FLCLimax

FLCLimax
Episode:	6
Kanji Title:	フリクラ
Romanji Title:	Furi Kura
English Title:	FLCL Climax
US Airdate:	August 13, 2003

"FLCLimax" is the sixth and final episode of the first season of FLCL. Its English dub aired on August 13th, 2003 on Adult Swim.

Synopsis

There's a huge, giant hand looming over Mabase and the Medical Mechanica plant hasn't stopped smoking since the battle with the last robot. Both Haruko and Canti are wanted. Mamimi has found a new friend, a little robot that has a taste for eating mechanical things.

Summary

Haruko and Canti have disappeared and become wanted criminals, while smoke has continued to pour out of the Medical Mechanica plant since the last robot attack, shrouding Mabase in mist. On their way home from school, Naota and his friends see Mamimi searching for Takkun in some grass near the river. When he finally realizes that Mamimi will never return his feelings, he decides to ignore her and leave his friends behind. A few moments later, Naota is stopped by Commander Amarao who informs him about Haruko's true identity and her plans to capture Atomsk. After seeing Takkun has now found love with a white cat, Amarao slaps a pair of nori eyebrows onto Naota and tells him that cats should stick with other cats, implying that he and Naota need to stick together, as both of them have been victimized by Haruko. Mamimi finds a small, dog-like robot by the river. It runs away with her cell phone, which she lets it eat, and it grows as a result. Haruko returns to the Nandaba residence at dinner, leaving Naota both shocked and angry. Kamon tells Naota that he had let her take a vacation to Hawaii, despite her being a known fugitive. Later that night, Naota ask her in tears why she left.

The next day, Naota decides to run away with Haruko, while Mamimi decides to feed her new pet robot, "Takkun", with cell phones that she had stolen. Commander Amarao and Lieutenant Kitsurubami attempt to find the "Terminal Core" of a robot piece they haul out of the river. As Mamimi enters the city and feeds the growing robot Takkun with large vehicles that belonged to people who had bullied her, it suddenly goes berserk and carries her into the air. Upon seeing the giant robot and hearing Mamimi call it "Takkun", Amarao deducts that the creature Mamimi has been feeding is the Terminal Core. The robot then absorbs Canti, who had been standing nearby, causing it to grow even more. As Kitsurubami attempts to shoot the giant robot, Amarao moves her aside and gets lifted up by it. Haruko flies towards the giant robot on her Vespa with Naota clinging on to her. Amarao shoots Haruko's Vespa down from the sky and proceeds to ask Naota why he is not wearing the nori eyebrows that he gave him earlier. He then tries to convince the boy to do the right thing and join him to save Mamimi and his friends, as Haruko is manipulating him for her own personal gain. Despite Amaroa's plea, Naota chose to ignore him and walks over to Haruko. She proceeded to gives Naota a hug and whispered that she needs him to help her get what she wants, before suddenly throwing him into the air and feeding him to the robot, causing it to merge into the giant hand near the iron. From this, Haruko hopes to extract Atomsk, the celestial being whose power she desires.

Before the giant hand can fully grasp the Medical Mechanica plant, Canti stops it as Naota emerges from his head, glowing with the infinite energy of Atomsk. Stunned, Haruko flies into a rage, bent on acquiring the power of Atomsk by destroying Naota. Before he can finish Haruko off, Naota stops short and, declaring his love for her, kisses her, allowing Atomsk to fully emerge from his N.O. channel. Atomsk consumes the Terminal Core and blasts off into space. Before leaving, Haruko asks Naota if he wants to accompany her on her search for Atomsk, but she quickly retracts her offer, reasoning that Naota is still "just a kid." Haruko takes Naota's and Atomsk's fused guitars, presumably keeping it as a memento, and zooms away towards the sky on her Vespa, leaving Naota to find her guitar lying among the rubble. As Naota picks up the bass and looks up at the sky, Mamimi looks at him for a moment before pulling out her camera and taking a picture.

In the epilogue, some time has passed since Haruko left in search for Atomsk. As life returns to normal in Mabase, Naota and his friends have begun their junior high school year. There is a typical argument over drinks between Naota and Ninamori, implying some minor signs of romance. Naota kept Haruko's guitar as a memento in his room; whether he learned to play it or not is unknown. He mentions that Mamimi left Mabase to pursue photography, as her photo of Naota won the "Fresh Cameraman Photo Contest" and was published in a magazine. At the bakery, Kamon and Shigekuni are heard arguing while Canti cleans a futon on the balcony. Naota finishes his final monologue with the same statement made in the first episode that contrasts the events of the series: "Nothing interesting ever happens here." Upon finishing his monologue, a close up of Haruko's bass is shown, just before one of the strings suddenly vibrates on its own. At the end of the credits, Haruko is shown driving her Vespa across the galaxy.

Songs

• "Carnival"
• "Funny Bunny"
• "Come Down"
• "One Life"
• "Another Morning"
• "Beautiful Morning With You"
• "Nightmare"
• "Last Dinosaur"
• "I Think I Can"
• "Little Busters"
• "Ride on Shooting Star"

Credits

• Original Concept: GAINAX
• Directors: Kazuya Tsurumaki, Masahiko Otsuka
• Executive Producers: Toshimichi Ohtsuki, Mitsuhisa Ishikawa, Hiroyuki Yamaga
• Planning: Hirotaka Takase, Masatoshi Nishizawa, Hiroki Sato

Japanese Cast

• Naota Nandaba: Jun Mizuki
• Haruko Haruhara: Mayumi Shintani
• Mamimi Samejima: Izumi Kasagi
• Kamon Nandaba: Suzuki Matsuo
• Shigekuni Nandaba: Hiroshi Ito
• Eri Ninamori: Mika Itou
• Gaku Manabe: Sho Miyajima
• Masashi Masamune: Kazuhito Suzuki
• Commander Amarao: Kouji Ohkura
• Kitsurubami: Chiemi Chiba
• Junko Miyaji: Yukari Fukui
• Miyu Miyu: Hideaki Anno (uncredited)
• Takkun: Jun Mizuki

English Cast

• Naota Nandaba: Barbara Goodson
• Haruko Haruhara: Kari Wahlgren
• Mamimi Samejima: Jennifer Sekiguchi
• Kamon Nandaba: Joe Martin
• Shigekuni Nandaba: Steve Kramer
• Eri Ninamori: Melissa Fahn
• Gaku Manabe: R. Martin Klein
• Masashi Masamune: Steven Blum
• Commander Amarao: Dave Mallow
• Kitsurubami: L. Villa
• Junko Miyaji: Jessica Straus
• Miyu Miyu: Steven Blum
• Takkun: Barbara Goodson

Gallery

FLCLimax/Gallery

Trivia

• In the Adult Swim broadcasts Kamon's censored nudity is digitally removed by raising a painting.
• Furthermore, in Groundwork of FLCL, a brief manga panel featuring Kamon can be seen uncensored.
• This episode's end credits differ from the previous ones, upon the conclusion we see Haruko ride back into space.
• During the manga scene, Shigekuni brags about how Haruko brought them Fukuya Mentaiko as a gift from her vacation in Hawaii, before Naota points out that they are not made in Hawaii.
  • Fukuya is a popular brand of mentaiko (spicy cod roe) from Fukuoka prefecture and are often sold as souvenirs.
  • In the English dub, he say that they were "spicy fish eggs".
• When Naota tries to walk away from Haruko in the manga panel, she mocks him by saying he is embarrassed before throwing him onto the ground and screams "Denki Anma" in the Japanese version while stomping on his crotch.
  • Denki Anma (電気あんま lit. Electric Massage) is a type of Japanese prank where the victim is placed on the floor and has their legs hoisted up by their tormentor. The tormentor then proceeds to put their foot on the victim's crotch and either grind or repeatedly stomp on the area.
    • In the English dub, Haruko screams "The People's Crotch Attack", likely referring to actor / former professional wrestler The Rock, who addressed himself as "The People's Champion" and named his techniques "The People's (x)", such as "The People's Elbow" and "The People's Eyebrow".
• The bowl of instant ramen that Haruko stole from Naota appears to an actual brand called Maruchan Menzukuri.
• As Gaku and Masashi exit the shop and talk about how Fuji-pyon's older sister had her moped destroyed, Gaku refers to her as a yankī (ヤンキー), a term used to describe juvenile delinquents who rebel against Japanese cultural norms, usually starting in high school. They often dye their hair blonde and/or style it in a pompadour, wear baggy, heavily decorated uniforms and are usually associated with Bōsōzoku (Japanese biker gangs).
  • In the English dub, he uses the English pronunciation, "yankee" while describing her as having bleached hair.
• When Amarao and Kitsurubami see Canti in public, she refers to the robot as "midori no obasan" (緑のおばさん lit. "Auntie in Green"), a term used for "crossing guards". The name stems from their distinctive green coat and hat and how the occupation was originally done by older women who were left as widows after World War II.
  • In the English dub, she just says "In a green skirt?".
• Upon Miya Jun opening the sliding door at the Nandaba residence, Kamon is briefly heard talking about the fictional hamster, Hamtaro from the manga and anime of the same name.
• When Naota and his friends are shown in their middle school uniforms, Ninamori is drinking a bottle called "KaraC". The name is a play on juice drinks that end with "-C", such as "Hi-C" and "Karashi" (辛子), the Japanese word for "mustard" or something that is spicy.