FLAG

In this episode of Bento Radio, I dive into FLAG, a largely forgotten anime from 2006 that feels uncannily ahead of its time. Originally released as one of the earliest ONAs, FLAG experimented with web-first distribution, documentary framing, and POV storytelling long before streaming became the default way we watch anime.

What really drew me back to FLAG wasn’t just its war-torn political thriller plot, but the way it centers photography, journalism, and the ethics of image-making. The series tells its story almost entirely through cameras—photo lenses, video feeds, recordings—forcing you to think about who’s watching, who’s being seen, and what gets lost when history is reduced to an image.

I talk through FLAG’s unusual production history, why it slipped into obscurity despite critical respect, and how its formal experiments echo through modern anime and even contemporary streaming culture. This isn’t a show that failed—it’s a show that arrived too early, in an industry that didn’t yet know how to support it.

If you’re interested in forgotten anime, early internet releases, or series that took big creative risks before the medium caught up, this episode is a deep dive into why FLAG still matters—and why it’s worth remembering now.

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