Alternative ep6
Wrote most of this out before WMD's post, but I don't think we're overlapping too much. Anyway, this episode, I think, throws new light on what the series has been doing up til now - it's certainly a meatier instalment than anything we've had so far. I particularly like that the low-key apocalypse has now set in, and the variety of different reactions to that. There's something quite
Evangelion-esque about how the world has suddenly become that much hotter, but it also feels like there's a bit of
Devilman in how Kana and her friends are trying to cling on to any remnant of normality, in the face of what seems to be impending, unavoidable doom.
Looking back over the earlier episodes, perhaps at least some, if not all, of the adults had realised there was nothing they could do against Medical Mechanica. I'd originally assumed Kanda's grim-faced willingness to accept his noodles however they come was just the salaryman mindset, but it now seems more as if he knew everything was going to end and that the prime minister was planning her escape, but could do nothing about it. The haunted demeanour of Pets's mother suggested an unhappy (possibly abusive?) marriage before, but now it could also read as panic seeping out at a much greater threat, upon realising Pets is absent.
Now that we can see the series as a whole, I think it makes some clever choices thematically. Rather than rework Naota's story of experiencing romance as this apparent gateway to adulthood, as
Progressive arguably did, it's good to see them attempt something different by focusing on the importance of friendship, and the inevitability of losing touch with friends as we grow and our circumstances unavoidably change. I also like that it avoids sugar coating anything at the very end. Kana hurt her friends, even if she wasn't trying to. Pets does leave and Kana, presumably, does not see her again. It be like that sometimes. We also get a much greater emphasis on Medica Mechanica as an antagonist, with them having always seemed kind of vague and unthreatening before; just something that was happening in the background.
That said, on an episode by episode basis, I still don't feel like I was as much engaged by the show or the characters as I'd like to have been. Kana and her friends largely overcome their struggles with ease, and I don't feel like there's any great depth to them individually. Until we reach the end, the episodes all follow much the same formula too. Character experiences a problem, Haruko meddles, character overflows, Haruko bops something with her guitar, everything is fine again. I think we either needed to spend more time with them to see the characters develop, or maybe the show would have worked better as a one off film with a tighter focus.
Bizarrely, I also find myself wondering if Haruko was really necessary in this series at all. Although it's interesting that she appears as this recurring symbol of pressure on team Kana, and also has the robots to fight, her presence feels kind of superfluous. I was a bit irked that the Prime Minister seemed to escape from Earth scot free, so it might have been nice if we could have closed on Haruko giving her a well deserved smack with the guitar.
Lastly, I'm not sure I really buy into the series as a prequel, if indeed it was intended as such - some descriptions do mention this, others don't, so it's unclear. There's really nothing definite that would suggest it's about to or will ever lead into the original FLCL timeline; Atmosk is barely mentioned (if at all) and there's no suggestion that Haruko is obsessed with finding him, not to mention that you'd need to excuse the differences in technology, both small (such as phones) and large (commercial space flight anyone?). The reference to
2001's star gate sequence at the end does reuse footage of Haruko and Naota from the original series, but overall I thought this one felt more like an alternative timeline than anything directly related and, hey, maybe the clue is in the title.
Progressive had the best animation (those dream sequences were a cut above) and for me had the most interesting character arcs. It had complex ideas but didnt always articulate them the best. The original was and still is the most original and had the best blend of weird and normal, something neither of the 2 newer shows ever quite got a grip on and in ita own way feels the most complete.
I feels theres a enough in the original and Progressive to make rewatches valuable but with Alternative I'd rather watch the gentle SOL show about the girls with all the FLCL stuff stripped out altogether.
Again, would agree. Alternative has some good ideas in the mix, but it feels like the elements that most obviously tie it in with FLCL are a bit of a token effort, and it would probably work just as well, if not better, without them. I feel like maybe somewhere between Progressive and Alternative there was one really good series, and if they could have somehow married the best aspects of the two, we could have had a truly worthy sequel. As it is, we have two that are interesting in their own right, but will always be overshadowed by the original.
I am glad to have watched them though. Even if they were never really necessary, I think there is enough in the sequels that they deserve to find an audience, rather than being unfairly ignored.
