How would you rate episode 2 of

FLCL Alternative ?

FLCL has always been pretty clearly-defined as a coming-of-age story. Underneath all the crazy aliens and robots, it's a show telling stories about confused kids becoming grown-ups. In the previous seasons, a lot of that was couched in the younger-kid cast members not being entirely sure what ‘grown up’ actually meant, and that highlights a societal mindset that seems prevalent in general. So much of what constitutes being adult seems codified by what kids eager to reach that mythical status strive for: Being able to eat certain foods, looking certain ways, and having relationships of certain types with people. This episode of FLCL Alternative, with its obvious title of ‘Grown-Up Wannabe’, is hyper-focused on exploring this idea and what it means to its cast.

The instigator of all this introspection is Hijiri, whose relationship with college-boy photographer Toshio prompts everyone to credit her even more for her mature image. Right from the start, however, there's a question of how mature the motivation for this relationship is. The episode slowly peels away Hijiri's feelings on it, making it apparent that she's going out with Toshio to score ‘grown-up’ points much for the same reasons Kana and Pets talk about actually liking tomatoes in their foods. It brings up the question of why we want to be grown-ups: Just to make a point of impressing others, or because it's actually how we want to act? Throughout the episode Hijiri deflects emotional prying or chances to reach out to her friends for support in what she's going through, instead striving to do the ‘adult’ thing of not caring too much and pretending everything is fine. Toshio, for his part, has his mask of college-age maturity slip entirely by the end of the episode as he focuses entirely on his camera and not the people around him. On top of that, him being allured by Haruko calls back to all the boys and wannabe grown-ups in previous FLCLs who have been drawn in by her ‘mature woman’ charms.

Those socially-imposed mental markers of maturity make up a lot of what this episode's trying to do with Hijiri, as Kana is grappling with the more superficial aspects. This leads into that opening question of what being a grown-up actually means, with Kana questioning her choice in make-up, nail polish, and foods as signs that she's not as mature as she's supposed to be. It was only briefly-referenced in the first episode, but FLCL's long-standing symbolism of spicy foods as a rite of adulthood is front-and-center in this one. Kana's the only one of her friends who can't handle Haruko's spicy kebab, while Kanda returns for a round 2 with his over-seasoned soba. His eating of the soup seems entirely performative: Whether he likes it or not doesn't matter, he's a grown-up so he's supposed to be able to eat it.

This concept of performative adulthood has an affect on Kana throughout the episode. Her interrogation of her younger brother yields the surprising revelation that he has a girlfriend of his own. When Kana insists that he can't have such a mature component to his life because he still picks the tomatoes out of his food, Bunta's response is merely a dismissive 'So?'. It's to the point that by the time Kana has to reckon with Hijiri and Toshio's breakup in the episode's final act, she's opposed to understanding the enforced emotional detachment they're displaying out of adherence to some socially-constructed standard. As she learns more about what being an adult might entail, Kana finds herself torn between wanting to grow up and wanting to maintain the emotional "freedom" of childhood. This would seem to be the tangled-up adolescent confusion Haruko accused her of in the first episode, and it's not an unusual feeling at the odd age of 17. Kana is on the doorstep to official adulthood, so she doesn't feel the need to rush through her childhood like previous FLCL leads; she barely has any childhood left.

All this teenage introspection so far works in harmony with the slice-of-life flavor that FLCL Alternative is trading in, but don't worry too much - there's still a big crazy robot fight at the end of this one. It's perhaps fitting on multiple levels that the enemy mecha this time is patterned on the Transformers, also signifying Kana's fluid insistence on shifting between mindset modes of ‘kid’ and ‘adult’ herself, to say nothing of Hijiri being ‘in disguise’ as a genuine grown-up. Kana, notably, is the first FLCL protagonist to mostly-willingly jump into the action this early in her series, becoming quite enthralled with driving Haruko's food truck. She might be trying to hang on to the last vestiges of childhood, unlike Naota, who often tried to act ‘too cool’ for all the craziness that was happening around him. Kana's enthusiasm during the fight rings of someone discovering a passion, an excitement for something, regardless of whether it's what they're ‘supposed’ to be into.

This is all put up by a production that still seems distinctly more polished than its immediate predecessor. The art is very consistent and solid, but still finds time for a lot of nice little flourishes, like Kana's ridiculous flailing around her room after seeing Toshio with Haruko. One disappointment with the visuals is the reliance on CGI for the robot fight at the end, given how dynamic traditionally-animated FLCL mecha-battles have been. Though I suppose that itself could be a dig at the overblown special effects of the Transformers films (and if it isn't, then Haruko's cry of 'Michael Bay!' as she smashed the 'bot with a kebab definitely was). I've also got to give kudos to Kana's voice actress Megan Taylor Harvey, who's really on her A-game this episode; she sells all of Kana's ups and downs and incidental sounds wonderfully here, which is important given how much the character's emotional range factors into the story.

With these first two episodes so far, FLCL Alternative seems to be returning to the original show's more self-contained, idea-driven episodes, as opposed to Progressive, which felt a lot more lore-heavy. That's fine by me, as even without outlined references to Medical Mechanica, or Atomsk, or Haruko's history, this episode had a ton to chew on in regards to FLCL's central tenet of exploring adolescence to adulthood, even bringing some new takes to the table. It's stronger for that; as this episode explains, maturity is really about doing what you want for yourself, not simply because it's expected of you.

Rating: A-

FLCL Alternative is currently streaming on Adult Swim.