Production I.G. recently announced that they had obtained the rights to the FLCL series from Gainax. FLCL was a highly popular OVA series that ran from 2000-2001. Production I.G. co-produced the series alongside Gainax and King Records. Japanese rock band The Pillows produced two new tracks for the anime called “Ride on Shooting Star” and “I Think I Can”. Along with their announcement Production I.G. mentioned how successful the overseas broadcast of FLCL was and how much popularity the series gained due to the dubbed broadcast., especially in North America. They want on to mention how they would take advantage of the rights, the most notable being “a new anime remake”.
The original FLCL series was directed by Kazuya Tsurumaki. Tsurumaki served as assistant director for Neon Genesis Evangelion. FLCL was Tsurumaki’s first directorial project. The series was shown overseas in 2003 on Adult Swim. The OVA ran through the month of August and had a total of six episodes. FLCL was first licensed by Synch-Point until 2010 when Funimation acquired the license for the show. Funimation released a DVD and Blu-ray for the series in February 2011.
In case you have never watched the original series before for some reason here is a synopsis provided by Funimation:
Naota is a detached sixth-grader afflicted by the pangs of puberty. He’s fooling around with his brother’s ex-girlfriend when a crazed girl on a motor scooter runs him over, brains him with a bass guitar, and moves into his house. This pink-haired girl, Haruko—who claims she’s an alien—hurls Naota into the middle of a mega-corporation’s secret agenda. Oh, and now giant battling robots shoot from his skull.
FLCL is one of those series that you should definitely watch once in your life. It’s mind-numbingly ridiculous (in a good way) and if you’re looking for a series that’s original, this series is definitely your cup of tea. The series is available for streaming on the Funimation website and has a DVD and Blu-ray.
Here is probably the most famous song in FLCL, “Little Busters” by The Pillows.
So how would you feel if Production I.G. goes through with the remake? Do you think it will live up to the original?
