Haruko Haruhara

Haruko Haruhara ( ハルハラ ハルコ ) real name Haruha Raharu (ハルハ ラハル) is one of the main characters of the FLCL anime franchise. She is an intergalactic investigator who wishes to acquire the immense power of the space pirate Atomsk.

Characters Consumed

 * Julia Jinyu
 * Atomsk

Personality
Haruko has a very manic, chaotic, and unrestrained personality, doing whatever she pleases in her pursuit of the space pirate Atomsk. However, this also means she is quite amoral as she is willing to manipulate and sacrifice any number of people to achieve her goal. She appears to take delight in the process of merging Jinyu back with herself and removing her as a hindrance. She does, however, seem mildly annoyed by her belly becoming enlarged afterwards, but she quickly adapts to it. She experiences great joy after absorbing Atomsk, having finally achieved her goal, but is deeply frustrated and even saddened after he quickly escapes her grasp.

Motive
Though she has no specific desire to do so at first, she ultimately decides to devour her other half Julia Jinyu to stop her from interfering with her goals. She later tries to absorb Atomsk so she can obtain his massive power and also "become one" with him.

Background
In the original FLCL anime, Haruko comes to Earth seeking the power of Atomsk, but he manages to elude her and she leaves Earth. At some point between FLCL and FLCL Progressive, Haruko managed to track down Atomsk and attempted to absorb his power. The process resulted in Haruko splitting off into two people; her original self (albeit with light orange hair) and Julia Jinyu.

In FLCL Progressive, Haruko returns to Earth seeking Atomsk as he has once again managed to elude her. Haruko soon comes into conflict with Jinyu who wishes to allow Atomsk his freedom, which goes against Haruko's desire to consume him.

FLCL Progressive, Episodes 4-6
Eventually, Haruka and Jinyu's differences come to a head and the two have a fierce battle from which Haruko emerges victorious. As Haruko holds the defeated Jinyu in her clutches, the latter makes one last plea to let Atomsk go free. Haruko refuses, but acknowledges that she and Jinyu are not the same. Haruko then tosses Jinyu into the air, transforms into a red wasp monster and devours her, absorbing her back into herself. For a brief period afterwards, Haruko's stomach bulges out quite noticeably, appearing pregnant, as she is apparently in the process of digesting or absorbing Jinyu. Her large belly briefly hinders her during some mechanical, but she otherwise goes about her business as usual, giving instructions to her "class" and even having a confrontation with Ide. Her belly later recedes once she has apparently finished absorbing Jinyu.

Haruko later attempts to absorb Atomsk once again, who has fused with the robot Canti. Under the pretense of a kiss, Haruko uses her lips to suck Atomsk out of Canti's body and into her own. However, Atomsk's power proves too much for her to handle, causing Haruko's body to bulge and distort and ultimately force her to regurgitate both him and Jinyu, who have temporarily fused. After venting her frustrations, Haruko concedes to her defeat, but is still determined to chase down Atomsk.

Method of Consumption
Haruko apparently has a multitude of methods by which she can consume other beings, which may depend on specific circumstances. As seen in FLCL Progressive's end credits, she was able to condense Atomsk into her hand and then absorb him into her body. She is also able to transform into a large red glowing creature resembling a wasp (which may possibly be her true form). In this form, she is able to devour Jinyu with her large mouth and absorb her back into herself. When attempting to absorb Atomsk a second time, Haruko uses her lips to suck him out of Canti (whom he has fused with) and then absorb him into her body.

Appetite
Haruko does not generally eat people as a matter of course, but will do so when necessary to achieve her goals. How much she can eat depends on how powerful her prey is. If her victims are strong enough, Haruko's belly will expand for a brief period until she fully absorbs them or they manage to escape her. Haruko has overreached herself on at least one occasion as she was unable to contain Atomsk's overwhelming power after absorbing him.

Status of Swallowed Prey
The status of Haruko's victims are not entirely clear, though their minds and bodies apparently "merge" with her, while Haruko still retains the dominant personality. However, it is possible they retain some level of consciousness or independence. In the case of Atomsk, he quickly escaped Haruko's body without any difficulty.

Videos
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oYLXr6KqzwA

Quotes
"I am gonna devour you." (said to Jinyu before battling her)

"Come with me, Jinyu. We can finally be together." (said before eating Jinyu)