[Honey’s Crush Wednesday] Haruhara Haruko from Fooly Cooly

FLCL-Wallpaper-700x525 [Honey’s Crush Wednesday] Haruhara Haruko from Fooly Cooly

Haruhara Haruko from Fooly Cooly

  • Episodes : 6
  • Genre : Action, Comedy, Sci-fi, Mecha, Parody
  • Airing Date : April 2000 – March 2001
  • Producers : Gainax, Production I.G, FUNimation


Preview (SPOILER-FREE)

Naota Nandaba is a six grade boy trying to play it tough in the real world by putting up a strong front. He is very cynical. His pastimes include being at home, thinking about his brother who is in America playing baseball, and hanging out with Mamimi Samejima, his brother’s ex-girlfriend. Mamimi is lonely due to Naota’s brother being gone and so she preys on Naota. She spends copious amounts of time with him with nothing else to do. Life pretty much stays the same day by day.

One day though, suddenly everything changes when a strange woman runs him over on her vespa scooter. She then whips out a base guitar and pulls a string on it. It sounds like a chainsaw?!? She swings the guitar back and slams it right into Naota’s head. Poor Naota flies off and crashes on the ground. This strange woman checks his head. Naota comes to, but she screams, “you are totally useless!” and speeds off on her vespa. Welcome to Haruhara Haruko!

That night at home Naota takes a bath and realizes that he has a massive horn on his head! Not only that, but he can’t get rid of it! He hides it with a Band-Aid through the next day. His friends start to claim that he has been attacked by a wasp woman. She stings people who are perverts! What is going on? After taking another shower, this strange woman has now moved into his home as a housekeeper?? Following some great manga-cut action scenes, Naota rushes out of his home to see Mamimi. However, a giant humanoid robot climbs out of his head?!? What is going on?? Suddenly Haruko jumps in to fight this robot with her guitar! Welcome to Fooly Cooly.

Character Bio (SPOILERS FROM HERE ON)

Haruhara Haruko is a very… unique character. Haruko has arrived on Earth to find the Space Pirate King Atomsk. Unfortunately she doesn’t really reveal that until later on in the series and spends a majority of it running around and being completely random. She appears out of the blue one day riding her vespa scooter as fast as she can. Decked out in all rocker gear, she attacks Naota with her vespa and then a bass guitar, but flees. She reappears in Naota’s home later that night as she is now a live-in housekeeper.

She is funny yet sassy. Miu miu is the house cat but for some reason, he allows Haruko to speak to her higher ups in space. She also wears a metal bracelet with a lock attached to it that tells her when something is about to come out of the N.O. portal in Naota’s head. Speaking of N.O. portals, one opens in Naota’s head at the end of episode one and Haruko fights the robot as it climbs out of his head!!! Haruko defeats him and names him Canti. Now, she makes him be her servant. He cannot talk, but he understands her. Haruko has Canti do all of the housework while not really doing any of it herself. She’s very lazy.

Haruko markets herself as being somewhere around the age of 19 and dresses like it as well. She is very childish and selfish due to her using men to get back to her love Atomsk. However, her timing is always perfect as is her comedy. She is quite conniving as well like a cat. There are various times where she is drawn with cat whiskers to show that she is plotting something.

Character Highlights:

1. Haruko’s Fashion

FLCL-Wallpaper-700x525 [Honey’s Crush Wednesday] Haruhara Haruko from Fooly Cooly

Haruko has very… standard fashion but at the same time, it’s very age appropriate. Her generic outfit is a long-sleeve white t-shirt, a flowing red vest, dark pants, orange gloves, googles, and boots. She will also wear a scarf of some occasions. It ties back into her obsession with guitars and old rockers. I mean she does pull a guitar out of multiple men’s heads in order to fight. She looks like she belongs on a stage performing and not running around terrorizing elementary school students with her vespa bike and guitar.

She is flexible in her attire and will change to suit the surroundings or theme of the episode. For example, she appears as a sexy nurse in the first episode when Naota checks in to see why he has a horn. She dresses up as a sexy bunny lady as well in another episode which compliments her great figure. When they are all playing baseball she also changes into a baseball uniform to try and mess with Naota as much as possible.


2. Haruko’s Independence

FLCL-Wallpaper-700x525 [Honey’s Crush Wednesday] Haruhara Haruko from Fooly Cooly

One of Haruko’s best features is her independence from just about everything. She does respond to the police whom she works for and the robots that come out of Naota’s head. However, other than that, she’s flies solo. She’s in hot pursuit of saving Atomsk at all costs. That means that if she has to lie to get by or use someone she will. She stands on her own two feet when she attacks the Medical Mechanica Building.

While Naota is in school, Haruko takes it upon herself to investigate the Medical Mechanica. This is what is so refreshing about her. Yes, she did discover ad attack Naota, but she doesn’t need to go everywhere with him. She is her own independent woman.

3. Haruko’s Power

FLCL-Wallpaper-700x525 [Honey’s Crush Wednesday] Haruhara Haruko from Fooly Cooly

Let’s just put this out there, Haruko has no issue holding her own in a fight. I mean within the beginning half of the first episode, she attacks Natota with a base guitar and her bike. However what is so amazing about this is the fact that she OPENS A N.O. PORTAL IN HIS HEAD by simply hitting his head with her guitar. She defeats Canti after essentially summoning him and then takes it a step further.

Do not forget she is an officer of the Galactic Space Police and clearly she is powerful enough to be sent in pursuit of Atomsk on her own. Granted she does start with attacking Canti however he becomes her servant once this is done. True Canti does start to merge with Naota in order to fight however he is still under her control. It was said above but she did manage to crash into medical mechanica and make her own entrance after not being able to find one. Haruko also does help Naota repel the satellite/bomb with her own guitar at the end of episode four as well!

4. Haruko’s Drive for Success

FLCL-Wallpaper-700x525 [Honey’s Crush Wednesday] Haruhara Haruko from Fooly Cooly

Haruko knows that she is on Earth to find Atomsk. She stays focused on her mission at all times. That being said, she still has her fun. She tries to keep Naota wrapped around her finger by pretending to be weak and she flirts with him. However, when that does backfire because come on, the kid is probably 12-13 years old, she moves on to his father. This only fuels Naota to come back to the spotlight even though he pretends to act aloof about it. Haruko wins when she looks at Naota with a sad expression and saying “I saw you first takkun” in an episode.

Haruko commands Canti without fear of repercussion. Haruko also uses a third man for her benefit! Don’t forget about the MIB-like commander, Amaro. They must have had something in the past when they were together potentially working for the police. She tends to evade him but at the same time has dominion over him. He has an N.O. portal in his head but she clearly has exhausted whatever he had previously.

5. Quotes

Probably some of the best lines in the series come from all of the comments and one-liners that Haruko has throughout the series. She’s eloquent and has no problem using all of her big words.

FLCL-Wallpaper-700x525 [Honey’s Crush Wednesday] Haruhara Haruko from Fooly Cooly

“Native girl must stop! Taro-kun just hit his head so you can’t move him yet understand?” Right after she runs over Naota with her bike, this is what she says as she starts to bend reality with her different reactions. This was to stop Mamimi from moving towards him so she could move in for the kiss/CPR. This scene is also beautifully introduced with the phrase, “Luuuuunchtiiiiime!!” as she comes for Naota on her scooter.

FLCL-Wallpaper-700x525 [Honey’s Crush Wednesday] Haruhara Haruko from Fooly Cooly

“You're the one I saw first, Takkun.” This is when Haruko tries to keep Naota wrapped around her finger. It seems to work well as he sticks around. True, she has to get Canti from him, but he doesn’t leave after it though!

“Hey there, Haruhara Haruko here, age 19, splendiferous housekeeper at Takkun's house!” This gem is from when she is fake introducing herself and Haruko is anything but splendiferous as she is quite haphazard around the house. Not to mention, Canti is the one who does everything!!! It’s not Haruko!


For this reason and more, we love Harruhara Haruko aka the space police officer aka the crazy vespa woman aka the housekeeper. Haruko has multiple roles throughout the show, and she executes them al flawlessly. That is why she is our crush of the week! How do you feel about Haruko? What is your favorite part about her? Let us know in the comments below! Till next time!

FLCL-Wallpaper-700x525 [Honey’s Crush Wednesday] Haruhara Haruko from Fooly Cooly

Editor/Translator

Author: Nagareboshi

American by birth; international by choice. I am trying to bring attention to one of my favorite causes; me. I translate by day and write by night. Aspiring polyglot. My dream would be to be the personal translator for Amuro Namie. Other than that, my hobbies include languages, weightlifting, sleeping, karaoke, GOOD coffee and music. When I’m not doing any of the above, I am most likely laughing hysterically at Willam Belli videos or EV farming. I ain’t gunna Rupologize for it neither. Waifu are Shirai Kuroko & Euaerin.

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