It seems what many anime fans suspected is true. FLCL: Alternative and FLCL: Progressive were made specifically for the U.S. anime market as key execs at Production I.G. own up to the fact that the first series never really took off in Japan. It seems Cartoon Network's Jason DeMarco and Sean Akins first approached Gainax 10 years ago about the possibility of making a sequel to FLCL. However, original series director Kazuya Tsurumaki repeatedly turned them down, stating that he'd done all that he wanted to do with the series.
However, Gainax shortly thereafter, endured some very tough times, with key creatives at the anime studio venturing off to form their own studios and several lawsuits arising. As such, the rights to FLCL eventually became available and Production I.G., one of the original partners and financial backers on FLCL, pounced.
Originally, the plan was to bring in well-known, A-list veterans but early in the development process, the decision was made to bring in a more youthful development team to try and channel the same energy that Tsurmaki had back when he created the first series.
ABOUT FLCL FLCL is another genre-defining series produced at the once-proud Studio Gainax. The anime production company has fallen on hard times recently and has sold a number of their IPs to other studios. In 2015, Production I.G. purchased the rights to FLCL and teased plans for a remake.
FLCL PROGRESSIVE OFFICIAL SYNOPSIS: In the new season of FLCL, many years have passed since Naota and Haruhara Haruko shared their adventure together. Meanwhile, the war between the two entities known as Medical Mechanica and Fraternity rages across the galaxy. Enter Hidomi, a young teenaged girl who believes there is nothing amazing to expect from her average life, until one day when a new teacher named Haruko arrives at her school. Soon enough, Medical Mechanica is attacking her town and Hidomi discovers a secret within her that could save everyone, a secret that only Haruko can unlock. But why did Haruko return to Earth? What happened to her Rickenbacker 4001 she left with Naota? And where did the human-type robot 'Canti' go?