Shake It Off

"Shake It Off" is the fifth episode of season 3, FLCL Alternative, and the seventeenth overall. It aired on October 10, 2018, at 11:30 PM ET on Adult Swim's Toonami block.
==Synopsis==
One hot summer day while playing in the pool, the girls and Haruko notice that Pets is missing. Kana later hears from her classmate Aida that Pets' family is very rich and they are moving to Mars.
==Summary==
A young Kana is walking to school, looking isolated and being completely ignored by other girls her age. Just as she was about to leave the area, a young Pets greets her. Cutting back to the present, the girls are enjoying some time at the pool on an incredibly hot day. Citizens such as Dennis Yoga, who has an incredibly familiar Vespa in his possession, are suffering under the rising climate. Maki Kitaki's plan to leave Earth and lack of action gets her questioned by reporters until she storms off stage. Calling Kanda immediately after, she berates him for not solving the Medical Mechanica problem as irons around the world are moving in small increments, their steam contributing to the climate change. When the girls notice Pets is missing, Aida makes a claim that she is absent because she's part of the rich echelon evacuating to Mars. Hijiri confirms that Pets' father is a government official, but the three girls doubt the rest of the story. A frustrated Haruko tries destroying an iron with a measly piece of dynamite, but Kanda stops her while holding a toy gun from their time together and gives a speech about the iron's ability to withstand nukes making it futile. As Kana is walking home, texting Pets to no avail, a black car passes her and doubles back. The woman riding in the backseat questions Kana about her name and school before introducing herself as Pets' mother. She too is concerned about Pets' disappearance, but remains silent on probing questions about their family. She takes Kana to their family home, revealing Pets' barren room and describing her father as a strict man who is rarely home. Pets had also never invited anyone home, and her only decoration is a photo of her and Kana from when they met. Miss Hetada unknowingly reveals that Pets has been lying to her friends for some time, hiding her family's income and claiming to like photos despite only ever taking the one Kana gifted to her. Miss Hetada starts to accuse Kana of knowing where Pets is and tries to grab her as her expression turns wild. Kana manages to escape, but injures her leg running from the house. Haruko arrives in a black car, likely stolen from the Hetadas, and tells Kana to ignore the fact as she makes her get inside on her own despite her injury. Kana gives a monologue during the ride about "not knowing I didn't know anything" as Pets is shown revisiting the hangout destroyed in episode 1. A Terminal Core begins crawling through the rubble and scaring her until finally eating some wires that transforms it into a giant hand-shaped robot, trapping Pets in wires in its core. Haruko attacks it with Kana hanging onto her for safety, spotting Pets and stumbling to the core to save her as Haruko continues the fight. Kanda is on standby with an armada of tanks as Maki escapes to an "artificial island" rather than help. Haruko gets eaten by the monstrous robot, breaking out with her guitar and causing an explosion that knocks Kana down. As she pulls herself up, she questions Pets about her family's evacuation, who tries to respond but is cut off by Kana's platitudes about friends being honest. Pets snaps and starts shouting about how Kana isn't a friend, bringing up her inserting herself into Hijiri and Mossan's lives, admitting she used to like Sasaki too but gave up on it only for Kana to throw away the chance Pets' sacrifice gave her, and eventually screaming at her to shut up until she stops trying to speak. Pets questions why she ever wanted to be friends with someone so annoying just before Kana falls from the robot. She screams for Pets and taps into her N.O. power, enveloping everything in orange light. A memory appears in the blank space, showing more of Kana and Pets' first meeting. Pets explains her nickname being derived from having to T's in her name and decides to give Kana her own: "Kana-bun." The name echoes as the memory fades and Kana awakens to her friends standing over her on the beach. Pets apologizes for everything and reinstates their friendship exactly as Kana had wanted when she first confronted Pets. However, the next scene shows an unconscious Kana being watched by Haruko and mumbling out fragments of that dream. It appears that her use of N.O. absorbed the Terminal Core without hurting any others. The real Pets stands over her, eyes looking empty after her outrage was released, and trades their hair clips before starting to leave. Haruko questions if she's still leaving, and Pets confirms by continuing to walk away from the scene as tears fill Kana's shut eyes.
==Songs==
* "LAST DINOSAUR" (Fool on cool version)
* "Star Overhead"
==Credits==
*Original Concept: Production I.G.
*Executive Producers: Mitsuhisa Ishikawa, Jason DeMarco, Keiji Ohta
*Production Supervisor: Katsuiji Morishita, Takayuki Oshima
Japanese Cast
*Kana Koumoto: Karen Miyama
*Tomomi "Pets" Hetada: Yuri Yoshida
*Hijiri Yajima: Riho Iida
*Man "Mossan" Motoyama: Mutsumi Tamura
*Kan Sudo: Katsuyuki Konishi
*Mon Sasaki: Takuma Nagatsuka
*Ben Aida: Ryota Suzuki
*Shizuka Koumoto: Miki Itou
*Bunta Koumoto: Maho Masaka
*Dennis Yoga: Katsuji Mori
*Maki Kitaki: Kaya Matsutani
*Tsukata Kanda: Yutaka Aoyama
*Haruko Haruhara: Mayumi Shintani
English Cast
*Kana Koumoto: Megan Taylor Harvey
*Young Kana: Kayla Erickson
*Tomomi "Pets" Hetada: Marieve Herington
*Young Pets: Marina Gogan
*Hijiri Yajima: Erica Lindbeck
*Man "Mossan" Motoyama: Marianne Miller
*Kan Sudo: Patrick Seitz
*Mon Sasaki: Max Mittleman
*Ben Aida: Ben Pronsky
*Dennis Yoga: Steven Blum
*Maki Kitaki: Erica Shroeder
*Tsukata Kanda: Ray Chase
*Mimi Hetada: Veronica Taylor
*Haruko Haruhara: Kari Wahlgren
==Gallery==
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==Trivia==
* This is the last episode we see Pets in.
* A girl wearing a familiar flower hair clip is emphasized in Kana's childhood flashback, suggesting this stranger was part of the inspiration for her future signature hairstyle.
* When Aida suggests that Pets may have left for Mars, an upset Mossan threatens to rub MUHI on his face. MUHI is a Japanese anti-itch cream used to treat bug bites and rashes.
**In the English, Mossan refers to the product as Bengay, a topical liniment used to treat muscle aches.
Category:Alternative
Category:Episodes