Commander Amarao (アマラオ・指揮官?, Amarao Kanrikan) is a special agent of the Bureau of Interstellar Immigration who, apparently, has some past history with Haruko and claims to "know who or what" she really is. Amarao's childhood seems to mirror Naota's.
Profile[]
Commander Amarao works for the Bureau of Interstellar Immigration. He is typically addressed by his subordinate, Kitsurubami, as "Commander" in the English dub and as "Kanrikan" (指揮官, lit. "Commissioner / Officer") in the Japanese version, which would indicate that he is in charge of the bureau's Mabase office. This agency, among other things, acts as a middleman for negotiations between the government and Medical Mechanica. Thus, Haruko is a big problem for them as she is bent on provoking an attack by disrupting communications. It is a likely inference from FLCL's story that as a child, he was approached by Haruko, just like Naota, and she tried using his N.O. to capture Atomsk. However, his N.O. channel is so weak that he can barely pull through something the size of a slingshot (actually a small guitar and used as intended).
Despite not appearing in FLCL Progressive, Masurao, a man who also has red hair, is pointed out as his son due to their shared small eyebrows trait. This is later confirmed in the final episode which would make Aiko his granddaughter. However, it is unknown who his wife is.
In FLCL: Grunge, the bureau assigned him to work in Okura City. Medical Mechanica gets word of his arrival and holds an emergency meeting, viewing him as a threat. The local mayor is also upset with Amarao being sent to his city, as he had been making large donations to the bureau to look the other way. After Haruko is able to slip a flash drive into Director Yamaguchi's sushi that causes a virus to spread through the robot and city infrastructure, Amarao tries to enter to the city but is stopped by the police. Despite flashing his EBI (Extragalactic Bureau of Immigration) badge and informing them that he is a government agent, he nearly gets into a gun battle, just before Shonari runs past him and destroys the barricade, cutting off Amarao's eyebrows in the process. After failing to stop Haruko, he is last seen taking a nap on the shuttle that is also carrying Orinoko.
Personality[]
Amarao first appears in the fourth episode of the series, giving viewers the impression that he is virtually an omniscient character as he gives background information as well as making fairly accurate predictions. However, subsequent events would show him as extremely weak and very limited in foresight, though he seems to grasp what is happening better than almost all the other characters. He has a love for sickeningly sweet candy and drinks (which he claims will help bring people's brains back to normal), and hates spicy, sour, and pulpy foods — much like Naota.
Appearance[]
Amarao without his eyebrows
Amarao wears fake eyebrows made of nori, which he believes serves the dual purpose of protecting him from N.O. and making him look tough. He has blue eyes and short dark red hair, though his trip to the hair salon in episode 5 suggests that this may not be its natural color. He always wears a black suit and tie, often paired with a green trenchcoat and sunglasses which has yellow lenses.
In FLCL: Grunge, he originally had normal, full-length eyebrows. When Shonari ran past him to enter the city, he unsheathed his sword near Amarao's face and barely missed him. After getting back up and wondering what just happened, his eyebrows would disappear before his own eyes.
In the novel, he is described as being in his late 20s, tall and muscular with the physique of a professional swimmer, and having strange, unnaturally thick eyebrows that look like they were drawn on, but kept shifting from their original spot. After his eyebrows fell off due to the gunfight with Haruko, they were described as thick black stickers rather than nori. It also noted that he used these eyebrows for the specific purpose of keeping his horn sealed within him, after his previous run-ins with Haruko and seeing her true form caused his horn to grow and leave him with cruel memories of her mocking the size of his horn.
Items[]
Amarao's vehicle of choice is a Fuji Rabbit, a motor scooter which was initially produced in 1946, six months prior to the initial production of the Vespa. Given that throughout the series, Amarao is constantly trying to impress Haruko, who rides a Vespa, one could conclude his ownership of a scooter is a further manifestation of his attempts to impress her — or, at the very least, a signal to the level at which Haruko had influenced him in his youth.
Amarao also wields a pair of M1911 Colt pistols with a decent amount of skill, though the bullets cause little harm to superior beings like Haruko, Canti or MM robots.
In FLCL: Grunge, he is able to turn his flip phone into a high tech rifle after being blocked by the Okura City Police from entering the district area.
Trivia[]
- In FLCLick Noise, director Kazuya Tsurumaki noted that Amarao was named after Brazilian soccer player, Amaral, who played for FC Tokyo from 1992 to 2003.
- He also noted that when he thought of the name, he built it upon the Japanese words, "Amaru" (余る, to have excess) and "O" (尾, tail)
- Amarao briefly appears twice during the ending credits for FLCL Progressive. One is a black and white line drawing of Amarao with his son, Masurao, while the other is of him next to Kitsurubami and Ninamori as Haruko drives past characters from the FLCL franchise.
- Amarao and Masurao are both voiced by the same Japanese actor, Kouji Ohkura, in FLCL and Progressive.
- In the character design sheet, his title in the bureau is "特殊入国管理官" (tokushu nyūkoku kanri-kan, Special Immigration Officer)