FLCL. Just your average Slice Of Life.

And... apparently we have a fight scene from a later episode....

I'll admit, that fight didn't look so spectacular. But it's not as bad as the comments are hawking.

edited 8th Jun '18 8:31:43 PM by Soble

Time to kinkshame Hidomi.

I had a somewhat alarming thought.

What if Haruko is a hormone monster?

Ah crapbaskets, I missed last night's episode.

I sacrificed Jojo, Super, and FLCL for Durarara Shou.

That’s rough buddy.

I marathoned all of Durarara a summer or two ago, right after watching Baccano. Loved Baccano, but was thoroughly dissatisfied by the later seasons of Durarara

Figured, oh, I'll skip Jojo since it's not up to the part of the plot I care about. I've put Durarara off too long. Instant regret.

So from the lack of responses I'm guessing not too too much happened? Other than Hidomi developing some kind of... kink.

Also, they previewed Alternative as an April Fool's so... I guess we're getting that as soon Progressive ends?

edited 10th Jun '18 7:52:01 PM by Soble

I am amazed at how crazy, lewd, and deep this script is. It's doing a great job at trying to be as equal in all these areas that the original OVA was, while being more on-the-nose with its themes so as not to confuse the viewer this time around. I give the writers props for keeping what FLCL meant to people as much as possible, and I even enjoyed this episode better than the first too. There were less moments of outright copying what the OVA did (like the car hitting Hidomi in the exact same shot).

Haruko is totally unchanged in personality and voice. Everything she's done so far shows they know the character inside and out. She ignores the rules because they are worthless, so she goes crazy to the point where she breaks the fourth wall. She creates a fake yearbook that details all the outrageously heroic stunts she did with the class when it's not even the end of they year (yet the class goes with it anyway), directs homeroom like a cult leader, drives her vespa indoors and no one bats an eye, diverges into an impromptu alphabet game with Jinyu while she's trying to say something serious (and loses), and fakes sex noises off-screen to make Hidomi embarrassed. All things the old Haruko would do. And I am loving it!

Instead of telling Naota that he's still a kid, this time Haruko appears to be getting Hidomi and Iide together as a couple. Only time will tell how this achieves her goal, but love is something middle-schoolers deal with as part of growing up.

If there's one negative thing I can say, it's again that the animation is a few steps lower in quality. But that's to be expected. The original OVA had a small budget and the animators went hog-wild with all the silly new ways they could make something move, and it had a ton of full animation. Here, though, a lot of it looks outsourced, and there are less in-betweens. Haruko's head DOES NOT look like that!

edited 10th Jun '18 7:46:22 PM by kyun

Are we entirely sure Haruko was faking those noises? :P

Anyways, yeah, Haruko continues to be OG Best Girl, Zero Whatever can find the dumpster out back.

I think most of the discussion/observations happen over in the Toonami thread. I’m not sure when Alternative will air, other than that Japan won’t get it until September or something.

Oh and of course Jinyu's car can turn in absolutely anything she wants. #animation!

I... actually thought Haruko was fucking Iide's mom, especially since Iide's mom had just said that she was promiscuous when she was younger. Both possibilities (faking and not faking) are perfectly in-character, though.

This show really is great. It feels so good to see Haruko again, looking and sounding and acting exactly how she always did. It's like reuniting with an old friend from better times gone by.

I haven't gotten a chance to watch this week's episode yet, but worth mentioning that if you missed it, you can watch it on Adult Swim's website. Only the most recent episode is available free and clear, however. (Older episodes you have to sign in with your cable provider account, presumably to prove that you actually have a cable subscription to the channel it airs on.)

..... Haruko a lesbian. ... or bi. Yeah I can picture that without any problem.

Also the mascot was a literal dodo appearing right during the line about how the amusement park was outdated. :D

As of this episode I actually strongly suspect that she and Jinyu are exes.

I get the impression they were partners in the Space Patrol too, but someone brought up the possibility that Haruko was never in the Space Patrol at all. Maybe I still don't fully understand the original FLCL (not that anyone does), so now I don't know what to think.

Do we know what Haruko would have done with Atomsk's power if she'd managed to steal it?

"You and I are the same." "That woman is the same as me." This all but outright states that the moment in the ED sequence really does show that Jinyu is a split entity of Haruko.

Haruko having a "good" counterpart is an almost offensive idea.

It could just be chuuni speak for "I once had the same goal as her" or something. Jinyu does seem the kind to spout such melodrama like that, plus it'd make a good contrast to Haruko's silliness and tendency for wordplay. Up until this point, I was under the impression she herself was Atomsk

Either way, I'm torn between shipping her with Haruko, Hidomom, or an OT3

edited 10th Jun '18 10:12:21 PM by Rynnec

That's the impression I'm getting as well. Honestly, having her turn out to be Haruko's split personality sounds kinda lame.

She's probably Haruko's split personality, but it's a mistake to think she isn't any less evil until the series is finished.

I mean, the credits sequence seems to indicate they're literally the same person

Seriously is no one watching the fucking ending?

It's like right there at the start Jinyu's birth.

edited 12th Jun '18 1:41:49 PM by slimcoder

I wouldn't call Haruko evil. She's amoral, not immoral. Or maybe she has Blue-and-Orange Morality. While she definitely delights in trolling the people around her, including the children, she has also been kind and helpful to them on many occasions.

The moments she was kind and helpful to them was part of achieving her own gain.

There was the end of FLCL when she acknowledges that Naota is ultimately just a kid and shouldn’t be dragged along on her quest. But aside from that, pretty much everything she does is to further her goal.

The fact that she considered asking him to join her is probably an indication that she can form attachments.

I feel like episode 3 isn't as strong as the second one, though there are some story hints in it.

At least Sonic's island from the OVA is still getting used.