Flash-Forward: FLCL Progressive 6 - Our Running (July 8, 2018)

Progressive comes to the end with guitar-fighting and a lot of confusion

What I watched: The sixth and final episode of FLCL Progressive, an anime series created by Katsuyuki Motohiro and Production I. G., based off the original FLCL created by Kazuya Tsurumaki and Studio Gainax. “Our Running” was directed by Hiroshi Ikehata and written by Hideto Iwai. The episode first aired on adult swim on July 8, 2018 at 11:30pm, with the English dub cast featuring Kari Wahlgren, Allegra Clark, Xanthe Huynh, and Robbie Draymond. The Japanese version was aired as a compilation movie that first screened on September 28 of the same year, with a voice cast starring Mayumi Shintani, Miyuki Sawashiro, Inori Minase and Jun Fukuyama. Progressive is currently available for streaming on the adult swim page in the US and on VOD elsewhere.

Starring: Katsuyuki Motohiro served as the chief director for Progressive, a role that I’m not sure about but sure sounds like someone in charge. In a centrally-planned franchise extension like FLCL Progressive, Motohiro probably wasn’t the auteur of the project (if anyone was), but he played the same role for the upcoming Alternative as well as the fascinating series Psycho Pass. (He was only doing “Planning Supervision” for the second season, so don’t blame him for that.)

What happened: No dream sequence this week, as we pick up right where we let off. The sky turns red, and a delighted Haruko destroys the roller coaster track, leaving Hidomi hanging from a cliff. A birdcage-shaped object pulls red NO energy from anyone in the town. Cyborg Hidomi manages to climb back up and pleads for Haruka to stop playing with their lives. Haruko calls her selfish and immature, and asks for something in exchange. Hidomi says that growing up means that she knows she can just take things from people, and the two fight again.