FLCL Volume 1

FLCL (TokyoPop) #1

by Gainax, Yoji Enokido

Naota's life is not simple. He lives with his eccentric father and grandfather in a city distinguished by a gigantic hand-iron shaped factory perched on a hill. His brother's ex-girlfriend makes passes at him. And to top it all off, an impish, playful alien has run him over with her Vespa and smacked him in the head with a bass guitar! Little does he know that this is only the beginning of his involvement in an interplanetary ideological war.

Genres: Manga, Light Novel, Science Fiction, Comics, Japan, Humor, Fiction

122 pages, Paperback

Published March 11, 2008

About the author

GAINAX Co., Ltd. is a Japanese anime studio famous for productions such as Neon Genesis Evangelion, Royal Space Force, Gunbuster, Nadia: The Secret of Blue Water, Kare Kano, FLCL, Magical Shopping Arcade Abenobashi, and Gurren Lagann, which have garnered critical acclaim and commercial success.

Reviews

[Ricardo Matos · Rating 5 out of 5]

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 · Rating 1 out of 5]

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.

[Matthew · Rating 2 out of 5]

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.

[Steiny Mensch · Rating 1 out of 5]

FLCL. This book is FLCL but the book version. There are some new things it added like what happened to the mum, and some other things. Translation no good. (Like how Ukelele no good in episode 3 of the show when Haruko hits the robot with a Ukelele instead of her Rickenbacker, breaking the Ukelele) At one point they use the wrong name. If you want to read something bad as an example for your own work, then this thing is good because it’s not completely boring, especially if you’ve watched the show.
The novelisation is intriguing.
The television, Satin’s vessel, hungry for credits, will transform into a novel in order to save the baby from the falcon. How do I quell the negative consequences of my reclusive habits?

[[boredom.is.overrated] · Rating 4 out of 5]

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.