An announcement trailer for the return of an uncanny, yet exciting anime from the early years of Adult Swim has dropped, and that bizarre beauty is FLCL.
Adult Swim had announced back in 2016 that they would be co-producing new episodes of the series, but now we have a stylish trailer which confirms the release dates. I say dates, because FLCL is coming back with two brand new seasons.
Both seasons will contain their own separate plots. FLCL: Progressive will follow a 14-year-old girl, named Hidomi, and her classmate, Ide, and will air on June 2. The second series, FLCL: Alternative, will debut in September and follows a 17-year-old girl, Kana, and her three friends: Pets, Mossan, and Hijiri. The announcement trailer also teased us with the likely return of ATOMSK, the pirate king from the original series.
Unsurprisingly, Haruka will return for both seasons, and will be voiced by Kari Wahlgren for the English dub. As mentioned in the trailer, she’ll be the one to “show them how to unlock some doors”, which will probably involve a few bass guitars to the forehead.
It’s always difficult to know if a series returning from a long hiatus will be of proper quality, but the new seasons appear to be in good hands. The creator of the original series, Kazuya Tsurumaki, will return and Katsuyuki Motohio (Psycho-Pass) will helm directing duties. Hideto Iwai (Last Dinner) will serve as writer, and Yoshiyuki Sadamoto (Neon Genesis Evangelion) is in charge of character design. Based on the trailer and the team involved, it is shaping up to be a faithful follow-up to the original six episode OVA.
For those who aren’t aware of this crazy show, it’s kind of hard to explain. It’s basically a coming-of-age story that involves puberty, alienation, and giant robots coming out of a young boy’s forehead. Yeah, it’s pretty outlandish – but wonderfully so. I highly suggest checking out the original series before the new season airs. I will definitely be re-watching in anticipation for the new episodes in June.
