Episode 6: "FLCLimax"

Warning! This page contains "spoilers" for Episode Six of the FLCL animated series and may ruin the enjoyment of this episode for those who have not yet seen it. This page is intended to be read by none other than those who have already seen all six episodes of FLCL in their entirety.

"Takkun! Takkun! Where'd you go?"

Mamimi finds herself alone for a short time. She still feels pangs of betrayal from Naota's new ability to "swing the bat" without her, and even Kitty Takkun has found a girlfriend and left her alone. But she soon finds another Takkun to fill the void, in the Terminal Core.

The Terminal Core is a vital piece of the chunk that got blasted out of the hand in the prior episode by Naota/Canti and landed in the river, near where Mamimi found her. After discovering the Core's fondness for eating machinery, she uses it for her own nefarious purposes; however, like all of Mamimi's other Takkuns, as it grows, it becomes harder for her to control.

In Naota's futile attempts to act grown up, he buys a bitter coffee drink from the vending machine. When Haruko returns from her vacation, though, he realizes how emotionally dependent he has become of her. Naota stops attending school to help Haruko find Atomsk, the Pirate King. Amarao thinks it's because Haruko is in love with him. Is that the case? Perhaps, but in this episode, it seems more as if Haruko is after Atomsk's amazing power, the power to steal entire star systems.

Naota, however, is the one who gains his powers somehow. In this scene we see how Haruko really feels about Naota and her adopted planet; both, just tools to get at Atomsk. Just pawns on her way to capture the Pirate King.

But Atomsk escapes her grasp. "I lost him again because of you, Takkun." And Haruko leaves quickly; all she's after is Atomsk, and Takkun can't help her find him anymore. "You're still a kid, Takkun."

Mamimi also leaves. All her Takkuns lost, she finds a (hopefully much healthier) passion in photography. "So long, Naota," she says; not "Takkun," but "Naota."

Finally, once again, nothing amazing happens in Mabase. Everything is ordinary, right down to Naota's picky taste in soft drinks. (What is Naota and Ninamori's bickering in this scene reminiscent of?) Before they knew it, the seasons had changed. But, with the help of a twilight photograph and a Rickenbacker bass, it's unlikely that Naota will ever forget.

Adult Swim made two edits to this episode. One, in the comic scene, Kamon's kibbles and bits were covered by a larger mosaic than what's already there. Two, the ending credits were cut; which normally wouldn't be a big deal, but at the end of the credits, there's a short animated scene of Haruko's "normal Vespa" puttering through space. For those who can only watch FLCL via Adult Swim, I've made this scene into a video file which you can download (MPEG-4 format, 256K).

The sign taped to the bakery reads "Super spicy curry bread discontinued."

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1: Fooly Cooly
2: Fire Starter
3: Marquis de Carabas
4: Full Swing
5: Brittle Bullet
6: FLCLimax
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