Progressive ep4-5
Something something lance of longinus something something.
It definitely feels like the show is hitting its stride a lot more now, I just wish the storytelling was on a par with the visuals. Ep5 switching to the scratchier lineart was a surprise, but it's definitely not unwelcome - it feels a bit closer to the freewheeling quality of the original show. The return of the manga panel storytelling in ep5 was nice too.
I know you guys dont think much of Jinyru (sp?) But I really like her and as a voice of reason and a defender of the kids against Harukos selfishness I think she worked well.
I actually do like Jinyu, I just wish she were more developed as a character. I genuinely fely bad for her as well, when she gets swallowed up by Haruko. I suppose it was maybe inevitable, given how much Jinyu insists that they're the same person, but it's still sad to see the fallout from it, with Ide desperately trying to fight Haruko with Jinyu's guitar, in her absence.
Speaking of Haruko, I think she's never really risen above being a one-note character in this series, but it's interesting that she still dons Jinyu's sunglasses on occasion, despite repeatedly telling her how stupid they are - perhaps a slight concession that she's not as awful as she frequently seems to be.
In fact, she's apparently played by Megumi Hayashibara (Rei in Evangelion)!
I would completely never have guessed that (she really does do an excellent job of mimicing the original VA) and I'm actually surprised I'd never heard this before. My understanding is that Megumi Hayashibara is in semi-retirement and generally only comes out for cameo appearances or to reprise her previous characters, so it's a shame this wasn't a meatier role for her.
I hope he can approve. (Forgive the dream logic.)
Hah! I did wonder if I ought to try making one of these after you mentioned it, but you beat me to it
![Stick Out Tongue :p :p](data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7)
I think I'd have struggled anyway -
FLCL is already quite absurd, I'd probably find it difficult to riff on.
So these ideas have been born from the video
I enjoyed that video (subscribed to the guy now) and I think it kind of underlines for me how
FLCL has a kind of unifying theme running through it, while with
Progressive, it feels difficult to get a handle on what they were aiming for. What you're saying about the characters' self-worth absolutely makes sense though. If anything, I just wish they'd leaned into that a bit more right from the start.
FLCL felt assured in what it was doing right away;
Progressive only seems to be solidifying who its characters are now that we're closing in on the finale.
Lastly, it's not easy to find an isolated clip in good quality, but something I had either forgotten about or not picked up on previously is that the
ED sequence seems to fill in some of the events from between the first series and
Progressive. Most notably, Haruko tries to grasp Atomsk and ends up splitting into two people, but there's also a blink-and-you'll-miss-it shot of a short-haired woman smoking while sitting on a scooter - presumably the adult Mamimi.