Retroactively known as the first season of the ''

FLCL is an original video animation (OVA) 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. ' ...

'' series, all episodes of the 2000 Japanese

original video animation , abbreviated as OVA and sometimes as OAV (original animation video), are Japanese animated films and series made specially for release in home video formats without prior showings on television or in theaters, though the first part of an OVA ...

series were directed by

Kazuya Tsurumaki Kazuya Tsurumaki (鶴巻和哉 ''Tsurumaki Kazuya'') is a Japanese anime director. He was born on February 2, 1966, in the city of Gosen, located in the Niigata Prefecture. He is the protégé of Hideaki Anno, and a longtime animator at Ga ...

and produced by the ''FLCL'' Production Committee, which included Gainax,

Production I.G is a Japanese animation studio and production enterprise, founded on December 15, 1987, by Mitsuhisa Ishikawa and headquartered in Musashino, Tokyo, Japan. The letters I and G derive from the names of the company founders: producer Mitsuhisa I ...

, and Starchild Records. The English adaptation was licensed by

Synch-Point is a Japanese media company that publishes manga, anime, video games and trading card games. It operates a chain of retailers in Japan called ''Gamers'' which carries similar products and accessories. Broccoli is best known for their ', ''Gala ...

, which released the DVDs and soundtrack. After Synch-Point went out of business,

Funimation Crunchyroll, LLC, previously known as Funimation from 1994 to 2022, is an American entertainment company owned by Japanese conglomerate Sony as a joint venture between Sony Pictures and Sony Music Entertainment Japan's Aniplex that specializ ...

licensed and re-released the series on Blu-ray and DVD. The story follows

Haruko Haruhara The central characters in ''FLCL'' (also known as Fooly Cooly), a 2000 Japanese anime produced by Gainax and Production I.G, with two additional seasons released in 2018. The first season covers the story of a sixth grade student named Naota Nand ...

, a sociopathic alien drawn to the fictional Japanese suburb of Mabase by the Medical Meccanica building while weaseling in the lives of twelve-year-old Naota Nandaba in the first season and fourteen-year-old Hidomi Hibajiri in the second season as pawns in her agenda to acquire the being called Atomsk. The first-season episodes aired in North America on Cartoon Network's

Adult Swim Adult Swim (AS; stylized as dult swim'' and often abbreviated as s'') is an American adult-oriented night-time cable television channel that shares channel space with the basic cable network Cartoon Network and is programmed by its in-house ...

programming block from August 4 to August 13, 2003. Six pieces of

theme music Theme music is a musical composition that is often written specifically for radio programming, television shows, video games, or films and is usually played during the title sequence, opening credits, closing credits, and in some instances ...

are used for the episodes; five opening themes and one closing theme. All the theme songs are by Japanese

rock band A rock band or pop band is a small musical ensemble that performs rock music, pop music, or a related genre. A four-piece band is the most common configuration in rock and pop music. In the early years, the configuration was typically two gui ...

the Pillows are a Japanese alternative rock band formed in 1989. The group has released 22 studio albums, several EPs and compilations, and over 40 singles. Outside Japan, they are best known as the group responsible for the soundtrack to the ''FLCL'' anim ...

. The opening themes are: " One Life", used in episode one, "Instant Music" in episode two and three, "

Happy Bivouac ''Happy Bivouac'' (officially ''Happy Bivouac on the Hillari Step'') is an album released by Japanese band the pillows on December 2, 1999. It marks the band's first record with Jun Suzuki from The Chewinggum Weekend on bass, who would play with ...

" for episode four, "

Runners High ''Runners High'' is an album released by the Pillows on January 22, 1999. It was the last album to feature guest bassist, Tatsuya Kashima. Several songs from the record were later featured in the anime OVA series FLCL by Gainax. The album was ...

", utilized in episode five, and "Carnival" in episode six. The closing theme is "Ride on Shooting Star", used for all episodes.

Geneon Entertainment (abbreviated as NBCUEJ) is a Japanese music, anime, and home entertainment production and distribution enterprise headquartered in Akasaka, Minato, Tokyo. It is primarily involved in the production and distribution of anime within Japan. The ...

has released three

original soundtrack A soundtrack is recorded music accompanying and synchronised to the images of a motion picture, drama, book, television program, radio program, or video game; a commercially released soundtrack album of music as featured in the soundtrack of ...

s encompassing the aforementioned songs, with soundtracks titled '' Addict'', released on January 20, 2004, ''

King of Pirates Henry Every, also known as Henry Avery (20 August 1659after 1696), sometimes erroneously given as Jack Avery or John Avery, was an English pirate who operated in the Atlantic and Indian oceans in the mid-1690s. He probably used several aliase ...

'', released on September 7, 2004, and ''

FLCL No. 3 is an original video animation (OVA) 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. ''FL ...

'', released on June 7, 2005. Six DVD compilations, each containing one episode, were 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 compilations were released by

in North America. A DVD collection, containing all six was released on January 23, 2007. The series was re-picked up for distribution by

in 2010 and released again on DVD and on Blu-ray in February 2011. __TOC__

Episodes

Notes

References

External links

Official Gainax website

Official Adult Swim website
{{Toonami Adult Swim FLCL episode lists 2003 American animated television seasons