FLCL Progressive

Alternate Titles

Fooly Cooly Progressive
フリクリ プログレ

Synopsis

Set in the town of Mabuse, FLCL Progressive takes place after the events of FLCL in which Naota and Haruko Haruhara (or Raharu) shared their adventure. War rages on, however, between Medical Mechanica and Fraternity.

Enter Hidomi Hibajiri. Not unlike the occasionally blasé and listless Natoa, Hidomi expects nothing significant out of her life. As always, though, Haruhara enters the fray and things take an exciting turn, but why has she returned to Earth, and what became of Naota, Canti, and the others?

Anime Adaptation

The original FLCL anime aired as a 6-episode OVA from April 2000 to March 2001. Produced by Production I.G alongside titan Gainax, it included experimental animation including a South Park-inspired paper cut-out scene, Matrix-inspired action sequences, and even a manga scene, as well as a killer soundtrack by The Pillows, cementing its place as a well-loved cult classic. More than 15 years have passed since its release, but at last, it has made its return in the form of two sequels: FLCL Progressive and FLCL Alternative.

FLCL Progressive is the first of these to be officially released (although the first episode of Alternative did air on Adult Swim as an April Fool’s joke). It started airing on June 2, 2018 and finished on July 7, 2018 after 6 episodes. Like its predecessor, Progressive features animation by Production I.G and music by The Pillows (as well as R・O・N from VERYGOO).

Each episode was written by Hideto Iwai and directed by someone different including Kazuto Arai, Toshihisa Kaiya, Yuki Ogawa, Yoshihide Ibata, Kei Suezawa, and Hiroshi Ikehata.

Characters

Raharu Haruhara / Haruko Haruhara (Japanese: Mayumi Shintani | English: Kari Wahlgren)

An impossible-to-follow woman, Haruko Haruhara (or Raharu Haruhara) has a love for vespas, guitars, and (perhaps) ATOMSK. She’s utterly fearless and has no concern for others, and she’s extremely quick and skilled at manipulating those around her. Her goal is one thing: to have ATOMSK, the “Pirate King.”

First introduced in the original FLCL, Haruko comes from another planet under the cover of being an investigator for the Galactic Space Patrol Brotherhood.. She lives with that season’s protagonist Naota as a housekeeper. Her true goal, however, is to obtain ATOMSK from Medical Mechanica, a strange organization aiming to use his powers for their own goals.

Hidomi Hibajiri (Japanese: Inori Minase | English: Xanthe Huynh)

The 14-year-old protagonist of FLCL Progressive, Hidomi is plagued with dreams of death and is instantly recognizable with her cat ear headphones that change from blue to red whenever she is about to “overflow.” She uses these to ignore reality and isolate herself from others. She has an N.O. channel which allows her to pull objects through dimensions similar to Naota.

Julia Jinyu (Japanese: Miyuki Sawashiro | English: Allegra Clark)

Julia is a mysterious new character in Progressive with an equally mysterious connection to Haruko. She serves as a foil, aiming to free ATOMSK unlike Haruko’s goal of obtaining him, and she works at the Hibajiri Café (Hidomi’s family café) after nearly killing Hidomi.

Hinae Hibajiri (Japanese: Kikuko Inoue | English: Julie Ann Taylor)

Hinae is Hidomi’s mother who runs the café where Hidomi and Jinyu work, and she runs it in order to wait for the return of her husband.

Goro Mori (Japanese: Tomo Muranaka | English: Jon Allen)

Goro is a classmate of Hidomi and Ko’s. He is a bit shameless and has lied to his classmates, but his honestly and goofiness tends to win over those around him.

Ko Ide (Japanese: Jun Fukuyama | English: Robbie Daymond)

A classmate of Hidomi’s, Ko possesses an N.O. channel as a result of meeting Haruko. He has feelings for Hidomi and a dark and painful past which he tries to hide from others.

Marco Nogata (Japanese: Masatomo Nakazawa | English: Yuri Lowenthal)

A kind and rather simple guy, Marco is in Hidomi’s class and is friends with Goro and Ide. There is also a moment where he develops a crush on Hidomi.

Eye Patch (Japanese: Takayuki Sugo | English: J. David Brimmer)

A strange and mysterious man working for the Bureau of Interstellar Immigration, Eye Patch has a love of dreams and boxing puns.

Masurao (Japanese: Kouji Ohkura | English: Jason Griffith)

The son of Commander Amarao, Masurao works at the Bureau of Interstellar Immigration alongside Eye Patch.

Aiko (Japanese: Tomoyo Kurosawa | English: Christine Marie Cabanos)

A short and beautiful girl who can come across as abrasive. She is introduced as Goro Mori’s girlfriend, but who is she really...?

Tonkichi (Japanese: Jin Urayama | English: Steve Kramer)

An elderly man who works at the amusement park as its mascot, Mr. Dodo. It seems that he may be keeping some secrets, though...

• Website (Japanese)
• Twitter (Japanese)

• Director: Kazuto Arai, Toshihisa Kaiya, Yuki Ogawa, Gishu Ibata, Satoshi Suezawa, Hiroshi Ikehata
• Scriptwriter: Hideto Iwai
• Original Character Designer: Yoshiyuki Sadamoto
• Character Designer: Chikashi Kubota
• Sub-character Designer: Mai Yoneyama
• Mecha Designer: Kiyotaka Oshiyama (Studio Durian)
• Prop Designer: Akiko Murayama, Youko Kugahara
• Art Director: Kazuhiro Arai
• Color Designer: Noriko Arisawa
• CG Director: You Takayanagi
• Director of Photography: Koji Tanaka
• Editor: Taeko Hamauzu
• Music Director/Music: R・O・N
• Sound Director: Tooru Nakano
• Supervisor: Kazuya Tsurumaki
• Chief Director: Katsuyuki Motohiro
• Animation Production: Production I.G
• Ending Theme: “Spiky Seeds” by The Pillows