Toonami Is Reviving an Old-School Anime with 2 New Seasons

Toonami has been giving animation lovers original animated series and anime from Japan for twenty-five years, with the Cartoon Network programming block celebrating the anniversary with a major announcement. With this year seeing the release of Shenmue The Animation, as well as Junji Ito’s Uzumaki set to arrive this fall, Toonami has let fans know that it is set to introduce a new anime series, as well as bring back a classic anime franchise in FLCL, aka Fooly Cooly, with two new seasons in the works.  

The new seasons of FLCL will run under the titles of FLCL: Grunge and FLCL: Shoegaze,  with the former set to be directed by Hitoshi Takekiyo and animated by MontBlanc Pictures. Production IG, who has been working with Cartoon Network on their new original anime series, is set to return for Shoegaze, along with the animation studio NUT and director Yutaka Uemura.

Toonami also revealed a new trailer for FLCL: Grunge, which appears to use a dynamic new animation style from what the original series was known for:

Jason DeMarco, the creative director of Toonami and senior vice president of WarnerMedia’s action and anime division, had this to say:

“What better time to announce two new seasons of ‘FLCL’ and ‘Housing Complex C’ than on our 25th anniversary. Adult Swim’s ongoing commitment to support Toonami with new original series is something anime fans can celebrate every day.”  

Housing Complex C, a new anime series that will center around a seaside town facing a threat from an ancient evil, was also announced, which will be directed by Yuji Nara and animated by Studio Akatsuki. 

FLCL definitely earned its place as an anime classic, exploring the mundane world of Naota, a twelve-year-old that had his life shaken up with the arrival of a guitar-slinging wildcard named Haruko. Though the series debuted in 2001, it did return via two previous seasons in FLCL Progressive and FLCL Alternative, which were also created by Toonami and had Production IG dipping their toes into both. 

This year has already seen the arrival of Shenmue The Animation from Toonami, and the programming block is preparing for the arrival of the terrifying anime adaptation of Junji Ito’s Uzumaki to land this fall, but it would seem that Cartoon Network has plenty of plans when it comes to future original anime programming.

Are you hyped for the return of Fooly Cooly? Feel free to let us know in the comments or hit me up directly on Twitter @EVComedy to talk all things comics, anime, and the world of Toonami.

Via Variety