FLCL

FLCL (Japanese: フリクリ, Hepburn: Furikuri; pronounced in English as Foolycooly) is a Japanese anime series created and directed by Kazuya Tsurumaki, written by Yōji Enokido, and produced by the FLCL Production Committee, which consisted of Gainax, Production I.G, and King Records. The series tells the adventures of the eccentric, hyperactive alien Haruko Haruhara and her various conflicts on Earth against the intergalactic megalomaniacal corporation Medical Mechanica, often wreaking mass destruction in the process and disrupting the lives of the people she encounters. The original FLCL series was released as an original video animation (OVA) series, and follows Naota Nandaba, a taciturn twelve-year-old boy whose suburban life and obsession with seeming adult is disturbed by Haruko's appearance. The six-episode series was released in Japan from April 2000 to March 2001 alongside a manga and novel adaptation. In 2016, two new seasons totaling 12 episodes were announced as a co-production between Production I.G, Toho, and Adult 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, Alternative and Progressive had theatrical screenings as compilation films with Alternative opening on September 7, 2018, and Progressive opening on September 28, 2018. The first episode of FLCL Alternative premiered unannounced on April Fools' Day 2018 at 12 a.m. ET on Toonami in Japanese with English subtitles as part of Adult Swim's annual stunt. Two additional seasons were ordered by Adult Swim in 2022, titled FLCL: Grunge and FLCL: Shoegaze, respectively. Both seasons premiered in Northern America in 2023.