FLCL(orFooly Cooly) is one of the greathidden gems of anime. And it stays hidden, sometimes for 15 years! WhenFLCLfirst premiered in the United States in 2003, the fan following was much more explosive than when released in Japan three years earlier. Though it was respected in Japan, in the US, it became a sort ofFirefly-esque cult phenomenon: one season, limited run, dearly loved but overlooked. With just six episodes, the series was never meant to have a second season. But over the course of a decade, the English dub kept running and running late nights on Toonami during classic anime events. So after many years, some interior studio drama, and literally getting a band back together, they made two more seasons. And it looked like the show had an existence beyond just those original six episodes.
So what makes the show so different? You might be asking yourself, “Why should I care?” It normally slid into the “weird” anime genre in Japan, which means that what happens in the show is usually too abstract to make any sense. And often, these shows don’t make it to the US, or if they do, they commonly fail to a lack of translatable appeal.FLCLwas an exception. The punk/surrealist animation style tied to the story of a young boy confused about making it with his older brother’s girlfriend must’ve hit a real sweet spot with American audiences. And now, four years after the last show, Toonami has just announced theproduction of two more seasons for their 25th anniversary.
What is Fooly Cooly?
Fooly Coolyis that special feeling you get when your friend’s girl starts playing with your fingers underneath the table. When you’ve outrun the cop that pulled out of the speed trap eighteen miles back, and you haven’t stopped flooring it. It’s the measured mathematical equation for total freaking insanity. All of this might seem hard to understand, so to put it simply:FLCLis a show about a boy (Naota) who meets an alien (Haruko) that smacks him with her bass guitar and makes robots come out of his head. Simple.
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The first season followed Naota, whose older brother had just left home to play baseball. With his girlfriend sending Naota mixed signals, he meets a girl from Mars who wields a bass guitar like it was, ironically enough, an ax. As she opens a portal inside his brain to release fighting robots into his dimensional plain, the romance continues to get more confusing. Naota experiences a coming-of-age story that we might be able to relate to simply because of how strange puberty was when it happened to us.
Two New Seasons
In 2018, fifteen years after the show’s US premiere, seasons 2 and 3 came out. Though plans were never made to create either back in the 2000s, the new series came after the original studio split, and there was a fight for the animation rights to the property. The show ended up staying under the original studio’s ownership, but naturally, many of those who created the original had changed over by then. Still, when the studio went to make the new seasons, they had many of the original voices and managed to get the original band (The Pillows) who had scored the first season.
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Following the anthology format,FLCLabandoned Naota, having concluded his story, and set to center on two new protagonists. The series is maintained by Haruko, the bass-wielding alien from Mars, and her classic retro Vespa.FLCL: Alternativefollows Kana Koumoto, a young girl who clings to her immaturity in a world that is about to be destroyed. The impending apocalypse motivates the higher classes to escape to Mars while Kana and her friends, save for one, are to be abandoned on Earth. The other season,FLCL: Progressive, follows an emotionless 14-year-old girl with cat ear headphones named Hidomi Hibajiri. While critics point out that this story is motivated to be similar to the first season, the returning band, The Pillows, puts great energy into the new music, and you can tell everyone behind the scenes is happy to be back.
Two Newer Seasons
Now thatToonami is 25 years old, they are producing two more seasons of their most popular classic anime franchise. This timethey’ll be titledFLCL: GrungeandFLCL: Shoegaze, again named after two rock music genres.Shoegazewill be produced by a collab between Production I.G (the studio that made the original) and NUT (the one that madeFLCL: Alternative) and will be directed by Yutaka Uemura (who also worked onAlternative.)FLCL: Grungewill be produced by MontBlanc Pictures and directed by Hitoshi Takekiyo. The latter is the only one we’ve had a sneak peek at, and it seems to berendered in a 3-D animation style.
The series is expected to land sometime in 2023. We’re all excited about the new production. It seems most of the team is back together, including The Pillows. Even though we are 19 years older than the first time we saw it, it still hits that special little place in our hearts that started growing just before we became teenagers. And if you’re new to the game, this isn’t one of those animes you have to go back and watch full seasons to understand. The original is only six episodes, and the series is different each time it comes on. Heck, it’ll be lucky if you understand it at all.
