FLCL (short for Furi Kuri, pronounced in English as Fooly Cooly) is a six-episode original video animation series produced by Studio Gainax and Production I.G. in 2000. While it was intended as a one-off project, its popularity has endured.
The story centers on Naota Nandaba, a 12-year-old grade schooler living in the fictional town of Mabase. His life is turned upside-down with the arrival of Haruko Haruhara, a mysterious and unpredictable woman who moves in as his family’s housekeeper. That’s when things get weird, to say the very least.
It’s been rumored that Gainax created the series to “blow off steam” after finishing the much heavier-handed theatrical release of End of Evangelion. Whatever its original intentions, FLCL’s popularity has lasted far beyond its original run, with most anime aficionados now considering it a cult classic. It has all the hallmarks of a cult classic too: frenetic animation, a pulsating soundtrack (courtesy of J-rock vets The Pillows), and an unorthodox storytelling style that isn’t everyone’s cup of tea. Fans rejoice when it replays late at night (on Adult Swim), while others cosplay (and crossplay) the characters.
It’s infinitely quotable (“What about ‘eyebrows’?!”)
If that sounds a bit like a description of The Rocky Horror Picture Show, I’d say you’re right. I would also say that we FLCL-heads are just as rabid about the series and its fandom as Rocky Horror fans.
So when Adult Swim / Toonami announced that they would be teaming up with Production I.G. to produce twelve new episodes, scheduled for release in late 2017 / early 2018, the news hit long-time fans like a Rickenbacker bass guitar to the head.
When I heard the news, I was beyond ecstatic, but I knew to temper my expectations. Veteran geeks know all about the disappointment that reboots / sequels / adaptations can cause. However, after learning that original series director Kazuya Tsurumaki would return in a supervisory role, and that Evangelion veteran artist Yoshiyuki Sadamoto was also on board, I relaxed a bit.
Integrity to the original seems to be a key factor with fans. While its enduring popularity can be attributed to many things, above all else, FLCL broke the rules. It showed what growing up and finding love are like — in the least romantic way possible. It showed us the pain, warts (or giant head protrusions) and all. The usual tropes of wind-blown cherry blossom trees and lovey-dovey ballads are replaced by a muddy riverbank and an iron bridge, and by a punk rock score. Some of the subject matter, not usually discussed in anime at all, like adultery and divorce, are brought into sharp focus. For every whack of Haruko’s guitar to a Medical Mechanica robot, there’s a counterweight of Naota waxing philosophical.
What the new seasons of FLCL will look like is difficult to say, as the new episodes will be written for TV, and not adapted from manga. But that leaves a whole lot of room to play with, especially for a franchise known for not playing by the rules. This could be a golden opportunity for Adult Swim to create a series that deals with different types of adolescent relationships, including ones of the same sex (or outside the gender binary). This would be groundbreaking for anime in America.
Unfortunately, the history of LGBT visibility in anime is scant, and when it has been there, it has
historically been censored for American audiences. There have been openly gay characters and relationships in popular anime before: Michiru and Haruka, AKA Sailor Neptune and Sailor Uranus, of the Sailor Moon franchise, are just one example. While unambiguously lovers in their native Japanese, they were demoted to “cousins” in the English dub intended for American audiences.
But in the twenty-something years since then, LGBT visibility has grown, and cultural attitudes have evolved. This fact did not go unnoticed by the producers of Sailor Moon Crystal, and the upcoming English dub will leave Michiru and Haruka’s relationship intact.
With the new episodes of FLCL, I would not be surprised to see openly queer characters, especially in a series known for adolescent issues and relationships. Adult Swim / Cartoon Network has not been coy about the LGBT undertones of some of its other original programming (Steven Universe, Adventure Time), so this may be the anime series that finally breaks the mold.
It wouldn’t be the first time that FLCL has done that.
(Here’s also hoping for a few Rick and Morty references in the new episodes too — hint-hint, Adult Swim.)
