20https://bestanimations.com/SignsShapes/Arrows/Left/leftarrow15.gif https://anilist.co/review/22680 Part 55 of the FLCL Review Series 520https://i.ur.com/rmWEqyw.jpg To say Grunge was a disappointment to the fanbase at large would be an understatement. Grunge was on thin ice from its teaser trailer and the show itself won very few fans. Even as a member of the FLCL Sequel Defense Squad I have trouble defending it let alone actually recommending it. But thats only half the story. Like 2018s FLCL: Progressive before it 2023s FLCL: Grunge was announced alongside another season FLCL Shoegaze the fourth and as of this writing final FLCL sequel. Like its older sibling information on Shoegaze was sparse. By June of this year over a year after its announcement we didnt have so much as a still. Come July we at least had a trailer shown off during the Adult Swim festival and it showed more traditional animation compared to Grunge. This wouldnt quite be enough to turn the tide on Shoegaze however. Grunges abysmal reception meant that by the time Shoegaze rolled around there were few eyes left willing to give it a glance. Its telling that people couldnt post their negative reviews of Grunge fast enough while there were crickets in Shoegazes review section prior to me moseying along. History has a tendency to rhyme and so Im left breathing the same sighs I did four years ago. Its a damn shame that many have passed over Shoegaze because its a story worth telling. Its a strong show thats more than meets the eye. Like Alternative its a worthy sequel to the 2000 classic not only working as a sequel but stands tall as a solid show in its own right. 520https://i.ur.com/nCliN1a.png FLCL Shoegaze tells the story of Masaki Aofuji and Harumi Araishu two teenage outcasts who feel alone and adrift in the world. They focus their frustrations and confusion at the world towards the mysterious Tsugenei Tower atop which a giant glowing bird only Masaki can see roosts. The rebels without a cause break into the facility with eyes to cause mischief. They might find more than they bargained for but its worth it if they can make sense of their places in the world in the process. First thing up on the review block is animation. For both Shoegazes sake and my own sanity Im happy to say the animation is fine. Its leaps and bounds better than Grunges which ultimately isnt saying much but it goes a long way in making it easier to engage with the show. Like FLCL: Alternative before it Shoegaze moves away from the style shifts and high octane animation that was the originals bread in butter. Out of the sequels its the one thats moved the furthest away from the originals animation philosophy if there was a style shift in Shoegaze I certainly dont remember it. If you think FLCL lives and dies by its animation then you probably wont be picking up what Shoegaze is putting down. If youve stuck with this entire review series Look at me ma Ive got fans you know that animation isnt my end all be all for judging a work even FLCL. And for what its worth the art is still moody and atmospheric. For all that Shoegaze diverges from the original dont let anyone convince you its not at least quite pleasant to look at. There might not be much more to say about the art beyond that but given the dissertation I had to write about Grunges animation Im happy for it. 520https://i.ur.com/KLJQkAK.png Then theres the music. While I liked Grunges OST I didnt have anything new to say about it compared to previous seasons. Im pleasantly surprised to find that isnt the case here. For one the songs feel a lot more impactful here than they have in seasons. I can distinctly recall what songs played during pivotal moments. I was particularly ecstatic at hearing Split Emotion during the first episode since its a Pillows song Ive loved for years and thought would fit great in FLCL. And it does Starry Fandangos use in the second episode is also amazing and its quickly gone into my song rotation. What helps elevate the soundtrack even more is the fact that all the songs are apparently new. It goes a long way in giving Shoegaze its own identity separate from Classic. Next up we have the characters. Before we continue dear reader I want you to look at that premise again. You may notice a certain conspicuous omission. No I didnt strategically leave her out. Ladies gentlemen everyone inbetween and everyone beyond Miss Haruko Haruhara has left the building. Spoiler alert her exit isnt a temporary leave of absence either. She doesnt show up at the end as of this writing Harukos last appearance is in FLCL: Grunge. Its certainly a bold move. One of the most pervasive criticisms of the sequels has been that it doesnt feel like the original and one of the biggest connections between them and Classic has been Haruko herself. 520https://i.ur.com/oZMjjnP.jpg Bold as it is I think it worked out surprisingly well. The lack of Haruko like the new OST gives Shoegaze its own identity. It certainly helps that Harukos presence has felt more and more superfluous with each sequel. For as many problems as Progressive has you cant say that it doesnt utilize Haruko and her other half to the most of its ability. I certainly like how Haruko is used in Alternative and she brings a lot of color to the anime but she plays a lot less of a central role before. And in Grunge she actively steals the focus away from the cast who needed it more. And I also like what Harukos absence does for the series metatextuality. It goes a long way in highlighting the shows themes of growing up and accepting change. With Haruko nowhere to be found a big part of your enjoyment of the show will boil down to how you feel about the leads. 520https://i.ur.com/sifPYDT.png On paper Masaki and Harumi arent anything to write home about. Masakis ability to see ghosts isolates him from others making him withdrawn and antisocial. Hes a loner one youve doubtless seen before. Its a wellworn archetype at this point especially in animanga. As such the reasoning for their status as a loner is what makes or breaks this type of character. Taken literally Masakis plight hard to relate to at least for me if you can see ghosts then youll love theguy. Taking his plight to be more figurative that seeing ghosts being a standin for being different doesnt work well either. Masaki being a loner for being different makes sense for the story but it doesnt do much to make him unique. Loner characters can be the perfect avatar for those who feel like outcasts but it doesnt do much to make them feel like actual characters relatable but shallow. This is essentially how Masaki comes across at first pandering at best flat at worst. Then theres Harumi. Shes a distinct character but if youve been following FLCL since Classic with her zany personality you get the sense that shes supposed to be somewhat of a standin for Haruko. I was surprised to learn that Harumi isnt voiced by Kari Wahlgren because she sounds like Haruko too. My initial impression of Harumi particularly given the shows focus on Masaki was that she was somewhat of a Manic Pixie Dream Girlhttps://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/ManicPixieDreamGirl. Theres certainly more to her than this she has her own goals has a compelling reason for feeling like an outsider and she gets genuinely frustrated at Masaki early on its just that at the beginning its hard to predict how interesting shell end up being. All that said our two leads initially come across as more simple and plain than bad. The journey they embarked on was at least interesting enough to hold my attention even if they themselves didnt. 520https://i.ur.com/1NmjcnL.png A character who did grab my attention was our third lead one returning Kana Koumoto. I was somewhat wary to see her return at first as I wasnt sure if Shoegaze would do the protagonist of my favorite FLCL justice. Im pleased to say it did. Kanas appearance isnt just a callback. Instead the exploration of her character is so central to the identity of Shoegaze that it serves as a stealth sequel to to Alternative. Alternative like other FLCL seasons dealt with growing up. Through Kana Shoegaze explores what it means to have grown up and how people grapple with the future not being what they wanted. Gone is Kanas bubbly exuberance that hid her fears over the future Kana has grown up and the result is stark. Kana has to deal with feelings of inadequacy due to failing to live up to both her own expectations and those of others. She does her best while not really knowing what shes doing due to feeling like a puppet on a string. Shes drawn to the past lacking hope for the present while barely having the energy to think of the future. 520https://i.ur.com/VAjRS8i.png Once again I found Kana immensely relatable and Im sure many others will as well. Her plight is the perfect way to continue her story from where we last saw her. It feels like I grew up with her and shes navigating the world with me. Her arc in Shoegaze is very inspiring. It also works well for the story with her decision to move on from the past and unshackle herself from expectations contrasting nicely with antagonist Tsukatas dogged attempt to get back to the way things were. At first I thought Kana stole the show from the other two leads and while I certainly still find her the most consistently compelling of the three in hindsight instead of stealing their thunder her presence helps the other two leads shine. 520https://i.ur.com/yKEKnp1.png This is mostly due to how they contrast with Kana being a snapshot of the current generation and how they interact with those who came before. As expected Masaki and Harumi clash with Kana and Tsukata. Whats more interesting is the way that Harumis freespirit serves as the catalyst for Kanas arc showing that the older generation can still learn and grow in part with help from those who come after them. Kana might be my favorite of the trio but Harumi is solidly in second place. Theyre interesting to watch and whats more interesting is their identity FLCL Shoegaze introduces the idea of alternate universes. In Harumis original world they are a boy complete with a different voice actor while they seemingly turn into a girl upon finding themselves in the world where most of the action of Shoegaze takes place. No matter what you interpret their true identity as theres certainly a lot to chew on and analyze even for such a short show. This ends up making them one of the deeper main characters the series has offered and the perfect icon for a new generation of viewers to impart their complicated identities on while not feeling like a blank avatar. Its a bit reductive but I think one of my favorite aspects of their character is their relationship with Masaki and how he seemingly still loves them when he discovers theyre a boy in their home universe. 520https://i.ur.com/KVZNNmw.png Speaking of which theres Masaki. Honestly even after finishing the series hes still the weakest of the three but theres something to be said about how he and Harumi bounce off one another. Theyre obstensibly a pretty simple pairing but its fresh to see in the context of FLCL. Relationships in FLCL have ranged from fraughthttps://anilist.co/review/4178 to predatoryhttps://anilist.co/review/3970 to underbaked https://anilist.co/review/3981so its nice to not only see mutual fleshedout attraction. In Shoegaze we perhaps see the healthiest depiction of love and desire in the entire series. At the climax of Shoegaze a shocked Tsukata remarks that Masakis N.O. isnt fueled by lust but love. Its cheesey sure but given the journey to get to this point its pretty darn cute. Speaking of lust we get to one of my few critiques the fan service. FLCL is no stranger to horniness foolycooly itself probably means to fool around but to my knowledge Shoegaze lays on the ecchiness the thickest with multiple shots of Harumis panties cleavage etc. If one isnt a fan of ecchi they might find Shoegaze offputting especially as it seems to come pretty far out of left field in the context of the series ...and yet ...I think and I know I sound crazy here these shots arent that gratuitous? Sure theyre groaninducing but given how theyre framed its very clear that theyre moreso to show what Masaki is looking at and less for the audience to leer at Harumi independent of the characters. The closeups arent strictly necessary for this purpose Im aware but I do think the directors didnt add them for their own lecherous pleasure. I know it just sounds like Im in too deep but while I recognize this as unnecessary fanservice I can also say that Ive seen much worse. 520https://i.ur.com/mYoxAtm.png Then theres the ending. It probably raises more questions than it answers but I think that just comes with the territory at this point. Like pretty much all FLCL endings it might not be the most satisfying in terms of worldbuilding but it does right by its characters and since the beginning Ive found that more important. How it does right by them might strike some people as being a bit too sweet on the bittersweet side. Masaki gains the ability to travel between worlds by harnessing the power of Atomsl being able to both see Harumi again and helping connect Kana with Pets after ten years. I have mixed feelings about the ending too but I ultimately think after seasons of bittersweet endings a more unequivocally happy ending is earned growing up doesnt always have to be painful and you dont have to let go of everything you loved as a child. After all Im still here enjoying FLCL just in a different manner than I did all those years ago. 520https://i.ur.com/q4r4d7B.png As of this writing there are no plans to release more seasons of FLCLhttps://www.animenewsnetwork.com/dailybriefs/20231007/adultswimjasondemarcowewontbemakinganymoreflcl/.203223. My feelings about finally closing the door on FLCL are complicated but ultimately Im glad that we got to end on Shoegaze. Its the most uplifting of the FLCL seasons and builds on my favorite season to create something truly special. No matter what detractors say its hard to deny that Shoegaze wasnt made with care and understanding of why FLCL Classic resonates with people all these years later. With that in mind I think this is a great place to end. While Ill be the first to watch yet another FLCL sequel this is a good chapter to close the book on a series that has meant a lot to me as an anime fan. 200https://i.ur.com/pvFVuvm.png 520https://i.ur.com/cbl9ZFr.jpg If nothing else I hope this review series helped at least one person give FLCL a try or another look. And when I say FLCL I dont just mean the original but the series. FLCL is a classic for a reason but many more eloquent writers than I have and will continue to recommend it. The FLCL sequels mostly through Alternative and Shoegaze are hidden gems that deserve more eyes on them. Theyre arent exactly like Classic but they never needed to be were never meant to be. Its in the title theyre a different way to portray the themes of what made the original such a classic. And an alternative take of great is still great.