Toonami 6/2/18: FLCL Progressive Premiere and Dragon Ball Super

I know, I know. There are a lot of interesting shows airing on toonami recently, but I’ve seen all of those shows. Hunter X Hunter (2014), My Hero Academia, Lupin, and Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure are series that I love, but I have already fallen in love with the Japanese voice cast of each of those series. FLCL and Dragon Ball are series that I watch the dubs for, because I have some massive nostalgic feelings towards both of those dub casts. I mean, dubs were what I watched when I first started my anime watching career and I am incredibly stubborn and loyal towards the things that I love. Besides that fact, both series did something that made me want to talk about them. The fact that FLCL Progressive premiered on Toonami Saturday night is worth talking about on its own, but Dragon Ball Super referenced a certain famous anime series this week. Let’s talk about those shows.

FLCL Progressive

Oh wow, I wasn’t sure what to expect from this show. I didn’t even know what time it was going to air, because I caught it as it was recording on my DVR. Lucky timing there, I think. I liked it. It did feel like FLCL in some ways, because it still has that balance of normal life and absurd dream land logic that the original series had. It just didn’t flip through a thousand art styles like the original did, which was fine by me. I also like the fact that there were some brief hints as to what was happening to the male protagonist, in the very naughty way that FLCL would hint at it, which is what happened in the first FLCL while we spent more time with our shut the world off female protagonist? Such good writing here, because it helps Progressive remind people what happened in the original without having to use flash backs and moves the story forward more. That’s just a smart move. I also like the fact that there is an insane character other than our dear Haruko and Haruko’s reveal at the end was predictable, because only she would show porn to her students, but amazing. There is going to be a lot of spectacle in this show, like usual, but there are some themes about growing up and maturity here in a different way than the original presented it. So exciting!

And believe me, I know that this show is never going to be the original. You know what, I don’t think it should be. I’m tired of people always wanting the same things all the time. This is my problem with Star Wars fans who seem to think that things like Rogue One and Solo are good when they add almost nothing new to the Star Wars Universe at all. But enough about that, this isn’t a Star Wars post. FLCL Progressive is takes place in the same town as the original FLCL, but it’s moving the universe forward more by creating more interesting by adding more characters with unique dynamics to this one of a kind anime universe. I will say that I am worried that Progressive is going to reference the original series a little too much. The first episode did it in a smart way, but who knows what is going to happen as the series goes on. Let’s see how the second episode goes, because I will have more of a feeling for this show by then. I don’t know if Progressive will ever have the same impact and boom that the original had, but it could still be good in its own right.

Dragon Ball Super

Let me start this section by saying that I don’t feel as good about the Goku Black arc as I did in the beginning. Especially since these idiots, despite having a genius like Bulma in their ranks, don’t understand how to use Time Travel to their advantage. They could literally train for years and then come back in the nick of time to save everyone forever. That’s why the show was lacking a lot of drama to me. Bad Time Travel usage is a big letdown. Let’s not even talk about how all the color filters suddenly broke out during this arc. Super Saiyan Blue was one thing, but suddenly all the color filters are running free now. This probably gets worse over time, doesn’t it? I guess I’ll wait and see. The Goku Black arc is still ok, because it’s trying some things that I wouldn’t expect a typical Dragon Ball series would try to do. I just wish that the execution would be better.

That’s not why I am writing about this show today though. Last Saturday’s episode was the first time that I saw a Dragon Ball series reference Evangelion. I mean, fused Zamasu was floating in the air in a post that Eva Unit 1 was at the end of the series and that aura thing in the background that the unit had as well. I should also mention that fused Zamasu’s massive attack looked like lot of red spikes, which references the End of Evangelion as well. I know that the original series was a comedic riff of Fist of the North Star, but this franchise was always its own self-contained thing. Every shonen battle series used the franchise as a reference instead. It’s such a strange flip around, because it means that the Dragon Ball franchise is not as relevant as it used to be. This is an arc that did a lot of back reference to Z and the original series too, so I guess I shouldn’t be surprised by this. Super is the old timer of the anime realm trying to be hip again. It works ok, but it’s nowhere near as strong as it used to be. I say this even though Super used to shut down Crunchyroll every Saturday night, but being popular is not a measure of quality.

I love talking about Toonami. The fact that so many series that I want the public to know about are airing on toonami right now is very exciting to me. Dragon Ball Super and FLCL Progressive are interesting talking points as well. Ummmm, I should mention that both dubs are very good for what they are trying to do. I kind of left that out, but I am writing this on the fly.

Looks like I have a lot to look forward to next week. I’m not writing a post for that though. This is a one time thing.