FLCL. Just your average Slice Of Life.

This is Atomsk's official artwork, btw. He's not always a giant glowing phoenix.

Notably, Canti flashed Atomsk's symbol after eating Ide's rubber body.

I think the Haruko/Ide/Hidomi thing is as simple as Haruko not believing Ide's NO would be sufficient to pull in Atomsk's power. She wasn't able to provoke the same reaction out of him that she could from Naota, so she gave up on him and moved on to the next candidate. She did the same in the original when she passed up eyebrows and Naota's dad.

My question is, if Ide is the one drawing in Atomsk, what is Hidomi pulling from?

Edited by Zeromaeus on Jul 3rd 2018 at 9:51:41 AM

...where is Atomsk's much-ballyhooed nose ring?

FLCL Progressive has ended.

It was slightly better than what I expecting going in. The tone, pacing and music were all perfect matches, and Haruko was the same Haruko we knew from 16 years ago but a tad more open with her emotions. The story was still very confusing, which means they got me wanting to see it again. Jinyu came back, through ........ confusing circumstances, but Haruko's hair is orange again, meaning I suppose she's permanently back.

No Naota, no dad coming back, and no old characters coming back except for Canti. Haruko doesn't get Atomsk yet again, but that means the story continues!

Apparently that guy who looks like Amarao is Amarao's son. It's unclear how much time has passed since the first series.

Do you have source for that?

That was the purpose of the old lady commenting on his eyebrows.

It wasn't as good as FLCL, it probably couldn't have been, but I thought Progressive was good in its own way. Hidomi grew as a person, and that's what FLCL is really about.

The thing about Hidomi is that she feels like a secondary character despite being the protagonist, mostly because Haruko just steals every scene she's in.

Agree with the sentiment, disagree with the reason.

Yeah, the finale was a little underwhelming. They didn't give Hidomi enough spotlight — what made the original FLCL's ending so amazing was that it showed Naota not just equalling, but surpassing Haruko. Even when Hidomi went full power and gave it her all against Haruko, she didn't manage that, which felt a little disappointing. Instead of reaching out and taking what she wanted, it was just sort of handed to her in the end, which was... eh.

As far as Haruko, it seems that she can't actually handle Atomsk's power, and whenever she tries to take it, Jinyu splits off from her again and Atomsk escapes, again. Haruko knows this, but keeps trying anyway. It's also suggested that she doesn't really want his power so much as his... attention? love? It's not clear, but there's definitely an emotional aspect to it. I'm not sure I like that — it sort of reduces Atomsk from an inscrutable power, almost a force of nature, to just another character but one with no actual characterization. I could see that working if Alternative focuses on Atomsk as a person, but with Progressive itself, it just raises vaguely unsatisfying questions about Atomsk himself.

In the original FLCL, Atomsk was basically a metaphor for adulthood. In Progressive it's... less clear, which ends up being sort of messy. I'll have to rewatch the series to see what shakes out on a second viewing, but as-is I'd say that Progressive is a good follow-up for the most part but doesn't quite stick the landing.

The big issue with the story to me was that the writers weren't totally certain how to balance out this cast. It was a tad larger than the cast of the OVA, a lot more roles were important to the plot and it felt like 4 of them were competing for the title of Focus Character, making scenes feel aimless. Of course we knew Hidomi is supposed to be the main character and she does learn the lesson she has to learn by the end, but Jinyu's efforts amounted to nothing, and Ide already had the role Naota did. So many characters with N. O. powers really made this 6-episode season packed, whereas in the OVA there were only like 2 (3 if you count Amarou whose moment was only in a backstory).

Edited by kyun on Jul 9th 2018 at 8:31:13 AM

Yeah, they sorta couldn't decide what to do with most of the characters. Ide's arc peaked in episode 5 but never got any resolution in episode 6. Hidomi's arc ended up muddled at the end. The end of Haruko's was sloppy. Aiko's whole deal was weird and sort of disconnected from the rest of the action. It wasn't terrible, but none of it was really solid and satisfying the way the original FLCL was.

Ide feels closer to Amarao than Naota, which might be part of why I think he feels redundant to me. Jinyu serves the role of Hidomi's protector better, her mother could been her emotional focus, and we get a shitton of other N.O. users later. We get a whole focusing on his over the top lifestyle in poverty, but it doesn't seem to have serve much of a point other than to make him Hidomi's designated love interest.

In the OVA, the supernatural/alien transformations were significant in each episode and there was one for every plot point. There was the initial kick-off usually signaled by something growing out of a forehead, then a battle, and then the resolution where the being would rest in some way (falling onto a hill, being vomited out or pooped out, going into a dormant more innocent state, etc). 3 main stages per episode. But in Progressive, there are SEVERAL per episode, and the stages lose all structure! More down-to-earth low-key moments of Hidomi dealing mentally and emotionally with the loss of her father would've benefited.

Edited by kyun on Jul 9th 2018 at 9:20:27 AM

I wish Hidomi's arc wasn't ultimately about a boy, and Haruko's too. That's so cliche and stereotypical for female characters.

Which makes me more excited for Alternative, no boys in sight.

Haruko is best girl in Anime. Fight me.

In case anyone is interested in seeing an unsubbed, extended preview of Alternative (along with a trailer cut of Progressive for kicks), TOHO Animation's Youtube channel has uploaded the theatrical trailer for both seasons in one package.

... a. Rapping. Haruko.

... Oh. My. God.

I'm still trying to figure out what was the point of Haruko's speech in the first episode.

She was trashing on the idea of being mature and Jinyu in general before asserting herself as the real one. Basically, she was summing up the conflict between herself and Jinyu while hypnotizing the class.

That's too bad, it sounded really cool.

To be honest with the way final episode of Progressive ended I'm thinking either Atomsk is... ugh, a non-binary space bird, or is actually Jinyu, or Jinyu is some kind of manifestation of him. What I'm saying is I have no idea how or why Jinyu got spat out after Haruko started macking on Atomsk and this show confuses me to no end what do plants have to do with any of this are canti and haruko friends or something why did flower girl pop out of the flower naked and what does she have to do with any of this why doesnt hidomi's mom react to any of this weirdness who is hidomi's dad what's up with the old lady why is haruko calling the guitar a "bat" what is this even

Hmm.

That.

This.

And that too.

Oh so is that what happened. The bolded parts I kind of got. I've no idea what was going on with Atomsk being a giant bird and then Mechanica glassing an entire town to capture him and then Hidomi and Haruko getting sucked into a void and then the old woman being there.

Edited by Soble on Jul 27th 2018 at 11:22:32 AM

Quick reminder that FLCL Alternative premieres on September 8th on Adult Swim.

TOHO Animation's official Youtube page uploaded the full songs to the pillows' "Spiky Seeds" (Progressive) and "Star Overhead" (Alternative) in one video.:

Spiky Seeds <3 I like.

There's no way some of the Progressive characters won't turn up in Alternative.

Edited by Soble on Sep 5th 2018 at 7:04:33 AM

I actually think there's a good chance they won't show. Do we even know when Alternative takes place in the timeline?