Generational Battle is the second episode of season 5, FLCL: Shoegaze and the twenty third overall. It premiered on Adult Swim on the Toonami block on October 7, 2023 at midnight ET.
Synopsis
After setting off a bomb that destroyed part of Tsuganei Tower, Masaki and Harumi discover a hidden section with a spiral staircase leading to the top of the tower. As the duo begin ascending the staircase, Harumi starts negotiating with Kana, demanding several types of snacks from various stores. During her drive across town, Kana begins to look back at her friendships and the events that have brought her to her current position in life.
Meanwhile, Kanda is able to get ahold of Masaki via text messaging, warning him that Harumi is manipulating him and that she is actually a Medical Mechanica sympathizer. When they finally reach the top, Masaki finds himself questioning what exactly is Harumi's end goal, while Kanda begins to reveal his ulterior motive.
Summary
Masaki and Harumi stare at the Medical Mechanica iron standing before them, the former looks at his sketchbook featuring a similarly shaped structure as Harumi suggests it could be parts from it before immediately asking Masaki how he could've already drawn it and if he's clairvoyant. She gets closer to him causing Masaki to blush as he tries to comprehend the reality of the situation as he looks up and sees spirals of stairs, suggesting it's a space invisible from the outside and that the building goes much higher than he thought before he gets another headache.
Elsewhere, in a Bureau of Interstellar Immigration facility, operators detect an EM pulse from the N.O. with one deducing that the voltage spiked momentarily as a result of the noise. Several helicopters hover near the tower as Kanda asks Kana to identify which of the two the N.O. came from, Kana points towards Masaki based on a gut feeling. Kanda asks if her forehead is tingling from his appearance as she says there hasn't been any action from it in years, Kanda sighs and asks why she's even wearing a band-aid to which Kana responds with that she hit her head after drinking too much but assures him that she isn't hungover. Kanda sighs and supposes that it's a sign she really is an adult.
Seven years ago, Kana is waiting for a bus on a snowy day while wearing a furisode, texting Mossan and Hijiri what they think of her attire, to which both compliment her and request she has fun on their behalf as they won't be going. Internally, Kana speaks to Pets on becoming twenty and that they keep getting older despite everything looking the same, and that being seventeen felt as if it was ages ago. The bus pulls up as Kana stands still before the driver asks her if she's getting on, she imagines herself sitting with Mossan and Hijiri on the back before. She declines to get on as the bus leaves with a trail of smoke following it, Kanda appears in front of Kana as the smoke clears and asks why she isn't going to the coming of age ceremony. She tells him she was planning to but that she no longer felt like it, after eyeing two security agents hiding behind a sign. Kanda suggests she gets out of her kimono as he hands her a top secret file.
In the present, Kanda declares Harumi to be a terrorist working for Medical Mechanica while Masaki is either her friend or hostage and that he's an N.O. holder. Kana says he shouldn't profile them so quickly but Kanda says its fine due to his ability to draw decisive conclusions as a result of years in the field and believes Harumi's motive is to destroy a device located in the tower and stresses the importance of getting to Masaki's N.O. first, as it could be used to complete their research as he hands Kana the same top secret file from seven years ago.
An officer alerts them of Harumi calling the authorities, Kanda leaves Kana to handle the situation as he has his own thing to take care of. In the tower, Harumi complains at their lack of response while Kana claims they're dealing with actual grown-up issues, Harumi dismisses it and claims kids have problems too and that they've discovered the tower's secret. Kana asks where she got her information from as Harumi lies about being a hacker before she kicks Masaki's back. Kana tells her to take it seriously before asking where she is and if they crossed the dimensional rift, Kanda puts a hand on her shoulder and advises Kana not to say more than she needs to. She slips out information regarding a neuron accelerator.
Harumi and Masaki are confused by the information with the latter writing it down in his sketchpad, Kana continues and tells them to get down and asking if they're trying to ruin everything. Harumi playfully asks if she's talking about blowing up the city, Kana retorts by saying it could destroy the entire planet before she stops herself and looks over at an irritated Kanda. Harumi says that destroying the idea sounds good since she finds the world obnoxious and annoying, comparing it to a piece of a puzzle that won't fit. Kana tries to talk her down saying she felt the same way when she was her age before Harumi cuts her off and tells her stop with the adult talk before she starts making requests with the first being transportation and tells Kana to call her back later, Kana tells her she doesn't have time to play games as Harumi threatens to blow up the tower if she doesn't comply and if she doesn't answer her phone. Kanda reluctantly decides to play along for the time being but assures Kana that she'll have backup before she exclaims that she'll manage on her own.
In the tower, Masaki asks Harumi what she's going to ask for but she refuses to tell him and teases him for his curiosity. He protests and brings up her "wheels of destiny" spiel and asks why she's keeping things from him as Harumi teases him in a suggestive way by telling him that secrets are sexy before which causes him to blush as she continues walking up the stairs. Harumi tells himself that he wants to know all of the secrets regarding the tower and Harumi as he follows her. In her car, Kana complains about missing her hair appointment as she receives a call from Harumi who asks her to buy every flavor of Umaibo from a specific candy store and falsely threatens to blow up the tower if she doesn't get them in fifteen minutes before ending the call. Kana murmurs that Haurmi has issues as she starts her car.
In a flashback, Kana is sitting in the middle of a room wearing a helmet with wires attached as she comments on how it feels as if she's being prodded like at the doctor's. Kanda mentions that construction on Tsuganei tower is underway and that it was designed to run around an energy accelerator patterned after a brain and that Kana's N.O. will be used to jumpstart the machine, saying that everything will go back to how it was. Kana questions why and when asked if she wants to get back to what they've lost as she gives a despondent answer. Furthermore, Kanda mentions that he declined a nursing job she interviewed for on her behalf and tells her not to worry as everything will work out.
Now the present, Kana is caught in traffic as she notices a group of girls walk by which resemble her friends as she monologues to Pets about how she didn't realize she'd become an adult eventually and that she has to own up to the things she's done, saying it's the adult thing to do before she speeds out of traffic. Meanwhile, Masaki gets several text messages from Kanda and is told Harumi is a leader of a terrorist group and that she's a Medical Mechanica sympathizer and that he's being played but Masaki is temporarily distracted by catching a glimpse under Haurmi's skirt before she teases him about it and noting they've reached the top.
A strange pitch black portal stands in front of them, Harumi reaches into it and pulls back referring to it as freaky before asking Masaki if he can see any of the ghosts as he reaches in further and touches a ladder which breaks the shield. Elsewhere, an agent remarks that he had accessed imaginary time while another says that it's being converted to real time as the top of the tower begins to slowly reveal machinery that resembles a brain as onlookers in the sky and on the ground stare in shock. Kanda comments that Masaki is the real deal for making the discovery.
Songs
- "Tokyo Zombie (The Knock Came At Dead of Night)"
- "Subtropical Fantasy"
- "Alice in the City"
- "Galathea"
- "Revival"
- "Message"
- "Starry Fandango"
- "Ameagari ni Mita Maboroshi"
- "About A Rock'n'Roll Band"
Credits
- Original Concept: Production I.G.
- Executive Producers: Mitsuhisa Ishikawa, Jason DeMarco
- Production Supervisor: Katsuiji Morishita, Takayuki Oshima
Japanese Cast
- Masaki Aofuji: Shoya Chiba
- Harumi Araishu: Satomi Amano
- Kana Koumoto: Karen Miyama
- Tsukata Kanda: Yutaka Aoyama
- Hijiri Yajima: Riho Iida
- Man "Mossan" Motoyama: Mutsumi Tamura
English Cast
- Masaki Aofuji: Jesse Nowack
- Harumi Araishu: Kim Gasiciel
- Kana Koumoto: Megan Taylor Harvey
- Tsukata Kanda: Ray Chase
- Hijiri Yajima: Erica Lindbeck
- Man "Mossan" Motoyama: Marin M. Miller
Gallery
Trivia
- During the first flashback scene, the then-20 year old Kana is shown wearing a kimono while texting with Mossan and Hijiri and was planning to go to a ceremony for before choosing not to go.
- The ceremony is known as "Coming of Age Day", a public holiday to celebrate those who have turned 20 years old (the age that a person is fully recognized as an adult in Japan) within the past year.
- When Kanda is shown playing catch with a younger Kana, he mentions that he was on his high school's baseball team and that they made it to Koshien, but he only could watch as an onlooker, since he was not on the team's roster.
- Kōshien is a baseball tournament held for Japanese high school baseball teams that is nationally televised and considered a major sporting event.
- Several of the snacks that Harumi requested are parodies of real life snack brands:
- Umeebou - Umaibō, a Japanese corn puff stick that is seasoned with either sweet or savory flavors.
- Chupa Chopa - Chupa Chups, a Spanish brand of lollipops.
- Derry Beans HAMIDO -Haribo, a German confectionary that is known for its brand of gummy bears and jelly beans.
- Larbel Chocolate - Meiji brand Marble Chocolate, a hard shell coated chocolate candy similar to M&Ms.
- There is a minor inconsistency during the scenes involving text messages. In one particular scene, when Kanda texts 責任者の神田束太 (Sekininsha no kanda tabata, "Kanda Tabata, the person in charge") to Masaki, he only reads it as Sekininsha no kanda da ("Kanda, the person in charge"). In every other scene involving text messaging between characters, the person who wrote it is reading it word-for-word.
| FLCL (Series) | ||
|---|---|---|
| FLCL (Season 1) | Fooly Cooly • Fire Starter • Marquis de Carabas • Full Swing • Brittle Bullet • FLCLimax | |
| FLCL Progressive (Season 2) | Re:Start • Freebie Honey • Stone Skipping • LooPQR • Fool on the Planet • Our Running | |
| FLCL Alternative (Season 3) | Flying Memory • Grown-Up Wannabe • Freestyle Collection • Pit-a-Pat • Shake It Off • Full Flat | |
| FLCL: Grunge (Season 4) | Shinpachi • Shonari • Orinoko | |
| FLCL: Shoegaze (Season 5) | Full Barricade • Generational Battle • Far Friend | |