FLCL

FLCL
Promotional artwork used on a number of DVD releases ofFLCLfeaturing the three primary characters from the first anime, from top, Canti (the blue robot), Haruko, and Naota.
フリクリ (Furi Kuri)
Genre	Comedy Science fiction Surrealism
Created by	Gainax(FLCL) Kazuya Tsurumaki(FLCL) Production I.G(FLCL Progressive/Alternative/Grunge/Shoegaze)
Original video animation
Directed by	Kazuya Tsurumaki
Produced by	Masatomo Nishizawa Hiroki Satou Masanobu Satou(#1–4) Hirotaka Takase(#5–6)
Written by	Yōji Enokido
Music by	Shinkichi Mitsumune The Pillows
Studio	Gainax Production I.G
Licensed by	Crunchyroll UK:MVM Entertainment
Released	April 26, 2000–March 16, 2001
Runtime	23–31 minutes
Episodes	6
Manga
Illustrated by	Hajime Ueda
Published by	Kodansha
English publisher	NA:Dark Horse Comics
Magazine	Magazine Z
Demographic	Seinen
Original run	December 25, 1999–March 26, 2001
Volumes	2
Novel series
Written by	Yōji Enokido
Illustrated by	Kazuya Tsurumaki Hiroyuki Imaishi
Published by	Kadokawa Shoten
English publisher	NA:Tokyopop
Imprint	Kadokawa Sneaker Bunko
Demographic	Male
Original run	June 1, 2000–March 1, 2001
Volumes	3
Further information Anime television series FLCL Progressive Directed by Katsuyuki Motohiro(chief) Kazuto Arai(#1) Toshihisa Kaiya(#2) Yuki Ogawa(#3) Yoshihide Ibata(#4) Kei Suezawa(#5) Hiroshi Ikehata(#6) Produced by Maki Terashima-Furuta Mike Lazzo Masaya Saito Written by Hideto Iwai Music by R.O.N Studio Production I.G(#1, 3–4, 6) Production GoodBook(#2) Signal.MD(#5) Licensed by Warner Bros. Television English network US:Adult Swim(Toonami) Original run June 3, 2018–July 7, 2018 Episodes 6 Anime television series FLCL Alternative Directed by Katsuyuki Motohiro(chief) Yutaka Uemura Produced by Maki Terashima-Furuta Mike Lazzo Masaya Saito Written by Hideto Iwai Music by R.O.N Studio Production I.G NUT(#1, 4, 6) Revoroot(#2–3, 5) Licensed by Warner Bros. Television English network US:Adult Swim (Toonami) Original run April 1, 2018 (April Fools' Day airing) September 8, 2018–October 13, 2018 Episodes 6 Anime film series FLCL Alternative: The Movie FLCL Progressive: The Movie Directed by Katsuyuki Motohiro(chief) Yutaka Uemura(Alternative) Produced by Maki Terashima-Furuta Mike Lazzo Masaya Saito Written by Hideto Iwai Music by R.O.N Studio Production I.G NUT(Alternative) Revoroot(Alternative) Production GoodBook(Progressive) Signal.MD(Progressive) Released September 7, 2018(Alternative) September 28, 2018(Progressive) Runtime 135 minutes(Alternative) 136 minutes(Progressive) Anime television series FLCL: Grunge Directed by Hitoshi Takekiyo Produced by Maki Terashima-Furuta Written by Tetsuhiro Ideka Music by The Pillows Sawao Yamanaka Studio MontBlanc Pictures Licensed by Warner Bros. Television English network CA:Adult Swim US:Adult Swim (Toonami) Original run September 10, 2023–September 24, 2023 Episodes 3 Anime television series FLCL: Shoegaze Directed by Yutaka Uemura Produced by Maki Terashima-Furuta Written by Kenta Ihara Music by The Pillows Sawao Yamanaka Studio NUT Licensed by Warner Bros. Television English network CA:Adult Swim US:Adult Swim (Toonami) Original run October 1, 2023–October 15, 2023 Episodes 3

FLCL(Japanese:フリクリ,Hepburn:FURI KURI,pronounced in English asFOOLY COOLY)is anoriginal video animation(OVA)animeseries created and directed byKazuya Tsurumaki,written byYōji Enokido,and produced by the FLCL Production Committee, which consisted ofGainax,Production I.G,andKing Records.FLCLis a story followingNaota Nandaba,a twelve-year-old boy whose suburban life is disturbed by the arrival of the mysteriousHaruko Haruhara.The six-episode series was released in Japan from April 2000 to March 2001 alongside amangaand novel adaptation.

In 2016, two new seasons totaling 12 episodes were announced as a co-production between Production I.G,Toho,andAdult Swim.The second season,FLCL Progressive,premiered on June 3, 2018 on Adult Swim's Toonami programming block, while the third season,FLCL Alternative,premiered on September 8, 2018. In Japan,AlternativeandProgressivehad theatrical screenings as compilation films withAlternativeopening on September 7, 2018 andProgressiveopening on September 28, 2018. The first episode ofFLCL Alternativepremiered unannounced onApril Fools' Day2018 at 12 a.m.ETon Toonami in Japanese with English subtitles as part ofAdult Swim's annual stunt.Two additional seasons were ordered by Adult Swim in 2022, titledFLCL: GrungeandFLCL: Shoegaze,respectively. Both seasons premiered inNorthern Americain 2023.

Plot

Main article:List ofFLCLcharacters

The first season ofFLCLis acoming-of-age storyand revolves around Naota Nandaba, a 12-year-old, working-class boy living with his widower father and grandfather. His life in the Japanese city of Mabase is interrupted by the arrival of aVespa-riding maniac named Haruko Haruhara. She runs over Naota then revives him with CPR before hitting him on the head with her left-handed,electric bass guitar(a blue, vintageRickenbacker 4001) and proceeds to stalk him. Finding Haruko weaseling her way into his life as a live-in maid, Naota discovers that the head injury she caused created an "N.O." portal, whichgiant robotsproduced by a company known as Medical Mechanica emerge from periodically. The first of these robots is hit on the head by Haruko and becomes a friendly service robot later named Canti. Canti ingests Naota to assume the reddened form he first had when fighting the robots sent after him.

Haruko claims she is an alien investigator from the Galactic Space Police Brotherhood, and her presence places Naota and those around him in danger. The Interstellar Immigration Bureau's Commander Amarao, whom Haruko has a history with, asserts rather that she is an apathetic seductress seeking a space-manipulating being called Atomsk who was partially contained within Canti. Every time Naota is absorbed by Canti, Atomsk is gradually brought toEarth.As Atomsk is held in Medical Mechanica's custody and Haruko ultimately places Earth under threat, the company eventually turns their factory stationed on the planet into a doomsday terraforming device, attempting to have Naota and Canti absorbed by the doomsday device's Terminal Core. Haruko's plan fails as Naota ends up becoming Atomsk's host and then releases him into the universe after a brief battle that ends Medical Mechanica's attack on Earth. Haruko follows after Atomsk, and Mabase returns to some normalcy.

In the second season,FLCL Progressive,Haruko returns to Mabase many years after her failed attempt to contain Atomsk in the first season, although she did manage to absorb him sometime in between these events. Placing herself as a middle school homeroom teacher, Haruko targets a 14-year-old girl named Hidomi Hibajiri through her classmate and eventual love interest Ko Ide. Haruko finds opposition in both the headphones Hidomi wears and Julia Jinyu, a more stoic offshoot of Haruko that splintered from her during her initial attempt to control Atomsk's power. Haruko eventually eats Julia to restore herself, and uses Ide to get to Hidomi. Like before, this causes conflict between Medical Mechanica and the Interstellar Immigration Bureau, as the latter was reverse-engineering Canti's technology to utilize the N.O. channel's energies for their own use. Atomsk appears on Earth as planned, but Haruko ends up failing again with a freed Julia taking her leave. Haruko regains her composure and resumes her hunt for Atomsk as Hidomi and Ide begin their relationship while Mabase rebuilds after much of it was destroyed by Medical Mechanica.

In the third season,FLCL Alternative,Haruko enters the life of high school student Kana Koumoto and her friends as she became a mentor of sorts to Kana in helping the teen's transition into adulthood as Medical Mechanica begins its assault on Earth. While helping Kana resolve some issues as one of her friends leaves for Mars, Haruko ends up on another planet as a direct result of Kana's reverse N.O. portal that they used to transport Medical Mechanica's plants off the planet. The season takes place before the events of all the other seasons currently present.

In the fourth season,FLCL: Grunge,Haruko manipulates the mob-run town of Okura in a scheme to infect Medical Mechanica with a virus and steal Atomsk from them. In the process, she influences the lives of three working kids: Shinpachi, Shonari and Orinoko, before taking off after Atomsk on top of Medical Mechanica's plant. The season takes place between the events ofShoegazeand the first season.

In the fifth season,FLCL: Shoegaze,Masaki is a teenager who sees ghosts that nobody else can see, including a large ghost bird perched atop a tower. Harumi joins him in exploring the tower after it is locked down by the Bureau of Interstellar Immigration. Kana Koumoto (from the third season) is now a 27-year-old adult working for the bureau and is called in to assist in getting the teenagers out. After setting off an explosion, the teenagers find that the tower extends into N.O. space. The bureau chief admits that the purpose of the tower is to reconnect the dimension they are currently in with a separate one that split away 10 years ago and he hopes that with enough emotional turmoil he can get Masaki to trigger the N.O. device and merge them back together. After Harumi is shot and Masaki realizes that he loves her, his N.O. field begins the merger in which Harumi realizes that she is actually from the other dimension, a colony on Mars. As Masaki calms, the merger fails, and a large snake-like entity appears. In the closing credits, Masaki is able to jump dimensions through N.O. space to visit the Mars colony. He explains that the worm-creature helps him do so and its name is Atomsk.

Production

The first season ofFLCLwas directed byKazuya Tsurumakiand produced by theFLCLProduction Committee, which includedGainax,Production I.G,and Starchild Records.

Tsurumaki has said that he tried to "break the rules" of anime when makingFLCL,for example, by choosing a contemporary Japanese band to provide the soundtrack, and patterning the style more after "a Japanese TV commercial or promotional video", creating a work that is "short, but dense-packed".

FLCL's localization director and script writer Marc Handler stated that localization of the script was the hardest part of the show. The in-jokes in the show included obscure pop culture references that had to be decoded and transferred to English audiences. One example was a reference toCheerio,a discontinued soft drink in Japan, for the English release the choice was made to use a discontinued American soft drink at the time,Crystal Pepsi.Director Kazuya Tsurumaki responded to criticism of FLCL, stating "comprehension should not be an important factor in FLCL".

The Medical Mechanica building featured is in the shape of a large iron. The character Amarao describes Medical Mechanica's goal as the destruction of all thought.FLCLuses the iron as a symbolic breakdown of "thought" by smoothing out the wrinkles as equated to the removing of the brain's wrinkles. For English localization, the Japanese team had to explain the concept because a direct translation of script did not convey the ideology.

Media

Original video animation

Main article:List ofFLCLepisodes

The six-episode series was released in Japan from April 26, 2000 – March 16, 2001. It originally debuted in the United States onAdult Swimin August 2003, where it managed to gain a significantcult followingand was widely acclaimed, despite its short length.The series would continue to air on the network in the following years, including reruns on the network'sToonamiprogramming block from October 2013 to January 2014,and in April 2018.The series is also available viaiTunes,adultswim andFunimation's website.

Six DVD compilations, each containing one episode, have been released in Japan by Gainax.In addition, a DVD collection box, containing all six DVD compilations, was released in Japan on August 13, 2005.Three DVD compilations were released bySynch-Pointin North America. A DVD collection box, containing all the DVD compilations of the English episodes, was released on January 23, 2007, but have since gone out of print.In January 2010,Funimationannounced that they had acquired the license for the series and would be releasing it on DVD andBlu-ray Discin February 2011.Shortly after, it has been released in Australia and New Zealand byMadman Entertainmenton a 3-disc DVD set and on Blu-ray Disc.It is also licensed in the United Kingdom byMVM Films.The series also aired in the United States on Cartoon Network's Adult Swim programming block from August 4to August 13, 2003.

Novels

A three-volume novelseriesadaptation was written by the anime's screenwriter,Yoji Enokido,illustrated byKazuya TsurumakiandHiroyuki Imaishi,and published byKadokawa Shoten.The novels were released in Japan in June 2000, October 2000, and March 2001 respectively. The English-language versions were published by Tokyopop and were released in North America on March 11, 2008; September 9, 2008; and March 10, 2009 respectively. The novels cover all 6 episodes of the anime, introducing elements that were not present in the original production.

No.	Original release date	Original ISBN	English release date	English ISBN
1	June 1, 2000	4-04-423601-1	March 11, 2008	978-1-427-80498-3
2	October 1, 2000	4-04-423602-X	September 9, 2008	978-1-427-80499-0
3	March 1, 2001	4-04-423603-8	March 10, 2009	978-1-427-80500-3

Manga

A two-volumemangaadaptation was created by artistHajime Ueda.The manga interprets the series with certain elements altered and removed, and tells the events of the anime using areductive artstyle and unsteady pacing. Jack Kotin defended the unique artstyle of the manga, saying "It can be crudely drawn at times, but this style fits in well with the overall story and atmosphere...".

The manga was published by Kodansha and serialized in monthlyMagazine Zfrom December 25, 1999 to March 26, 2001. The two volumes were released on October 23, 2000 and August 23, 2001 respectively.The manga was re-released inbunkobanformat with the two volumes labeled "Jō"(Thượng,First)and "Ge"(Hạ,Final)in two individual box sets titled "Kodansha Box". Jō volume was on May 7, 2007 and the Ge volume was released on June 4, 2007.An edited tankōbon version of the manga that was released in box sets, were released on January 10, 2012 and February 9, 2012 respectively.

The English-language editions of the manga was released byTokyopopon September 16, 2003 and on November 4, 2003 respectively.In March 2011,Dark Horse Comicsannounced to re-release the manga in omnibus edition.The omnibus edition was released on May 16, 2012 and includes remastered story pages, a remastered script, and bonus color pages.

Soundtracks

The Pillowsin 2003

Six pieces oftheme musicare used for the episodes; five insert songs and one closing theme, all by Japanese rock bandthe Pillows.The battle themes are "Advice", "Little Busters"and" I Think I Can "; the opening themes are:" One Life ", used in episode one," Instant Music "in episodes two and three,"Happy Bivouac"in episode four,"Runners High",in episode five, and"Carnival"in episode six. The closing theme of each episode is" Ride on Shooting Star ", the series' main theme song, used during ending sequences in which appearsYukiko Motoyaand a Vespa.

Geneon Entertainmenthas released threeoriginal soundtracksencompassing the songs by the Pillows, and the score by composerShinkichi Mitsumune.The first soundtrack, titledFLCL No.1: Addict(フリクリNo.1 アディクト),contains tracks featured in the first three episodes of FLCL. The soundtrack was released on October 4, 2000 in Japan and January 20, 2004 in theUS.The second soundtrack, titledFLCL No.2: King of Pirates(フリクリNo.2 hải tặc vương,Furi Kuri No.2 Kaizoku-ō),contains tracks featured in the last three episodes of FLCL. The soundtrack was released on July 25, 2001 Japan and September 7, 2004 in the US.This volume features severalaudio dramas,with the cast ofFLCLplaying the various parts. Due to the dramas included, this album acts as a sequel of sorts to the anime. The third soundtrack, titledFLCL No.3(フリクリNo.3),is a compilation of the first two soundtracks, featuring only music by the Pillows. The released on June 8, 2005 and June 7, 2005 in the US.Unlike the previous two soundtracks, the songs are the original vocal versions from the band'sLPs.A fourth album titleFooL on CooL generation(フールオンクールジェネレーション)was released in September 2018 with music used inProgressiveandAlternative.

FLCL No.1 Addict

No.	Title	Arranged by	Length
1.	"Last Dinosaur"	The Pillows& Zin Yoshida, Jun Suzuki	0:23
2.	"Ride on Shooting Star"	The Pillows & Yoshida, Suzuki	2:21
3.	"Sad Sad Kiddie (Off Vocal Version)"	The Pillows & Tatsuya Kashima	2:04
4.	"Carnival (Off Vocal Version)"	The Pillows & Yoshida, Suzuki	1:37
5.	"Runners High ~FLCL Ver.~"	The Pillows & Kashima	1:38
6.	"Instant Music"	The Pillows & Kashima	3:16
7.	"Stalker (Off Vocal Version)"	The Pillows & Kashima	2:35
8.	"Rever’s Edge (B-6)"		2:49
9.	"Stalker Goes to Babylon"		4:03
10.	"One Life"	The Pillows & Kashima	4:08
11.	"Pain (A-7)"		2:42
12.	"Comedians' Galop fromThe Comediansby Kabalevsky "(listed as Kabalevsky from" Clown "~ Gallop in the tracklist)" (Composed byDmitri Borisovich Kabalevsky)		1:38
13.	"Hybrid Rainbow"	The Pillows & Kashima	3:58
14.	"Selfish-b (B-6)"		2:13
15.	"Pink (A-6)"		1:39
16.	"Beautiful Morning with You (Off Vocal Version)"	The Pillows & Yoshida, Suzuki	1:35
17.	"Sleepy Head (Off Vocal Version)"	The Pillows & Yoshida, Suzuki	1:04
18.	"Bran-New Lovesong (Off Vocal Version)"	The Pillows & Kashima	1:58
19.	"Come Down (Off Vocal Version)"	The Pillows & Yoshida, Suzuki	2:06
20.	"Advice ~FLCL Arrange Ver.~"	The Pillows & Yoshida, Suzuki	2:13
21.	"Little Busters"	The Pillows & Kashima	3:43
Total length:			49:42

FLCL No.2 King of Pirates

No.	Title	Arranged by	Length
1.	"Crazy Sunshine"	The Pillows & Zin Yoshida, Jun Suzuki	4:06
2.	"White Ash"	The Pillows	1:19
3.	"Taxi (Drama)"		10:00
4.	"Nightmare (Karaoke)"	The Pillows, Zin Yoshida, and Tatsuya Kashima	1:02
5.	"Patricia (Karaoke)"	The Pillows, Zin Yoshida, and Tatsuya Kashima	1:38
6.	"Memory of Summer"	Shinkichi Mitsumune	2:21
7.	"Blues Drive Monster"	The Pillows	3:25
8.	"Funny Bunny"	The Pillows, Zin Yoshida, Jun Suzuki, and Tatsuya Kashima.	3:37
9.	"Mamiko (Drama)"		3:04
10.	"Ohgiri (Drama)"		4:55
11.	"Harumi (Drama)"		1:51
12.	"High Risk"	Shinkichi Mitsumune	1:46
13.	"Weekend"	Shinkichi Mitsumune	2:37
14.	"Being Bitten (Drama)"		7:17
15.	"Another Morning"	The Pillows	4:36
16.	"Last Dinosaur"	The Pillows	3:44
17.	"I Think I Can"	The Pillows, Zin Yoshida, Jun Suzuki, and Tatsuya Kashima.	2:59
18.	"One Life" (hidden track)	The Pillows	4:10
Total length:			60:00

FLCL No.3

No.	Title	Arranged by	Length
1.	"Sad Sad Kiddie"	The Pillows	3:12
2.	"Sleepy Head"	The Pillows	3:02
3.	"I Think I Can"	The Pillows	3:00
4.	"Blues Drive Monster"	The Pillows	3:26
5.	"Carnival"	The Pillows	3:50
6.	"Come Down"	The Pillows	2:09
7.	"Crazy Sunshine"	The Pillows	4:08
8.	"Stalker"	The Pillows	2:37
9.	"Nightmare"	The Pillows	1:43
10.	"Funny Bunny"	The Pillows	3:37
11.	"Beautiful Morning With You"	The Pillows	5:43
12.	"Advice"	The Pillows	2:15
13.	"Runners High"	The Pillows	2:46
14.	"Hybrid Rainbow"	The Pillows	4:00
15.	"Little Busters"	The Pillows	3:46
16.	"Last Dinosaur"	The Pillows	3:46
17.	"Ride On Shooting Star"	The Pillows	2:22
Total length:			55:28

FooL on CooL generation

No.	Title	Arranged by	Length
1.	"Spiky Seeds"	The Pillows	3:07
2.	"I Think I Can"	The Pillows	3:00
3.	"The Third Eye"	The Pillows	3:58
4.	"My Foot"	The Pillows	4:58
5.	"You Stood There, Like an Angel"	The Pillows	3:12
6.	"Freebee Honey"	The Pillows	3:35
7.	"Non Fiction"	The Pillows	3:20
8.	"Fool on the Planet"	The Pillows	6:13
9.	"Last Dinosaur"	The Pillows	3:46
10.	"The Sun that Will Not Rise"	The Pillows	6:17
11.	"Thank You, my Twilight"	The Pillows	4:31
12.	"Star Overhead"	The Pillows	4:37
Total length:			50:34

Reception and legacy

Haruko's 1965VespaSuper Sport 180 and left-handedRickenbacker 4001bass guitar

FLCLhas received a mostly positive reception. The series has been described as "bizarre" and "surreal",and has been noted for its symbolic content,unusual plot,and its soundtrack composed bythe Pillows.Itsexperimentalnature has also been noted, which includes an entire scene made in thecutout animationstyle of animated American seriesSouth Park,orThe Matrix-like camera rotation tricks.

Christopher McDonald ofAnime News Networkcalled it "downright hilarious" and "visually superb" with great music, citing the packaging of 2 episodes per DVD as the only weakness of Synch-Point's original release.Robert Nelson ofTHEM Anime Reviewsgave the anime 4 out of 5 stars, stating "FLCLmay not have a straightforward or deep plot. It may not have complex characterizations. Hell, it may not have any meaning. ButFLCLdoes succeed in its true objective. It is fun to watch! "Chris Beveridge of Mania gave it an A−, stating "FLCLis something that allowed those involved to try a wide variety of styles and techniques and does come off as quite experimental. But nearly everything worked in their favor and you end up with three hours of nearly break neck speed action, comedy and commentary on modern life. "Brian Ruh praised the series, stating "It was very frenetic and kept pushing the envelope on what was possible in Japanese animation."

IGNcolumnist Davis Smith reviewed the anime shortly after its English premiere. In the article, Smith praised the series' unusual story telling, extremely high quality animation and the soundtrack provided by the Pillows; rewarding the series a score of 9 out of 10 concluding, "Logic dictates thatFLCLshould be an undisciplined and unaffecting mess, given all the insanity that its creators are attempting to weld into a functioning whole. Yet while it's hard to explain exactly why, it works. It entertains me. At times, it makes me laugh; at times, it makes me a little misty-eyed; at times, it makes me want to scream and howl and light things on fire and break windows with baseball bats and yes, maybe even buy a Vespa. That's the kind of success that you just can't argue with. "

From January 3 to February 7, 2012, Hayden Childs, of the online magazineThe A.V. Club,composed a six-part weekly analysis and review of eachFLCLepisode in celebration ofThe Legend of Korra'sthen upcoming third season, a series that was heavily influenced byFLCL's animation style. In the article, Childs gave an extremely positive review of the series, understanding it as a surrealist inspired coming of age story,stating "For all of its wild and initially bewildering aspects, the major purpose of FLCL is the impressionistic and often naturalistic documentation of Naota's passage into maturity."

Avatar: The Last AirbenderdirectorGiancarlo Volpehas stated members of his staff "were all ordered to buyFLCLand watch every single episode of it. "

Chainsaw MancreatorTatsuki Fujimotohas stated in his 3 million copies sold thank you letter to fans thatChainsaw Manis a "wicked version ofFLCL".

Awards and acclaims

On August 12, 2003, aTime Warnerpress release noted the success of Cartoon Network:FLCL"ranked No. 42 among all shows on ad-supported cable among adults 18–34".Also in 2003,FLCLwon third place for Best Animation Film at theFantasia Festival.On February 24, 2007,FLCLwas nominated for "Best Cast", and won "Best Comedy Series" and "Best Short Series" at the firstAmerican Anime Awardsshow.Anime InsiderrankedFLCL4th in their list of the best English-licensed anime of all time in November 2007.

Sequel seasons

Main articles:FLCL Progressive,FLCL Alternative,FLCL: Grunge,andFLCL: Shoegaze

On August 31, 2015,Anime News Networkreported that Production I.G may have been planning a continuation or remake of the OVA series after announcing their acquisition of the rights toFLCLfrom production studio Gainax.According toHideaki Anno,his animation studioKharawas originally set to buy the rights toFLCLfrom Gainax before Production I.G. However, before the deal was finalized Gainax suddenly raised the asking price causing the deal with Khara to fall though.

On March 24, 2016 viaToonami's official Facebook and Tumblr pages it was announced that 12 new episodes ofFLCLwould be produced in cooperation with Production I.G.The episodes were split into two individual seasons:FLCL Progressive(フリクリ プログレ,Furikuri Purogure,"FLCL Progress" )andFLCL Alternative(フリクリ オルタナ,Furikuri Orutana,"FLCL Alterna" )which served as sequels to the popular series, which was initially broadcast on Adult Swim in August 2003.

The synopsis of the first sequel season was published byAdult Swim:

In the new season ofFLCL,many years have passed since Naota and Haruhara Haruko shared their adventure together. Meanwhile, the war between the two entities known as Medical Mechanica and Fraternity rages across the galaxy. Enter Hidomi, a young teenage girl who believes there is nothing amazing to expect from her average life, until one day when a new teacher named Haruko arrives at her school. Soon enough, Medical Mechanica is attacking her town and Hidomi discovers a secret within her that could save everyone, a secret that only Haruko can unlock. But why did Haruko return to Earth? What happened to her Rickenbacker 4001 she left with Naota? And where did the human-type robot 'Canti' go?

FLCL Progressive,the sequel series, featured the return of original character designer Yoshiyuki Sadamato (as his respective role) and original series creator Kazuya Tsurumaki, who supervised the project. Hideto Iwai wrote the scripts, andKatsuyuki Motohiroserved as chief director on the project, with each episode featuring a different director: Kazuto Arai, Toshihisa Kaiya, Yuki Ogawa, Yoshihide Ibata, Kei Suezawa, and Hiroshi Ikehata.The animation was produced mostly by Production I.G, but studios Production GoodBook andSignal.MDhandled episodes 2 and 5, respectively. The Pillows contributed to the series soundtrack,although the score was primarily composed by R・O・N from music production company VERYGOO.

FLCL Alternative,the third season, once again saw the return of character designer Yoshiyuki Sadamoto, composer R・O・N (with tracks by the Pillows), scriptwriter Hideto Iwai, and supervisor Kazuya Tsurukamki. Katsuyuki Motohiro, as well, returned as chief director, although Yutaka Uemara was the only director, andKiyotaka Suzukiserved as assistant director. Production I.G,Revoroot,andNUTproduced the animation for the series.

FLCL Progressivepremiered on June 3, 2018 on Adult Swim's Toonami programming block and concluded on July 7, 2018;FLCL Alternativepremiered on September 8, 2018 and concluded on October 13, 2018.InJapan,AlternativeandProgressivehad theatrical screeningson September 7, 2018, and September 28, 2018, respectively.The first episode ofFLCL Alternativeunexpectedly premiered early at midnight onApril Fools' DayonToonami,airing entirely in Japanese with English subtitles.The day of the second season's US premiere, Toonami simultaneously announced via its Facebook page that they would be delaying the English subtitled versions of both new seasons until November 2018, in respect for the Japanese film format releases.Warner Bros.releasedFLCL Progressiveon DVD on October 1, 2019.It later releasedFLCL Alternativeon DVD along with a Blu-ray combo pack of both sequels on February 4, 2020.

Two additional seasons were ordered by Adult Swim in 2022, which were announced on Toonami's 25th anniversary, titledFLCL: GrungeandFLCL: Shoegaze.Both seasons premiered in 2023.On October 7, 2023, it was announced there are no plans for furtherFLCLseasons.

Further reading

• DuHamel, Brandon (February 24, 2011)."FLCL: The Complete Series Blu-ray Review".Blu-rayDefinition.
• "FLCL Vol. 1".Newtype USA.Vol. 1, no. 2.Houston:A.D. Vision.December 2002.ISSN1541-4817.
• Johnston, Chris (November 2006). "FLCL Ultimate DVD Collection".Newtype USA.Vol. 5, no. 11. Houston: A.D. Vision. p. 151.ISSN1541-4817.
• Horn, Carl Gustav (March 2002)."FLCL".Pulp.Vol. 6, no. 3. p. 1. Archived fromthe originalon June 15, 2002.
• Horn, Carl Gustav (March 2002)."FLCL".Pulp.Vol. 6, no. 3. p. 2. Archived fromthe originalon June 24, 2002.
• Horn, Carl Gustav (March 2002)."FLCL".Pulp.Vol. 6, no. 3. p. 3. Archived fromthe originalon June 24, 2002.
• Horn, Carl Gustav (March 2002)."FLCL".Pulp.Vol. 6, no. 3. p. 4. Archived fromthe originalon June 24, 2002.
• Horn, Carl Gustav (March 2002)."FLCL".Pulp.Vol. 6, no. 3. p. 5. Archived fromthe originalon June 24, 2002.

External links

• FLCLat Funimation
• FLCLonX(in English)
• FLCL(OVA) atAnime News Network's encyclopedia
• FLCLatIMDb