External References to FLCL

This is a list of anime, music, video games, movies, and other media that have made reference to FLCL.

Arby's (Fast Food Restaurant)

• In a video posted on their Twitter/X account in December 2017, the fast food restaurant chain posted a video that paid tribute to the FLCL ending credits. The 12 second video, which was titled "Ride on Shooting Star", shows a yellow Vespa with the "56-56" license plate and "P!" sticker driving up to an Arby's drive thru section by itself and ordering food to go.

Arcee : Dreams of Daicon

• In the short animated film, the battle between Arcee and Galvatron pays homage to the fight between Haruko and Detective Rifle Mecha in "Brittle Bullet". Particularly, Arcee riding on a hoverboard in mid-air before eventually tumbling and then running onto the giant Transformer's gun barrel, going through a large billboard and her board transforming into a Gibson EB-0 and using it to deliver the final blow against the robot are direct references to the episode.
  • Additionally, as Arcee rides through the city, she quickly passes by the DAICON Girl, the bunny girl character that Haruko dressed up as during her battle in "Brittle Bullet".

Avatar: The Last Airbender

• Aang and his glowing eyes were inspired by Naota Nandaba and Atomsk.
• Many of the designs and story elements within the series were heavily influenced by FLCL.
  • Notably, the creators of Avatar are big fans of FLCL and studio GAINAX, with series director Giancarlo Volpe noting that the staff were ordered to buy FLCL and watch every single episode. The creators have stated that upon watching FLCL in the early 2000s, they felt that American animation was significantly behind in comparison to what Japanese anime offered and wanted the show to essentially be a love letter to anime.

BlazBlue

• One of Makoto Nanaya's victory quotes is, "He who conquers the left, conquers the world!". The phrase was previously used by Mamimi at the very beginning of the first episode.

Bocchi the Rock

• Hitori is shown apologizing before exiting a classroom and running down the hall in tears. The scene mimics Haruko Haruhara exiting Miya-Jun's classroom and running down the hall to get to her Vespa in "Marquis de Carabas".

Chainsaw Man

• The author of the series, Tatsuki Fujimoto, was heavily inspired by FLCL, even describing Chainsaw Man as "a wicked FLCL and pop Abara" after the manga had sold over 3 million copies..
• He has also noted that the females of FLCL were the inspiration for the females in the series. Specifically:
  • Makima is based on Haruko Haruhara, sharing the same manipulative and self-serving qualities, as well as having an unpredictable nature.
  • Power is based on Haruko's eccentric personality.
  • Himeno is based on Mamimi Samejima, as Himeno manipulates her partner, Aki to be what she wants, similar to Mamimi's relationship with Naota and using cigarettes to cope with the problems in her life.
• The phrase, "Easy revenge!" is written on the side of a cigarette, similar to "Never Knows Best" that is written on Mamimi's cigarettes.

Copneconic (Band)

• The title to their 2015 EP, Never Knows Best is a reference to the line written on Mamimi Samejima's cigarettes. The EP cover also features an image with her likeness.

Empty Cycle

• The game has been described by its creators and reviewers as being heavily influenced by FLCL and Kill La Kill, sharing the theme of pessimistic teenagers stuck in a boring small town and facing an existentialism crisis just before an alien lifeform arrives.

Enter the Gungeon

• In the game, there is a melee weapon named "Casey", which appears to be a simple baseball bat. In the description box, the last line reads, "Nothing can happen until you swing the bat", a reference to a line that Haruko said to Naota in "Full Swing"
• A passive item that was originally in the game before being removed is called "Brittle Bullets", which is also a nod to the fifth FLCL episode, "Brittle Bullet".
  • In the description box for "Brittle Bullets", the last line reads, "It takes an idiot to do cool things, that's why it's cool", referencing a line said by Haruko in "Full Swing".

Epic Battle Fantasy

• One of the characters who can be summoned in the game is named "Canti" who is clearly based on Canti from FLCL. He is depicted as being red and powered by Atomsk. He also uses a "G*bson EB0" as his weapon, which is based on the Gibson EB-0 used by Canti in "Brittle Bullet", Naota in "FLCLimax", and Haruko in FLCL Progressive.
  • There is also a gallery image of Canti in his normal mode, wearing a halo and a pair of black wings, along with Takkun hanging on his shoulder, referencing his appearance in "Fire Starter".
  • In Epic Battle Fantasy Collection, his named is changed to "TV Boy", the nickname that Kamon Nandaba gave him in FLCL.
  • Matt Roszak, the creator of the game series, has stated that Canti from FLCL is one of his favorite anime characters of all time.

Evangelion: 2.0 You Can (Not) Advance

• A yellow Vespa with the "56-56" license plate can be seen parked near a store where Shinji and Kensuke visit.
  • The film, as well as the Evangelion franchise was created by Hideaki Anno who voiced Miyu Miyu and directed by Kazuya Tsurumaki who also directed the first season of FLCL.
• Tsurumaki has noted that the character Mari Makinami Illustrious was unintentionally designed to be a FLCL type of character to help differentiate her from the rest of the Evangelion characters . Similarly, when he and FLCL screenwriter Yoji Enokido first created Haruko and described her as “a selfish adult woman who teases Naota,” the staff believed that her personality was similar to Misato Katsuragi, which forced the two to try and differentiate the two women.

Guitar Fight from Fooly Cooly (Band)

• Besides the band name referencing the show's title and events from "FLCLimax":
  • The song, "guitar fight from fooly cooly" on the album, alpha, omega, murphy mentions Atomsk.
  • The song, "teens​/​/​candle" on the album, Soak, features dialogue from the English dub version of "Brittle Bullet". Specifically, it is the scene where Haruko torments Commander Amarao at the salon while he was on the phone with Kitsurubami before asking if he wants his "Furi Kuri" color.
  • The song, "dr. robot" on Soak opens with the sound made by Haruko's guitar hitting the enemy robot.

I Can Friday by Day!

• At the end of the short film, the main female character is shown standing underneath a bridge and in front of her is an orange colored sky and the Medical Mechanica iron building.
  • The short film was created by Hajime Ueda, who created the manga version of FLCL and directed by Kazuya Tsurumaki, the creator and director of FLCL. The character design was done by Sushio, who served as key animator for FLCL episodes 1-5.
  • The film was a submission for the Japan Animator Expo, a project created by Hideaki Anno to help new animators to gain a worldwide audience.
  • All of the characters were voiced by Megumi Hayashibara who was the voice of Haruko Haruhara in FLCL Progressive and Kouichi Yamadera, who has co-starred with Hayashibara in several popular anime including Cowboy Bebop (as Spike Spiegel) and Neon Genesis Evangelion (as Ryoji Kaji).

Kill La Kill

• In the 5th episode, "Trigger", a few scenes appear to be based on "Brittle Bullet".
  • Tsumugu Kinagase positions himself from a high vantage point and aims an anti-tank rifle at Ryuko, which is drawn similar to how Kitsurubami positioned herself with her anti-tank rifle.
  • After being confronted by the Gardening Club, he is shown standing over the club's leader, who is wearing a blue bonnet that resembles a hoodie, and points a handheld gun at the leader head. The scene is partially based on the scene where Mamimi points Naota's airsoft gun at his head and asked if he liked Haruko.
• In the 12th episode, "Spit Your Sadness Away", after Ryouko's blood begins to boil during her fight against Nui Harime, Senketsu goes berserk and swallows Ryuko with a huge toothy mouth. The scene resembles the way Naota is swallowed by Canti in "Brittle Bullet".
• In the 20th episode, "Far from the Madding Crowd", Gamagoori jumps from a helicopter and lands in front of Satsuki which is based on a scene from "Brittle Bullet" where Naota and Canti jump down and land in front of Mamimi.
  • The anime was was created by studio Trigger, a studio created in 2011 by several former staff from studio GAINAX. GAINAX was the studio that worked on the original FLCL.
  • The series director was Hiroyuki Imaishi, who served as animation director for "Brittle Bullet" and also illustrated the novels.
  • The character design was done by Sushio, who served as key animator for FLCL episodes 1-5.
  • One of the Elite Four, Nonon Jakuzure is voiced by Mayumi Shintani who voiced Haruko Haruhara. Similarly, both characters have pink hair and use musical instruments as a weapon.
    • Additionally, Nonon was originally going to be a punk rocker who wielded an electric guitar and would have used guitar riffs instead of classical music, which would have made her even more similar to Haruko.

Mahou Shoujo Magical Destroyers

• Many reviewers have noted that elements of the show were at least partially influenced by FLCL, as well as the magical girl anime Mahou Shoujo Madoka Magica and several other popular anime by GAINAX / Trigger (a studio formed by several former GAINAX staff), such as Evangelion, Kill La Kill and Panty & Stocking with Garterbelt.
  • One of the characters, Shobon, has a television monitor for a head similar to Canti.
  • The series director, Hiroshi Ikehata, served as the director and storyboard editor for the sixth episode of FLCL Progressive, "Our Running".
  • Kikuko Inoue, who voiced Hinae Hibajiri in Progressive, voiced Yuriri Homura.

Magical Shopping Arcade Abenobashi

• The old lady who runs the Moniwa Shop in "Marquis de Carabas" and her dog can be seen in the first episode. In the show, which takes place in Abeno-Ku, Osaka, she operates a tobacco shop where Arumi and Satoshi visit to buy Ramune, while her dog is standing outside by the entrance.
• The male protagonist, Satoshi "Sasshi" Imamiya, bears a noticeable resemblance to Naota. Similarly, he is also a 12 year old elementary school student, is typically wearing a hat and sleeps in the lower half of a bunk bed. He even grows a horn from his forehead in the ninth episode.
  • The anime was created by GAINAX, which also worked on the first season of FLCL. Additionally, the ending theme song is sung by Megumi Hayashibara, who was the voice of Haruko in FLCL Progressive, while Katsuyuki Konishi, who voiced Kan Sudo in FLCL Alternative, was the voice of Kouhei the shopkeeper and Hideaki Anno voiced an alien.

Nate the Great (Hip-Hop Artist)

• The song "HARUKO" gives a shout-out to FLCL, along with a reference to FLCL Progressive and FLCL Alternative. It also features the lyrics "Canti shut down as I spend time with Haruko".
  • The cover features an image of Haruko's face behind the text.
• The song, "FLCL Freestyle" also references the series in its title.
  • The album cover features Canti, and three of the Enemy Robots, though it is based on the style of the opening for the anime, Cowboy Bebop.

Panty & Stocking with Garterbelt

• In the music video for "D City Rock", Stocking Anarchy is seeing playing a left handed bass and eventually uses it to knock down some of the rowdy concert attendees, similar to how Haruko uses her bass.
  • At one point in the video, Stocking and her sister, Panty are dressed like singer/actor Elvis Presley and dance while swinging the mic stand, similar to how Haruko dressed and acted to encourage Naota to play his guitar in "Brittle Bullet".
• In the episode, "The Stripping", Panty, and later, Brief appear in a red bunny girl costume, which seems similar to Haruko's in "Brittle Bullet" and, by extension, of the bunny girl in GAINAX's early effort DAICON IV.
  • The series was animated by GAINAX, who also worked on the first season of FLCL.

Playstation Japan

• In a now-deleted 2019 promotional video titled PlayStation 4 Lineup Music Video Winter Mix , one of the clips was based on a scene from "Brittle Bullet"; specifically the scene of Haruko in her bunnygirl outfit running along the enemy robot's gun barrel before leaping off of an ejected cartridge.
  • The animated video, which was made to promote the winter line up of new games for the Playstation 4, was deleted after it was determined that the video's director, Kevin Bao, had traced the works of FLCL, Steven Universe: The Movie, and several student animation films in order to make the promotional video.

South Park

• In "Titties and Dragons", a boy who is dressed similarly to Naota Nandaba can be seen looking at the body of Princess Kenny after she jumped out of the Sony building and landed face first onto the pavement below.

Super Robot Wars X-Ω

• The game features Canti as a playable character. Upon selecting him, a dialogue scene featuring Haruko Haruhara, Mamimi Samejima, and Naota Nandaba having a conversation before Canti arrives is shown. The Medical Mechanica building can also be seen behind the group.
  • The game also features characters from several popular GAINAX anime including Neon Genesis Evangelion, GunBuster, DieBuster and Gurren Lagann, as well as Godzilla from the 2016 live action film, Shin Godzilla that was directed by Hideaki Anno.

"Kanchi - A mysterious robot that came out of Naota's head. Both he and Haruko are freeloaders at the Nandaba residence. By incorporating Naota, he demonstrates a high level of fighting power. Though, he is more often used for chores and odd jobs."

"Its his fault! Next time, I'm throwing a straight ball!"

"Kanchi-sama! Does Kanchi-sama also play baseball!?"

"That's right. I'll probably have to keep telling you not to take Kanchi out."

The Pillows

• In 2019, as part of their 30th anniversary, the band held an exhibit at Tower Records Shibuya. Among the various items on display that showcased the band's history were shirts and stickers featuring Canti, Haruko's Vespa and references to the songs used in the anime.

Teen Titans

• In "Employee of the Month", the moped Beast boy wants looks like a white-colored version of Haruko's Vespa, with a "T!" instead of a "P!" sticker on it. Later in the episode, he wears a scarf, goggles and helmet similar to the ones worn by Haruko.
• In "Transformation", Starfire's forehead growth and the way she tries to push it back into her head directly mirrors Naota and his horn.
• In "Fractured", Robin begins to experience pain in his head before growing a horn that eventually shoots out an imp-like version of himself from another dimension.
  • Glen Murakami, the creator of the Teen Titans series has noted that FLCL was a big influence.

Wendy's First Kitchen (Fast Food Restaurant)

• In September 2018, the Japanese fast food restaurant chain (which is owned by the American fast food restaurant chain, Wendy's) collaborated with the creators of FLCL to promote the release of FLCL Progressive and FLCL Alternative in Japanese theaters. The dish for the promotion was ガーリックバターポテト (gaarikku bataa potato, Garlic Butter Potato Fries).