i finally figured out what FLCL is about

Oh no, I'm watching FLCL again. A spiritual and temporal sequel to my original FLCL video essay. This one talks about being queer (among other things) so, yeah.

[@kingcyclops4079]

Watched this when I was younger. The show hits hard now. When most days feel like just the same on repeat it’s easy to understand this show. By the end the protag doesn’t live a life of adventure instead chooses to continue a normal life but with a more optimistic outlook, embracing the uncomfortableness that comes with change and trying to be more open. When you go in with right perspective even the most mundane things can feel like an adventure.

[@mojhito5]

“Eating a bad ramen can be fun, too”

[@jA-jw5bg]

for me FLCL's main themes have clearly always been puberty & identity, every episode a "major event" one experiences during their puberty causes Naota to grow a horn and the action goes batshit insane, visually representing the tornado of emotions of said events. it's crazy how smoothly and well they inserted every character perfectly into the story with their own well-written issues. FLCL is a masterpiece with a perfect ending, "that (middle school) uniform doesn't fit you at all"

[@ljuddykare]

FLCL is a mainstay for me precisely because of how many ways there are to interpret it. I like to classify it as a "coming-of-life" story.

[@VaalanHei]

The pace and energy of this video is SO good. The way it's different from a lot of FLCL videos really resonated with me personally, like the kind of realization about something that makes you laugh and say "fuck it let's go, I know what we're doing now". And I really like your editing choices, they're intense and amplify the topics of your videos! Same goes for this video. So, thank you. I enjoy your work a great deal, it has a special place in my heart :)

[@dkmn7568]

I really resonate with your last point. "Swing the bat" is a mantra thats stuck with me ever since I first watched the show as a 12 year old. "Nothing will happen if you don't swing the bat" is what pushed me over the edge and convinced me to start living for myself. I knew I would stay miserable if I didn't change. "Swing the bat" is what I said to myself before I came out as a trans man to my parents as a young teen. Even though they weren't supportive I still lived authentically. It gave me the courage to live for myself. If it wasn't for FLCL I might have lost so much more time that I'd never get back not living as myself. I will always be grateful that I found FLCL when I did.

[@knightofcydonia1192]

I love this so much. Thanks for sharing, and I couldn't agree more.

[@KindWanderer94]

I always go back to FLCL's soundtrack and it brings me back. Its a weird melancholic nostalgia that is so intoxicating. When "The right way around" by Daughter started playing it reminded me of life is strange before the storm (its the main menu song) and it made this video hit even harder. Great video.

[@miguelpom]

God! Dude, you nailed it. I've loved FLCL from the very first watch, but up until your video I hadn't been able to figure out the WHY. Thank you... very much.

[@michaelplaysbass8311]

I love you. I'm about to graduate highschool and get thrusted into a big scary world without protection. Honestly this video made me feel a little bit better

[@slocoder]

i know nothing about FLCL. i now want to know what FLCL is.

[@Red_Scales]

you should watch it, it's a six episode anime and it rules, that is all i'll say

[@TheWiseMountainGoat]

To me, flcl screamed of the struggles of puberty when I was a kid. As a young adult, it felt like a tale of identity crisis like your video suggests. Now in my 30s, I think flcl can best be described as the abstract struggles we all have in the back of our minds but can rarely contextualize, now ingeniously made just a little less abstract and given their own context that's outside of us, making them easier to see and understand. That probably sounds like madness, but so does this anime, and all of us that love flcl see different aspects of our own struggles in it. It's lightning in a bottle

[@jinh605]

There is no other piece of art like FLCL. I truly think the genius created in this show will never be captured again. It's a show that understands you more than you understand it. That is endlessly fascinating to me, and why this show will always be a part of me.

[@xxkankala1671]

You need to watch more shit

[@tametalks6102]

The line about other you watching alongside you hit hard, I was 12 when I first watched flcl and I'm 20 now. I feel the younger me sitting next to me whenever I watch flcl, and I always want to say something cheesey like "your going to love the future" but I can't. I don't love my life I've just been surviving, not living for years and flcl helped me see how miserable I was. For me flcl is about being yourself and identifying what makes a person who they are, or it's about relationships and how some can be healthy and some not so much. or just the human experience in general and how everything is fleeting so enjoy it now because it's gone if you don't or something. I don't know where I was going to be honest, but your video really hit a nerve I didn't think I could feel again so thank you.

[@jyotirmoybhattacharjee8658]

Recently watched FLCL for the first time and it blew my mind. An outstanding introspection towards relating the philosophy with your life and washing some of the clouds inside my head about this anime.

[@starfox1436]

I love this. There are so many ways to interpret this show, and this is another great one. I always saw it as a metaphor for puberty itself, not so much coming of age. Things that happen that shouldn't be a big deal end up bigger than you expected, people that you might like or not will come into your life without you having a say in it. You cant control your emotions to the point that how you really feel is practically literally written all over your face. You get this "horn" that you didn't know about till now that just shows up at the worst times. If you try to express yourself it may be too extreme so you just end up having the opposite intended effects. You're easily taken advantage of by cute girls because who wouldn't be at that age?

[@nolynylon]

One thing that speaks to the power of flcl is how every KZbin channel that has more than one video discussing it is that they're all almost the same age

[@snowttrpg]

adult swim hit different

[@emelorebn9602]

This is one of the most intresting takes on the series I've seen, and to say it lightly, I adore media takes that use personal expirance as a way to interpret media. Your story about your mother, it hits home becuase it reminds me of a good 17 years of just that. I'm petrified of wearing crop tops despite reciving nothing but compliments anywhere where I don't know each and every person to some degree.

[@jpickens189]

I watched FLCL to get to sleep hundreds of times as a kid, it is like a show custom-designed to get young people (who were raised as boys?) to spend hours thinking about it.

[@jerFACED]

This video made me a fan. Found you via recommendation while listening to anime lore and visiting parents with my wife. FLCL has the same effect on me as wanting to reflect. My mother did the same thing with the jelly band bracelets but I kept going, grew my hair out, as I got older I found my truth, I am a bi man and it didn't stop me from marrying my wife. She loves me for who I am, something my mother didn't do and we haven't spoken in almost 10 years due. Life works out that way sometimes but finding who you are and living how you want is the most important thing at the end of it all.

[@snowttrpg]

Hell yeah! Thanks to youtube for showing my video to you. And thanks for sharing your experience.

[@ChairWithScoliosis]

im gonna be honest, when you said listening to what other people want for you has done nothing for you. It made me shed a tear, im always punishing myself for not being enough for the people around me, im almost never happy and its because i dont know what i want for myself

[@toethumbghost]

thank you for crystallizing my thoughts on flcl, i like your art :)

[@letsgame30]

Holy shit the energy in this video is so great. Keep up the super work o7

[@melichaahmat6416]

What you did as a result of your mother's words breaks my heart 💔 😢 and yet, I can relate. It sounds like you've come to process it all though and what it means for your life. I'm happy for you.

[@DekuranDX]

This is intelligent, youre well spoken and good with identifying key elements that compose an experience or piece of art. Definitely write more about your outlooks on how we absorb media, you have a lot to say, I can tell, and I want to hear it. Great job, well done yo.

[@TrampMachine]

Love the video. FLCL has been my favorite since I first saw it on Adult Swim in 2003. I never really rewatch most things, but I've rewatched FLCL more times than I can count. It helps that it's only 6 episodes.

[@EthansSpace]

just found the channel love your stuff. As a Chicago Cyclist the B roll was very fun to watch!

[@FrameGawd]

Thank you for making something so beautiful. FLCL has evolved and grown with me just like how you described it. I've never had a piece of media change its meaning so many times. And yet I've never really had a chance to discuss it at length. So seeing someone else feel the same way feels incredible. You put this together beautifully. I can't wait to see more content from you.

[@markop.1994]

Once again, FLCL is such genius that people r still talking about all these years later 😅

[@Sharknadoo0]

As someone whose still in their teenage years and suffers with a lot of problems with self image and identity flcl helped me so much to understand my feelings and know I’m not alone and that everyone suffers it too, at first I just liked because of the animation and how the creator just putted stuff in bc he wanted to, but then at the end I started to understand the true meaning. Thank you your video was amazing and it helped me understand more deeply the meaning of flcl good job

[@JustAJauneArc]

Another completely unique take and reasoning for their thesis to add to the hat that is FLCL. Man, I love how dense this show is, and how so much of it can be up to personal interpretation--there's no writing on the walls or exposition to explain the plot or its themes. An insane masterpiece, and a good video. Thanks for talking about my favorite anime of all time.

[@MarMarVibes]

Short but sweet and to the point but with the addition of personal life stuff which makes this video all the better. Love the kaleidoscope editing choice too

[@varicosevisage4794]

THIS. I always say it as a series about struggling to find your identity, FLCL was honestly my trans awakening in a sense, as it made me realize I wasn't being my authentic self

[@jessehutchings]

Yeah, dude.. as an adult now I relate to these characters more than ever. There are years of my life I spent trying to please other people, debt that I can't pay, dreams I watch die over and over again .. A few years ago I rediscovered my love for music and decided I don't care if I will never live the American family dream. The love and hope that I find with music, my original dream for myself, is more important than anyone else's expectations. Pursuing anything else means losing my hope and true identity. So, now my challenge is to finally make my own dream a reality. Will it happen? I don't know but as long as I continue trying I will never feel like I wasted my life like when I tried to make other people happy

[@AllTheseWastedNuts]

Both your FLCL videos are amazing! Thank you so much!

[@anedaneran5666]

I don't know what I think about the bracelet story being superimposed on the biking footage where you wear your mask on your right wrist... But I do feel a whole lot of emotions about it!

[@Jon_East]

Good stuff, Batts. I really love your unique personal style of video essaying.

[@thecarrotclarinet]

Another wonderful self reflection! Love it when you talk about FLCL

[@Koopacake]

Can't even really put into words how this vid made me feel. I love flcl, and your analysis and everything else you've talked about resonated deeply with me, especially the aspect of going against what other people expect from you. Thank you. Subscribed :)

[@AstrotableCT]

Loved the video, FLCL is one of my favorite anime and has had such a big impact on me as well. Keep up the great work!

[@copycatmoon]

Bah! did a three year speed run of this. i shall surpass the older generations

[@theonethatlived6223]

Holy shit this video is incredible. It’s like a revelation. I’m so glad I saw this. It transformed me. And here I thought I knew what flcl was all about.

[@jomalomal]

Just discovered this series the other day so great timing!! I think you're absolutely spot on in your analysis. Don't beat yourself up for letting your mom's bracelet comment get to you; it's totally natural for us to latch onto things like that, especially as kids. Glad you're exploring your identity and figuring things out, we can all learn a little from Naota :-)

[@HeartofArcana]

Back to foolying and coolying. ❤️

[@xviii_1827]

I can’t believe I’ve never thought of the show like that yes I agree it’s a struggle with identity hes just a kid

[@spuhgeddy1084]

FLCL is both the journey and your heart will decide when you start?

[@izindle3239]

This is a really really good video! saw you made a video on destiny and addiction too so I’m excited to watch that 😁

[@thed4rknss673]

FLCL Progressive made me notice the plot about identity, but i didn't notice back on the first anime

[@drpetersellers]

Beautiful!

[@spliffsforbreakfast]

Just cruising through the north side contemplating life. chillin.. don't get car doored 💀 also love the vid bro always here for introspection

[@Gunshywally1369]

I loved this, I'm 26, and while my friends were gawking about the new Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends I was still jamming out to The Pillows song I heard 10 hours earlier the night before. I rewatch the show FLCL as a nostalgia thing, but as I've gotten older, I've realized I relate to a different character every time I rewatch it. Also can you list the music you used?

[@snowttrpg]

Believe it or not, it's mostly free music from the youtube library. And a few originals from me. Most of them were from an artist called Asher Fullero. I'll start putting that stuff in the credits.

[@unturnedlovwr3114]

this is way too good to only have 500 views

[@rickyrouze1191]

thank you for the abrupt cut

[@plya0]

I watched this because I just finished FLCL, but damn. Beautiful video. this really resonated with me as a 20y/o bisexual guy. my parents are latino so they're on the more conservative side, but I really feel like your video, and FLCL both tell me the same thing. "Live like the real you". Maybe i will come out to them some day haha. Anyways, subbed :D

[@coldkun_]

basically, we're all fools just trying to be cool

[@chainsaw2610]

this video is GREAT

[@Mungdaal304]

I watched this show at the right time in my life to understand it the first time through. And all I can say is wow. Imma think of this show for many years. Itll always be recognized as the show that propelled me into my 20s. I can say it made me accept who I am a little more. I guess who I grew into. I used to feel bothered because I felt like I couldn't empathize or sympathize with what other people feel or really care I guess. The people I've admired were emotionless work horses who's lifes purpose was to provide. it was always about being strong or not being a pussy. It was about swinging the bat and nothing else As an adult I struggle to maintain good relationships because well how can you if feelings make no sense. I Couldn't even cry when my mom died and every fiber of my soul was screaming inside. Everything that came with the swing always scared me so much so I just wouldn't swing at all trying to fight the changes. Maybe I should just swing and accept everything that comes along with what I am. This shows an anomaly and although I liked it. I did not wanna look this deeply into myself at 3 in the morning but I'll take it as what I needed and not what I wanted. Well good luck to all my fellow humans in these comments. I see this show made a lotta people think about themselves

[@kirokye]

not to be THAT guy but haruko doesn’t want to free her “lover” atomsk. that’s just what amaro thinks haruko’s motives are, but the reason haruko’s searching for atomsk is because she wants to gain his powers. even the buff masculine depiction of him we see in the anime isn’t what he actually looks like, it’s just what amaro thinks he looks like.

[@hugewangsan3060]

guess im watching flcl again

[@RhizometricReality]

Good video. I'm glad i stumbled upon it. Homophobia and the expectations we were crushed under as we were destroyed seeking self discovery ruined and steals so many futures.

[@JK79311]

For a mini series anime a it gonna take me til infinity to fully under lol

[@taleuwhoisadog845]

Damn. I completely relate. Would you like to be in a codependent relationship?

[@ametdepri1919]

First video I saw from you. Checked out your other stuff and to say your content is amazing is an understatement. Thank you for robbing me from multiple hours of my life.

[@galogarzonbenavides1021]

Fooly Cooly is not something to understandable mate. It's something to feel. If you relate yourself to it, that's fine. But it's not the purpose of the entire thing. The purpose solely is absurdity with so much dystopia. The struggle to understand absurdity and surrealism, is the real purpose of it. This show was so well done that you can just sit and try to understand it ending up in nowhere.. with more questioning, over and over. Just like trying to understandable your own mortality and existence.

[@pingu6550]

"ive been mamimi" ok

[@setsuna8906]

HOLY SHIT I WATCH SO MANY VIDEO ABOUT FLCL AND THIS ONE makes the most sense

[@blackjack0202]

I need to rewatch FLCL. It’s been too long.

[@matheustran8009]

Ninamori does not wear fake glasses actually. In her bedroom you can actually see several frames where the lens of her glasses are clearly visible

[@jaredkaye3669]

Yay! FLCL! I consider it a 2.5 hour music video. The chatactets are personifications of a punk rock ethos where you do it yourself. We are living in a matrix and Lord Conti is A.I. who is also an angel! The pirate King, an interdimensional A.I. rectifies the abuses passed down through 10,000 years of pain acquired by enslaving animals selects Naota because he plays cello and is pure of heart and is capable of defeating medical mechanica or the medical indistrial complex by forgiving his abuser Haruko; his teacher. Apocalypse averted! But medical mechanica survives.

[@PoshoLoco]

I would highly recommend you to see Alternative. Many people fail in comparing to the original but the truth Is it Stands by its own. It has beautiful characters and a big and relatable issue going around the main character. It Is sad that in orden to get to Alternative many people went through Progressive first and then skiped the whole thing. Let me say you can skip Progressive and dive directly Into Alternative. Cheers!

[@snowttrpg]

I watched Altenative when it first aired. I don't really remember much of it though so I should go back to it.

[@peak8803]

definitley a new meaning you have gaven it, i really liked the vid :3 i have still yet to find my own meaning in the show if I find one at all, theres scraps of meaning somewhere here and there but its nothing yet really, and ik this video may be a year old so its likely this comment will be buried away, but out curiosity, have you started wearing those bracelets????

[@benadrylcabbagepatch2527]

Maybe that’s why this series never really resonated with me, why I never understood it. I was always too self absorbed. Now I have someone who I love, but she’s lost, like everyone in this series, her world revolves around others. She knows this and wants to change. I want to change, too. I want to trust myself to be there for her without withdrawing into myself when things get rough. Where do we start? Maybe I can start by watching FLCL again…

[@Pooky1991]

Loved this show when I was little and enjoy it more as an adult.

[@gkwgeek4509]

Thanks again!

[@thechicago98]

okay, i really like the audio, right? but if i am going to be honest the kaleidoscope visuals kinda keep throwing me off. other than that, actually that is kind of a big thing since its a video. but tbh i listened to it rather than watching it, yk? and i really liked it. i really liked this video. i really enjoyed this video. i am still enjoying this video... i am the enjoyer of this video. thank u mr John Battle for making this awesome vidfeo... keep it up.... happiness to you...

[@TOKYO_RO]

Damn this is such a great analysis

[@Naotahaley]

*lots of FLCL content been popping up on my suggestions recently and idk if it's cuz of the new upcoming seasons or what but I'm happy*

[@charlemagne5445]

I'm crying.

[@moves9574]

amazing video.

[@jasonuerkvitz3756]

FLCL is about getting laid for the first time. Hitting that home run, however, isn't all that it's cracked up to be. But, in the end, it's pretty awesome, and, well, life just goes on.

[@danylol772]

idk man, from all the mom's i've seen on my life most of them look like bad persons lol I don't think i will ever speak to mine again but oh well

[@HidomiFLCL]

cant wait to see the progressive video in another 30 years

[@e66iu]

follow your heart, even if the rest doesn't sort itself out. do it for you.

[@_b_9895]

I simply took Kazuya Tsurumaki's explanation for what FLCL was about. He said all he did was pick out a bunch of random things that he found amusing, and turned it into an OVA. He didn't even bother thinking about it that much. He rattled out whatever was going through his head at the time, and told his team of animators to draw it. I only mention this because I find it even more amusing that someone like yourself would seek out any sort of meaning from an anime that was never intended to have any meaning for it in the first place.

[@willmurrin9344]

Your videos are cool, thanks.

[@jaeyoooung]

i can recognize that omori font from anywhere.

[@kiniog]

realest dude ive heard

[@messengerofthesea]

I'm not crying ur crying

[@silvasen1985]

I know the point of the video but flcl came out in 2000 bro

[@mookiestewart3776]

Nice vid but I don’t think toonami was running this show in 2004, it first came out on adult swim in 2003 …….

[@snowttrpg]

i was like 11 years old. forgive me for not remembering the exact details.

[@christianfnavarrete6775]

really good fucking video bro, made me think

[@rossreisman]

Damn that was beautiful

[@MywholeLifeisALie]

Guys I think he liked Fooly Cooly 🧐

[@bija8534]

❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

[@OpticalDecoy]

Preach!

[@Memz23]

He was a "Fooly" who wanted to be "Cooly"?

[@amygdala9857]

3:45 she doesn't wear fake glasses, she over shared the first time by wearing real glasses Naota's house, and usually she wears contacts so no one knows, and so she war fake glasses at the play to make it seem to naota all along that they were take, regaining some of that privacy i am only half way in, and forgive me for this, but i disagree with your idea about FLCL entirely

[@jeremycanning7058]

You're so cool batts

[@RioniXIV]

identity crisis anime great

[@nicknick_nick]

All of that just for growing up?😑 Its so roundabout, half of all media is relatable by default. Why a whole show for the same point? Bruh just finished og, I cant articulate how mad the final fight got me. What are the chances that both characters I dislike the most get to be center...

[@fullsendcirca9255]

Bruh not sure anyone clicked this thumbnail expecting to hear your life story haha I saw it as a young boy too but kinda wanted to better understand the message behind the anime.

[@blackdogledzep]

You said you're not someone's son, what did that mean?