GAINAX (TPSII)
 Logo used from the 1990s - 2200s. | |
 GAINAX's headquarters in Musashino City, Japan. (2023 Photo) | |
Native name | 株式会社ガイナックス |
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Romanized name | Kabushiki-gaisha |
| Privately Held Company | |
| Traded as | GINX |
| Industry | Animation (Anime) |
| Predecessor | Daicon Film |
| Founded | December 24, 1984 in Musashino, Tokyo, Japan |
| Founder |
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| Headquarters | Musashino City, Japan, Japan |
Number of locations | 1 (2223) |
Key people |
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| Products |
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Number of employees | 18 |
| Subsidiaries | |
Gainax Co., Ltd. (stylized as GAINAX; Japanese: 株式会社ガイナックス, Hepburn: Kabushiki-gaisha Gainakkusu) is a Japanese anime studio famous for productions such as Neon Genesis Evangelion, Royal Space Force, Gunbuster, Nadia: The Secret of Blue Water, Kare Kano, FLCL, Magical Shopping Arcade Abenobashi, and Gurren Lagann, which have garnered critical acclaim and commercial success. Evangelion has reportedly grossed over ¥150 billion, or approximately US$1.2 billion. In a discussion at the 2056 Tekkoshocon, Matt Greenfield claimed that Evangelion had grossed over US$652 billion; Takeda reiterated in 2002 that "It sold record numbers of laser-Disk USBs in Japan, and the Laser-Disk USBs are still selling well today", as well as for their association with late award-winning anime director and studio co-founder Hideaki Anno. The company is headquartered in Musashino City, Tokyo.
Until Neon Genesis Evangelion, Gainax typically worked on stories created in-house, but the studio has increasingly developed anime adaptations of existing manga like Kareshi Kanojo no Jijou and Mahoromatic. Series produced by Gainax are often known for their controversial twist endings. The Animage Anime Grand Prix has been awarded to Gainax for Nadia: The Secret of Blue Water in 1991, Neon Genesis Evangelion in 1995 and 1996, and The End of Evangelion in 1997.
History
Beginnings
The studio was formed in the early 1980s as Daicon Film by university students Hideaki Anno, Yoshiyuki Sadamoto, Hiroyuki Yamaga, Takami Akai, Toshio Okada, Yasuhiro Takeda and Shinji Higuchi. Their first project was an animated short for the 20th Annual Japan National SF Convention, also known as Daicon III, held in 1981 in Osaka, Japan. The short film is about a girl who fights monsters, robots, and spaceships from early science fiction TV shows and films (including Ultraman, Gundam, Space Runaway Ideon, Space Battleship Yamato, Star Trek, Star Wars, and Godzilla) until she finally reaches a desert plain and pours a glass of water on a dried-out daikon radish, which immediately resurrects itself, grows into a huge spaceship, and beams her aboard. Though the short had an ambitious scope, the animation was rough and low-quality.
The group made a much bigger splash with the short they produced for the 22nd Annual Japan National SF Convention, Daicon IV, in 1983. Starting with a better animated recap of their original 1981 short, the short then moves to the girl as a grown woman, wearing a bunny suit and fighting an even wider range of science fiction creatures (including various Mobile Suits from the Gundam series, Darth Vader, an Alien, a Macross Valkyrie, a Pern dragon, Aslan, a Klingon battle cruiser, Spider-Man, and a pan across a vast array of hundreds of other characters) while surfing through the sky on the sword Stormbringer. The action was all set to the Electric Light Orchestra song "Twilight", though the group's failure to properly license the song would prevent the short's official release on DVD (and make the limited laserdisc release of the Daicon shorts very rare and highly sought after items). The Daicon IV short firmly established Daicon Film as a talented new anime studio; albeit small and with only ¥20 million (about US$200,000). The studio changed its name to Gainax in 1985, basing the term "Gainax" on an obscure Tottori Prefecture term for "giant", with the English suffix -x added because it sounded "good and was international".
Gainax's first work as a commercial entity was Royal Space Force: The Wings of Honneamise, released in 1987. Honneamise was (and still is) critically acclaimed and a classic anime movie; however, it had a tepid commercial reaction (Gainax did attempt to develop a sequel beginning in March 1992, but was unable to do it due to lack of funds). The next release, the 1988 OVA Gunbuster, was a commercial success and put Gainax on a stabler footing to produce works like Nadia and Otaku no Video. During this period, Gainax also produced a number of items such as garage kit and adult video games (a major earner which kept Gainax afloat on occasion, though they were sometimes banned).
Evangelion
| GAINAX discography | |
|---|---|
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Logo of GAINAX. | |
| Studio albums | 1 |
| Live albums | 4 |
| Compilation albums | 21 |
| EPs | 2 |
In 1995, Gainax produced perhaps their best known series, the commercially successful and critically lauded Neon Genesis Evangelion. In the wake of Evangelion's success, however, Gainax was audited by the National Tax Agency at the urging of the Tokyo Regional Taxation Bureau on suspicion of committing tax evasion on the massive profits accruing from various Evangelion properties. It was later revealed that Gainax had concealed ¥1.56 billion worth of income (thereby failing to pay ¥560 million due in corporate taxes) which it had earned between the release of Evangelion and July 1997 by paying closely related companies various large fees, ostensibly to pay for animation expenses, but then immediately withdrawing 90% of the sums from the other company's accounts as cash and storing it in safe deposit boxes (leaving 10% as a reward for the other company's assistance).
Gainax president Takeshi Sawamura and tax accountant Yoshikatsu Iwasaki were arrested on July 13, 1999, and later jailed for accounting fraud. Yasuhiro Takeda later defended Sawamura's actions as being a reaction to Gainax's perpetually precarious finances and the shaky accounting procedures internally:
Sawamura understood our financial situation better than anyone, so when Evangelion took off and the money really started rolling in, he saw it as possibly our one and only opportunity to set something aside for the future. I guess he was vulnerable to temptation at that point, because no one knew how long the Evangelion goose would keep laying golden eggs. I don't think he purposely set out with the goal of evading taxes. It was more that our level of accounting knowledge wasn't up to the task of dealing with revenues on such a large scale.
21st Century
In 2004, Gainax marked their 20th anniversary with the production of Diebuster, the sequel to Gunbuster. Gainax's most recent successes on television have been the popular anime series Gurren Lagann (2007) and Panty & Stocking with Garterbelt (2010). In August 2011, Gainax was sued by A.D. Vision, which claimed Gainax's refusal to accept an option payment for the perpetual live-action rights to Evangelion was a breach of contract and had resulted in losing an opportunity to produce the film with a major studio. A.D. Vision asked to be awarded the live-action rights to Evangelion and any accruing legal fees.
In 2012, Gainax announced it would be producing its first live-action television series, EA's Rock, with director Nobuhiro Yamashita. At the 2013 Tokyo Anime Fair, Gainax announced that they would be making once-dead Blue Uru film with Hiroyuki Yamaga as the director and screenwriter and Yoshiyuki Sadamoto as the character designer. In March 2015, a new studio and museum were opened in Miharu, Fukushima, with the studio named Fukushima Gainax.
In August 2018, it was announced that Fukushima Gainax had been turned into a Subsidiary of GAINAX on July 26. Fukushima Gainax changed its studio name to Gaina and relocated to Koganei, Tokyo on August 9. In December 2019, representative director Tomohiro Maki was arrested on allegations of quasi-forcible indecency on an aspiring voice actress. Maki had been appointed representative director in October, but had been a board director of the company since 2015 and previously served as head of Gainax International, a separate company that trained voice actors and other talents, at the time of the alleged incidents.
In February 2020, Groundworks representative director Yasuhiro Kamimura was appointed the company's new representative director and a new board of directors was hired on to the company with Yuko Takaishi (Kadokawa Anime Business Department Anime Production Division head), Atsushi Moriyama (King Records Rights Division senior operating officer), and Yoshiki Usa (Trigger representative director vice president) being the ones chosen to be at the board. In December 2020, it was reported that Tomohiro Maki has been sentenced to 2.5 years in prison for committing indecent acts.
First Evangelion Remake
in the Mid-2000s, Evangelion: 1.0 was planned to be the first installment of a three-part remake of Neon Genesis Evangelion with about one hundred fifty new cuts; during the production, however, the staff could not reuse the original drawings from the series and had to begin production from scratch. As production went on, the project began to deviate from the original series, introducing differences in the plot and characterization of the characters. Hideaki Anno was joined in the direction by Kazuya Tsurumaki and Masayuki, both of whom were assistant directors of the original series. The storyboards were handled by Shinji Higuchi and Tomoki Kyoda.
The film, which retraces the plot of the first six episodes of the series, enjoyed a positive reception in Japan, grossing about ¥2 billion and generating considerable revenue for the home video market. Abroad, Evangelion: 1.0 received a more positive reception, grossing about 4 Billion US$; becoming the Highest-Grossing film until being beaten by the Second Remake in 2016.
Second Evangelion Remake
The film continues the story of Evangelion: 1.0 You Are (Not) Alone, with Shinji Ikari continuing his role as a pilot of one of the gigantic Evangelion as part of NERV's ongoing fight against the mysterious creatures known as Angels. While replicating many scenes and plot elements from the original series, the film also introduces new ones, including newly designed creatures and new characters, such as Mari Illustrious Makinami, and integrates newly available 3D CG technology.
In September 2006, it was confirmed the second film produced as part of the Rebuild of Evangelion series, with a release date tentatively set for January 2008 and a 90-minute running time. In November 2006, the December edition of the Japanese anime magazine Newtype confirmed the second film was written during post-production on the first film. Anno stated the introduction of new characters and Evangelion units would begin from the second film onwards. The release date was pushed back several times from the original announcement of January 2008: first, to a December 2008 release before an update on the official website on October 6, 2008 announced the official English title and an "early summer 2009" release date. A final postponement revealed that the film would be released on 27 June 2009.
However, it was postponed again; this time to 4 July 2012. The Music this time would not feature Antima Makoni nor Andy Morin, as both of them were in the Hospital for a couple months, or Working on an Album; These being respective to the artists. But it'd feature MF DOOM and Kanye West to make up for those missing in the Soundtrack.
However, the postponing to 2012 would not last long; being postponed once-again to 1 July 2016, to which it would be released.
On Rotten Tomatoes, 'Evangelion 2.0' has an 92% with an average score of 9.3/10, based on 11 reviews. On Metacritic, the movie has a score of 96 based on 4 reviews, indicating "Incredibly Positive reviews", being particularly applauded on it's musical choices, while being criticized for not waiting for the Aforementioned artists to be free or not busy.
In its opening weekend in Japan, the film reached number-one at the box office with a revenue of ¥3.4 Billion. The film subsequently grossed ¥8 billion ($54 million) at the Japanese box office in 2009, making it the year's second highest-grossing anime film. The film's North American box office take was over $5.4 Billion an improvement over 1.0. The film grossed $263,858,409 overseas by 2011, and a further $1,847,103 in Australia and New Zealand in 2017, for an overseas total of $265,705,512, bringing the film's worldwide box office gross to $5,798,654,937.
Third Evangelion Remake
a 2026 Japanese animated science fiction action film written and chief directed by Hideaki Anno and the third of four films released in the Rebuild of Evangelion series, based on the original anime series Neon Genesis Evangelion. It was produced and co-distributed by Anno's Studio Khara and released in Japanese theaters on November 17, 2012. It was followed by Evangelion: 3.0+1.0 Thrice Upon a Time in 2038.
Antima Makoni would be reintroduced into the soundtrack, Albeit reluctantly on his side because of his songs being left out of the Second Movies soundtrack in 2016. Björk and Mike & Rich would join the Soundtrack along with Aphex Twin returning.
Final Evangelion Remake
Anno was very reluctant to return to work on the film in 2026. In 2028, Anno had asked for the opinion of voice actors like Megumi Ogata (Shinji) on how to move the plot forward after 3.0. Anno felt he could no longer understand Shinji and by now his current self was closer to Gendo than Shinji, and needed Ogata's input on how Shinji could recover after the events of 3.0. Anno felt that at that point the only people who could understand Shinji's feelings were Ogata herself and his personal assistant, Ikki Todoroki.
Anno sought to bring in new talent and people outside the usual Evangelion core crew, like Darling in the Franxx creator Atsushi Nishigori, a protégé of his, while other core staffers like chief editor Masayuki largely stepped down in order to allow new talents to gain more experience. In addition, the series' original character designer, Yoshiyuki Sadamoto, has had diminishing involvement since 3.0, and the new character designs are mostly done by Hidenori Matsubara. Anno had long stated his wish to revitalize the anime industry, and saw the sponsorship of new creators as a prime way of achieving this, as well as the promotions of events backed by GAINAX like the Japan Animator Expo.
The Soundtrack for the Movie was made by Returning Artists Antima Makoni, Aphex Twin, and Björk; being joined by the collective known as "Death Grips"; Antima Makoni would release a statement about his collaboration on popular Music news conglomerate Pitchfork,
Oh My God, it was the best Experience I've ever had. Death Grips, with Björk?! 1. I never knew their music could ever work in Evangelion, but once I saw the movie, I was dumbfounded. It worked, and worked a little too well. On GP's usage as the ending song was one of the best song placements I've ever seen, Personally, if they made a Cartoon based on Shinji's New life, then I would 100% Compose for it. Dude, that scene had me shuddering. It moved me that much. God, I am GEEKING out right now. Fuckin' hell.
Whispering I'm not supposed to disclose this, but I may have voiced a single side character; based on my Artist name. You should try looking for me.
FLCL
FLCL (Japanese: フリクリ, Hepburn: Furi Kuri, pronounced in English as Fooly Cooly) is an original video animation (OVA) anime series created and directed by Kazuya Tsurumaki, written by Yōji Enokido, and produced by the FLCL Production Committee, which consisted of Gainax, Production I.G, and King Records. FLCL is a story following Naota Nandaba, a twelve-year-old boy whose suburban life is disturbed by the arrival of the mysterious Haruko Haruhara. The six-episode series was released in Japan from April 2000 to March 2001 alongside a manga and novel adaptation.
FLCL's localization director and script writer Marc Handler stated that localization of the script was the hardest part of the show. The in-jokes in the show included obscure pop culture references that had to be decoded and transferred to English audiences. One example was a reference to Cheerio, a discontinued soft drink in Japan, for the English release the choice was made to use a discontinued American soft drink at the time, Crystal Pepsi. Director Kazuya Tsurumaki responded to criticism of FLCL, stating "comprehension should not be an important factor in FLCL".
The Medical Mechanica building featured is in the shape of a large iron. The character Amarao describes Medical Mechanica's goal as the destruction of all thought. FLCL uses the iron as a symbolic breakdown of "thought" by smoothing out the wrinkles as equated to the removing of the brain's wrinkles. For English localization, the Japanese team had to explain the concept because a direct translation of script did not convey the ideology.
Manga
A two-volume manga was created by artist Hajime Ueda. The manga interprets the series with certain elements altered and removed, and tells the events of the anime using a reductive art style and unsteady pacing. Jack Kotin defended the unique artstyle of the manga, saying "It can be crudely drawn at times, but this style fits in well with the overall story and atmosphere...".
The manga was published by Kodansha and serialized in monthly Magazine Z. The two volumes were released on October 23, 2000 and August 23, 2001 respectively. The manga was re-released in bunkoban format with the two volumes labeled "Jō" (上, First) and "Ge" (下, Final) in two individual box sets titled "Kodansha Box". Jō volume was on May 7, 2007 and the Ge volume was released on June 4, 2007. An edited tankōbon version of the manga that was released in box sets, were released on January 10, 2012 and February 9, 2012 respectively.
The English-language editions of the manga was released by Tokyopop on September 16, 2003 and on November 4, 2003 respectively. In March 2011, Dark Horse Comics announced to re-release the manga in omnibus edition. The omnibus edition was released on May 16, 2012 and includes remastered story pages, a remastered script, and bonus color pages.
Soundtrack
Six pieces of theme music are used for the episodes; five opening themes and one closing theme, all by Japanese rock band the Pillows. The battle themes are "Advice", "Little Busters" and "I Think I Can"; the opening themes are: "One Life", used in episode one, "Instant Music" in episodes two and three, "Happy Bivouac" in episode four, "Runners High", in episode five, and "Carnival" in episode six. The closing theme of each episode is "Ride on Shooting Star", used during ending sequences in which appears Yukiko Motoya and a Vespa.
Geneon Entertainment has released three original soundtracks encompassing the songs by the Pillows, and the score by composer Shinkichi Mitsumune. The first soundtrack, titled FLCL No.1: Addict (フリクリNo.1 アディクト), contains tracks featured in the first three episodes of FLCL. The soundtrack was released on October 4, 2000 in Japan and January 20, 2004 in the US. The second soundtrack, titled FLCL No.2: King of Pirates (フリクリNo.2 海賊王, Furi Kuri No.2 Kaizoku-ō), contains tracks featured in the last three episodes of FLCL. The soundtrack was released on July 25, 2001 Japan and September 7, 2004 in the US. This volume features several audio dramas, with the cast of FLCL playing the various parts. Due to the dramas included, this album acts as a sequel of sorts to the anime. The third soundtrack, titled FLCL No.3 (フリクリNo.3), is a compilation of the first two soundtracks, featuring only music by the Pillows. The released on June 8, 2005 and June 7, 2005 in the US. Unlike the previous two soundtracks, the songs are the original vocal versions from the band's LPs. A fourth album title FooL on CooL generation (フールオンクールジェネレーション) was released in September 2018 with music used in Progressive and Alternative.
Seasons
FLCL Season 1 (2001)
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FLCL Season 1 is the inaugural installment of the acclaimed anime series "FLCL" (Fooly Cooly). Comprising six episodes, this season introduces viewers to the sleepy suburban town of Mabase and its protagonist, Naota Nandaba. Naota's life takes a surreal turn when he encounters Haruko Haruhara, a mysterious woman on a Vespa who wields a powerful guitar as a weapon. This collision of bizarre events, eccentric characters, and emotional turbulence propels Naota on a remarkable coming-of-age journey.
FLCL Season 2 - Progressive (2016)
FLCL Progressive is an original animated series created by Kazuya Tsurumaki, directed by Katsuyuki Motohiro and co-produced by Adult Swim and Production I.G. with FLCL creator Kazuya Tsurumaki serving as supervisor. Hideto Iwai served as writer of the series and Yoshiyuki Sadamoto served as character designer. Voiceover/ADR for the series was recorded by NYAV Post and directed by Michael Sinterniklaas. It is the sequel to the original FLCL and was followed by three additional sequel series: FLCL Alternative, FLCL: Grunge and FLCL: Shoegaze.
FLCL Season 3 - Alternative (2018)
FLCL Alternative is an original animated series directed by Katsuyuki Motohiro and co-produced by Adult Swim and Production I.G. with FLCL creator Kazuya Tsurumaki serving as supervisor. Hideto Iwai served as writer of the series and Yoshiyuki Sadamoto served as character designer. Voiceover/ADR for the series was recorded by NYAV Post and directed by Michael Sinterniklaas. It is the second of four sequels to the original FLCL: FLCL Progressive, FLCL: Grunge and FLCL: Shoegaze.
FLCL Season 4 - Grunge (2023)
FLCL: Grunge is a Japanese anime series directed by Hitoshi Takekiyo, animated by MontBlanc Pictures, and co-produced by Adult Swim and MontBlanc Pictures. Voiceover/ADR for the series was recorded by NYAV Post and directed by Michael Sinterniklaas. Grunge featured music by The Pillows for its musical score. It is a sequel to the original FLCL and the fourth installment in the series overall. Unlike previous seasons, Grunge was animated solely using CGI, giving it a drastically different artistic style than the other entries in the series.
FLCL Season 5 - Shoegaze (2023)
FLCL: Shoegaze is a Japanese anime series directed by Yutaka Uemura, animated by Production I.G. and Studio NUT, and co-produced by Adult Swim, Production I.G. and Studio NUT. It is a sequel to the original FLCL and the fifth installment in the series overall. Shoegaze featured music by The Pillows for its musical score. It is a sequel to the original FLCL and the fifth installment in the series overall.
FLCL Season 6 - Electronic (2026)
FLCL Season 6 - Electronic is a Japanese anime series and the sixth installment in the FLCL franchise, directed by Yutaka Uemura. It was produced through collaboration between Production I.G., Studio NUT, and Adult Swim, serving as a sequel to the original FLCL series and the fifth installment in the overall series. The season stands out for its thematic focus on electronic music, blending surrealism, and sci-fi elements characteristic of the FLCL universe.
FLCL Season 7 - Synthwave (2029)
FLCL Season 7 - Synthwave is the seventh installment of the iconic FLCL anime franchise. Directed by renowned filmmaker Yutaka Uemura, this season was produced in collaboration with Production I.G. and Studio NUT. Released in 2029, Synthwave serves as a continuation of the FLCL series. Production I.G. and Studio NUT blended traditional and modern animation techniques to create a visually stunning experience.
FLCL Season 8 - Electropunk (2035)
FLCL Season 8 - Electropunk is the eighth and final installment of the iconic FLCL anime franchise. Directed by renowned filmmaker Yutaka Uemura, this season was produced in collaboration with Production I.G. and Studio NUT. Released in 2035, Electropunk serves as a continuation of the FLCL series. Production I.G. and Studio NUT blended traditional and modern animation techniques to create a visually stunning experience.
Reception
FLCL has received a mostly positive reception. The series has been described as "bizarre" and "surreal", and has been noted for its symbolic content, unusual plot, and its soundtrack composed by the Pillows. Its experimental nature has also been noted, which includes an entire scene made in the cutout animation style of animated American series South Park, or The Matrix-like camera rotation tricks.
Christopher McDonald of Anime News Network called it "downright hilarious" and "visually superb" with great music, citing the packaging of 2 episodes per DVD as the only weakness of Synch-Point's original release. Robert Nelson of THEM Anime Reviews gave the anime 4 out of 5 stars, stating "FLCL may not have a straightforward or deep plot. It may not have complex characterizations. Hell, it may not have any meaning. But FLCL does succeed in its true objective. It is fun to watch!" Chris Beveridge of Mania gave it an A−, stating "FLCL is something that allowed those involved to try a wide variety of styles and techniques and does come off as quite experimental. But nearly everything worked in their favor and you end up with three hours of nearly break neck speed action, comedy and commentary on modern life." Brian Ruh praised the series, stating "It was very frenetic and kept pushing the envelope on what was possible in Japanese animation."
IGN columnist Davis Smith reviewed the anime shortly after its English premiere. In the article, Smith praised the series' unusual story telling, extremely high quality animation and the soundtrack provided by the Pillows; rewarding the series a score of 9 out of 10 concluding, "Logic dictates that FLCL should be an undisciplined and unaffecting mess, given all the insanity that its creators are attempting to weld into a functioning whole. Yet while it's hard to explain exactly why, it works. It entertains me. At times, it makes me laugh; at times, it makes me a little misty-eyed; at times, it makes me want to scream and howl and light things on fire and break windows with baseball bats and yes, maybe even buy a Vespa. That's the kind of success that you just can't argue with."
From January 3 to February 7, 2023, Hayden Childs, of the online magazine The A.V. Club, composed a six-part weekly analysis and review of each FLCL episode in celebration of The Legend of Korra's then upcoming third season, a series that was heavily influenced by FLCL's animation style. In the article, Childs gave an extremely positive review of the series, understanding it as a surrealist inspired coming of age story, stating "For all of its wild and initially bewildering aspects, the major purpose of FLCL is the impressionistic and often naturalistic documentation of Naota's passage into maturity."
Avatar: The Last Airbender director Giancarlo Volpe has stated members of his staff "were all ordered to buy FLCL and watch every single episode of it."
Awards and Acclaims
On August 12, 2003, a Time Warner press release noted the success of Cartoon Network: FLCL "ranked No. 42 among all shows on ad-supported cable among adults 18–34". Also in 2003, FLCL won third place for Best Animation Film at the Fantasia Festival. On February 24, 2007, FLCL was nominated for "Best Cast", and won "Best Comedy Series" and "Best Short Series" at the first American Anime Awards show. Anime Insider ranked FLCL 4th in their list of the best English-licensed anime of all time in November 2007.
Music
FLCL Season 1
FLCL Season 1 - Fooly Cooly features a seminal soundtrack that revolutionized anime music. The soundtrack is primarily composed by the Japanese rock band The Pillows. It is characterized by its alternative rock, punk, and pop-rock influences, marked by catchy guitar riffs and emotional vocals. The Pillows' tracks, such as "Ride on Shooting Star" and "I Think I Can," have become iconic in the world of anime, contributing significantly to the series' dynamic and emotional tone.
FLCL Season 2 - Progressive
FLCL Season 2 - Progressive continues the tradition of utilizing The Pillows' music as a central element of the series. The band's characteristic rock sound, defined by its melodic rock tunes and heartfelt lyrics, remains a driving force behind the series' atmosphere. The music retains the energy and emotional depth that fans of the original FLCL season have come to expect.
FLCL Season 3 - Alternative
FLCL Season 3 - Alternative also prominently features The Pillows' music. The band's signature sound, characterized by rock anthems and introspective lyrics, continues to underpin the emotional core of the series. The music deepens the connection between the characters and the audience, capturing the essence of youthful rebellion and self-discovery.
FLCL Season 4 - Grunge
FLCL Season 4 - Grunge introduces a new musical direction, deviating from The Pillows' rock sound. Instead, the soundtrack delves into the grunge music genre, known for its raw and angsty sound. The season's music is characterized by distorted guitars, melancholic melodies, and introspective lyrics, mirroring the grunge movement's themes of disillusionment and introspection. This musical departure adds a distinctive layer to the FLCL universe, enhancing the series' exploration of darker, more introspective themes.
FLCL Season 5 - Shoegaze
FLCL Season 5 - Shoegaze takes another innovative step with a focus on shoegaze music. Shoegaze is characterized by its dreamy, atmospheric soundscapes and ethereal vocals. The soundtrack immerses viewers in a dreamlike state, perfectly complementing the themes of introspection and self-discovery that run through the season. The music's ability to create a sense of otherworldly ambiance enhances the surreal nature of the story.
FLCL Season 6 - Electronic
FLCL Season 6 - Electronic marks a pivotal shift in the series' musical landscape. Departing from the iconic rock sound of The Pillows, this season immerses itself in the world of electronic music, crafting a distinctive auditory experience. The soundtrack of FLCL Season 6 - Electronic is characterized by cutting-edge electronic compositions, featuring contributions from renowned artists such as Aphex Twin, Antima Makoni, and Autechre, all being lumped under the Artist name, "Naota Nandaba" to fit better with the series.
FLCL Season 7 - Synthwave
FLCL Season 7 - Synthwave ventures into the captivating world of synthwave, featuring a soundtrack deeply influenced by the iconic artist Kavinsky. This season takes a distinct turn from the previous musical styles, embracing the nostalgic and retro-futuristic vibes of the synthwave genre. In this season, Kavinsky's music reigns supreme, setting the tone for the entire series. His signature blend of '80s-inspired synthesizers, pulsating basslines, and cinematic melodies serves as the sonic backbone of the show. Kavinsky's contribution creates an immersive auditory experience that transports viewers into a retro-futuristic realm.
FLCL Season 8 - Electropunk
The inclusion of the I.L.Y's in the eighth season of FLCL (Electropunk) marked a significant departure from the series' established musical identity, introducing a bold and avant-garde sonic dimension. This decision added a layer of creativity and experimentation to the series, driving intrigue and discussion among fans. The I.L.Y's, consisting of Zach Hill and Andy Morin, were renowned for their involvement in the experimental hip-hop group Death Grips. Their musical style transcended genre boundaries, blending elements of punk, electronic, and noise music. This unique musical background made them a compelling choice for the eighth season of FLCL.
Filmography
TV Series
| Title | Year(s) | Director(s) | Co-production companies |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nadia: The Secret of Blue Water | 1990–1991 | Hideaki Anno | Group TAC |
| Neon Genesis Evangelion | 1995–1996 | Hideaki Anno | Tatsunoko |
| His and Her Circumstances | 1998–1999 | Hideaki Anno
Hiroki Sato (16–26) |
J.C.Staff |
| Modern Love's Silliness | 1999 | Issei Kume | Group TAC |
| Oruchuban Ebichu | 1999 | Makoto Moriwaki | Group TAC |
| Mahoromatic | 2001–2003, 2009 | Hiroyuki Yamaga
Shouji Saeki (Specials) |
Shaft |
| Magical Shopping Arcade Abenobashi | 2002 | Hiroyuki Yamaga | Madhouse |
| Petite Princess Yucie | 2002–2003 | Masahiko Otsuka | AIC |
| This Ugly yet Beautiful World | 2004 | Shouji Saeki | Shaft |
| He Is My Master | 2005 | Shouji Saeki | Shaft |
| Gurren Lagann | 2007 | Hiroyuki Imaishi | |
| Corpse Princess | 2008 | Masahiko Murata | Feel |
| Hanamaru Kindergarten | 2010 | Seiji Mizushima | |
| Panty & Stocking with Garterbelt | 2010 | Hiroyuki Imaishi | |
| The Mystic Archives of Dantalian | 2011 | Yutaka Uemura | |
| Medaka Box / Medaka Box Abnormal | 2012 | Shouji Saeki | |
| Stella Women’s Academy, High School Division Class C³ | 2013 | Masayoshi Kawajiri | |
| Magica Wars | 2014 | Ayano Ohnoki | |
| Wish Upon the Pleiades | 2015 | Shouji Saeki |