Originally reviewed on Serializd Rewatching the entirety of this series again has been somewhat of a wild ride to say the least. I had known the series was insane going into it but I didnt quite remember the extent at which it was willing to go. This also applies to the quality of each of the seasons as well as it seems like it is constantly going up and down from being pretty damn great to being just plain bad. I have enjoyed my time with it but needless to say if this is where the series truly ends then that is definitely for the best. Then again given Adult Swims tendencies we may be seeing this series come back again after another five or ten years. But for now I may as well go ahead and give my thoughts on what is as of right now the final season of this series FLCL: Shoegaze. This season was once again a drastic change not just for FLCL but for the last season as well. We once again have the same 2D art style from most of the previous seasons but in terms of the timeline it takes place 10 years after the events of Alternative so this could be considered a sequel to that series. Not only that but it takes that sequel idea even further by bringing back characters from Alternative such as Kana and Tsukata which is definitely interesting to see because aside from Haruko and Canti none of the other characters from previous seasons have ever been brought back. Hell Haruko and Canti themselves are actually not in this season at all making this definitely one of the riskier seasons of the show so I was nervous about jumping into it more so then I was with Grunge. But at the end of the day after watching it fully I will say.... it was ok. It does take the series in an interesting direction one that I was actually welcome to and there are parts about it that I did like but it does fall into a lot of the same trappings previous trappings had run into which do drag it down quite a bit but not to the point where I would say I didnt like it. The story is somewhat interesting on the Alternative side with Tsukata trying to merge the two realities after they were split in Alternative but the other elements around this plotline do drag it down a little bit and as for the story with the two main characters it does seem incredibly generic and rushed to the point where I cant really care all too much the returning characters do act as you would expect with them receiving some minor development but they do fall back into their same habits from before the new characters on the other hand are kinda alright even if I didnt really end up liking them at the end of the day the voice acting is pretty good with the returning performances sounding pretty good and for the new characters while I dont like the voices too much they do a good job at performing them so I cant really fault them for that the animation is once again pretty generic when it comes to not just anime but also when compared to any other season of the show but I will say that I did like the designs of the ghosts that are seen throughout and once again a lot of what goes on here goes without explanation even if a lot is revealed here but once again I couldnt really find myself caring too much. Like with FLCL: Grunge one of the biggest things holding this season back is the fact that it is only three episodes instead of six meaning that a lot less time is devoted to developing any of these characters whatsoever to make them likable or interesting. Sure it is interesting to see where Kana and Tsukata have been and what they have been doing for the past ten years but at the same time neither of them grow as characters whatsoever. Both of them fall into the same habit of wanting something that they really shouldnt and sure you could say that is the entire point that we hold onto past things closely even if they may be bad for us but after ten whole years you think there would at least be some kind of progression made for either of them. And this isnt even getting into the two main characters who are just as bad if not worse. In terms of Masaki he is fine enough being a generic anime protagonist that is just meant to be the vessel for the events that take place in the season and he doesnt really do that much to make me wanna dislike him so he is just... there. Harumi on the other hand kinda sucks. She is primarily the love interest for Masaki and one who does and says outlandish things and sticks out from the crowd yada yada we have all heard this story a million times but it is the main way she talks acts and reacts to everything around her that does make her a little more unique. But again I just didnt really end up liking her. They do give a clear reason as to why she does act like this one that is completely understandable but it doesnt really do anything to make me like her anymore. Seriously if your characters first spoken line in a show is Wanna drink my pee? then chances are that you are gonna have to do a lot to make me actually like or care about her. Now obviously it is clear that the makers of this season wanted to focus on the Alternative characters as much as these new ones so of course they couldnt get as much development or time as the others but at the end of the day if you are going to put these two at the center of the promotional posters then I would assume I am meant to pay attention to them more and care about them more but I just couldnt do that here. Overall despite the episode count problem still being present and characters barely getting any development whatsoever this is yet another fine season of FLCL one that doesnt really do that much to offend viewers too much or destroy the legacy that this show has already built for itself but it doesnt even come close to reaching the same heights as some of the shows best content. I would recommend it for those who are big fans of FLCL as well as those who especially loved Alternative but for everyone else you really wouldnt be missing much if you decided to just skip out on it. Unless you wanna see how the series ends and yes the series has ended at this point at least according to an Adult Swim executive so at least they have said that they are finally gonna stop. Then again it wouldnt surprise me at all if this series got revived again in the future after five or ten more years. Just watch its gonna happen.