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However, these nods might have been trickier to get at the time since anime was not in its boom phase yet, even if it was growing in popularity thanks to the Toonami and the Adult Swim blocks. Many of the anime referenced in FLCL were not even out in the West or were more obscure. So, in case any references were lost to viewers in 2003 when FLCL premiered in the West, here is a quick breakdown. There will be spoilers ahead.

6 Lupin The 3rd

One of the most distinctive things about the Lupin the 3rd series is that the character changes jackets between eras. It went from green to red to pink and now the current color is blue. In episode five of FLCL, Naota’s father Kamon is wearing the red jacket.

When Naota brings it up, Kamon asks if Naota prefers the green jacket from The Castle of Cagliostro. That was a Hayao Miyazaki movie, of Studio Ghibli fame. Haruko also pulls a prank similar to Fujiko and punches Kamon with a boxing glove hiding under her dress.

5 Gundam

The Gundam series is all over FLCL. In episode one, there is a scene that transitions from traditional animation to one resembling manga panels. In this off-key scene, Kamon goes off on a tangent about robots. He talks about mechs and how certain anime are Tomino-esque.

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The creator of the Gundam franchise was Yoshiyuki Tomino. So, when someone calls a mech anime Tomino-esque, what they mean is that it is like Gundam. In episode two Haruko is fixing her Vespa with a model of the first Gundam. Finally, Commander Amarao might be a reference to Amuro who was the first Gundam pilot in the franchise. The names are spelled differently so that last one might be a guess.

4 Neon Genesis Evangelion

One of Gainax’s biggest shows before FLCL was Neon Genesis Evangelion. Despite that fact, there aren’t that many obligatory references to NGE in FLCL. In episode two, Naota mentions very briefly that his father wrote a whole book on the mysteries of that anime.

There could be one other reference to Neon Genesis Evangelion in the finale. In that episode, a core fuses with Canti, thus creating a super robot that is going to help iron out the wrinkles of the planet with Medical Mechanica. That is sort of what happens to Rei in Neon Genesis Evangelion: TheEnd of Evangelion. That movie is much darker than the end of FLCL though.

3 Daicon V

The mention of Daicon V in episode five is a deep cut that only hardcore anime fans would know. Daicon was a convention in Japan. Gainax, before the studio was officially known as Gainax, made intros to the convention in its third and fourth years. This was in the ’80s, way before anime caught on in the West. This video combines both intros into one.

While Daicon III is very simple, Daicon IV is much more elaborate and a more fun watch, referencing everything from anime to Western media like Aliens. The main character of these short films is a girl wearing a bunny costume. Haruko dresses up like her in episode five before yelling “Daicon V” at the gun-toting mech. Gainax never made a Daicon V video so this reference was like a spiritual sequel.

2 Doraemon

Doraemon is one of the oldest and most popular anime that is still going on in Japan. The character, Doraemon, is a robot cat sent from the future to protect a young boy. He has a lot of inventions he pulls out of his front pouch which is like a pocket dimension.

In episode three of FLCL, Naota’s teacher, Junko, is teaching the class about cats. “The cat family includes tigers, Manxes, and animated cats such as Doraemon and Tom and Jerry.” That’s what she says, and it is too pure for words. Junko was really underutilized by the anime. So, later when Mamimi takes off Naota’s hat and discovers his cat ears, she references Doraemon as well. Naota is a lot like Doraemon since he can also pull things out of a pocket dimension.

1 Galaxy Express 999

Galaxy Express 999 is not mentioned by name in FLCL. However, some seem to think it is referenced in episode four. After Naota revives his father, Haruko comes bursting into the scene. Naota wants to know where she was and what she is.

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Her reply is something along the lines of being an illusion of a young man’s heart. Naota then responds, “Where’d you get that line from, anime?” That is essentially what Galaxy Express 999 is about. A young boy goes on a journey with an older woman who is kind of like a metaphor for growing up. It is a deep cut to be sure.

Bonus: South Park

South Park is not an anime but it is too big of a cartoon to not mention in this breakdown. In episode five of FLCL, the animation changes for one scene involving Commander Amarao getting a haircut. He even sounds more like a character in the show. There is seemingly no reason why this happens.

Episode five is fixated on guns which has nothing to do with South Park. The animation doesn’t change again, but there is a scene later where Naota goes inside his jacket to make himself look like Kenny. It just goes to show how popular South Park was at this time on a global level.

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