FLCL: Alternative is set to be the third, and supposedly,
final entry in the now FLCL trilogy.
Those of you who managed to catch Toonami’s April Fool’s airing of it’s
first episode (in Japanese), id say you were lucky to get a glimpse of
future/more FLCL (at the time, not only did I miss it but I was still unsure if
more FLCL was a good idea). Much of what
little I heard about Alternative was that it was going to be a whole different
beast compared to the supposed direct sequel that was FLCL: Progressive. Well, now that Episode 1 has come and gone,
what are my thoughts on the beginning of FLCL’s final chapter?
Well it certainly does feel different compared to its
predecessor. Kana and her trio of
besties have a bit more of an upbeat energy compared to Naota and Hidomi. The first half of the first episode starts
very differently from Progressive. There
are no nightmare sequences, no ones running plowing into a poor kid with a moving
vehicle. Instead, we get a rather
tranquil look at the life of Kana, Pets, Hijiri and Mossan. It does feel like both a slow burn and the
furthest from the FLCL vibe of past seasons.
But kind of like Progressive, this new approach helps the series premiere
stand out and give a sense as to how greatly things are going to get shaken up
when the crazy kicks into overdrive.
While Kana and her friends are the oldest leads thus far
in FLCL, being high school seniors, they do seem to behave more like kids than
Naota and Hidomi ever did. The way Kana
scoffs at teachers trying to prepare them for post high school grad life is
incredibly childish and naive. Funny
enough, the others might just be humoring that world view of hers since they
seem to have a sense of direction as to what they might want to do with their
lives: Pets as a social media queen, Hijiri as a cute model, and Mossan as an
artist. I did enjoy most of the scenes
with these girls together though. Again,
it’s a big change from the dark and brooding atmosphere of Progressive. Sure it’s not kicking things off at warp
speed like the first episode of FLCL did.
But I like the chill of it all.
It’s further helped by The Pillows continuing to provide the greatest
rock tunes ever conceived even this late in the FLCL saga.
And what about our resident crazy girl Haruko? Oh yeah, she’s back and in a big way. It’ll be interesting to see if the events of
Progressive are mentioned in Alternative because Haruko feels very different,
despite her zaniness. As much as she
clearly enjoyed teasing Kana about the huge life upheavel headed her way, she did tell Kana she could
just start building her precious group rocket all over again…and not in a
demeaning way. Maybe Haruko has accepted
the growth she went through in Progressive.
Or I’m just reading too much into it so soon. To counter this, yeah, Haruko still gets to
kick her fair share of ass in the premiere, with both her fists and a new
guitar from Kana’s head. One thing that
stood out was Haruko’s interactions with a man who clearly knows who she
is. This guy appears to work for the
same group as Amurao and I wonder if it could be him (the eyebrows do stand out
even if theyre not as huge). I’ve heard a rumor he could be another familiar
face…but ill stick with my own theory for now.
Overall, FLCL: Alternative takes its time with its
premiere to let us hang with the four new protagonists but still lets FLCL do
what it does best: crazy action with Haruko Haruhara in the drivers seat. I liked the lightened atmosphere and the more
music we get from The Pillows the better.
That said, if this is the last of FLCL, what is the grand endgame of it
all and is everything going to tie together?
Or should I just shut up and enjoy one last ride with my favorite wild
child and her kick ass Vespa? If nothing
else, I love the new end theme and welcome the return of mixing Anime with a
live action montage of various spots in Japan.
FLCL is back, one more time.
Let’s sit back and enjoy the show.
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