So you know for a fact that I caught that new trailer that just dropped, and I am beyond excited!
Let's review it, shall we?
Anytime I see stuff like this my heart just jumps for joy because in the back of my mind I was very skeptical of the announcement of FLCL 2 and 3.
I remember long ago when the first news of it broke out and I was thinking
"If I don't see a trailer then I won't take it too seriously" because rumors could be rumors and speculation could be speculation.
And after the trailer that was release 8 months ago I was excited, but no more news followed it.
BUT NOW
We have confirmation with voice actors (love the fact that Kari Wahlgren is returning to play Haruko again) and songs, and even a little blurb that indicates it will air on TOONAMI.
So I'm going to take this time to give my analysis and speculation:
SPOILERS FOR "FLCL" IF YOU HAVEN'T SEEN IT SO BEWARE!
First off, I am already hyped!
I really like Haruko's new character design, and the art style looks a lot better than the first trailer. Not saying it was bad, but just that it looks a lot more polished, and that makes me even more anxious for this.
I also like the fact that "FLCL Progressive" is coming out in June b/c June is my FLCL Week, and that just rekindles the joy I have when discussing this series.
It appears that many of the things that we saw in FLCL (1) are going to be returning and that makes me think that there is supposed to be some continuity established with the series.
We see the Medical Mechanica plant again, we hear the same old "Nothing amazing ever happens here" which makes me think that the setting is still in Mabase, we see this classical scene of someone getting hit by that car rather than Haruko's vespa like last time, and it all just seems to flow.
My only fear is that the trailers may just be pulling on my nostalgia strings a bit too much, and if they do these call-backs to season 1 but end up drastically changing FLCL I might feel like the next iterations are just cheap imitations of FLCL, but there are many things about this trailer that could possibly counter that fear.
My two biggest interests right now are:
1. How did Haruko get that red guitar, and will she ever get the old one back? To a certain extent I feel like the guitar she left behind with Naota is too important for it to just be a detail that's forgotten. I don't expect it to be explained within the first 10 minutes, but I'd appreciate it if that facet was addressed in some way.
2. WHO IS THIS NEW CHARACTER? I really am intrigued by her, the glasses, the face markings, the binoculars she was sporting in the first trailer, the fact that we haven't heard her voice (or at least we don't know for sure) all point to her being this really mysterious figure. With the things we've seen, like her running over the girl with that care, and her carrying a guitar makes it appear like she's a member of the Galaxy Patrol Brotherhood thing that Haruko is in.
I also think that maybe the voice we heard in the trailer that said "Pretending you can't hear, that's your thing isn't it?" is actually this new character.
I am also wondering if this new character will have more or less screentime than Haruko. Off the top I doubt it because Haruko is the face of FLCL and it'd be a bit weird to just blow off one of the most popular main characters like that, but it would also be weird if they introduce this new character but don't do a whole lot wit her.
Already I'm calling it, these are my two theories I will propose:
(A) This new character is Haruko's superior in the Galaxy Patrol Brotherhood
(B) This new character is a rogue member and is looking to join forces
My final prediction is that FLCL Progressive (which I'm assuming all of the scenes we see are from "Progressive" specifically) will have a heavier social implication.
FLCL was really abstract and for the most part didn't have a tangible message, many people say "It's about puberty/growing up/maturity" and a bunch of other concepts, but I feel like "Progressive" will be a bit more..."Progressive" (pun intended) and while it will still be zany and outrageous it will have a more concrete message to convey rather than FLCL which was way more random and abstract.
From what I see in the scenes I think the focus will be on technology, social media, or something of that nature. I feel like the main character sporting those huge cyber-blue headphones, the constant shots we see of people on their phones or with earplugs in, and even the statement that the main character pretends to not be able to hear indicate that maybe the approach will be towards breaking away from a societal addiction with technology and focusing more on human interaction, and I think the mecha aspect of it is a great vehicle to drive that message.
So in conclusion I jumped headfirst into this trailer and I already have my creative gears turning on every second of this scene and I cannot wait until June. Hopefully I can stream it on my laptop because I don't have a TV rn.
Long story short I am ready for FLCL Progressive to get here and I cannot wait to hear more of that delicious soundtrack from The Pillows.
Till next time.
