Believe it or not. This is the debut of this screenwriter. Yes... the writer of FLCL sequels first job. Is it write a sequel FLCL

FLCL Regressive

I remember FLCL being explained to me, before I watched it, as a show where a bunch of random stuff happens that doesn't make sense. When I actually watched it, I was confused because everything seemed fairly straight forward and just seemed random because it used a lot of expressionism. So, I went in thinking it wouldn't make sense, only to be surprised that it did.

*Sobbing* Th-The animation - the models - there's no squash and stretch! N-no exaggeration! What is this? What IS this?

EATEEENN, MY ONLY WISH, MY ONE DESIRE, IS TO BE EATEEEEN

The original was lighting in a bottle, it couldn't have been good no matter how much they tried. I'd like to think this sequel doesn't exist.

>"being a member of a guro household..." Wait what!?

“Being a member of a guro household myself” I’m not sure what that means, and I’m fairly sure I don’t want to know.

What's with the cat earphones. They completely oppose the aesthetic of the original series. Also they replaced the washed-out watercolour artstyle with a generic modern anime one.

Among many things, I think that the thing I hate the most about modern sequels/reboots/remakes is their obsession with overexplaining shit that didn't matter in the original material, but that stupid theory channels and TV Tropes entries point out ad nauseum over the course of however many years. The ultimate irony of this is that explaining weird nonsense or "fixing" supposed plot holes often ruins a facet that made the original work. A great example is Disney's 2017 Beauty and the Beast live-action remake, which Lindsay Ellis covers nicely in her video on that movie. Mr. Plinkett's Ghostbusters 2016 review also notes instances of such fuckery.

why were people excited for this in first place? FLCL is clearly a show that is unable to have a sequel in any shape or form

I'm just shocked at how lifeless the animation is. It reminds me of your avarage seasonal light novel harem show. I mean I knew it couldn't manage to feel like a an extension of the original show but it's so bottom of the barrel. I wonder how it ended up like this. I haven't wtached it and I doubt I will. I decided not to when the preview they posted just looked like dog shit

I'm surprised you didn't talk about the super bizarre meta scene at the end of episode one. I can't tell if it was intentional or not. The teacher just starts speaking a bunch of bizare bullshit really fast. The class falls into a trance as her audio speeds up. The teacher rips off her face to reveal her identity as Haraharu and the class goes wild for no reason. I doubt it was the intention but it felt weirdly cinical. It was like they were saying: "we don't even have to try, we just need to cash in on nostalgia and you idiots will eat it up." A FLCL "sequel" could work but this was not the way to do it.

"Coming from a guro household myself" What

God, there is *nothing* visually interesting in _any_ of the footage for "Progressive." how do you do that? I can't think of a single frame in the original FLCL that I thought was boring, with the exception of MAYBE the Baseball episode that has Naota standing there with that serious expression as balls fly right past him. But even THAT shot had some good bloody composition followed by a visual gag. Just... Ugh.

I will say this, the opening for episode 1 was pretty awesome, and has arguably one of the best songs made by the pillows.

So, moral of the story: I need to rewatch FLCL

I was worried ever since I saw the interview where Adult Swim said they just took the IP because Kazuya Tsurumaki wanted nothing to do with a new season. On the bright side we got a new Pillows Album!

They failed to realize flcl had 6 episodes because that's all it needs

I was hooked and binged the original, but I dropped this one after a single episode... I guess you can recognize a good show after one ep ?

Money

The original series is an amazing show and I will stand by it until I'm dead.

I skipped out on it just so I didn't ruin flcl.

All Progressive really needed to do to grab me was be set in a big, overstimulating city and open with the main character saying something like, "Things are always happening here. It's exhausting," and then run with that theme as a foil to the original. At least that could be a passable FLCL fanfic. Progressive isn't even fanfic tier, just fan theory made canon by shrug of god tier.

Sword Art Online Alicization is in a week. Get the alcohol ready Digi.

It was painful to watch, nonsensical and just a pure bastardusation of the original show. It also kind of hurts that this will be some people's first exposure to the FLCL property.

Progressive is like an little brother trying to like his big brother. But you can't be someone else. You have to be yourself, but Progressive doesn't get this.

So basically the anime industry is turning out how Hollywood turned out.

The problem with Progressive (and even more so with Alternative), is the new creators had absolutely no fucking clue what made FLCL so cool. They just threw some cliche coming of age Anime tropes with the defining elements of FLCL in a blender and hit frappe. It was a literal mess. The resulting anime that came out looks like a bad anime that origin FLCL was a parody remake of.

"being a member of a guro household myself" Wtf, I know it's Digi, but you can't just slip that shit in there and not expect me to want an explanation

FLCL Progressive had it's moments for me. The biggest disappointment was the animation, it was just so mediocre. FLCL had God tier animation, that's why Progressive was a let down, yeah you can't expect it to have the same level as the original. The animation should've at least been above average.

Its purpose is to make FLCL Alternative look better by contrast.

"How does it feel to watch your favorite franchises go up in flames...?" "Feels great..."

The biggest failing of this sequel was that it didn't have the concrete structure the original did. FLCL had a foundation of 'growing up' and what it meant to be a 'mature adult' as its central theme, which the scifi zany antics either happened to reinforce or deconstruct at various times. But it was a journey focused mainly on naota, mamimi, and ninamori, with haruko's own mysterious journey weaving itself through everything. This sequel show didn't have enough (almost none) of a central relatable theme. A missing dad? Learning to let go or reach for what you want? The mere fact that I have to question it is already a bad thing. And aside from a couple of episodes, the art was not AT ALL worthy of being in a sequel when most often it was stiff, awkward, or at worst, uninspired.

And then you realize animation had peaked in the early 2000's and everything after that was a budget issue.

Guys what's a "guro household"?

When I first saw the dude with the plaster I literally thought it was the original MC but older

Imagine how bad Gurren Lagann 2 would be. Yeugh.

"Being part of a guro family myself." Alright *stands up* I'm out.

As soon as I heard about FLCL getting a sequel, my immediate reaction was "This will never work unless it's *nothing* like the original." Seriously, FLCL feels like so much more of an emotion than an idea that it seems like a team of animators riding their impulses until it was complete.

What happened to the life the animation used to have?

I watched Progressive with the mindset that it was something new, and I liked it, sooo...

It just... looks.... so.... bland.... putting the FLCL name on this is kind of a crime. Even though I only watched FLCL once and didn't even really get it, the last thing it ever was is boring or bland. I had a very strong suspicion that this was going to be the outcome of this sequel since it has been announcedm but I had a faint hope that MAYBE it was going to be ok and look cool. Alas.

This video had me in tears. The first half because i was thinking about flcl and the second because of what progressive has done to its legacy

Everything in this video is accurate

The guy who wrote Progressive is the kind of friend who borrows your stuff and brings it back broken

I was pretty sad I wasted the time torrenting this.

I expected FLCLP to be not as good as the original but still entertaining and that's what I got. Idk why you would expect anything more

The Anime Man and Aki Dearest are being paid to hype this up. Super disappointed in them. And this is why I've turned to you, Digibro, telling it like it is! Thanks man.

I just rewatched progressive and it’s incredible. I don’t care what anyone has to say

Imma keep it real with you 57th Prime Minister of Japan Shinzo Abe ain't nobody solving that declining birth rate

wow FLCL looks dope af. maybe i'll watch it.

None of the original people being a part of this project makes sense as to why it was such a trainwreck

Peak Digi

If FLCL was a relationship, season one was the honeymoon stage.

I never get tired of seeing the most up-assed fans in anime shitting their pants over cartoons

I'm so happy that this and alternative were completely forgotten about had no impact on absolutely anything, as it should be.

The cynic in me believes the OG FLCL, couldn't be made today because every modern anime needs a "cute girl," protag less your male otaku audience get turned off immediately and leave. Hence Progressive.

Can't for the Sequel "FLCL Grunge is a f*cking travesty!" 😂

Here's the fourth season

"being a member of a guro household myself" Im sorry wut

"Every single line of dialogue contributes to our understanding of them in some kind of meaningful fashion". And that is why only 6 episodes were needed to complete what would be a nearly impossible story to tell, without astute and thoughtful writers, artists and directors. That's too bad. Perhaps the powers that be didn't understand or recognize how important a work the original FLCL is to the anime community. Seems to be a rampant problem these days with iconic and often industry changing properties being bastardized for sake of profit and increased appeal to the next generation. As a Gen X'er and parent of teenagers, I can ee how the current generation may not care about or appreciate/understand the real meaning and importance of the original. But, I would think that the artists and directors (whom are more than likely my age or older) would have the wisdom and hindsight to realize that stomping on a beloved and iconic piece of work, is the best way to tarnish your image. Even if a younger portion of the fanbase embraces it, not caring how/if it ties into the original work, artist are supposed to care about honoring other's work as inspiration for their own, right?!

this show is a slap in the face to the original

"Being a member of a guro household" - Digi 2018

Honestly though, I don’t understand how many youtubers and people alike even find this sequel to be redeemable in pretty much any sense of the word.

Awesome video. Loved it. Thank you for making it. Looking forward to your next upload. ✨👍

Couldn't agree more with the opening line

FLCL's actual spiritual successor is Punchline. FIGHT ME!

thank jeebus, i thought i was the only one but it was mad disappointing to me. i knew it wasn't right when i was looking at other things while the show was playing. we recorded flcl when it first released and watched that tape on repeat for about a week straight, it was and still is glorious. i can barely remember anything that happened in progressive. animation quality was just not good, breaks my heart it so fuckin sad : c

Digibro your not the otaku we deserve, your the otaku we need.

I think you really put in words a lot of people's feelings. In truth, I hate animes. While I admire many of Miyazaki's works (Spirited Away is surely one of my favorite movie), I've never really been drawn towards the eastern aesthetics of anime, which I often find cheap, cumbersome and predictable. But when I decided to try FLCL, it was for the obvious reason that it wasn't like anything else. And it's by far the best anime and maybe the best series I've ever watched, it's truly a symphony of seamlessly blending aesthetics that bears the mark of the greatest works of motion pictures. FLCL reminds me a lot of David Fincher's The Social Network for the (very non-obvious) reason that it plays like a music album with inter-faded tracks: every single image, every single bit of music and dialogue is in perfect harmony from beginning to end. The transitions on each level appear with different tempo, and it's an endless rollercoaster of colors, a festival of tones and emotions that makes it so that I can't just pause it; it's flowing, like a concert, like a symphony, like a good Radiohead album. And it does all this while bearing a depth of meaning that you simply wouldn't suspect in a 6 episodes anime series, the kind of depth that makes it obligatory to re-watch it again and again. It's a fable of the highest craft . I watch it every Christmas with my cousins, and I'm amazed each time by how perfect it stands on its own beauty. They still don't get most of it, probably, but each time they understand more and they are fascinated, as I am, by the aesthetics. I truly don't get why one would think of making a sequel to an obscure anime series which is obviously only liked by a tiny group of hardcore fans for the sole and amazing reason that it was a unique one-shot experiment, something impossible, even with the best will and the largest amount of money, to make happen again. Thank you for your great video!

Reminds me of Steins;Gate 0: An unnecessary sequel/prequel/in-between that failed to understand what made the original great, opting instead on cashing in on nostalgia.

Yeah, biggest of disppointment in Alt and Progressive at all time. Also did Naota Nandaba really died and haven't seen him in entire eps in both new anime despite of all comeback characters? If I recalled, Naota's brother was mentioned in old FLCL, did he also died in traveling?

I watched two episodes of fooly coolly progressive without knowing about the original and I didn’t know wtf was going

How can you hate this show? It’s so... Progressive.

Digi must have recently learned what conceit means since he uses it in almost every video he’s in lately. Edit: in fact, he uses it twice here

here's some shit that surprises no one

Your videos are increasingly so dense with ideas that I can only take 5 minutes or so at a time. You're only getting better and better Digi.

Unless Mamimi is in it, I'll pretend it doesn't exist.

The only way this video could've been better if it was called "FLCL Progressive: An Analytical Diatribe" and been over an hour long.

Alternative was better. But not by a lot...only a cm.

never even heard of it saw anime at 2 am and clicked how the fuck did I make it through 5 now knowing everything lmao

The same bloody thing happened with Pyramid Head who was only a metaphor pertaining to a particular character in Silent Hill 2, which renders it completely asinine having it appear in other Silent Hill media.

I... actually liked it...

I'm no FLCL expert, but even I could tell something was very wrong when Little Kuriboh on Twitter linked to this absolutely awful clip of Haruko rapping in the Alternative dub. Seemed like lolrandom nonsense made to fill 22 minutes. The worst part was that he was unironically saying "pls watch flcl alternative", cuz apparently the standards for what is considered impressive in a dub have really fallen that low; granted it was probably just as terrible in Japanese.

You hit the nail directly on the head with this one Progressive was garbage. I've heard people defend it saying that it's about going through puberty and figuring out that your lesbian or the you have a taboo fetish. that's bullshit. Because if it was they would have blatantly said it a hundred times throughout the season cuz that show has zero subtlety 0 creativity and 0 care about such subjects

Probably one of the best videos I've ever watched on KZfaq

16:45 Oh boy, you must be really excited for the upcoming second season of Kemono Friends! ;)

Can't wait for the sequel to this after the new seasons come out

It's back!! Am so happy ahh

Well... At least it gave us more The Pillows... That's all i can give it tho...

RIPPY DIPPY

So far Alternative is good imo

eh you dont like it you dont like it i love it cant change my mind

"maybe I'll get to talk about something I like sometime soon" **4 cours of SAO incoming**

List of good things that came from FLCL Progressive: - 14:05 I like the Mom's design - - - - - -

TBH though, people don't make anime like this anymore. Also, I raise you one worser: Alternative.

The sequel was supposed to try to hard. The philosophy of progressive is that it will never past the first FLCL

Do I dare say "I liked it" in this comment section 🤔 .........nah I fucking loved it

Huh... I took the series as a blatant commentary on the current state of the anime industry, mirroring the most obvious "flaws" people see in the industry today, and saw the series itself as a metaphor and an urge to the industry to evolve... And moreover I expected it to be an interim series designed to whet our whistles for the upcoming Alternative... Really fascinating to see Digi, who easily has twice the experience I have with the original, have such an exact opposite reaction to the show... Interesting to me, because by the end of episode 1 I truly believed the exact same train of thought Digi used in this video. But after that scene, the one in episode 2 which he talks about, my perspective on the show had a complete 180. I assumed that I myself was wrong and after that I enjoyed it immensely... But now I have to question whether or not I made that all up in my head to protect myself from the disappointment it would apparently have been otherwise... I will say there a few points I legitimately disagree with in the video, for example I saw the relationship with the mother as important from episode 1 and actually thought they brought a lot of unneeded attention to it. But I respect Digi's view on the show just as much as my own, mostly because he's basically the FLCL expert. His video on the original was PERFECT... So now I'm just not entirely sure what to think... Honestly I just wish I could have a nice dialogue with someone who loves the original as much as I love it myself, and hash out some of my understanding of the new series with them in a constructive way... Sadly, true fans of the original are hard to come by for me now days, and newer anime fans just blatantly assume it's a stupid random mess without giving it a second thought...