I’d like to start this review by saying thank you to Adult Swim for sending me this DVD. FLCL is likely on my top 10 all time favorites depending on what day you ask me, for sure in the top 20. I fell in love with FLCL
’s art style, humor, cast and more. It was, at the time, something entirely different and all of the reasons I fell in love with anime to start.
I was excited to hear that we would be getting a sequel to a series that seemed to close a chapter but not the story. And I was thrilled that Adult Swim brought together a staff that worked closely with the Japanese team behind the original to bring Americans the sequel they always dreamed of.
The DVD is full of extras, what I found most valuable were interviews and music from The Pillows, who have been providing the franchise’s iconic music for over a decade now. Cast interviews, artist interviews and behind the scenes features are reason enough to get this DVD.
Let’s get one thing out of the way, as someone who loves FLCL; I will admit that Progressive didn’t do a lot for me. I won’t go into my issues with some of the storytelling or characterization here but I will say I love that The Pillows returned, that the staff is clearly optimistic and well-versed in the original canon of the series, I love the extra features and more. I respect the passion, the dedication and the heart.
But maybe sometimes, you just can’t capture lightning in a bottle twice. Maybe I’m just nostalgic and cynical. I’m still glad to have this DVD in my collection and if you love anime, you’ll be proud to have this as part of your collection, too
The DVD for FLCL Progressive is out now.
