Just rewatched the original for the first time in more than a decade. Maybe it's because it got imprinted on my brain as a teen, but I just can't get over how perfect it is. One of the best looking animated shows ever and it's been made twenty years ago.
Maybe if the sequels are bad I should get into the manga or novels or something?
Honestly, I personally felt that they weren't very good. Progressive is an attempt at capturing what made the first one so great (FLCL is my favorite anime btw), but failing at it completely. A lot of people say Alternative was less bad, but I disliked it more because the setting wasn't very fitting and it just felt like they were putting Haruko in a random anime. Plus the ending was really bad.