Marquis de Carabas (FLCL)

"Marquis de Carabas" (マルラバ, Maru Raba) is the third episode of the anime FLCL. The title's namesake is a character in the play "Puss in Boots" (by Charles Perrault).

Summary

Scandalous revelations about Ninamori's parents, especially her father, the mayor of Mabase, hardly dent her world as she takes a neutral position regarding their alleged separation which is helped in no way by a devious secretary.

Meanwhile, Naota heads to school after a typically strange encounter with Haruko. His day plummets as Ninamori berates him for his lack of enthusiasm in the upcoming school play, Puss in Boots, as he was voted and cast to play the cat. Furthermore, Miyaji catches Naota, Gaku, and Masashi with a gossip-filled mini-zine in class and overreacts, citing the fact that Ninamori's feelings might be hurt as her father is the center of scandals lately. Naota comments that to have a father as a mayor, "it must make it tough for her." Regardless, Naota ditches the after-school rehearsal for the play and joins Mamimi by the river. She proceeds to remove a "bizarre" hat Naota has been wearing all day and exposes fluffy cat ears sprouting from his head. He hides them in embarrassment yet Mamimi incessantly plays with them.

The rumors surrounding the mayor have escalated considerably and the press, catching wind of them, nearly raids Ninamori's house in order to get a statement. She retreats to a solitary train station where Naota discovers her, ditching rehearsal along with him. He assures her that it's only a "tabloid thing" and nothing to worry about. She admits the rumors do have some truth to them and instantly perks up as she changes the subject. No sooner than this, Haruko comes speeding down the street, abandoning her Vespa, which slams into Naota, so that she doesn't hit a cat. Naota goes flying in a bullet time scene similar to the first episode and hits head-to-head with Ninamori, thus transfering his N.O. power to her (the N.O. power is depicted as a red light in the character's head). The whole ordeal knocks him senseless and reveals his cat ears which Ninamori grasps, despite warnings from Haruko, and collapses.

Later, over a dangerously spicy meal, Ninamori dismisses any mention of her father as "no big deal." Kamon insists that she stay the night as her life is currently under siege from the press. Naota eventually becomes uncomfortable at the arrangement and the night becomes even more strange as Ninamori aggressively divulges her subterfuge regarding the school play, admitting that she rigged the vote in his favor. He is awed by her audacity and is subject to her extended metaphor of Puss in Boots regarding her actions as Haruko overhears the whole thing.

Eventually, their sentiments over the play spiral into a heated argument in which Ninamori says her parents will be there and makes known Naota's cat ears. Everyone emerges from their captivation when Naota calls her a "cheater" and suddenly, a massive creature busts out of her head in the tension of the moment (though never explicitly said, it's through the N.O. portal) that was transfered from Naota to her during the vespa crash by the train station. Haruko and Canti quickly dispose of the monster using a ukelele, guitar, and curry.

Naota proceeds to say that the situation with Ninamori's family peacefully subsided and no consequences came as a result. As the curtain opens on the play, Ninamori, wearing glasses much to Naota's surprise. She then says to Naota that "they're fake."

Trivia

• Gaku, when dressed like a mouse, keeps asking Naota about the "chu-lady." In Japanese, chu is the onomatopoeia for both a kiss and a mouse's squeak. (This is translated to English by having the character repeatedly yell "Smooch!")
• References to a drink called "Cherio" were replaced with references to Crystal Pepsi, a similarly discontinued product from America.
• The iconic Japanese animated character Doraemon is referenced twice in this episode. It's first mentioned when Miyaji was talking about cats to her class (Tom and Jerry were referenced here also) and then later when Mamimi is playing with Naota's cat ears by the river, saying "You're almost as cute as Doraemon."
• Naota and Ninamori drink "Vitamin In" because of proposed product placement. However, the scenes with the drinks were completed before negotiations finished, and the deal never went through. The studio decided to keep the beverages in the scene anyway.
• During this episode, when taking a taste of the curry Haruko prepared, Naota's face changes briefly into the "Scream" mask from the movies of the same name, but unlike the movie versions that have a white mask, this mask was black. (10:01 and again at 10:03)
• When Canti lands on the car, a keychain of Kenny McCormick (of South Park), impaled with an arrow, flies up from the wreckage. This foreshadows the blatant South Park homages that appear in "Brittle Bullet."
• When Ninamori is first launched at Canti by the robot coming out of her head, Ninamori's shorts are caught by Canti's head. Ninamori's exposed rear is viewable during this time in still frame.
• At the end of the episode, Miya-Jun is seen with a bandaged right eye and her right arm is in a cast, a reference to Rei Ayanami from Neon Genesis Evangelion, an anime also by GAINAX.

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