Yeah I was probably too young to grasp that when I first watched in ~2003. It was one of the first anime I watched with relatively adult themes, but was drawn in by the art style and music. The sexual overtones were lost on me.

FLCL has like 6 episodes and is a good entry point

“It’s a wonder to be alive. If you don’t understand that, how can you search for anything deeper?” - Liu Cixin