TV-Series
Description
Aiko is a character who appears in FLCL Progressive. She is a curt and pragmatic young girl who secretly operates a rent-a-girlfriend service, hiring herself out to boys who wish to impress others. She lives with her father, Masurao, and is also the granddaughter of Commander Amarao from the original FLCL series. Her father secretly runs Immigration Bureau plans out of their home, and Aiko herself is implied to be a genetic project of the Bureau.
In her daily life, Aiko presents a carefully maintained facade. When playing the part of a hired girlfriend, such as for her client Goro Mori, she pretends to be shy, easily embarrassed, sweet, and emotionally dependent. This act is designed to perfectly match the false stories her clients tell about her. Once the transaction is complete and she is paid, her demeanor instantly shifts to that of a cold, all-business professional. She is also a practiced liar, fluent in deceiving her father about the various household items she takes and gives to her clients as faux gifts, which she uses to prevent her friends and classmates from discovering her work.
Her primary motivation initially appears to be financial, as she runs her secret service for money. However, a deeper purpose is revealed as the story progresses. She becomes a reluctant love interest for Goro Mori, though she initially treats him with rudeness and formality after their business is concluded. Her role in the larger story becomes clear when the plant she gives to Goro as a gift is revealed to be an N.O. device of immense importance, made from the shell of the robot Canti. Aiko herself is mysteriously connected to this device and serves as a catalyst. Her body can act as a transmitter, capable of creating a communication channel that can cross through N.O. dimensions. In this state, her eyes display green static, her mouth hangs open, and the leaf-like bow on her head sprouts upwards into a giant, plant-based transmission tower.
Aiko undergoes significant development in the final episode. As the city of Mabase faces chaotic destruction, she initially packs her things to leave. However, after witnessing her father and another man, Eye Patch, being pinned and mummified by falling mochi, her personality takes a turn for the better. Her father gives her a jack-o-lantern, tells her she is free, and is then overtaken. Aiko then decides to find the plant she sold, now recognizing its crucial importance. When Goro Mori finds her and offers to help, she accepts without her previous rudeness. After retrieving the plant, it reacts to her touch and activates her transmitter abilities. With no explanation to her companions, she presses her back against the Medical Mechanica iron and breaks the plant's pot. This triggers a reaction that transforms her entire body into roots, which grow to anchor the giant iron to the ground, saving the remnants of the city. She undergoes this process at the cost of her body without hesitation, smiling as she roots the factory. Though it is assumed she died, she escapes the roots' hold when a pumpkin sprouts and opens, dropping her unharmed into Goro Mori's arms. Naked and alive, she laughs gleefully and agrees to become his real girlfriend, marking a complete reversal from her earlier cold attitude.
In terms of notable abilities, Aiko's body is intrinsically linked to the N.O. plant device. She can serve as a biological transmitter, enabling communication across dimensions. Her most dramatic power is the transformation of her body into plant-like roots, a process seemingly designed to stop Medical Mechanica factories. She performs this feat in the finale, glowing green as her body transforms and grows to an enormous size, successfully rooting the factory to the ground and surviving the ordeal.
In her daily life, Aiko presents a carefully maintained facade. When playing the part of a hired girlfriend, such as for her client Goro Mori, she pretends to be shy, easily embarrassed, sweet, and emotionally dependent. This act is designed to perfectly match the false stories her clients tell about her. Once the transaction is complete and she is paid, her demeanor instantly shifts to that of a cold, all-business professional. She is also a practiced liar, fluent in deceiving her father about the various household items she takes and gives to her clients as faux gifts, which she uses to prevent her friends and classmates from discovering her work.
Her primary motivation initially appears to be financial, as she runs her secret service for money. However, a deeper purpose is revealed as the story progresses. She becomes a reluctant love interest for Goro Mori, though she initially treats him with rudeness and formality after their business is concluded. Her role in the larger story becomes clear when the plant she gives to Goro as a gift is revealed to be an N.O. device of immense importance, made from the shell of the robot Canti. Aiko herself is mysteriously connected to this device and serves as a catalyst. Her body can act as a transmitter, capable of creating a communication channel that can cross through N.O. dimensions. In this state, her eyes display green static, her mouth hangs open, and the leaf-like bow on her head sprouts upwards into a giant, plant-based transmission tower.
Aiko undergoes significant development in the final episode. As the city of Mabase faces chaotic destruction, she initially packs her things to leave. However, after witnessing her father and another man, Eye Patch, being pinned and mummified by falling mochi, her personality takes a turn for the better. Her father gives her a jack-o-lantern, tells her she is free, and is then overtaken. Aiko then decides to find the plant she sold, now recognizing its crucial importance. When Goro Mori finds her and offers to help, she accepts without her previous rudeness. After retrieving the plant, it reacts to her touch and activates her transmitter abilities. With no explanation to her companions, she presses her back against the Medical Mechanica iron and breaks the plant's pot. This triggers a reaction that transforms her entire body into roots, which grow to anchor the giant iron to the ground, saving the remnants of the city. She undergoes this process at the cost of her body without hesitation, smiling as she roots the factory. Though it is assumed she died, she escapes the roots' hold when a pumpkin sprouts and opens, dropping her unharmed into Goro Mori's arms. Naked and alive, she laughs gleefully and agrees to become his real girlfriend, marking a complete reversal from her earlier cold attitude.
In terms of notable abilities, Aiko's body is intrinsically linked to the N.O. plant device. She can serve as a biological transmitter, enabling communication across dimensions. Her most dramatic power is the transformation of her body into plant-like roots, a process seemingly designed to stop Medical Mechanica factories. She performs this feat in the finale, glowing green as her body transforms and grows to an enormous size, successfully rooting the factory to the ground and surviving the ordeal.