FLCL Alternative is the second part of the sequel series to the original FLCL. It is six episodes long and contains a different story and cast to FLCL Progressive. The anime changes art style yet again, opting for a softer look. Of course, it doesn’t come close to the fluid, ever changing crazy animation of the original FLCL. It follows Koumoto Kana, a middle school student in her sophomore year and on the cusp of adulthood. Unlike Hidomi from Progressive, Kana is sociable and has a group of close friends that she normally hangs out with. We instantly see how outgoing she is and at times, an airhead who can’t read the mood.
Kana works at a soba shop and through her job there, meets a few weird characters. The episodes generally try and focus on her normal everyday life and it feels like something from the typical slice-of-life romantic genre. That is, until the giant robot that appears at the climax of each episode. It breaks that trend from time to time since there will be episodes where the robots take up a very small amount of screentime. The main theme of Alternative is young adults wanting to be mature, or at the very least seem mature to their peers. They want to speed up the process to becoming an actual adult but don’t have the necessary experience to know what that entails. Kana looks up to one of her friends, Hijiri, who poses as a model, and has a college boyfriend. However, despite appearances, even Hijiri isn’t quite the mature lady that she wants to portray. The anime also touches upon what relationships means for these teenagers, from the naïve Kana to the matter-of-fact Hijiri.
We’re shown early on that Kana has feelings for Sasaki. Over the course of the season, and seeing her friends’ relationships, as well as getting jealous, she starts to wonder whether she should try and ask Sasaki out. It will circle back to the theme of being ready, and to take things at your own pace. Alternate is much better rounded in terms of the types of relationships that it explores, even though it all ends up being fairly generic and uninspiring.
Haruko, the series’ staple, pops in from the very first episode, not that you would expect any less. She’s not as crazy in the beginning as her usual shtick and can seem tame at times. She’s still on her quest to find Atomsk and will go smashing her guitar at any character to see if they have the potential to generate a large N.O. Channel. Haruko, in typical fashion, will appear anywhere and everywhere in order to get close to her target. She will deliberately incite jealously in order to trigger the N.O. Channel.
Medical Mechanica continues to dwell in the background. They have apparently put their plan of flattening the Earth in motion and it has something to do with all the giant pins that have been turning up. Their presence looms closer and closer as the season approaches the end, leading to some of their clearest actions yet (which makes them lose some of their mysteriousness and appeal).
Overall, FLCL Alternative is less out there compared to its predecessors. Its higher focus on a slice-of-life type of story, along with less of the wacky stuff makes it a lot more easily understandable and coherent. The flipside is that it loses much of its identity and feels like another generic anime. That said, the finale which focused on the theme of Kana’s life, her actions and her beliefs lead to a more meaningful ending than you would expect.
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