Episode 6: FLCLimax
I almost get sad every time I watch this episode because it is the end of the best season of FLCL. I also feel sad because this episode has TEN (10) COUNT ‘EM, TEN FREAKING SONGSIN IT AND I HAVE TO WRITE FOR ALMOST EACH AND EVERY ON OF THEM AND I’VE ALREADY SPENT OVER 12 HOURS WRITING THIS!
No worries, though. This episode is home to my 2 favorite songs of the series, which is a nice treat. But we’ll get to that later.
(1)Carnival
I think this is the first time “Carnival” is played with the lyrics.
The song opens on Naota’s school scene with Miyajun. The song that has a sterling bass line that normally creates tension sort of creates a mundane atmosphere of disappointment. The bass repeats several times before the actual lyrics kick in along with Naota’s narration:
All alone on the ferris wheel I was waiting For the day you and I would meet
Looking down on the world I hate so much
I sat up straight in the sunbeams, and they burned me
I opened the window meant just for me
I was waiting For a day like that to come here
Naota seems to be back to hating everything as Haruko seemingly abandoned him out of the blue. He also appears to be estranged from Sameji as well. All of the pseudo-romantic attention he’s been getting from those two have outright vanished for no reason. It makes it even worse when you hear the chorus:
Even reaching out my hands
It's an age that gives no rewards
A future that gives no salvation
Peals of my laughter would come at just a kiss with you
You hear the chorus only once before the song ends without reaching the final verse while we are still on the scene where Commander Amarao is in the command center looking at monitors.
(2) Funny Bunny
While this is not in my top 5 favorite FLCL soundtracks, this one definitely gets an Honorable Mention. This song strikes seconds after “Carnival” and you hear the bass drum beat on the title card before a rather lonely scene is painted in front of you.
Where the other soundtracks sound like hard rock songs, even with titles such as “Beautiful Morning With You,” “Bran-new Lovesong,” and “Patricia,” the song “Funny Bunny” is without-a-doubt a love song, and it’s a pretty powerful one.
You get to hear the entire song, but here are some key lyrics I’d like to show you:
In the voice of a king you announced your opposition
In the exposed night, you were smiling
Affected by the aurora, above all else
Reaching out both hands, you invited me
This kinda reminds you that Atomsk is given the title The Pirate King, and cements that Atomsk is the reason for Naota’s heartbreak.
(Chorus)
If your dreams come true
It won't be because of anyone but yourself
You choose to run
Even on the days when the wind blows hard
I just really love this chorus. You hear it strike as the Terminal Core begins to fawn over Sameji like a pet loving its master. I would like to call this song Sameji’s theme because it conveys such a feeling of heartbreak and loss that has become so synonymous with Sameji’s character. But this lyric hits the hardest:
I wonder if somewhere, something's going wrong about now
When I envision your shy, departing form
How I want to see you again
You hear the lyric “how I want to see you again” immediately after Commander Amarao comments that Naota needs maturity in order to treat Sameji since she looks sad and right before he begins to tell Naota that Haruko is “in love” with Atomsk. The imagery of two cats huddled together with hearts flying above their heads really sticks the point.
It’s a song that truly expresses the need for humans to stick together to be fulfilled in life and in love, and that’s why it gets an honorable mention even though there are a few other songs that I love more. I’m glad you get to hear this song in its entirety and it ends right before Sameji allows the terminal core to eat her cell phone with Tasuku’s number in it.
(3)Come Down-Instrumental
THE FINAL MANGA PANEL SCENE!
ALSO, HARUKO IS BACK!
I don’t think the lyrics to this song ever appeared in the episodes, but it’s still a great energetic song.
(4)One Life-Instrumental
We haven’t heard this one in a while, haven’t we. Honestly, this song was used better than in the first episode.
The chorus begins to swell as Haruko convinces Naota to run away. What gets me about this time is that this scene occurs at night, the enter scene is bathed in a dark blue shadow, and even though it’s the instrumental I can’t forget the lyric about the “blue poppy petals.” Also the instrumental is of the chorus for a large portion of the time where the dialogue doesn’t drown it out, and let’s be reminded of the chorus.
If the blue poppy's petals
Are swaying without any wind
It's all thanks to my sigh.
I don't know for sure, but it's gotta be.
This sort of speaks to me as Naota decides to run away with Haruko, sort of throwing caution to the wind like the petals of the flowers the song speaks of, and even then, it’s an uncertain decision that has no guarantee of paying off.
(5) Another Morning
In the one time this song is used, it has cemented itself as the Song of New Beginnings.
Almost immediately after “One Life” concludes, this song and its lyrics kick in on the scene where Sameji begins to feed the Terminal Core different types of machinery. You also see Naota leaving with Haruko on her bike and Ninamori reveals that her parents are back together before she takes a leap on a high jump course. The way she does it was a little dramatic, and I appreciated that.
Here’s the chorus to the song:
Nobody'll come and find you, no matter how lonely you are
they won't announce that you're lost
There's no such promise beyond the door
but let's go anyway, because it's my rebirth day
And that’s exactly what it is. It’s a rebirth for everyone involved. Sameji is reborn in how she abandons Naota as her proxy for her feelings, Naota is reborn in his adventurous decision to run away with Haruko, and Ninamori is reborn as she reconciles that she’s content with her life with her parents. Hell, even Commander Amarao and Kitsurabami’s relationship is sorta “reborn” as the scene where he comes onto her is set up…which is a bad idea, but I think it’d be kinda funny if they did get together in the end…Kinda like Riza and Roy in Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood.
This is also my favorite song by the Pillows followed by “Last Dinosaur” and it ends right before you get a chance to hear:
Another Morning
Another Morning
Happy Rebirth Day
(6) Beautiful Morning With You-Instrumental
The low point of the hi-hat and bass help set up more tension as Sameji and the Terminal Core stalk the streets looking for machinery for the Terminal Core to feed on. The music also swells and reaches its high point at the same time as the Terminal Core grows because of how much it eats. The cycle of the low and high point is repeated one more time as you see the next morning where Haruko and Naota are sleeping on a park bench before you see Sameji feeding the Terminal Core in broad daylight.
The song ends on a ferocious note as the Terminal Core, which is now the size of a car starts devouring a pickup truck that Naota’s friends use—which was not on Sameji’s revenge list.
(7)Nightmare-Instrumental
The low point of this song is finally revealed in the subtle moments before the action begins to take off. Nothing too serious of note takes place so I’ll move onto the next.
(8)Last Dinosaur“It’s the climax!” The line that kicks off the energetic drum-banging of the beginning of this song. Haruko springs into action and lyrics tend to interfere with the dialogue and vice versa right before Naota gives into Haruko’s plans. I want to draw attention to three parts of this song, first the opening lyric:
The coup de grace comes unexpectedly
I've lived through the ages
Beneath this fake-seeming sky
I don't remember anything that frightened me
Considering what we know about Haruko and Naota, this lyric seems to fit perfectly. Haruko launching her attack on Medical Mechanica is “the coup de grace” that “comes unexpectedly” as she suddenly bursts into action and Naota is the person who has “lived through the ages beneath this fake-seeming sky” as he is stoic and completely tired of the world and is willing to jeopardize it in order to satiate a thrill with Haruko.
Second I’d like to focus on the lyrics that occur during the speaking. Commander Amarao tries to reason with Naota to turn away from Haruko’s plan by reminding him of his friends and family and Sameji, claiming that if they are important to him he will not join Haruko.
Quietly looking down at the town
I trample it on a whim
And set fire to the whole thing
Come to think of it, what was its name?
In this case the lyrics can be interpreted as Naota’s inner thoughts as he refuses to respond to Commander Amarao. His mind is already made up, he doesn’t care about Mabase, the town where nothing amazing ever happens. He doesn’t care about Sameji because he refuses to speak to her, and he is ready to join Haruko’s crazy scheme no matter what the cost is.
Finally, the chorus:
(Chorus)
I'm okay accepting all this sadness
I don't need you to go easy on me or anything
I just want to be myself
No matter where I am and who I'm with
Again, these lyrics can serve as Naota’s inner thoughts as he’s brazenly made his decision to accept the pain required to be around Haruko and his desire to be himself no matter that consequences. The song is rushed to the end to comport with the scene, and doesn’t reach its final chorus before you get to hear Sawao Yamanaka’s harmonious harmonizing, which is my favorite part of any song by The Pillows.
(9)I Think I Can
Almost contrary to “Little Busters,” this song strikes as Naota takes the power of Atomsk for himself. The opening guitar sounds like the intro to a duel in a Spaghetti Western, but you hear these lyrics:
my twin who looks like me
but not that much
What's the matter?
Even your shoelaces
are just left untied
you're spacing out
Not much happes in the span of this song, as you get to hear it in its entirety, but the implications of the few things you see are drastic. You get a quick battle between Naota and Haruko where Haruko is bested in a matter of seconds, and before Naota deals the finishing blow he says “I love you” to Haruko before releasing Atomsk into the sky.
The song ends as Atomsk jets off into outer space, but not before you witness the power it holds as it’s N.O energy is so strong it is able to lift and crush parts of the city like a compressed black hole. It’s pretty amazing, and you get to hear the chant
I think I can
I think I can
I think I can
You get to hear that several times during this exchange. What I love about this song is how drastically it contrasts with “Little Busters” as Naota’s theme.
Where “Little Busters” has Naota being reminded that he is a kid, the song “I Think I Can” is a testament to the one time he gets to act and feel like an “adult.” The idealized notion of growing up is in his hands as he has the power of Atomsk, but even in his powerful state, he shows his true maturity by realizing that he is in way over his head and does the responsible thing by not letting Haruko have her way and releasing Atomsk.
Instead of being a selfish child he does the grown-up thing to right the wrongs and prevent Haruko from destroying everything.
(10) Little Busters
It’s the end of the episode, the end of Naota’s arc, and the end of FLCL.
Even so, Naota realizes that it’s okay for him to still remain a kid. Haruko rescinds her offer to take Naota with her, remind us on the chorus:
With the kids sing out the future
Maybe, kids don't need the masters
Just waiting for the little Busters
No more is left to be said as Naota picks up Haruko’s guitar and we get that awesome wallpaper of him standing atop the rubble with it. The next scene shows a bit of a time skip as Naota is in high school and Ninamori teases that he still thinks like a kid and Naota narrates the epilogue.
