Anime · Adult Swim
FLCL
Nothing can happen till you swing the bat.
Who's in it
Cast
The principal ensemble across the run of the series.
Chiemi Chiba
Kiturubami (voice)
6 eps
Hideaki Anno
Miyu Miyu (voice)
6 eps
Hiroshi Ito
Shigekuni Nandaba (voice)
6 eps
Kenta Miyake
Umpire (voice)
6 eps
Suzuki Matsuo
Kamon Nandaba (voice)
6 eps
Yukari Fukui
Junko Miyaji (voice)
6 eps
Karen Miyama
Kana Koumoto (voice)
6 eps
Yu-ri Yoshida
Tomomi Nabeta (voice)
6 eps
Mutsumi Tamura
Man Motoyama (voice)
6 eps
Riho Iida
Hijiri Yajima (voice)
6 eps
Katsuyuki Konishi
Kan Sudo (voice)
6 eps
Mayumi Shintani
Haruko Haruhara (voice)
15 eps
Takuma Nagatsuka
Mon Sasaki (voice)
6 eps
Ryota Suzuki
Ben Sota (voice)
6 eps
Katsuji Mori
Dennis Yoga (voice)
6 eps
Kaya Matsutani
Maki Kitaki (voice)
6 eps
Yutaka Aoyama
Tsukata Kanda (voice)
6 eps
Miho Sakurazaka
Bunta Koumoto (voice)
6 eps
Miki Ito
Shizuka Koumoto (voice)
6 eps
Jun Mizuki
Naota Nandaba (voice)
9 eps
Izumi Kasagi
Mamimi Samejima (voice)
9 eps
Megumi Hayashibara
Haruha Raharu (voice)
6 eps
Miyuki Sawashiro
Julia Jinyu (voice)
6 eps
Inori Minase
Hidomi Hibajiri (voice)
6 eps
Jun Fukuyama
Kou Ide (voice)
6 eps
Tomo Muranaka
Gorou Mori (voice)
6 eps
Masatomo Nakazawa
Marco Nogata (voice)
6 eps
Tomoyo Kurosawa
Aiko (voice)
6 eps
Koji Ohkura
Masurao (voice)
6 eps
Kikuko Inoue
Hinae Hibajiri (voice)
6 eps
Jin Urayama
Tonkichi (voice)
6 eps
Takayuki Sugo
Eye Patch (voice)
6 eps
Reiko Suzuki
Tami Hanae (voice)
6 eps
Sakiko Uran
Haruko (voice)
3 eps
Junko Takeuchi
Shinpachi (voice)
3 eps
Yuna Kitahara
Orinoko (voice)
3 eps
Seiyuu Fujiwara
Shonari (voice)
3 eps
Taichi Takeda
Dainari (voice)
3 eps
Takeshi Maeda
Amarao (voice)
3 eps
Motoi Koyanagi
Father of SHINPACHI (voice)
1 eps
The Nutevio profile
TV DNA
How FLCL actually feels to watch, measured on the traits our editors track across every series.
Signature profile
FLCL reads strongest on Spectacle, World Building and Bingeability.
Visual ambition — scale, craft and set-piece filmmaking.
The scale, internal logic and texture of the world.
How hard it is to stop after one episode.
How often the series is genuinely funny, by design.
How fully written and psychologically layered the ensemble is.
How much each hour depends on the one before it.
How often an episode ends on a hook you can't ignore.
The sustained pressure the series keeps you under.
How much the series is designed to affect you.
The story
What it's about
Naota is a normal boy who kills some time with a normal girl by a stream that flows underneath a bridge. Nothing unusual happens in this town. The fact that Haruhara Haruko crashes into the main character with her Vespa a short while later and subsequently hits him over the head with her Rickenbacker 4003 bass guitar doesn’t really make any difference to any other day here. The at first glance unconnected, bizarre events that don’t seem to follow any pattern whatsoever don’t change anything about Naota’s boring life, either – because nothing incredible ever happens in this town.
The run
Seasons
5 seasons · 24 episodes.
Season 1 · Complete
Season 1
20006 episodes
7.3IMDbWhen Haruko runs over Naota with her scooter and brains him with a bass guitar, his world doesn’t just get turned upside down—it gets incredibly weird.
Best episode · S01E06 FLCLimax
Season 2 · Complete
Progressive
20186 episodes
6.5IMDbMany years have passed since Naota and Haruhara Haruko shared their adventure together. Meanwhile, the war between the two entities known as Medical Mechanica and Fraternity rages across the galaxy. Enter Hidomi, a young teenaged girl who believes there is nothing amazing to expect from her average life, until one day when a new teacher named Haruko arrives at her school. Soon enough, Medical Mechanica is attacking her town and Hidomi discovers a secret within her that could save everyone, a secret that only Haruko can unlock.
Season 3 · Complete
Alternative
20186 episodes
The series centers on the misadventures of 17-year-old Kana, a high school junior who spends her days hanging out with her besties, Mossan, Hijiri, and Pets. They live unremarkable lives, until the day a Mecha falls out of the sky, along with a strange woman named “Haruko.” Her plans for Kana and her friends involve the force known as “ATOMSK.” Kana will have to risk everything to decide whether or not to help… like she really has a choice!
Season 4 · Complete
Grunge
20233 episodes
5.5IMDbIn this prequel to the original FLCL, the youngsters accept the decline of the city as part of their reality until Haruko throws the city into chaos.
Season 5 · Complete
Shoegaze
20233 episodes
Since the events of FLCL: Alternative, people are once again living their ordinary lives. Meanwhile, two frustrated teenagers hope for a major change.
Where the series peaks
Best Episodes
The hours that define the show, ranked by audience response and editorial signal.
S01E06
FLCLimax
A hand statue looms over the Medical Mechanica building, threatening to iron out the city. As Mamimi’s new pet turns out to be a crucial element to Haruko’s plans, Naota finally proves that he’s no pushover.
- Directed by Masahiko Otsuka
- Written by Yoji Enokido
S01E03
Marquis de Carabas
The president of Naota’s class, Ninamori, is no stranger to the dirty deeds of politics. She rigs the vote to cast him as the lead role of their class play. But she gets in over her head after a crashing introduction to Haruko.
- Directed by Shouji Saeki
- Written by Yoji Enokido
S01E01
Fooly Cooly
Naota is a detached sixth-grader afflicted by the pangs of puberty. When a crazed girl on a motor scooter runs him over and brains him with a bass guitar his life gets weird - giant-fighting-robots-shooting-from-his-skull weird.
- Directed by Kazuya Tsurumaki, Masahiko Otsuka
- Written by Yoji Enokido
S01E05
Brittle Bullet
Jealousy spurs an epic pellet gun battle between Naota and his dad over Haruko. The object of her desire will be revealed, and she’ll do whatever it takes to get him!
- Directed by Shouji Saeki
- Written by Yoji Enokido
S01E04
Furi Kiri (Full Swing)
There’s a guy claiming to know Haruko and why she’s using Naota’s head as a portal for oversized battling robots. It’s too late, though, as a malfunctioning satellite is heading straight for them and it’s up to Naota to stop it!
- Directed by Masahiko Otsuka
- Written by Yoji Enokido
S01E02
Fire Starter
Naota’s attacker, Haruko, is now his dad’s live-in housemaid and she says she’s an alien. Mamimi names the robot from Naota’s head Canti, the God of Flame. Does Canti have anything to do with the mysterious fires burning all over town?
- Directed by Ken Ando
- Written by Yoji Enokido
Recently aired
Latest Episodes
Behind the series
Created by
Showrunners, creators, executive producers and the writers who set the voice of the series.
The craft
Key Crew
Directing, writing, production, camera, music and editing.
Executive production
- Masaya SaitoProducer
- Mitsuhisa IshikawaExecutive Producer
- Masatomo NishizawaProducer
- Toshimichi OtsukiExecutive Producer
- Jason DeMarcoExecutive Producer
- Keiji OtaExecutive Producer
Writing
- Yoji EnokidoWriter
- Hideto IwaiWriter
Direction
- Kazuya TsurumakiDirector
- Yutaka UemuraDirector
- Ken AndoDirector
- Shouji SaekiDirector
- Kiyotaka SuzukiDirector
- Masahiko OtsukaDirector
Cinematography
- Shinji TonshoDirector of Photography
- Koji TanakaDirector of Photography
Music
- the pillowsOriginal Music Composer
- Shinkichi MitsumuneOriginal Music Composer
Where to watch
Streaming
Availability verified against regional listings.
- Amazon VideoBuy
- Apple TV StoreBuy
- CrunchyrollStreaming
- Google Play MoviesBuy
- YouTube TVStreaming
- Adult SwimStreaming
- HBO MaxStreaming
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Another invented world built with the same seriousness — start at episode one.
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If the world-building is what held you, this is the next map to walk.
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Never stop watching
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