Today's track is “Last Dinosaur” by The Pillows

 

The title and subtitle of this article pretty much summarizes Fooly Cooly (FLCL). You could say that this anime has it all: romance, action, comedy, drama, etc. And while this series is only 6 episodes long, it has a lot of things going on in it. You seriously can’t turn your head away from the screen or even blink because you may miss something totally cool. If I can use one word to describe this series, it is “random”.

Of course, we are here to talk about music and FLCL does not fail to deliver. The music in this whole series is by the famous Japanese rock band The Pillows. Their style has changed somewhat from their beginnings back in the early 90’s, but they have established themselves by having a punkish vibe to their songs, like you might hear throughout all FLCL.

Each song used in the series serves a purpose too; they reflect what is happening on the screen. Like “Advice”, which is used during intense fighting scenes. “Little Busters” appears like a victory theme for the protagonists of the series. “CARNIVAL” is used during serious moments, and of course the song most people remember when talking about this series is “Ride on Shooting Star”, the ending theme of the series.

There is a song that truly deserves more love in this series, and that is “Last Dinosaur”. The opening segment of it is used during the preview clip for the next episode and it is probably why most people do not mention it that much. However, this song appears (or at least a longer clip of it) during the climax of the whole series, the final battle- the moment of truth! It was such an impact for me to see such visuals, such intensity, and such emotion going on with this song in the background. My brain almost melted from the awesomeness. For me, it is the best song in the whole soundtrack.

The song by itself is quite great. The rhythm is quite catchy and powerful. The lyrics to it can be interpreted as “Dealing with emotions” in a “Don’t give a damn!” kind of way; which is why it suits the scene it is in so well. Here’s a translated part of the last chorus in the song:

Even if I'm responsible for all that grief, it's fine 
I don't need your sympathy 
Wherever I am, whoever I'm with
I just want to be alone
Yeah, you can call it “emo” but it fits so well with what the main character, Naota, is going through the whole series. Even some people say that FLCL is pretty much an interpretation of The Pillows songs. I do not know about that, but Gainax sure made a great job fitting the visuals along with the music. If you have not watched FLCL yet, you’re missing out on a great series.

Thanks to 101dkpopman for the suggestion! Like him, if you want one of your favorite songs to appear in a future ILTS article go to the Requests Thread on the VOG Forums or participate by leaving a comment below! We would really appreciate that!

Until next time, keep on shootin’ stars!