Anime & Manga
- Chainsaw Man was strongly inspired by FLCL according to Word of God, with Makima in particular being inspired by Haruko's character. Specifically, Makima is much like Haruko with her manipulative and self-serving qualities ramped up to monstrous levels. A more specific reference occurs when Aki is given a cigarette that, like Mamimi's, has a Gratuitous English phrase written on it.
- Haruhi Suzumiya: During the School Festival, Haruhi wears a Playboy Bunny suit and plays the guitar as part of the band ENOZ's performance.
Film
- Big Hero 6: In the credits, one can find what appears to be a half-formed "P!" symbol.
Tabletop Games
- Dungeons: The Dragoning: One of the excerpts has a cameo by Haruko Haruhara, and the Black Flag pirate base is run by Atomsk the Pirate King.
Video Games
- Asura's Wrath: Asura having a giant arm coming out of one his stumps in episode 11.5 is similar to the way stuff comes out of Naota's forehead in FLCL. It helps that the director of the episode was a key animation director for the series.
- BlazBlue: A victory quote is a shout out to FLCL."He who conquers the leftnote ... CONQUERS THE WORLD!"
- Lord Canti appears twice in the Epic Battle Fantasy series - first as the penultimate opponent in Brawl Royale, then as a summon for Natalie in Epic Battle Fantasy 1. He is replaced by an Expy named TV Boy in the EBF Collection versions of both games.
- Monster Hunter: A Running Gag in 4/4U is the Caravaneer's posters showcasing your Hunter, with a bit of artistic license giving them a pair of killer eyebrows. A Meta example: some of the people on the Monster Hunter Reddit ran with it far enough to make FLCL references.
Web Comics
- Questionable Content: The VespAvenger—a crazy girl on a Vespa who runs people down. Sounds familiar.
Web Original
- SuperLPHeroes: During Yoshi's Island upon seeing a Nep-enut, Dyne's first reaction is, "Those eyebrows..."
Western Animation
- Avatar: The Last Airbender: The creators are huge fans of Gainax productions, particularly Neon Genesis Evangelion and FLCL. The art book mentions how the studio provided some inspiration for the show's elements. The image they drew of Aang with glowing eyes as part of their initial pitch to Nickelodeon was inspired by Naota.
- Megas XLR: During Coop's fight with S-Force, Megas sends their mecha flying with a guitar.
- Steven Universe: In "Jail Break" the imagery of a hand-shaped spaceship falling towards Earth and throwing forward a projectile, and that of a giant, pierced hand standing on a hill next to a seaside small town, are both memorable images from the anime.
- Teen Titans creator Glen Murakami has cited FLCL as a major influence, which shows in more than one reference to such:
- In "Employee of the Month", the moped Beast boy wants looks like a white-colored version of Haruko's scooter, with a T! instead of a P! sticker on it. When later riding a moped, he dons a scarf like Haruko's.
- In "Transformation", Starfire's forehead growth and the way she tries to push it back into her head directly mirrors Naota.
- Voltron: Legendary Defender: The production crew must really love Gainax. In episode 3 of Season 4, as Lance beings to milk the cow, the camera rotation as well as the expressions of the characters remind you all too well of Haruko's grand entrance.