The mysterious Medical Mechanica plant in the city of Mabase looks like a giant steam iron, belching steam or smoke at irregular intervals. It is somehow emblematic of the confusion, ennui, and hyperkinetic chaos that characterizes teenaged life in Mabase. Enter Haruko, a self-professed guitar-wielding alien,who guns her Vespa toward our hero, an unsuspecting Naota. Their first meeting is disastrous, and it turns Naota's life upside-down. After this painful first encounter, Naota is shocked to find that Haruko has moved into his house, invited there by his father as a live-in maid. She is immediately in his face, on his case, and pawing other places in a most unseemly manner ...

Naota
A high school freshman who lives in the shadow of his older brother, a baseball player who has since moved to America to seek his riches. Naota can hardly fill his brother's shoes, nor does he want to. All he wants is to be left alone. That's hardly what he's going to get, though!

Mamimi
Naota's brother's ex-girlfriend who has moved down the fraternal ladder. She's also a bit of dimwit and has some rather anti-social tendencies, something to do with matches and video games.

Haruko
A space alien who has connived her way into Naota's family. She seems to be there simply to cause him trouble but turns out to be a warrior from a distant galaxy to save the Earth from certain doom.

Canti
A warrior robot that has been reduced to cleaning dishes in Naota's house.

Hajime Ueda/GAINAX
GAINAX is one of the most renowned animation studios in the world. Their productions include:
Nadia
Gunbuster
Wings of Honneamise
Neon Genesis Evangelion
Kareshi Kanojo no Jijou
FLCL (Furi Kuri)
Mahoromatic
Puchi Puri

FLCL is the brain child of Tsurumaki-san, the young director that brought to life the End of Evangelion, a miasmic animated adventure. The manga was written by Hajime Ueda adapted from the anime.