FLCL: Shoegaze is the fifth season of the FLCL series and serves as a sequel and epilogue to FLCL Alternative, it was announced on March 17, 2022.[1] Series creative director Jason DeMarco confirmed the release date to be in 2023, once again including music from The Pillows.[2] Additionally, a few scenes accompanied by music from The Pillows were previewed briefly during San Diego Comic Con that same year.
It premiered on Adult Swim in English on September 20, 2023, while the Japanese version with English subtitles aired the following day on streaming service, MAX.
About the Anime[]
Taking place 10 years after the events of FLCL Alternative, 15-year-old Masaki Aofuji has been seeing green ghosts randomly appear ever since the steam from a mysterious building blew through his town 10 years prior.
After transferring to a new high school in Tsuganei and meeting an eccentric girl named Harumi Araishu, the pair have barricaded themselves inside the mysterious building known as "Tsuganei Tower", to investigate the big glowing bird perched on top that only Masaki can see. Meanwhile, Bureau of Interstellar Immigration Chief Tsukata Kanda and agent Kana Koumoto have been brought in to help the local police with the situation.
Cast[]
Japanese[]
- Shoya Chiba as Masaki Aofuji
- Satomi Amano as Harumi Araishu
- Karen Miyama as Kana Koumoto
- Yutaka Aoyama as Tsukata Kanda
- Mutsumi Kaneko as Young Masaki
- Shoko Yuzaki as Masaki's Mom
- Akihiro Sakata as Policeman
- Shintaro Kuroki as Junior High School Teacher
- Ryosuke Takayanagi as Valedictorian
English[]
- Jesse Nowack as Masaki Aofuji
- Kim Gasiciel as Harumi Araishu
- Megan Taylor Harvey as Kana Koumoto
- Ray Chase as Tsukata Kanda
- Jack Casey as Young Masaki
- Michael Sinterniklaas as Atomsk
- Stephanie Sheh as Masaki's Mom
Episodes[]
Trivia[]
- According to Jason DeMarco, despite Grunge and Shoegaze having successful ratings on Adult Swim, they won't be making any more new seasons of FLCL after this one.[3]
- In an Instagram post by "toonamiswim" on October 8, 2023, an additional response from DeMarco revealed that the decision to not continue with any more FLCL sequels was simply a creative decision with the network, as they want to do new projects, but have a limited budget. He also noted that Production I.G. still retains the rights to the series and could continue on with FLCL if they choose to do so in the future, but it would have to be without Adult Swim assisting them.[4][5]
- In an earlier interview with Vulture from September 22, 2023, DeMarco indicated it was already likely that Adult Swim would not continue on with FLCL after Shoegaze ended and that Production I.G. would be solely responsible for continuing the FLCL franchise from that point on.[6]
- This is the only FLCL series that does not have Haruko Haruhara in it nor Kari Wahlgren returning as her voice actress.
- Although Haruko does not appear as a character in the series, there are several references alluding to her:
- Her Fender Mustang guitar from Alternative briefly appears in the first and last episode, where it shown falling from the sky and landing in an empty field as the police drive to Tsuganei Tower.
- After Kana arrives at the tower, Kanda tells her that she was responsible for saving the world 10 years ago in "Full Flat". She then corrects him by pointing out that her hair is not pink and that she does not whack people with a guitar, alluding to Haruko being the one who actually saved the world.
- She is also alluded to by Kana while talking to Kanda about missing someone as they play a game of catch at the end of the last episode.
- An image of her and Naota Nandaba in his bedroom after she first arrived in the first episode of FLCL is seen within the pink bird.
- An image of her sitting next to a vending machine as she and Kanda talk about their lives from the last episode of Alternative is also seen within the pink bird.
- Two brief scenes from the first episode of Alternative are shown near the end, featuring Kana and her friends hanging out in the com-center, followed by Haruko holding up the remaining part of their bottle rocket.
- Although Haruko does not appear as a character in the series, there are several references alluding to her:
- Additionally, this is the only season in the FLCL series that does not feature any Enemy Robots, as both Haruko and Medical Mechanica do not appear in this season except in brief flashbacks.
- This is the only FLCL series that uses all new tracks by The Pillows and does not feature any songs used in the previous FLCL series / OSTs, such as "LAST DINOSAUR", "Little Busters", and "I Think I Can".
- While there hasn’t been much provided in terms of production material for the series, a character sheet depicting Masaki and Harumi has surfaced which was drawn by Hajime Ueda, who created the manga adaptation.