Toonami Delays ‘FLCL Progressive’ Sub Premiere

FLCL fans loved seeing the first episode of its second season revival, FLCL Progressive, but fans hoping to see the Japanese language release of the series were met with a major delay.

The premiere of the Japanese language FLCL Progressive (with English subtitle) and FLCL Alternative has been delayed by Adult Swim until November.

Stating on their Facebook page that the decision to delay the releases was made “out of respect for our Japanese partners” and that a November release better aligns with the release of the anime in Japan. The entirety of the first two seasons is expected to be available in Japanese with English subtitles on the Adult Swim website in November.

Adult Swim originally planned to simulcast the Japanese language version along with the English dub airing in Toonami, but since the series was produced with an English dub first this decision may seem odd to Dub fans. But it’s a position anime fans in the West know too well as they were the ones who had to look up anime series from Japan and translate it rather than the other way around.

Regardless, the English dub of both seasons will still be running on Toonami and are also available to view online at Adult Swim’s website. FLCL Alternative is slated to start in Septemner,

Adult Swim describes FLCL Progressive as such:

“FLCL Progressive tells the story of 14-year-old Hidomi, her classmate Ide, and two otherworldly beings, “Jinyu” and “Haruha Raharu,” who are determined to unlock their hidden potential. Mixed up in this is an all-powerful force known as “ATOMSK,” a gorgeous vintage car… and a certain Vespa Scooter.”

The English dub cast for the series includes Kari Wahlgren as Haruha Raharu, Allegra Clark as Jinyu, Xanthe Hunyh as Hidomi, Robbie Daymond as Ide, Jon Allen as Mori, Yuri Lowenthal as Marco, Christine Marie Cabanos as Aiko, Julie Ann Taylor as Hinae, Jason Griffith as Marurao, J. David Brimmer as Eye Patch, and Steve Kramer as Tonkichi.

The staff for the series includes directors Kazuto Arai, Toshihisa Kaiya, Yuki Ogawa, Yoshihide Ibata, Kei Suezawa, and Hiroshi Ikehata with Katsuyuki Motohiro serving as Chief Director for Production I.G. Hideto Iwai will write the script for the series, Yoshiyuki Sadamoto and Chikashi Kubota are handling character design, Taeko Hamauzu will serve as editor, R.O.N. is composing the music for the series, Noriko Arisawa is overseeing the color design, and famous band from the first series the pillows are returning for the series’ opening theme “spiky seeds.”

FLCL, pronounced in English as “Fooly Cooly,” was written by Yoji Enokido, directed by Kazuya Tsurumaki, and produced by Gainax, Production IG, and King Records and released in Japan from 2000-2001. It came to the United States as part of the Adult Swim block in 2003 it was frequently re-aired from 2003-2014. The coming-of-age story focused on the 12-year-old boy Naota Nandaba who become bored with his life in a working-class town. He gets more excitement than he bargained for when the alien Haruko Haruhara bursts into his life on her moped, trailing chaos in her wake.