Harumi Araishu (洗朱・ハルミ?, Araishu Harumi) is a character in the fifth season, FLCL: Shoegaze. She is a high school student who befriends Masaki Aofuji and helps him investigate the tower.
Profile[]
Masaki met her for the first time as he tried to go to the school rooftop and saw her hanging off of the railing. After accidentally seeing her panties as she climbed back over to the roof, she tells him that she knows about him as they are in the same class. After showing her the sketches of the ghosts that he has been seeing, Harumi tells him that there has been a string of mysterious phenomena going on in the town for the past few days and believes that it maybe connected to the tower that has been bother him ever since he arrived. Sometime later, after attending graduation practice, she proposes that they go on a date and head to a local home improvement store, where she shoplifts various items to help make a bomb to destroy the tower. After discovering a hidden path within the tower that leads to the top, she begins negotiating with Kana Koumoto, asking her to buy her a large amount of candies and snack foods.
After being shot by a sniper, Harumi is transformed into a pink ghost, who watches Kana and Masaki trying to save her. She then comes in contact with the bird that Masaki said was on top of the tower, who suddenly transports her into another dimension 10 years into the past. Upon arriving, she sees her 5 year old self aboard a rocket shuttle, revealing that Harumi was originally a boy who was traveling with his sister, Natsuki, and their parents to Mars. After arriving on the colony, the events from the end of "Full Flat" caused a space-time rift that separated the male Harumi from his family. Harumi then wakes ups back on Earth, now as a 5 year old girl, standing outside of a Japanese candy store. As she tries to understand what just happened, she is greeted by Akie, her older sister in the current dimension. As Akie begins to mock the frightened child before reminding her that they need to get home, the ghost version of Harumi mentions that seeing this scene reminded her of why she felt like she never belonged in society. 10 years later, prior to the main storyline, Akie argued with her parents about Harumi's sloppy appearance as she prepared to start high school, and that it would be embarrassing if they were seen together there, but their father simply shrugged it off as Harumi trying to express her unique personality.
As Masaki's N.O. power activated the accelerator within Tsuganei Tower, Harumi is transported back into her body, albeit with part of her body now glowing. She revealed the reason why she went to the tower with him in the first place: knowing that he could draw things that only he could see, in exchange for accompanying him, she wanted Maaski to draw a portrait of someone important to her that she lost 10 years ago, as no one believed her when she told them about Natsuki. Masaki's power overloads the accelerator, causing the two worlds begin to merge. The two share a kiss before a flying fish emerges from Masaki's head and consumes the manifold, ending the merger. Upon waking up, he finds out that Harumi's presence had been erased from his world.
Sometime later, the male Harumi is shown on Mars and leaving for school with Natsuki. As the two siblings walk to school and discuss Harumi's sudden addiction to candy, he hears Masaki calling out to him. Unaware of who Masaki was at first, Harumi eventually remembers him after Masaki's pull out his sketchbook and showed him the drawings of the ghosts. He told Harumi that he was determined to see him again, despite the distance. He revealed that he was also there to run an errand for Kana and deliver a message to an old friend of hers. As Harumi wonders how Masaki was able to transport himself to Mars, he pulls out the flying fish from earlier and reveals that its name is "Atomsk".
Personality[]
She can be described as an eccentric and energetic girl, especially when compared to Masaki. Despite their personality differences, they both see each other as kindred spirits, as they are both introverts who seem to despise the tower that seems to have no real purpose in their town. As she seems to not have any sort of filter or moral compass, she is willing do things without hesitation, such as shoplift and even gladly offers Masaki the chance to drink her urine. While looking over her school records, Bureau of Interstellar Immigration Chief Tsukata Kanda described her as the type of person who is always causing trouble and that Masaki simply got caught up with her.
Appearance[]
She has long red hair that is tied up in several spots with various clips, while the lower portion spreads out and slightly upward She is showing wearing her high school uniform, consisting of a khaki colored blazer with a "T" patch, white dress shirt, a loosely hanging pink bow tie, tan pleated skirt and white crew socks that are hidden underneath a pair of boots that she wears while at the tower. In episode 3, it was revealed that she styled her hair in that particular way to serve as a reminder that Natsuki existed.
The male version of Harumi has short brown hair, with the lower portion spread out and pointing upward. As a high school student, he wears a white suit with blue stripes and matching pants, a light blue dress shirt and teal green tie, along with a blue-green backpack.
Gallery[]
Trivia[]
- According to her school records:
- She was born on January 1st
- Her blood type is "B"
- Her hobby is listed as "Searching for myself"
- Her special skill is guitar
- If she could own a pet animal, she would want a giraffe
- Her astrological sign is Capricorn
- The etymology for her last name can be translated as "Wash/Cleanse" (洗, arai) and "Crimson/Red" (朱, shu)
- Her first name, Harumi, is gender neutral, though it is more common among females.