"It takes an idiot to do cool things. That's why it's cool."
As an avid anime watcher, it's not uncommon to hear the adjective "weird" describe many of the things you watch. Certainly, many animes that I have watched cover many weird and peculiar characters. I don't think any character exactly fits the category as well as
FLCL's Vespa-riding, bass-guitar wielding, Haruko Haruhara. She's a character who, like the series itself, defies explanation or common sense. Despite her idiosyncrasies, it's impossible not to enjoy her as a character due to how damn awesome she is onscreen.
 |
| FLCL in a nutshell |
Bear with me, because describing Haruko's relation to the plot gets pretty wacky. In short, she's an alien from outer space who comes to Earth looking for the space pirate Atomsk; hoping to obtain his vast power. In the process she meets a boy named, Naota who she greatly enjoys whacking in the head with her Rickenbacker bass guitar (
or running him over with her Vespa, either one). She winds up working in Noata's house as a maid to be closer to Naota because his head acts as a portal with which objects from space are pulled through. (You can't make this stuff up, this show is actually this ridiculous. Still it's quite good) Naota is the main character, but the show heavily features Haruko and her nearly endless run of antics. She spends most of her time messing around with Naota and she's easily the heart and soul of what makes
FLCL the fantastic show that it is. Sometimes she's dressed up as a nurse or Elvis Presley and never fails to be hilarious in those roles. Other times she;s taking on highly trained military agents. Haruko certainly can fill the badass requirement that any character should have if they want to be on this list. However, she's a different badass from the rest, not that her badassery is entirely different, she just pulls it off MUCH differently. (Writing about
FLCL is causing even me to make no sense). This is a list of awesome characters after all, which means that they can be awesome for all sorts of reasons. Haruko is and incredibly enjoyable character, from her silly antics to her fighting giant monsters with her bass guitar.
As I said up above, Haruko is the heart and soul of
FLCL and is the representation of the themes present in the series. The main protagnist, Naota, is bland mostly because he tries to act older than he is. Meanwhile he's flanked by two older girls who are representations of childhood and adulthood. Haruko represents adulthood for Naota and so he pursues Haruko as a romantic interest for most of the series because she's older. However, when she leaves, Naota is left stuck in adolescence, which is where he belongs.
FLCL is a fun series that is nonsensical but there is a point to all of the craziness: Don't grow up too fact, childhood is worth enjoying. This is what makes Haruko's character so great, she's fun and random, a perfect example of what the show is all about. She reminds those going through adolescence that even though someone is older it doesn't mean that they should ever lose touch with their childhood. This, of course, turns into a great lesson for Naota.
 |
| Strange as she is, the message behind her character is undeniable |
There are plenty of strange characters in anime, but Haruko Haruhara stands out as one of the strangest. However, she's an incredibly entertaining character that is the driving force that makes
FLCL so good. Any character that is able to carry a series by themselves deserves to be on this list and Haruko is no exception. She's a wildly fun character who like Isaac and Miria is able to make you smile whenever she's onscreen.
FLCL is definitely worth checking out, especially Haruko who comes in at #13.
No comments:
Post a Comment