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Are FLCL Alternative and Progressive movies?
Oct 14, 2018 7:26 AM
#1

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Apr 2015
6728
I woke up this morning to find that Alternative and Progressive had both changed to "6/1" on my list and are now considered movies.

They had limited theatrical screenings in Japan, but can you really call them movies? They have a clear episode structure. What do you guys think?
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Oct 14, 2018 7:50 AM
#2
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Oct 2015
417
I don’t get why they changed Progressive to a movie because it completed airing on Adult Swim before it premiered in Japanese theaters, but Alternative did premiere in theaters a few days before episode 1 aired on Adult Swim.
Oct 14, 2018 8:27 AM
#3

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Sep 2008
1204
Probably because both were intended to be made as movies over in Japan, but were edited down in their lengths as such to be made into a TV series format over here in the states. Crunchyroll did the same thing with the Digimon Tri movies as each one was edited into parts that are considered "episodes".

Honestly, I could care less how it's done as this seems to be a minor issue for me compared to MAL's insistence at using the original Japanese names of anime which usually makes it a chore for me to figure out which titles I want to edit for my Anime List.
Oct 14, 2018 8:45 AM
#4

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Sep 2012
582
As much as I 100% know they're made of episodes, I'm not going to argue with MAL using the Japanese format as the official database entry.

ggultra2764 said:
Probably because both were intended to be made as movies over in Japan, but were edited down in their lengths as such to be made into a TV series format over here in the states. Crunchyroll did the same thing with the Digimon Tri movies as each one was edited into parts that are considered "episodes".


Going off of Digimon, if I were to insist that they call these OVA series, by the same token I would have to insist that the 3 Digimon films they pulled from for the American Digimon movie be listed as a single entry.

So yeah, these are quite clearly episodes, but it doesn't bother me much.
Oct 14, 2018 1:46 PM
#5

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Feb 2011
10104
I honestly they should've stayed as TV. I know they had a theatrical run in Japan, but the US got this far earlier, on TV and as 6 individual 20-minute episodes.

I dislike this change... a lot :/
Oct 14, 2018 2:22 PM
#6

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Jul 2016
306
I feel like this needs to get the Afro Samurai treatment. Afro Samurai was a 5 episode series in the west, and put together into a movie in Japan. MAL lists both as separate entities. Need to do that here, because I didn't see no FLCL movie.
Oct 14, 2018 2:29 PM
#7

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Feb 2011
51
Yeah, this change is a huge pain in the ass for no reason.
Oct 14, 2018 2:53 PM
#8

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Jan 2011
3324
qwertyMrJINX said:
I feel like this needs to get the Afro Samurai treatment. Afro Samurai was a 5 episode series in the west, and put together into a movie in Japan. MAL lists both as separate entities. Need to do that here, because I didn't see no FLCL movie.


Afro Samurai aired on Japanese TV too, before it even got the movie, that's why it has 2 entries.
Oct 14, 2018 3:15 PM
#9
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Oct 2015
417
qwertyMrJINX said:
I feel like this needs to get the Afro Samurai treatment. Afro Samurai was a 5 episode series in the west, and put together into a movie in Japan. MAL lists both as separate entities. Need to do that here, because I didn't see no FLCL movie.
That is a good idea. Ajin was released as a 2 season anime but also three movies and they have separate entries.
Oct 15, 2018 1:36 AM

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Aug 2008
287
MAL's database system is number 1 bullshit, aside from silly stuff like this where it's now impossible to track which episode I'm actually on, it's extremely annoying to convert split-cour series from their actual listed episode number into MAL's bogus system. It's inconsistent too when considered in the context of long running shounen series that could realistically be considered multiple "seasons" based on actual production schedule and market themselves as such. The worst part is MAL's Manga database already has a solution for this type of problem, allowing users to track progress based on either Chapter or Volume, I have no idea why they couldn't apply a similar concept to something like this.
Oct 15, 2018 5:26 AM
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Sep 2007
409
I don’t agree with this because Alternative and Progressive aired on Toonami first. I guess I get why they changed it to the “original” intended format, but I still think it’s wrong according to how it aired.
Oct 15, 2018 7:46 PM

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Sep 2007
654
bbobjs said:
MAL's database system is number 1 bullshit, aside from silly stuff like this where it's now impossible to track which episode I'm actually on, it's extremely annoying to convert split-cour series from their actual listed episode number into MAL's bogus system. It's inconsistent too when considered in the context of long running shounen series that could realistically be considered multiple "seasons" based on actual production schedule and market themselves as such. The worst part is MAL's Manga database already has a solution for this type of problem, allowing users to track progress based on either Chapter or Volume, I have no idea why they couldn't apply a similar concept to something like this.


I agree with this 100%. Split cours as separate entries is ridiculous especially considering it noticeably skews the rating of the later season(s) of any given show.

Also, now it looks like it took me 6 months to watch a "movie"... smh.
Oct 15, 2018 8:59 PM

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Dec 2013
1293
Makes no sense to me... But MAL has it's own rules and reasoning on things.
Oct 15, 2018 9:09 PM
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Feb 2017
1
64BitRatchet said:
but Alternative did premiere in theaters a few days before episode 1 aired on Adult Swim.

Not even this is really true; Toonami aired the subbed version of Alternative episode 1 as an April Fools stunt.

I agree that the best solution would be two different listings, referring to the other as an alternative version. (heh) This pattern is already established with shows like Dragon Ball Super, where the first two seasons originally aired as movies before being adapted to TV.
Musi13Oct 15, 2018 9:12 PM
Oct 16, 2018 7:32 AM
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Oct 2012
57
Found this change unecessary really pretty much all people who have watched it, watched it as a series currently you can only find it as such. It was released first as a series before a movie. Maybe it was intended to be a 'movie' but I think it was designed with both in mind, the series is clearly structured well into different episodes I would imagine the movie would feel a bit unfocused, as in how it focuses thrity minutes on a side stories rather than going for a main plot, which is more acceptable in the series.
I'm only on episode 2 on Alternative (seen all of progressive) but episode two is solely focused on the long haired girl for example.
Oct 17, 2018 1:54 PM

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Mar 2016
15
Musi13 said:


I agree that the best solution would be two different listings, referring to the other as an alternative version. (heh)


Absolutely agree. By the way, does anybody know if there is any minor differences (e.g. plot details, scene drawings etc.) between original TV airings and these Japanese movie variants? Because I haven't had an opportunity to watch the movie variant (like very most of us I suppose).
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Oct 18, 2018 2:37 AM
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Aug 2017
1868
This is stupid they're clearly shows and I have a strict rule against including movies on my list (since I'd rate them in a totally different way than I would with shows) so now I'm forced to take both shows off my list for the sake of consistency even though I watched them and everybody agrees they're shows not movies. I'm crossing my fingers My Anime List changes this but I highly doubt they will they probably had Digimon Tri on the mind when making this change.
Oct 18, 2018 9:26 PM
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Sep 2016
204
Fine, if they wanna label it a movie, but at least have it be 6 episodes. There are other movies broken into episodes on this site.
Oct 19, 2018 5:28 AM

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Feb 2011
10104
bbobjs said:
MAL's database system is number 1 bullshit, aside from silly stuff like this where it's now impossible to track which episode I'm actually on, it's extremely annoying to convert split-cour series from their actual listed episode number into MAL's bogus system. It's inconsistent too when considered in the context of long running shounen series that could realistically be considered multiple "seasons" based on actual production schedule and market themselves as such. The worst part is MAL's Manga database already has a solution for this type of problem, allowing users to track progress based on either Chapter or Volume, I have no idea why they couldn't apply a similar concept to something like this.
Couldn't have said it better.
Oct 23, 2018 1:51 PM
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Mar 2015
76
This is the dumbest change MAL has made since that time when they renamed the original Berserk 1998 into "kenpu denki Berserk" or something, possibly because they wanted the 2016/17 Berserk to be the main thing to carry that name and not the old show.
Oct 25, 2018 1:11 PM
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Mar 2018
29
It wouldnt work as a movie. The episodes are meant to be just that, episodes. It could work as a movie if edited the right way but thats not how it is now. So im against it but if edited right, its fine. Thats all i have to really say about it
Oct 29, 2018 1:45 PM

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Jan 2013
2315
votes speak for themselves. what was mal management thinking? this doesn't bode well with me...
Nov 10, 2018 8:28 PM

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Mar 2014
1471
I spent 6 weeks watching this on Toonami at 30 minutes a piece. That's not a movie.
Nov 11, 2018 8:29 PM

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Nov 2017
1211
I've only been on MAL since it broke in summer, but c'mon MAL, this is so obviously not a movie.
Dec 4, 2018 10:30 PM
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Nov 2018
70
Japan got the movie treatment instead with these two shows? Interesting I really want to hear their opinion on Progressive and Alternative so I might have to check out the image forums.
Dec 23, 2018 2:41 PM

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Oct 2010
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Neko-Hoshishima said:
bbobjs said:
MAL's database system is number 1 bullshit, aside from silly stuff like this where it's now impossible to track which episode I'm actually on, it's extremely annoying to convert split-cour series from their actual listed episode number into MAL's bogus system. It's inconsistent too when considered in the context of long running shounen series that could realistically be considered multiple "seasons" based on actual production schedule and market themselves as such. The worst part is MAL's Manga database already has a solution for this type of problem, allowing users to track progress based on either Chapter or Volume, I have no idea why they couldn't apply a similar concept to something like this.


I agree with this 100%. Split cours as separate entries is ridiculous especially considering it noticeably skews the rating of the later season(s) of any given show.

Also, now it looks like it took me 6 months to watch a "movie"... smh.


I don't agree with FLCL 2 and 3 being listed as movies but the "split cour" argument is largely invalid. MAL does the correct thing there. Sites like Crunchyroll are the ones that are wrong. They'll lost Season 3 episode 1 as "Season 3 episode 49" or some stupid crap like that. MAL is fine most the times but not when things aired first in the US.

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