FLCL: Progressive Episode 3 “Skipping Stones” Review

FLCL takes the scenic route this week and really slows things down in episode 3: “Skipping Stones.” While FLCL still has its very peculiar brand of weirdness, this episode gets pretty mundane and unoriginal with our obligatory anime beach episode. Even with that, it still remains true to itself and we start getting an actual plot to this season.

Jinyu and Haruko seem to have a truce going on while everyone goes to enjoy a relaxing day at the beach. Haruko flirts with the boys while Hidomi sits with Jinyu, being antisocial. We get clues (and later see) Hidomi does really want to join everyone and have fun, but it’s hard for her to open up. As Jinyu and Hidomi converse, we get some little nuggets of knowledge about what her and Haruko are after, “an amazing person.” This hints that she is still after the power of the Pirate King. There’s also a hint of them being more alike then they know — possibly being a single, united person at one time like I’ve been thinking — but we still don’t know.

We also get a side story of Mori (skirt boy) inviting everyone to meet his girlfriend Aiko. She’s quiet, shy, soft spoken, and carries around an emotional support plant. Basically, she’s the traditional Hinata type character… until we found out it was all an act, and Mori hired her for the day. It’s a weird side plot that I didn’t see the use for until she gets home, and we see a man who might be Amarao (the eyebrow man) from the first season. Apparently the plant is also important for …