Enemy Robots are a staple in the FLCL series and frequently serve as short-term antagonists. They come in all shapes and sizes, are used by Medical Mechanica for specific purposes. Typically, they arrive through the N.O. channels created by Haruko Haruhara on an adolescent's head.
FLCL[]
In each episode of the original series, a new robot appears and causes trouble for Naota Nandaba and the people of Mabase. Created by Medical Mechanica, they mostly come out through the N.O. channel in Naota's head. These robots come in various shapes and sizes, but they all have the same mission: to capture Atomsk and activate the Medical Mechanica plant residing in Mabase.
Defective Hand Mech[]
This robot is a hand-shaped robot. It can use its fingers to crawl around and has teeth to bite. Red and blue wires stick out of its body.
Giant Mech[]
This robot is a large mech with a giant extendable taser arm it uses to attack. It can also kick with its tiny legs. This robot is the remaining body of the previous robot Naota battled in Episode One, as evidenced by the fact it emerges while missing the same hand.
Spider Mech[]
This robot is a balloon-shaped mech with metal spider legs. It possesses Ninamori and uses her dangling body to kick people. It crawls fast and is made of a goo-like substance.
Special Satellite Shiosaki[]
This is not technically a robot, but a baseball-glove shaped satellite created by the Bureau of Interstellar Immigration. Unlike the enemy robots created by Medical Mechanica, it never expels from Naota's N.O. channel but is simply knocked into orbit by Haruko Haruhara's baseball and drawn towards him from a beacon emitted from his N.O. channel. Shiosaki was created by the Bureau of Interstellar Immigration both as a bargaining chip and as a secret countermeasure against Medical Mechanica; regarding the latter, a baseball-shaped bomb was installed within the glove which could be expelled as an emergency defense mechanism in the event of Medical Mechanica attempting to flatten Earth. Had Shiosaki's bomb succeeded in colliding with Earth, it would have instantaneously vaporized all of Mabase.
Detective Rifle Mech[]
This robot is a large tower-like robot wearing a button-up coat and hat. It has rifles and revolvers, shooting many bullets at a time. After the cape is removed, it resembles a gargantuan hand.
The Terminal Core (FLCL)[]
A small, quadrupedal unit which eats wires and metal fed to it by Mamimi, growing larger and larger with every meal. Eventually it returns to its original purpose: as the control mechanism of the giant hand. Canti, who also comes from Medical Mechanica, is revealed to have been a core component of the Terminal Core in FLCLimax. The Terminal Core is fully restored into the hand by eating Canti and then eating Naota, at which point it reanimates, allowing the hand to grab the clothing iron's handle, activating the plant whereupon Medical Mechanica can begin the 'flattening' process, terminating all life on the planet by smoothing out the wrinkled brains of the planet's people.
FLCL Progressive[]
In season 2 of the series, the robots are no longer arriving in every episode as their plot purpose has changed. Instead of working to activate the Medical Mechanica plant, they seem to target Haruko and her new N.O. channels: Hidomi Hibajiri and Ko Ide.
Silver Crab Mecha[]
This robot has a clam-like body with legs arranged similarly to a crab. Pink appendages are used to grab things and its metal legs crawl incredibly quickly for its size.
Alien Mecha[]
This is a gooey alien robot mecha that can fly and shoot lasers.
Bamboo Mecha[]
This is a small white robot attached to a piece of bamboo. It uses the bamboo to travel vertically at fast rates. It can also shoot homing missiles.
FLCL Alternative[]
N.O. has a less direct effect on the spawning of robots in FLCL Alternative. N.O. channels instead draw robots to the vicinity through intense internal N.O. activity in people. Medical Mechanica's global presence allows for robots to appear at a moment's notice, seemingly from out of nowhere in many cases. The only robot directly spawned from an N.O. channel similar to previous seasons is the third in the season, a harmless screen that only serves to reinforce Kana's moral lesson.
Dreaded Darkness Mecha[]
This robot is a small orb mecha with tentacles that attack haphazardly. It is made of a very hard metal that can destroy buildings. It can also grow larger and use its metal tentacle dreads to attack. Its most notable feature is the large set of lips and teeth on its body.
Transformer Mecha[]
This robot transforms from a car to a giant yellow robot, similar to mechs from the Transformers series. It can function as a normal car and shoot lasers.
Screen Mecha[]
This robot is harmless and only displays a message to Kana before being destroyed by Haruko.
Basketball Mecha[]
This robot consumes Sasaki to grow larger, starting in a form similar to a short human and growing into a giant bull with a chiseled humanoid body. It's also strong enough to blow steam and winds out of its nose. It fights by playing defense in basketball.
The Terminal Core (FLCL Alternative)[]
This robot begins small but grows larger and larger as it eats more wires and metal until eventually looking like a giant hand called the Terminal Core. It tries to activate the Medical Mechanica facility by grabbing the iron's handle. A dinosaur-like head on one fingertip handles most of its offense. It shoots cables, has a mouth on its palm with which to eat, blows fire, and walks around with its spaceship body.
Enemy #6[]
Throughout episode 6, Haruko and Kana are harassed by several robots resembling Canti that protect Medical Mechanica's irons from destruction. During the first attempt to destroy it, wherein Haruko tried drilling into the iron from above, she fights one of these models in a one-on-one battle that nearly ends in a fatal draw. Later in the episode, the robots attack in droves as Haruko and Kana's friends attempt to help her tap into her full N.O. power. Many of the robots are defeated by Haruko's guitar and Vespa, as well as her natural superhuman fighting abilities and Kanda's gun. The remainder all get pushed by an explosion caused by Kana's N.O., flying into the Naked Focal Point her channel creates in the sky.
These robots differ from Canti in color, fight with melee weapons such as pipes, swords, knives and spiked bats, and lack the ability to turn on their screens in the way that Canti could to act as an N.O. channel. The latter also means that a hit from a guitar does not knock the evil out of them like Haruko did to Canti.
FLCL: Grunge[]
Giant Mecha[]
This robot, which serves as the season's only enemy robot and does not appear until the final episode, bears a noticeable resemblance to the giant mecha from the FLCL episode, "Fire Starter". It is a large mecha with giant arms that it can extend to attack. It has little legs and is also able to fire a laser beam from its palm.
FLCL: Shoegaze[]
Unlike the previous seasons, Shoegaze does not feature any enemy robots, as neither Haruko nor Medical Mechanica appear in this season, except in a few brief flashbacks.