F L C L

FLCL, also refered to as "Furikuri", is a recent [2000-2001] OAV series by GAINAX. The studio if most famous for its widely known masterpiece Neon Genesis Evangelion. Apart from this, they are also responsible for the "alternative highschool-romance" series Kareshi Kanojyo no Jijyo , and the slightly elder Nadia and the secret of blue water.

The plot, if presented in a nutshell, would be something like this: Young boy leads a boring life. Older, quirky-insane female enters his life, whacks him over the head. This strategy causes more than only a robot to emerge out of his head throughout the series. "His" machines battle other strange machines who mysteriously appear with the blink of an eye. Enormously chaotic battles take place. Boy can work impossible things. Somehow a huge, powerful factory is involved in all of the insanity. Boy falls for girl, but in the end she only abuses him as a tool to achieve her own goals. Boy is rendered heartbroken, but will live on as their paths separate.

Find out a little more about Haruko, what the local kids call the "Bee Monster"

So basically, it's your typical "Young-kid-meets-mecha-meets-large-enterprise" - cliché, correct? Well, no. In fact, it's quite different from everything out there, and I have yet to come across a series that matches its wild, bold extremes. More than anything, FLCL is purely fun. While always different and often disturbing, the series never loses its sense of humor. Especially noteworthy is the integrated parody of existing series [most blatantly South Park!] as well as the high degree of self-mockery. Characters in Furikuri seem to be aware of their roles as animated characters and Naota's dad Kamon even starts rambling about production costs.
FLCL presents fiction at all times, but always includes a certain bit of reality. Naota's story, as well as his classmates' behaviour seem highly natural and basically revolve around common issues of puberty. With all of the sheer insanity occuring around him, Naota also has ordinary problems to struggle with.