Anime Review: Fooly Cooly

FOOLY COOLY: Nonsensical in a very good way

Naota Nandaba’s world is turned upside down when he is run over by a woman with her scooter. In their first encounter, she hits him with her guitar, which causes an unusual bump on his forehead. This bump, strangely enough, has become the catalyst of many complications in his life. Before he realizes it, he is drawn into a world of man-fighting robots and intergalactic organizations.

            This premise, no matter how promising it seems to be, is actually not the factor that makes Fooly Cooly a very good watch. In fact, it has not been expanded enough to be a legitimate plotline. It seems to be just there just so the series could say that it actually has a plot. Don’t get me wrong. This is a good thing. The fact that the main premise is almost inexistent -- or, I could rather say hard to understand because it has not been explained well -- is actually the reason why Fooly Cooly is very entertaining.

            The series just doesn’t take itself too seriously, so it has successfully employed a very fun atmosphere. In fact, it has become so fun that it comes to the boundaries of weirdness. What make it weird are the entirely random encounters and adventures the characters are drawn in. The bad side of randomness is the possibility that it could turn out awkward -- but this is not the case for Fooly Cooly. The randomness is pulled off so well that it comes to the point of hilarity and just plain-old enjoyment.

These random encounters and adventures are flooded with action scenes that, most of the time, defy the laws of physics and are rather flashy. What makes them flashy is the fact that the artists utilize different art styles in animation, which makes every sequence very refreshing to the eyes. Add into the mix the incredible music soundtracks and the viewers will surely be pumped up in these action sequences.

            Perhaps the downside of the series is the overall characterization. Most of them just don’t leave a distinct impression, and the only one that does is Haruko, the main perspective of the viewers to the bizarreness of everything in Fooly Cooly. If I would compare her to another anime character, that would be to Monkey D. Luffy from One Piece. They are so similar that it is as if Haruko is actually the female version of Monkey D. Luffy -- a person who just shouts ‘fun’ all over our faces.

Overall, Fooly Cooly is a very enjoyable series. It won’t bore the viewers with complicated plotlines, but will surely give them a taste of adrenaline rush with unusually amusing sequences that don’t make a single sense.