FLCL (Japanese: フリクリ, Hepburn: Furi Kuri, pronounced in English as Fooly Cooly) 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. FLCL is a story following Naota Nandaba, a twelve-year-old boy whose suburban life is disturbed by the arrival of the mysterious Haruko Haruhara.[4] The six-episode series was released in Japan from April 2000 to March 2001 alongside a manga and novel. It originally debuted in the United States on Adult Swim in August 2003, where it managed to gain a significant cult following[5][6] and was widely acclaimed, despite its short length.[7][8] The series would continue to air on the network in the following years, including reruns on the network's Toonami programming block from October 2013 to January 2014,[9] and in April 2018.[10] The series is also available via iTunes, adultswim.com and Funimation's website. In 2016, two new seasons totaling 12 episodes were announced as a co-production between Production I.G, Toho, and Adult Swim.[11][12] The second season, FLCL Progressive, premiered on June 3, 2018 on Adult Swim's Toonami programming block, while the third and final season, FLCL Alternative, premiered on September 8, 2018. In Japan, Alternative and Progressive had theatrical screenings with Alternative opening on September 7, 2018 and Progressive opening on September 28, 2018.[13] The first episode of FLCL Alternative unexpectedly premiered on April Fools' Day 2018 at 12 a.m. ET on Toonami in Japanese with English subtitles as part of Adult Swim's annual stunt.
In a dark alternate future, an older version of Ben and a young Plumber named Rook Blonko are sent back in time with help from the mysterious Professor Paradox to stop the alien warlord Vilgax from destroying Earth in his pursuit of the Omnitrix, the device that Vilgax and his sister Myaxx created with the great thinker Azmuth. Once he reaches the present day, the future Ben meets up with his past self, and the two have to team up to save the world from Vilgax in both the past and the future. Meanwhile, Gwen befriends a cool older girl named Heather Hope, who helps Gwen discover that she has the potential to become a powerful sorceress, but Gwen is unaware that Hope is actually Charmcaster, who Future Ben recognizes as a minion of Vilgax in the future he comes from who actually kills Gwen. (part 3 of an animated film trilogy)
