Fooly Cooly

FLCL (Fooly Cooly) is an anime OVA series co-produced by Gainax and Production I.G.. The series was created and directed by Kazuya Tsurumaki, and written by Yōji Enokido. Fooly Cooly follows Naota Nandaba, a twelve-year-old boy living in the fictional Japanese town of Mabase, which houses the Medical Mechanica building. The usually tranquil life in Mabase disrupted by the arrival of Haruhara Haruko, who bursts on the scene by running Naota over with her motor scooter and hitting him on the head with a guitar. Later, Naota is shocked to find Haruko working in his house as a live-in maid.

Haruko's search for Atomsk puts her at odds with Medical Mechanica. At the same time, Naota is being watched by Commander Amarao. The Commander believes Haruko is in love with Atomsk and that Medical Mechanica is out to conquer the galaxy. These circumstances get Naota involved in a three way battle between Haruko, Amarao and Medical Mechanica.

Fooly Cooly's odd style, hyperactive pace, convoluted, esoteric plot, and tendency to break the fourth wall sets it apart from other contemporary anime. It can be categorized as a work of comedy, drama, science fiction, romance, philosophy, poetry, and a parody of contemporary culture in general. All and all, it's just an abstract, bizarre storyline. Although most of the series is done in the standard anime style, the animation frequently veers off into other realms, including bullet time, black and white, stills, two elaborate sequences drawn as semi-animated manga and a couple of shots in episode five that recreate the look of South Park.