FLCL Volume 1 by Gainax

FLCL Volume 1 Reviews

• 
  Ricardo Matos

  Imaginative, crazy, sometimes serious, but mostly insane. I did not watch the anime OVAs, but as a Light Novel, it sucks you in.
  It's part 1 of 3, and although it doesn't end on a cliffhanger, you get the feeling the story is incomplete.
• 
  Mj

  I am a diehard FLCL fan, having loved both the anime and the manga adaptations, but it just did not translate to prose very well. Part of this is because it is a fairly straightforward adaptation of the show, very little is added or changed. Part of this is because it was split into three volumes instead of one book. (Since I picked this up, a compilation may have been made, but I'm not positive.)
  
  Personally, I recommend that you save your time and money and read something else.
• 
  Jesss

  You wouldn't think that the Fooly Cooly light novels would be so expensive on Ebay, but when I started hunting for them I was proud to call them collector's items. Most people who know me know that I love the series. Naota Nandaba's ordinary life turns surreal when Haruko shakes it up, and experiences with robots, secret agents, and girls forces him to think and grow. While its very confusing and occasionally obnoxious, the show had a tight budget that spawned six thoughtful and heartfelt episodes.
  
  Since I have an English degree, I spent a lot of time in college perusing short stories for meaning. While many of those stories bored me, Fooly Cooly has stuck with me for many years because it asks the audience to pursue its meaning. Many people compare it to Catcher in the Rye, except I would say there's some Gravity's Rainbow thrown into the batch as well. It's very rewarding to watch Naota experience the trials and tribulations of youthful cynicism and the journey to adulthood.
  
  I like looking for the importance of every sentence in the books I read, and these novelizations are really fun because of it. They've combined my interest in fun anime with the hunger for good storytelling. So far I'm really liking the adaptations. They even expound on things that aren't talked about in the anime, like the medical purposes of the MM bots. The only problem I have with the series so far is that the story is told in a passive voice present in many translated light novels.
• 
  Matthew

  Having been an avid fan of the anime, and then of the manga, I felt compelled to continue on and pick this incarnation up when I saw it. I suppose I was hoping for some new kind of insight that I might have missed while watching the anime.
  
  
  
  Unfortunately, it is a pretty clear-cut adaptation of the show, with few extras thrown in. I still enjoyed it, but I know that is only because I like the show so much. For the general fan, or especially for those who have never seen FLCL before, this is not worth your money.
  
  
  
  It's too bad that they split this into three books instead of compiling them all into one edition, because they could have made it much more appealing to buy. All said and done, at Tokyopop's outrageous price, you would be paying $30 for one complete storyline.
  
  
  
  Also, I'm not sure if it was simply translated poorly, or if it was written really bad, but Enokido's telling seems extremely dumbed down. The anime was particularly complex and interesting for various psychological and philosophical reasons, but the novelization took most of that away.
  
  
  
  Overall, you know if you'll like it. And if you know, definitely pick it up. Watch the show otherwise.
• 
  [boredom.is.overrated]

  Was different to view the characters in this format. I think it would be better to read the manga which came first. I'm debating buying the second book just to get another perspective.