FLCL Episode 1

FLCL EPISODE 1 ANALYSIS
(Two things: When doing this analysis, I used both the subbed AND dubbed versions of the show. I should also say that I cannot read the Japanese language, so some of the more subtle jokes pertaining to the language may escape me)

It is significant to note that FLCL begins right away. There is no opening sequence; it jumps straight into the first shot. While not important to the story, it is interesting to note. This may have something to do with the fact that FLCL is only 6 episodes long, and is an OVA, but OVA’s can have openings. I do not know for sure, but I think they made an active decision not to have an opening. Perhaps money was a factor but I like to think they wanted to squeeze as much show into the twenty-some minutes as possible.

In any case, the first shot is a set of mountains with a voice over, talking about baseball. The language used suggests it is talking about a stance for hitting the ball, and hand placement on the bat. This is the first time we have baseball serving as a metaphor for sexual activity. While that seems to be a bit presumptive at this point, it becomes clearer in future episodes. Mamimi is the one dispensing the ‘advice’ which enforces the idea of baseball equating sex. Naota’s first line here is “What are you talking about?” which establishes three things: First that Naota is listening to Mamimi, but perhaps not paying attention. We find out that the bat that Mamimi is holding in this scene is Naota’s, so he would probably know the general sounding baseball advice she is talking about which enforces my second point: That Naota does not understand that Mamimi is talking about sex. Last, we establish that Naota seems to be aloof and disinterested in what Mamimi is saying, despite spending time with her and carrying his own bat with him. We have a picture of Naota in our head already as somebody who is acting older than he is which is enforced by his attitude.

The first time we see Naota, the pro-ta-gonist.

As the scene continues, Mamimi asks what Naota is doing. He tells her that he is doing his homework, and when Mamimi asks why he isn’t doing it at home, he very simply responds that it’s “not cool.” From this succinct and unconvincing response, it’s clear that he is distant from what is happening here. Mamimi asks him to do her homework as well, to which we catch our first real glimpse of Naota. He is grimacing at her, and tells her that her hands are upside-down. Proof of what I was saying earlier; he does know his baseball. Mamimi tells Naota that he should play baseball, and asks why he carries around a bat. Naota turns away from her here, and asks why she’s always hanging around under this bridge. He very quickly changed the subject for some reason, either because he had no answer, or he didn’t wish to talk about it. Mamimi is about to answer, but stops to think about it. Naota comments that Mamimi is in a good mood. Suddenly, we see Mamimi literally looming over Naota.

Literally.

This is the first time we see the nature of Mamimi and Naota’s relationship: Mamimi begins hug Naota close. We see shots of her squeezing her chest against him and kissing his earlobes. Naota clearly looks uncomfortable, and asks her why she is always does this. Mamimi says if she doesn’t do this, she will ‘overflow’ and when asked what she means she responds ‘probably something amazing’.

Mamimi uses Naota as an outlet for her sexual frustrations. She refers to him as “Takkun”, a nickname she had for his older brother. While here, alone with Naota, she can pretend she is still with Tasuku.

WE pan out from the scene, with Naota narrating that “Nothing amazing happens here. Only the ordinary.” This is to do a few things: For starters, he pretends that he isn’t bothered by Mamimi’s attentions by saying that it is ‘ordinary’. Next, it is foreshadowing, supported by the camera panning to the Medical Mechanica plant. Naota talks about the Medical Mechanica plant, and how it makes “Medical Machines”. It’s pretty clear that Naota doesn’t really know what it does, and is deriving this from the name of the plant. He also states that the adults were very excited when it came, suggesting that perhaps the adults excitement makes Naota nervous about the plant. At every day at a set time, White smoke would pour out of the factory. Naota states that it reminds him of an omen, especially because it spreads over the whole city, engulfing it.

We see the first title screen, with the symbols for FLCL superimposed over an X-ray of a brain. This is a reference to Naota, but we’ll get to that.

The next major scene cuts to a bridge, and time has passed from the introduction. Naota tries to buy a drink, but Mamimi intercedes and buys a different drink. Naota complains that he doesn’t like sour drinks. We also see a hickey on Naota’s neck, much to Naota’s embarrassment. Mamimi suggests hiding it with a bandage, which will come into play later. Mamimi hands Naota the drink, saying that it belongs to him, and there Is more than half left. I believe this represents Mamimi literally taking something from Naota, innocence possibly, or childhood. It could also represent that in taking something from Naota, she is forcing him to become an adult because of the situation, the “sour drink” being sexual maturity or adulthood. Mamimi leaves with a blank look on her face as Naota looks on. They both look uncomfortable, and Naota gazes at the drink before throwing it aside. He is about to tell her something about Tasuku, as we see a letter with his name on it, when suddenly he stops. During the pause, we hear a motor getting gradually louder. The clouds literally part behind Naota.

I tried to think of something witty, but the image speaks for itself.

Here we are introduced to Haruko. She speeds into the scene, guitar raised, screaming “Come and get it!” In the English Dub, she says “Lunch time!” This is setting up something in the future, but we’ll get to that. She hits Naota with her bike, and he goes flying. Mamimi is about to go help him, when Haruko stops her. “Native girl must stop!” this is to establish Haruko as foreign or strange. She says this in English in the Japanese version, probably to reinforce the strangeness of the situation. Haruko continiually refers to Naota as “Taro-kun.” As far as I can understand, Taro-Kun is the Japanese equivalent of “John Doe.” Already Haruko is not acknowledging Naota as a person, but rather an anonymous object. Haruko panics, talking about how he is dead and that she killed him right as “She finally found him.” She decides that she has to try reviving him with “CPR”. The camera pans very close to Haruko, and the scenery becomes romantic. She even makes noises suggesting actual kissing, and Mamimi is clearly distressed at her actions. Naota starts to move, and when Haruko exclaims relief that “Taro” is alive, Mamimi repeats that Naota is not “Taro-kun”. Haruko remarks that that is a good thing, because if he as taro (remember, anonymous) he’d be dead for sure. This is kind of a fourth wall joke, Naota is a character who matters, particularly, he is the main character. Therefore, he can’t be dead. “That was lucky…for me!” she says, and strikes Naota on the head with a guitar. He flies off, and appears to be unconscious again. She shakes his body, wondering why ‘it won’t come out’. She is about to strike him again when Mamimi intercedes. Naota awakens in pain, asking what she did to him. She responds coyly: “You mean the CPR?” Mamimi asks if she put her tongue inside, suggesting she is more concerned about if Naota just made out with this mystery woman. Haruko speeds off, exclaiming that Naota is a “good-for-nothing.”

When she leaves, Mamimi remarks that she must have been over 20. She asks if Naota wants to go to the hospital, but Naota doesn’t answer. He holds his head, which is turning pink from the blow, and remarks that Haruko is a “stupid adult that’s not mature enough to grow up.” He says it with anger, as if someone her age acting the way she did was disgraceful. Mamimi remarks that the mark looks like it hurts, and the camera cuts to the baseball bat, abandoned on the ground. Here, the bat represents Tasuku, who is in the US to play baseball. It lies on the ground forgotten, in lieu of the mysterious woman. This is significant, since Naota carries the bat because of his fondness for Tasuku. When Haruko comes out of nowhere and hits his head, he doesn’t even consider it.

We cut to Naota in his room, and he appears to be looking at himself in a mirror. It is revealed that the place where Haruko struck him has become some sort of strange growth. It looks like a single horn. It appears to be hurting him, but he can hide it if he holds it down. He decides to hide it with a bandage. Hiding a mark he is embarrassed about with a bandage.

A boy and his horn.

The next day, Naota is in class. A classmate of his, a girl named Ninamori, is mocking him about his bandage. Two more classmates come in and begin telling Naota about a “Wasp woman” who stole some girl’s curry from class 2. (When we are introduced to Haruko, she appears to be eating something from a package) One of the classmates says that when the Wasp Woman stings you, if you have done something bad, a mark appears. Ninamori is quick to point out that Naota has a mark on his head now that he is covering with a bandage, to which the other student begins repeating the phrase “Pervert! He’s a Pervert!” Naota is being judged for hiding a mark he is embarrassed about. A mark he got with an encounter with a woman.

Ninamori. Don't worry, we'll get to her.

Later, we see Naota heading to the hospital after school. He says to himself that going to the hospital has nothing to do with the wasp woman. He actually lies to himself to keep up his show of “coolness” or “adulthood”. As he is waiting for a train to pass, he hears somebody behind him, and we see Haruko seemingly sizing up Naota’s head. She says to herself that his head “Feel’s right”, and asks him if anything happened after she left. It’s clear that Haruko did in fact know something but wasn’t saying. When Naota turns around, he says “What do you mean by something weird?” As if nothing had happened at all and he wasn’t sure what she was talking about. Haruko sees the bandage on his head, and asks what it is. She remarks to herself that he is hiding something, but when she turns to confront him, he is already long gone. (One of the smartest moves an Anime character has ever tried next to Kuwabara not going to the demon world in Yu Yu Hakusho. That’s another story.)

We cut to the hospital, where a nurse is talking about “Flictonic Klipple Waver Syndrome”, where horns sprout out of the head of a child when they are stressing themselves are trying too hard. Naota accuses the nurse, saying that she is lying. The nurse admits to lying, and it is revealed that the nurse is Haruko in disguise. “You’re right, I did lie…so what is the truth…underneath the band-aid?” This statement has a few layers, the first being exactly what she’s asking, the second being that she is asking Naota as if she doesn’t know what is happening, and perhaps she doesn’t. She attacks Naota, and we see her tied up victims behind a table. It’s worth noting that this scene happens in a facility owned by Medical Mechanica. I believe this scene has very little significance other than to show Haruko is following Naota because of something having to do with his head, and the things I have already mentioned. This is one of the few scenes that are purely humorous for humor’s sake, the next being later.

Next we cut to Naota’s house, where we overhear a phone call. Naota is being very unkind towards Mamimi, who wants to show him photos and hang out. I find I am more sympathetic of Naota here, who is the victim of sexual abuse at the hands of Mamimi.  He tells Mamimi to “Go out with your friends”, and hangs up suddenly. We see Mamimi standing under the bridge at sunset, and we get the impression that Mamimi doesn’t have many friends. Naota crashes onto his bed, and falls asleep. We hear narration telling us about his dream; he is watching his brother play baseball, and is very impressed with his swinging. “It seemed impossible that anything could be so perfect.” This is, of course, to establish how much Naota admires his older brother. We also cut to the mysterious letter on the table, and from the red, white, and blue border it is pretty clear it is from Tasuku. When Naota wakes up, it is night time. He descends the stairs, and suddenly…

Haruko is sitting at his dinner table, eating with his father and grandfather.

sup

This scene is extremely chaotic, and really, I couldn’t do it justice with words here. The significant things to note here is that Naota’s father was also hit by Haruko’s vespa, and now Haruko works for Naota’s family as a housekeeper. Most of this scene is a series of puns, which they made to be rather funny in the English dub, despite Japanese humor rarely working in English. We also deal with the title; The Grandfather keeps making hand-motions to describe FLCL, and it becomes clear that he is describing breast fondling. Haruko also states that is the sort of relationship Naota and she have. “Mouth to Mouth.” Naota also tells his father to “Stop acting like a kid!” and his father accuses him of hiding his perverted dreams underneath his Band-aid. The scene ends with Haruko repeating the phrase “Band-aid...”

The scene cuts to Naota overhearing his father and grandfather speaking to Haruko, he remarks in a sort of grumpy voice that “They’re in a good mood.” Note that even though he is bathing, he keeps the band-aid on his head.

Then we see Haruko talking to something or someone. She says that “The channel is imperfect and the kid I found here is pretty useless.” She’s saying it rather loudly, and one gets the impression that she wasn’t trying very hard to hide what she was saying, especially since Naota overhears her. Naota opens the door to his room and we see that the only thing in it, other than Haruko, is Naota’s overweight cat: Miyu-Miyu. Naota confronts Haruko, asking who she is and what she wants. Haruko plays coy with Naota some more, claiming she’s a wandering house-keeper. When Naota asks for the truth, Haruko says that she’s an alien, in the same sarcastic voice. She then asks what is underneath Naota’s band-aid. Naota is openly un-nerved by Haruko at this point. “Under the band-aid…what’s it like? Tell me.” Haruko is confronting Naota here about his insecurities. Naota says, almost to himself, that “something strange is happening.” A change is occurring in Naota after he meets Haruko, and he accuses Haruko of such. Haruko tries to remove the bandaid, commenting that Naota should know about his own head. Naota smacks Haruko’s hand away, and tells Haruko “You came with my dad why don’t you go stay with him?” The camera cuts to Miyu-miyu, who jumps. The scene is quiet until Haruko plucks her bass. She looks hurt. “You’re the one I saw first, Ta-kun.” She uses the pet name for his brother that Mamimi gave Tasuku. He blushes visably, and changes the subject. He says that the top bunk was Tasuku’s and nobody can sleep there, and that’s the way it is. Haruko begins to ask Naota questions about his brother, and gets into bed with Naota. When asked why, she states that there is no other place to sleep, because the top bunk belongs to Tasuku.

Naota leaves his room, commenting that “She’s playing with my head.” He is confronted by his father. He says they need to discuss Haruko. When asked if Naota is against her staying, Naota says that his father can do whatever he wants. Kamon (naota’s father) grins, and shows what appear to be pictures of Naota getting run over by Haruko’s Vespa. Naota asks if Mamimi was here, and Kamon says that she was buying day-old bread. He asks if Mamimi’s family is poor, and Naota runs out of the house, presumably to find her. Haruko hangs out of the window with Miyu Miyu, watching him leave.

We cut to a bridge and a lit cigarette. The cigarette says “Never knows best.” We heard Naota remark earlier that Mamimi smelled like smoke, but Mamimi told him she hasn’t been smoking. Mamimi says to Naota “He gave me…a lot.” She’s hugging the bread when she does this, but it’s clear she is talking about Naota’s brother. Naota asks if he has contacted her at all, and how much she likes him. Her first response is “It’s hard.” Again, she is trying to eat the bread, but she’s probably talking about putting her feelings into words. We then see her get up and dust herself off with extreme detail, with a focus on her bare legs. She is talking about unpleasant things, like a panda with a mean face and the smell of a chalkboard eraser. She approaches Naota, commenting that she likes Tasuku more than Day-old bread. Naota asks why she doesn’t stop, but he doesn’t say what. He probably means her attachment to Tasuku and using Naota to satisfy it. At this point, we learn the contents of the letter. Haruko opens it up and sees that Tasuku has an American girlfriend. He even says “I bagged me a blond one!” (This says to me that Tasuku is probably a jerk) We see Mamimi’s face, it looks like she is going to cry. At that moment, Haruko’s strange wristband, which looks like a broken shackle, begins to shake.

Mamimi begins to hold her head and moan. She keeps repeating that she is “going to overflow.” She then appears to pass out, and suddenly something begins to happen to Naota’s head. WE also see Haruko speed off, and the Medical Mechanica plant begins to shine. Naota’s bandaid flies off, and we see the “horn” again. It appears to be “getting bigger.” Suddenly, the horn begins to change, and out of Naota’s head a crimson robot materializes. The Robot appears to be fighting another robot, on the screen of the crimson robot, we see a strange red symbol appear. The crimson robot rips the hand off of the robot attacking him, and throws it away. The hand jumps up the bridge, and the red robot pursues, snagging Naota on in the process. Naota seems to be less concerned with the Robot battle than the status of Mamimi, until the battle begins again. The Crimson robot seems to have the upper hand. He defeats the hand-robot, just as Haruko arrives. Haruko strikes the Crimson robot, and it changes from Crimson to Cobalt Blue. Naota is impressed with Haruko, saying that for a brief moment “She looked like my brother.” Haruko appears to be looking around for something, and we see Naota struggle, stuck on the robot.

The Robot and the strange symbol.

We see the aftermath, Naota starting to explain with “The Band-aid came off. The Horn is gone. Nothing amazing.” At this, he looks up and sees Haruko instructing the cobalt robot in dough-kneading. He continues to say that only the ordinary happens here. We cut to Mamimi, who is standing at the bridge. Naota runs up to meet her. She says that he didn’t have to rush, as if nothing had happened last night, and hands him a drink. Naota says to himself that he still doesn’t like the sour drinks, and the episode ends with him downing the drink.

A lot happens in this first episode, but because it is the first episode we have a lot of establishing and not a lot of development. The most development we see is Naota’s relationship to Mamimi which goes from indifference to affection. However, the affection is based off of a sort of sense of duty in his head. It’s clear that he wants to be his older brother, and begins to change his attitude towards Mamimi to accomplish that goal. 

Pertaining Haruko, well, I’m not gonna say much here because it will ruin the next episodes. The most accurate thing I can say about her is that it is clear that nothing is clear about her. Her motives are beyond any of us at this point. 

I can’t talk about Canti, the cobalt robot who came from Naota’s head, much either. He pertains to Haruko’s goals and ambitions and his representation in the show hasn’t been established yet.

Mamimi now knows that Tasuku has forgotten and abandoned her. How will she react to this? And what does that mean for Naota? I guess time will tell...

What we have established, as of right now, is that Naota is a young man with complicated relationships to others, who feels he has to act more mature for their sake. In this episode he is continually denying the strangeness around him; writing it off as 'ordinary' or 'no big deal.' This is an attempt to avoid attention. I find that some people will do this to appear cool or perhaps to avoid people noticing the strange or unsavory things are happening. Things only get stranger though, in episode 2...