I am rather surprised how much shit progressive got from fans and especially fans of the original. 2000 FLCL seems to gathered a cult following throughout the years and seem to hold the original on a legendary untouchable pedestal. The animosity towards this sequel from fans of the original reminds me of old school Kobe Lakers fans refusing to accept Lebron James as the new king when he first joined.

For me Progressive is spinoff and has very little to do with the original and for that reason it is unfair to judge Progressive for not being the original. From the first episode rightfully named Re: Start. FLCL Progressive has no interest in being FLCL, FLCL Progressive wants to be FLCL progressive. This fact is more obvious if you know that the original is directed by Kazuya Tsurumaki the same director that created Evangelion and lets face it there is NO WAY anybody can do what Kazuya does, he is just one of those one of a kind auteurs. Progressive on the other hand is directed by Katsuyuki Motohiro which is a relatively new and unknown player in the industry.

Unlike the surreal chaos that is the original, Progressive has a less nuance approach when depicting adolescences coming of age and there is a more character focused approach for its plot. We are introduced to Hidomi which just like Naota in the original feels suffocated in her environment and have no prospects for the future. She somewhat befriends 3 equally clueless boys and together they explore the confusing journey of being stuck between a kid and an adult. The 3 boys are definitely just supporting characters as Hidomi was given the most attention towards her development and characterization. The Pink haired chaos alien Haruko we all know and love is still wrecking havoc in this town manipulating kids in order to get what she wants. But this time we are introduced to an old acquaintance of her that is closely related to her which may or may not hinder her goals.

Progressive is a step down in the chaotic fun that is well loved in the original. There is less surreal cartoon comedy and more regular normal comedy. And this is one of the reason why the animation seems worse because there is less Haruko turning into a snake and sexually a young boy and more regular kids doing stupid normal things. When the animations wants and needs to be good it definitely is.

Despite really differentiating the original and this sequel I love both of them for almost the same reasons. Thinking back the original is really nonsensically funny and despite being such a chaotic experience there is real heart and set up in the first 5 episodes that really gear up towards the last episode. The love confession in the original is hands down one of the most satisfying confession scenes I have seen, there is a similar satisfaction that really made me happy towards the end of Progressive.

Of course excellent music is in the DNA of the FLCL franchise and although the original have a more synergistic and satisfying approach when using the amazing songs by The Pillows, I prefer most of the music introduced in Progressive on their own more.

Thank you, my twilight by The Pillows is probably my favorite song by them so far

▶

Although I must admit the original is the superior version due to its seamless progression of animation and music I also really love Progressive. This sequel did not gave me the same things that I got from the original and I think that is fine. Despite I came into the sequel expecting the same magic that I experience in the original, I was introduced to a different kind of experience. And that is fine, it was an unexpected pleasant surprise. FLCL progressive did not capture the magic of FLCL the original, it captures the magic of FLCL progressive. FLCL progressive is not FLCL, FLCL progressive is FLCL progressive.