FLCL in the early part of last decade aired as an anime on Adult Swim, and pretty much took teens of America at that time by storm. Tokyopop at the time also got to release the graphic novel, in a two volume series, but now roughly about ten years later, FLCL gets re-licensed and released by Dark Horse as a remastered completed omnibus. The art is done with strong ink black lines, with sparse panels and detail. For all intents and purposes, the chapters are also episodic, and what a trippy trip this is, and in my opinion not for fans who expect a well rounded story line.
Though for those who are adventurous, would you happen to want to have things being pulled out from a hyperspace hole from your forehead? I definitely wouldn’t, but it is what Naota has to face, as he goes from an unwilling teenager into a town hero bent on saving his town from getting involved in an interstellar conspiracy.
Possibly due to the medium, but FLCL the manga didn’t capture my attention the same as the anime did. It certainly didn’t translate well, for as I read this book, I can’t help but think back and get completely distracted by far reaching comparisons to the what I thought was a fantastic anime. It certainly wouldn’t help, that I kept on listening to the music, and recall my memories of watching The Pillows in concert.
I definitely see this manga as fitting a market niche for existing FLCL fans, but I wonder on how it would do as sales for people who are newcomers. I certainly don’t find this an enjoyable experience for those who won’t enjoy reading short bursts of humor like what they usually do in 4-koma type books. I can see similarities to being like a warped darker version of .hack, and Soul Eater. Do you?
FLCL will forever win for best soundtrack. There are no words or notes to explain it.
It seems to me that FLCL is fundamentally tied to its soundtrack in ways few anime are, except maybe music-centered shows or unique concoctions like Cowboy Bebop. Stripping that away probably dilutes the experience. With the manga you have dialogue and art only—the story becomes primary, and in a way FLCL wasn’t really about the story so much as the sensory experience.