This Week in Anime

FLCL Returns in Two New Flavors

Steve
Hey Nick, sorry I'm a bit late to the column, but I was walking home and almost got killed by this weird woman riding a vespa. Thankfully I'm fine! Just a slight headache, probably nothing serious.

The times they are a-changing, and now that the original FLCL is old enough to vote, it's getting two sequels courtesy of our friends at Production I.G and Adult Swim. My college freshman self would be freaking out pretty hard right now, and tbh I'm still pretty excited today!

See, I was initially skeptical when these sequels were announced, since FLCL is one of the great short OVA series, very much a product of both the people who made it and the time it was made in. There's basically no way to capture that lightning in a bottle again, which is why I came around when I heard that their approach to these sequels would be handing them to young creators working in the industry and basically letting them do whatever with the core concept. That feels much more in the spirit of "FLCL" to me. And now that we've seen the first episodes of both Progressive (2) and Alternative (3), I'm still kind of skeptical, but I'm also eager to see how both play out. They each feel very distinct from each other, which is good.

Yeah, probably the thing I was most anticipating about the new FLCLs was the potential to see pubescent frustrations from the perspective of a female protagonist, and Alternative's main cast felt sufficiently fresh and endearing. Kana in particular is very different from Naota, both older and not as angsty, but her teenage ennui still comes across just as vividly as Naota's feelings. But a lot of your teenage years are just spent hanging out with your small group of close friends, doing dumb shit like playing Jenga and building bottle rockets, so it really captures that mood.

For sure. And if Haruko has specifically singled you out, then that's proof you've got a lot of pent-up thoughts and feelings waiting to overflow.

September's a long way off, but that's why we've got Progressive to tide us over! And if Alternative can be considered the more contemplative side of FLCL, then Progressive definitely captures the playful exuberance and often breakneck pacing of FLCL Classic.

The importance of The Pillows' involvement with these new projects cannot be understated. And yeah, that dream intro with Hidomi and the ED animation are the two things that stand out to me most. The graphic sights and sounds of Hidomi's skin and limbs sloughing off of her body stick with you. There's a lot of obvious reasons why body horror is so often used in conjunction with adolescence, and Progressive hits all the right notes there.

i mean, that's a lot easier to do when your headphones are this cute

Cat blob is always a good aesthetic choice. But I like Hidomi a lot, and her self-imposed isolation definitely brings to mind Mamimi's situation, which is made doubly amusing when throughout the episode we also get glimpses of the show's Naota stand-in, as we realize that his own escapades with Haruko have been happening off-screen.

All this meta-information really hammers home that Progressive is going to be FLCL from a new perspective, and I really like that.

Yeah! I like the reaffirmation that this is going to be Hidomi's story, and I hope the rest of the show follows up on that.

Although Ide's friends are cute and I don't mind if they stick around.

The other notable addition to the cast is Jinyu, aka Sunglasses Haruko.

Lore-wise, if the ED is any indication, she seems to be a part of Haruko that split from her when she finally merged with Atomsk and yadda yadda yadda. Lore is the least important part of FLCL.

The most important part is that she's cool, she's going to make Hidomi's life miserable, and also she's a maid.

The plot of FLCL is only interesting insofar as it relates to feelings of adolescent frustration. Hopefully Progressive realizes that. I'm willing to give it the benefit of the doubt.

On the subject of plot and writing, Progressive's script (and Alternative's for that matter), while they have their moments, really don't compare to the original's yet. FLCL Classic was written by veteran screenwriter Yoji Enokido at the top of his game. His recent work has been, frankly, not as good, but when I recently rewatched FLCL Classic, it was his writing that struck me the most. Manic, full of double and triple entendres, but also earnest and passionate.

It's super indulgent, but I think it fit both the style and animation of the original to a T. Consequently, it makes sense that these newer series, with new directors and writers and artists, would also read differently. But I also think that Haruko's long-winded monologues to her classroom, while pointed and amusing in their own way, also feel far less subtle than the original. Then again, "subtle" is probably a strange word to attach to FLCL in the first place, and forgoing subtlety in artistic expression is understandable on its own merits.

I think this image sums up Progressive's first episode better than anything else. If nothing else, it is very consciously being FLCL.

For sure! I also wanted to mention that my favorite creative choice for both new series is that Kiyotaka Oshiyama is in charge of the mecha designs. That's the guy who directed Flip Flappers, and he recently worked on DEVILMAN crybaby as a designer as well. His style is a perfect match for the weird organic nature of the FLCL machines, and I can't wait to see what he comes up with for future episodes.

Progressive definitely feels different from the grungy, counter-culture aesthetic of FLCL Classic, but I'm glad it doesn't try to replicate what we already have. Its priority should be doing its own thing for a new generation, not for old fogeys like me. I already had FLCL to help me get through my teenage angst and beyond. I hope Progressive and Alternative can provide that for a whole new audience.

The Pillows?

Horny is eternal.