems to match your traditional growing-up adventure, but with all sorts of silly twists. References are even made to all sorts of other mangas, from Gundam to Lupin the 3rd, whether it's making fun of the fact that the concepts therein show more are silly when applied to real life, or if the stories take themselves too seriously. Part of what makes it so endearing is the fact that they constantly break the fourth wall, and nothing is taken seriously.
I wouldn't recommend this to someone new to manga, especially due to the fast pace and I'm not sure a newbie would get a lot of the jokes, but it's definitely worth a read! show less

I saw the Anime of FLCL years ago - and thought it was crazy. The Manga version is no different. It follows the Anime closely - but I found the book to do a better job at explaining certain aspects of the story, while making other parts more confusing.

FLCL doesn't have a straight plot - line, and nothing is ever explained clearly. At times, this deliberate fuzziness is refreshing, other times, you want to scream in frustration.

The volume is not as good as the anime. The style is drawn the show more same, but in the TV show, it is in color with movement, in the Graphic novel, the black and white drawings are hard to follow. So... I would suggest reading this if you are a fan of the TV show (it came first). If you have not seen the TV show and find the book incomprehensible (but is intriguing), the FLCL Anime might be something you should look into. show less