FLCL Progressive Episode 4: A Review

I might have lost the thread here folks. For the most part, Episode 4 of Progressive continued on much how the first three episodes did. Some series-appropriate wackiness, some vague exposition on the bullshit in the story's background that doesn't really matter, some of Jinyu and Haruko at each others throats. But after one curveball of a callback, the episode's main conflict resolved and I became totally lost on what happened next or what any of it meant. But then again, this is FLCL so more's the fool on me for trying to make sense of the nonsensical in the first place. Still, the story did get deeper into its main character and there may be some hints that the background matters more than I gave it credit for.


There are two things I want to talk about, starting with Hidomi. Right off the bat it should be noted that this is the first episode of Progressive that doesn't begin with Hidomi having an apocalyptic vision. That's intriguing enough, but it doesn't spare us her dark side. Oh no, that's in full force. After Iide triggered her headphones safety measures last episode, it's like a switch has flipped in Hidomi. That cheery goofball side of her she's been keeping repressed in her dreams and visions has totally come out and her stoic, reserved self is nowhere to be seen. They're like two different people. While this makes for adorable comedy, Dark Side Hidomi is basically Radical Edward, and some more FLCL wacky off-model animation, this switch is also used to illustrate why Hidomi is the way she is.

Dark Side Hidomi, looking chipper.

In conversation with Iide, who's more determined than anyone to bring the other Hidomi back, Dark Side Hidomi reveals that her attraction to destruction seen in the visions stems from her relationship with her parents. It was established in Episode 1 that Hidomi's father has been absent from her life for a long time and that has effected her ability to connect with her mother as well, despite her mom's love. The destruction she wishes for is more the desire for a clean slate, a chance for her and her parents to start over without all the baggage. This revelation puts Hidomi's normal emotionless behavior and her predilection for headphones into a greater context. Hidomi presents this stoic facade to the world to keep from feeling anything too strongly, to avoid getting too attached to anyone who might hurt her like her parents have inadvertently. Her headphones not only keep people at arms length, they also help her drown out her own strong feelings. Dark Side Hidomi says as much. This also explains why Hidomi kept her upbeat Dark Side repressed to begin with. It's all strong emotions and flightiness. She must think if she feels those things, she'll get hurt again.

Of course, it's also revealed that her headphones are products of Medical Mechanica, the series' vague villains, and that they've been using them to send Hidomi those visions, but that's just a diegetic plot explanation for the themes on display here. Hidomi's feelings could also tie back into the whole teenage sexuality subtext from the previous episode. As I said, Iide is the most gung-ho about switching Hidomi back to normal. At first I thought this might be because he felt guilty about Haruko pressuring him into trying to remove her headphones last time, symbolically taking her virginity, but now I think it's more genuine than that. These two clearly have a strong friendship forming and Iide has very much been the guy to always rescue the girl. Maybe it's going to be the fact that he's always there for her that will be what helps Hidomi move past her feelings of abandonment and need to keep the world at a distance. Especially now that he has to move into a protector role.

Haruko as an energy being, battling Jinyu.

Which brings me to the other thing I wanted to talk about. Haruko ate Jinyu. She turned into a red energy monster and swallowed her whole, completing her turn to villain. This is very bad because Haruko's goal from the beginning was to absorb Hidomi's power but Jinyu was always in her way. This is where I lost track of what's going on. Jinyu and Haruko's conflict is rooted in Atomsk, a powerful energy being from the original FLCL who was kind of a deus ex machina and a macguffin. He was never much of a character and yet he informs so much of what the other characters do. I've gathered that Haruko wants to capture Atomsk for his power, which was her goal in the original series too, and Jinyu wants to keep Atomsk free. It's hinted that maybe Medical Mechanica currently have him captive, again like the original, but it's unclear. What if anything he has to do with the two of them turning into energy beings and popping out of Hidomi's forehead in the climax is really unclear. Can you understand my confusion? I can't make sense of how the Atomsk storyline, which is all background noise, ties back into the main story of Hidomi. Without seeing the connection, it's only so much bizarre Japanese sound and thunder. I don't think it's bad by any measure, it's just bewildering.

Oh well, maybe everything will come into focus. Though this is FLCL so probably not. In the meantime, at least I remain invested in Hidomi's internal struggle. Here's to more inexplicable nonsense next week!