Cocona is an average middle schooler living with her grandmother. And she who has yet to decide a goal to strive for, soon met a strange girl named Papika who invites her to an organization called Flip Flap.
Dragged along by the energetic stranger, Cocona finds herself in the world of Pure Illusion—a bizarre alternate dimension—helping Papika look for crystal shards. Upon completing their mission, Papika and Cocona are sent to yet another world in Pure Illusion. As a dangerous creature besets them, the girls use their crystals to transform into magical girls: Cocona into Pure Blade, and Papika into Pure Barrier. But as they try to defeat the creature before them, three others with powers from a rival organization enter the fray and slay the creature, taking with them a fragment left behind from its body. Afterward, the girls realize that to stand a chance against their rivals and the creatures in Pure Illusion, they must learn to work together and synchronize their feelings in order to transform more effectively.
[Written by MAL Rewrite]
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Comentários
LeaderTGW
To be honest Flip Flappers should-be more popular. I felt that it had all the material needed to engage with audiences regardless of their preferences, and most importantly sell great merchandise. The only thing that stopped me from giving the incredible piece of art a solid 10 was the strange and often times confusing story; which I'll get into in a moment so please keep sitting in your chair, or levitating above, you wizards. So what is Flip Flappers about? Why should you be watching it? Can you eat it? Only two of the three questions above will be answered. Flip Flappers’ story is interesting in manyways. We follow the lives two cute girls, there’s intense action, amazing visuals, a yuri undertone lurking. What more could you want— other than nudity, perv.
The Story can be hit or miss depending on your preferences. If you’re into simple story-telling and plot developments then Flip flappers most likely won’t be on your watch list. The plot, the real plot, not fan-service is very confusing at times. It is so bad to the point where I found myself questioning “what the hell going on?” in certain episodes. You see, Flip Flappers method of storytelling is hard to follow…
There are often times too many distractions, mostly imagery, that if you miss a single detail then you will be momentarily confused as to what is happening in the story. This is extremely prevalent when there are scenes filled to the brim with dialogue and monologues. Personally, I found myself getting lost in the vibrant imagery or special effects while characters were talking. Now as far as the story telling goes, the “direction” I have to say that I strongly believe that both the narrative was straight forward as to be expected. Flip Flappers method of storytelling is “the hero’s journey.” For example, think of movies like Harry potter or Lord of the rings.
For those who are unfamiliar with the scenario, something bad or out of the ordinary happens. This causes the girls to go on an adventure to solve the problem; they receive supernatural aid, and get just a bit of character development. As their adventure progresses, they run into the antagonist whom they proceed to do battle with. At this point, “death & rebirth” kicks in. The girls lose, but suddenly realize that this battle is important, plot armor kicks in, and they both gain some sort of supernatural ability that helps them defeat the antagonist. After the grueling battle rests, a predictable outcome, the heroes succeed and head back home where everything is nice and happy.
Now with “the journey “that the girls go on. It is not incredible but it sure is unique. During the span of the entire series Papika and Cocnoa are involved in some type of journey that teaches them both lessons. For example they both need each other. They’re friends! Most of the problems the two have to fix during the series, I perceived them as stepping blocks for the two to continue building their budding relationship.
There’s never a dull moment in the Flip Flappers’ story I feel like it provided more than enough entertainment.
At first glance, depending on if you have a good eye or are just really experienced with watching anime. One would assume Gainax worked this title with its unique choices in art. However, they didn’t (as far as my knowledge goes) do much in the animation department. The credits in episode 11 say that they were used for outsourcing. This is common in the anime industry. Personally I believe that their unique art style was used as inspiration for 3hz.
Backgrounds are beautiful despite lacking detail and high quality at times. Character designs are unique, cute which is most important. On the other hand, the animation wasn’t as impressive. I felt like there could’ve been improvements to the aesthetics and quality to make the show look more modern. HOWEVER! And Honestly, I think everything worked out. I enjoyed the beauty the show had to offer. It has a sort of “dreamscape” fantasy design to it. This choice fits with the theme of the show. Lastly, the colors are rich and the special effects are fluid.
The soundtrack does an excellent job setting the mood for certain situations. I felt that the composer did a wonderful job of creating songs that fit theme of the show. Happy, jaunty, tunes, the bells are of course the most important part. Voice acting was good to say the least. I didn't feel like the actors were anything special. The opening and ending song... Scratch the opening song. The ending song perfectly describes what the show is about! the sound director deserves to be acknowledge for their contributions to the show.
Enjoyment & Overall: Flip flappers deserves some notoriety for its great efforts and contributions to the fall 2016 season. I felt that this title was incredibly fun to watch! The characters, art, soundtrack and story. There was so many things that I liked in the show that made it enjoyable. I had to give Flip Flappers a solid 9/10 because of how great I felt watching everything unfold.
HaXXspetten
Flip Flappers is the textbook definition of a hidden gem. A short, artistic original anime by a relatively unknown studio, and also an anime which is quite difficult to explain. This is partially because of its symbolic themes, but also because the execution itself is very unorthodox. It is like the anime equivalent of an LSD trip; something I can only describe as a crossover of FLCL and Jinrui wa Suitai Shimashita. But somehow, Studio 3Hz actually made it work, resulting in what I would probably have to consider my favorite anime of Fall 2016. The story follows two girls who meet each other by coincidence:the extremely energetic and cheerful Papika, and the much more level-headed and all-round normal Cocona. The somewhat futuristic world which Flip Flappers plays out in does not only contain hoverboards and advanced robotics, but also a fair amount of less explainable things. Supposedly there exists a second, overlapping dimension called Pure Illusion which Papika and Cocona end up stumbling upon by literally falling down a hole into it. This other world is largely responsible for what makes Flip Flappers so different, because in Pure Illusion pretty much anything seems possible. It reminds me of Fantasia a bit with its magical, colourful landscapes, mythical beasts and other strange creatures, doors functioning as teleports, and just a ton of magic in general. Sometimes however it can be sci-fi-esque rather than fantasy-esque, with digital Tron-like cyberspace environments, mechas and more.
Papika and Cocona work for the Flip Flap organization, which tasks them with searching for so-called "amorphous" fragments within the world of Pure Illusion, which are supposedly capable of granting wishes. These fragments can be found in different kinds of environments within Pure Illusion, which is largely what causes them to end up in such blatantly different surroundings in almost every episode. In their adventures however they end up finding out that Flip Flap is not the only organization on the hunt for amorphous fragments, as they encounter a second group who seemingly wants them for their own ulterior motives. And thus we end up with a lot of fighting in-between the two sides throughout the anime as they keep trying to beat each other to the punch for every fragment.
Flip Flappers utilizes the strange world of Pure Illusion in order to tell unusual stories on a mostly episodic basis out of chronological order, and on top of providing interesting adventures it also has a plethora of symbolism underneath the surface. Pretty much everything in this show has a meaning. However, not the entire anime is on an episodic basis. Towards the end, everything starts to connect, and an overarching storyline you might not have even realized was ever there suddenly starts to become visible. Ultimately, it all culminates into a quite grandiose and conclusive ending.
But what really makes Flip Flappers a success to me is that it manages to deliver its deeper messages without it really hampering the fun factor of the anime itself. A common problem I have with more philosophical anime is that they often end up feeling like nothing more than lectures and either turn out to be quite boring (like Mushishi) or just plain cringey (like Yuri Kuma Arashi). But Flip Flappers is actually a ton of sheer light-hearted fun on top of its subtle themes, like a child's imagination come to life with its execution, and even though there is generally way more to each scene than meets the eye, it is still very entertaining to watch. And as a result it actually made me interested enough in the show as a whole to motivate me to pay attention to the details as well, so in a way the fun factor actually made the deeper themes better too. It is the same reason you usually learn more from a class you actually enjoy than one that makes you literally fall asleep.
The characters are overall quite likable but also very symbolic. Papika's bubbly personality is like a representation of childhood innocence, whereas another girl called Yayaka rather seems to symbolize adulthood, with Cocona stuck somewhere in-between the two extremes, unsure what she really wants to do. It's a nice way of combining character diversity with contrasting deeper themes.
The production value is also quite surprising. Studio 3Hz do not have much in their repertoire other than Dimension W and Sora no Method prior to this, but even so they still definitely delivered here. The art style looks incredibly hand-drawn, like something you would normally see in a Studio Ghibli film rather than something you would expect to see airing on TV. But it fits really well with the Fantasia-like setting of Pure Illusion, further enhancing the experience of magic and wonder of it all. And on top of that, Flip Flappers boasts with not just having one of the best opening themes of the entire season, but also quite frankly one of the best ending themes I've ever heard in anime.
Overall, what you have is an anime which honestly does not feel like it has any clear weaknesses in my eyes. The unorthodox setting and story, the way all the dots suddenly connect towards the end, the diverse and symbolic characters, the gorgeous art and the enjoyable theme songs, it is all really good. Just... not utterly amazing either. I guess the biggest downside would be that at times the story will undoubtedly come across as rather confusing, even if you really try to pay attention. Granted, this is all intentional, but that does not really help much in practicality. However, as mentioned earlier, even if you will not understand literally every message that Flip Flappers is trying to convey, I think you should still be able to enjoy it quite a lot. When it all comes down to it, that is probably its greatest strength.
SeijiroUshio
While browsing for some shows that I might watch this Fall season, I stumbled on this one, got curious on the visuals, I watched the promotional video on it although I found the synopis too vague that time and I thought to myself "This show has potential" and it came the pilot episode. Flip Flappers, the show that most of the people overlooked because of the number of magical girl shows this Fall 2016 season has brought. What I liked on this show was it's subtle yet too vibrant and how it was incorporated with meanings behind it that you will not notice 23 minutes hadalready passed. Graced with beautiful art design, engaging characters,and some of the most consistently sharp visual storytelling, episodic themes where at times calm and subdued then comes a bombastic outing, even crazier and bigger in its scale it manages to break away from easy comparisons thanks to a tone, aesthetic, and narrative ideas that are so unique and engaging. Flip Flappers’ storytelling and character writing goes completely unsaid. It's strong point was both character story and adventure , but it stands out as a confident, imaginative, and consistently beautiful example of visual storytelling done right.
MaskettaSenpai
It's painful to see a show with boundless imagination be constrained by the cold, harsh facts like Flip Flappers. It's a beautifully animated show with an endearing, infectious sort of charm, but BD sales are the lifeblood of seasonal anime, and all the charm in the world won't count for anything if you can't make the grade. Flip Flappers struggled to find an audience, and you could feel the creators; mad-dash scramble to wrap everything by the end of the first and certainly only season. If given the chance to stretch its legs and take its time, perhaps over two full-length seasons, I think Flip Flapperscould have developed into something really marvelous. The chance for anything like that now, however, is pure illusion.
Flip Flappers has a great start. The artwork and animation is gorgeous throughout, full of liveliness and energy, capturing everything from fantastical dreamscapes to heated battles to the subtle, little gestures that are so often forgotten. That and the intrigue of the setting and the characters was enough to draw me in. I kept watching for the varied worlds each episode would offer; it reminded me of Space Dandy in that each setting felt like a chance for different artists to go hog wild and really let loose. Papika and Cocona are likable leads to boot, which always helps.
Something I also appreciated was the show's slavish devotion to showing, not telling. There's no narration, no characters explaining every step of their thought process (at first), it's all conveyed through the visuals and the way these characters interact. That can be all too rare in anime and should be applauded.
Unfortunately, the last third of the show starts to cram in plot point after plot point, as if the crew realized that they were running out of time. We stop exploring these distant worlds and instead have to drudge through the tedious, infinitely-less interesting backstory. Characters show up with no purpose (NyuNyu). The characters we already have are pretty thin, with little depth or nuance to really explore. We have yet another "small child with reality warping powers of a god running amok" plot. Then the whole thing ends with so many threads unresolved at best or completely forgotten about at worst; Yayaka, who's friendship with Cocona is the basis for a powerful turning point in Ep 8, is almost entirely redundant by the end and gets no conclusion to her arc. The story doesn't end, it just stops.
It's a shame that a rushed end can damage an otherwise good or even great show, but that's why execution is so, so important.
All that being said, don't take this 6 to mean its bad. I would still heartily recommend Flip Flappers as a whole; it's breathtaking to look at and, at its best, it's a wildly fun and imaginative ride. You just have to take the show warts and all.
3xTripple
Critics call this series: "beautiful, imaginative, action-packed, and mysterious" I'll add that it's also "diverse, unique, immersive, and, most importantly, it's (*cough*cough* mostly *cough*) coherent!" Flip Flappers is pretty underrated and will take you on a relatively unpredictable journey with two middle school girls named Papika and Cocona as they travel to another dimension called "Pure Illusion". The story begins mysteriously as it follows the warm and simple-minded Papika as she escapes from what looks like a lab and flies off into the night sky on her hoverboard. It then switches to the perspective of the visibly depressed or kuudere Cocona and briefly gives insight into herstruggles to figure who she wants to be and what career path to choose. At this point, no one could have guessed the incredibly diverse future that was in store for these two protagonists.
TL;DR at the end
I strongly believe that Flip Flappers is one of the most original and imaginative anime ever made. It should get more attention because it definitely has all of the necessary ingredients to become one of the treasured gems of the anime genre. I highly recommend that you check this out if you enjoy diversity, unpredictability, action, and beauty. I usually like to contemplate anime, but this series was so unpredictable and silly that I had to turn my brain off for most of it, haha!
Story: 8/10
The concept of other dimensions gave this anime the ability to explore unlimited possibilities. Mechas, ghosts, sci-fi, action, comedy, horror--- you name it and it was probably in Flip Flappers. The overarching plot showcases the growing friendship of Papika and Cocona as they journey to "Pure Illusion" to collect rock-like-things that grant a wish once collected (kind of like finding the dragon balls). They eventually come to face opposition from another group that's also trying to collect them. However, ~PLOT TWIST~ things aren’t really as they seem… What real-world consequences will their actions in Pure Illusion have? Do the rocks really grant wishes? Who, exactly, is Papika? In fact, who is Dr. Salt? In fact... who... are you...? Just kidding, but these are some of the major questions that you might wonder throughout this anime. Overall, I did think it was a bit random (mostly in a good way) and sometimes the randomness strayed from the coherence of the plot. However, the pacing was, nonetheless, great and the stories/sub-stories were all interesting as well.
Art: 9/10
Although the art was mostly simple, it was beautifully simple. The art was deliberately made to look simple and is one of the most colorful anime that I’ve seen. It was truly a work of art! The motion was a bit choppy at times, but you could really FEEL the action. Pure illusion (alternate dimension) was absolutely stunning with rich and vibrant colors, and its artwork was enough to make me feel fully immersed in this series. The art wasn’t good because of its detail, but instead because of its creativity. They did a great job on setting the moods of the diverse settings in Flip Flappers. Sometimes it goes from a fun and light-hearted mood to a sci-fi mood, and then to more darker moods. Although the art was really good, I never once thought “Oh... My... Fuck... BRILLIANCE! MASTERPIECE!” like I did for Unlimited budgetworks (unlimited bladeworks) or Kizumoneygatari (Kizumonogatari) so I couldn't give it a 10 (Visit Kill la Kill or Katanagatari [10/10 Art]) for how to be flambuoyant, but still fluid in animation)
Sound: 9/10
Every character’s voice matched the character, battle sounds were great, and background noises were normal. The background OSTs were primarily cinematic and didn’t have a memorable central theme like in Fairy tail, Kill la Kill, Guilty Crown, SAO, Madoka Magica, or Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicles but it was nonetheless great background music. The opening was pretty good, but the ending was perfect for this anime. The ending was lighthearted, had an Alice-in-Wonderland-like feeling to it, and the artwork really matched the music perfectly. The sound was great overall.
Character: 6/10
I personally think the characters were the weakest part of this anime. All of the characters were cliche tropes that weren’t complex at all. The story was diverse enough that it didn’t matter much, but none of the characters were particularly unique in any way. It’s fine because I’m not sure how they could’ve developed more complex characters with its diverse settings in a matter of only 12 episodes. Their simplicity didn’t really take much away from the anime, but you probably won’t be getting any new favorites from it.
Enjoyment: 9/10
I really enjoyed this anime. It was pretty unique, so I think I’ll remember it for a long time. I enjoyed it enough to watch it again someday! That doesn’t happen to me often (I’ve only really re-watched like 2 series). There was just something special about this anime that I haven’t seen elsewhere.
Overall: 8/10
TL;DR
It was very unique, the story was pretty good, and it was interesting overall, but it could have been better. The story was also extremely diverse but consequently had some very minor inconsistencies. The artwork was creative, but a bit choppy. The sound was great and well-suited to this anime, but not amazing.
Should you watch this anime? Well, I totally recommend it personally but:
If you value anime for its uniqueness, then definitely!
If you like artistic anime, then yeah!
If you like girl action anime, then yep!
If you like sci-fi anime, then ehhh you might want to give it a shot...
If you found the story or concept to be intriguing, then you should probably try it for about three episodes...
If you dislike simple anime and tropes, then no because this anime is very simple and trope heavy.
If you dislike “friendship power”, then nah this anime “Fairy Tail”ed at times.
Hope this helps you make your decision! If it did, let me know by clicking helpful~ If it didn’t, let me know what you disagree with so I can learn from my mistakes!
SanaeK10
Have you ever felt like a show was made just for you? One that, in spite of all its flaws, you can see some good in it? Flip Flappers is this to me. Flip Flappers is fun, original and refreshing. Believe me, watching the first episode and seeing Papika surfing in the air with her hoverboard is extremely refreshing from a lot of LN derivatives and High School Garbage I've the displeasure of wasting my time on. Then there is the superb animation, the surprisingly memorable musical scores, and the vibrant colors ties everything together for a splendid 20 minute episode of fun. The plot is freshand imaginative, although watching this over the course of several weeks ended up making me hype this show up, I still appreciated the ending and overall plot in this series. It'll make you laugh, make you cry, and make you scream. It's one of the very few shows where I ended up liking most of the characters in it.
Adding to that, the show has a surprising amount of rewatch value, little details don't get noticed unless you pay close attention and the show actually rewards keen viewers.
If there are any missteps, it's due to the pacing. Early episodes were slow but later episodes had erratic pacing. I would have preferred if the show was a 2-cour series, it would greatly fix most problems I have with the pacing.
And what can I say? It's a great ride and I'm glad to be on it.
It is the best I've felt since watching FLCL.
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ApertureEmployee
What started as a zany romp through intriguing worlds turned into a cliched story. Helicopter parenting is bad and when you try to protect your kid from everything it turns out *you're* the one hurting them! Only in Flip Flappers case the helicopter mom force feeds LSD to everyone to the point where the show turns into Inception and you're not supposed to know what's reality and what's Pure Illusion. It takes a lot of cues from Evangelion and that may be up your alley but it's not my thing. The animation stays consistent in its style but there is a slight drop off in qualityas the show progresses. Music is fine, there are a few stand out track but the OP and ED stand out more than music used within the show.
As far as characters go Papika is stagnant, Cocona goes through the standard 'I didn't want to do this/adventure but now because of friends I do!' arc complete with angst in the middle for "conflict", and Yayaka learns the true meaning of friendship. Pretty standard stuff all around. Salt isn't a character until the last 4 episodes, Nyunyu just never is a character, the twins (triplets?) don't amount to much but I suppose they had a slight character arc. The best episode in the show in my opinion was centered around a character whose name I can't remember because she was the focus of only that episode and then disappeared for the rest of the show and was only seen in the end as a nod to the fact that they took the time to design a character, remember?
Overall pretty standard stuff, I was really excited for it in the beginning but it tripped over itself in the end and crossed the finish line in mediocrity.
Stark700
Papika and Cocona. Remember those two names well. Flip Flappers chronicles the adventure of these two girls as they venture into a world known as the “Pure Illusion”. For a girl like Cocona, this is a dramatic change of her life. Think about it though. If you certainly got dragged into a world of unknown, wouldn’t you be curious, scared, or excited? Those are the sort of feelings I was expecting this show at first. It’s expecting the unexpected. As an original anime, viewers need not to worry about faithfulness related to adaptation. Also, director Oshiyama Kiyotaka puts his talent to work. For those who areunfamiliar with his resume, he’s been involved with various projects pertaining with sci-fi elements. (ex. Space Dandy, Bounen no Xamdou, etc) As such, you should expect to see plenty of expressive ideas and creativity that he pours into Flip Flappers. The first few episodes seems to also draw influences from fairy tales such as Alice in Wonderland. However, the story itself is much different as the Pure Illusion world brings unnatural ideas to reality. The basic concept is two girls working for a mysterious “Flip Flap” organization in order to collect amorphous fragments. These fragments are implied to have the power to grant wishes.
I have to admit, watching Flip Flappers began as nothing short but exciting. My original impression was something along the line of a magical girl series of cute girls doing cute things while trying to accomplish a goal together. That quickly evolved as we see how action packed this show can really be. The third episode will leave you in awe as the audience will be presented with a spectacular battle. It adds elements that can draw similarity from other popular works such as Mad Max or Fist of the North Star. For this reason, Flip Flappers breaks the mold of the usual cute girls doing cute things but derives into more of a surrealistic adventure. That adventure takes place mainly in the Pure Illusion world where many creative ideas are used. What makes their adventure special is that while it can feel crazy and wild at times, it retains the strengths of storytelling and at the same time updating it for today’s audiences. The storytelling also gets more complex as we learn more about the main characters (specifically their past) and connections to the Pure Illusion world. The supernatural phenomenon and purpose of the characters will also be realized that easily can draw the viewers’ curiosity frequently.
Of course, Flip Flappers can’t shine without its characters. That’s where our main protagonists, Papika and Cocona comes in. Papika and Cocona are sort of polar opposites on side of a coin. Cocona is a pretty serious girl who seems somewhat insecure about her future. She attends a school but is often cautious about people and events around her. It seems that she is often careful about letting others get close to her. This is the opposite for Cocona, a highly energetic girl who seems to be very interested in Cocona. The two develops a unique relationship as they explore the Pure Illusion world in all its glory. What I find most interesting about their relationship goes beyond just a charming character chemistry. Rather, it’s how Papika’s influence seems to change Cocona. She becomes livelier, sheds her initial reservations, and better express her emotions to others. It’s also hinted at many times that Cocona seems to view Papika as much more than just a friend. To me, her character goes under heavy changes as she begins to realize her purpose in the world. Remember, she was very unsure about her future but finds purpose through her character connection with Papika. On the other hand, there’s Papika, the girl that always wants to get close with Cocona. She naturally tries to become her friend from the very start despite Cocona’s cautious personality. From my point of view, she is like the light of that Cocona is searching for in a dark tunnel. She is able to open Cocona’s eyes to a brighter future.
Besides Papika and Cocona, we are also introduced to other characters in the show. Yayaka (Cocona’s childhood friend) is perhaps the most prominent one among those introduced as she has a past history with Cocona. However, the most intriguing part is how her role in the show also has influences on Cocona. The way this show adapts character drama becomes more and more emotional as time goes on. Now, what I do have some concern with is the later stages of the series as more revelations regarding Cocona is revealed and those that gets involved in her life. The antagonist in this show may or may not be likable for their roles. It’s also easy to say that while I do enjoy the character drama, it can sometimes feel a bit forced and thrown into the face of the audience. However, one thing is for sure. It’s still pretty convincing way to explore human emotions. Jealousy, regret, apathy, compassion, loneliness, love, shame, acceptance are just a few of those.
Produced by studio 3Hz, I have to admit, the show feels like something out of a fairy book when it comes to visual dynamics. It gives a very picturesque feeling with its setting that sharply contrasts between the real world and the Pure Illusion world. In fact, fairy tale allusions enter the show itself such as with the animal motifs and stylistic dresses. As more episodes progresses, there’s even mecha that enters the story! That being said, the show’s risks paid off for its visual quality and is more than just about being symbolic or unique. It’s there to show that Flip Flappers stands out as a show on its own merits. Character designs and transformations may seem like a generic magical girl theme but retain its surrealistic expression. Speaking of expressions, characters convey that exceptionally well to display their emotions. Cocona is a prime example as this as she is the most human character in the show while Papika’s goofy personality makes the series more relaxing and playful to watch. As I mentioned before, the battle segments in this show is fast paced yet precisely crafted. Think of it similar to FLCL or Gurren Lagann as it displays the talented directing of the staff. When in motion, it’s when the action really becomes epic. There’s also some fan service (namely an episode with swimsuits) but that really shouldn’t hold you back from watching the show.
The soundtrack and music offers a unique dynamic to the show as well. In particular, the ED theme song highlights the talent of Kiyotaka Oshiyama’s directing as the lyrics has a balanced rhythm. The OST also offers a good balance between intense battle segments to the more emotional dialogues. This comes with character voice mannerism that is impressively performed by the voice actresses. I’m mostly impressed at the two main leads – Cocona and Papika. The two are able to deliver their lines in such a believable way that it’s just hard to ever turn heads away from them. I mean, who can ignore their iconic “Flip Flapping!” line?
Ah Flip Flappers, an underrated gem that some people may have overlooked this year. It’s a series that brings fantasy to a surrealistic level in a world of unimaginable possibilities. The characters play their roles in a fashion that has meaningful purpose while always arousing the curiosity of the audience. Storytelling may or may not suit your tastes but I’d still advise in giving this show a chance. It’s too fun to pass up on as it proves creativity at its finest.
TakaCode
I remember discovering Flip Flappers in the fall 16 anime season and I immediately fell in love with it. It was a fantastic coming of age story that had great characters, beautiful and unique visuals and a funky soundtrack. It was so good that I put Flip Flappers in my top 10 anime to come out from this decade. Fast forward to 2019 where this decade of anime is reaching to a close I decided to re-watch Flip Flappers just to see it's truly worthy of being in my top 10 favourite animes from this decade along with stuff like March Comes in Like a Lion,Hunter x Hunter 2011, Little Witch Academia TV and The Ancient Magus Bride.
As a middle school student, Cocona has been trying to decide what to do with her life. Magical girl, however, wasn't a career path that she'd ever considered. When suddenly a strange girl named Papika thrusts her into a secret organisation called Flip Flap Conona's outlook does a radical flip-flop. Her views start to chance when she gets dragged by Papika into an alternate dimension called pure illusion where she's charged with gathering crystal shards and facing off strange creatures from various alternate dimensions with the aid of Papika.
On the surface, Flip Flappers looks like you standard throwaway magical girl show from 2006 but when you actually watch the series especially past the first episode you begin to see how special and unique Flip Flappers is. At its core Flip Flappers is a coming of age and adventure tale that features pretty colours, charming characters and attractive symbolism.
The journey aspect of flip flappers while not revolutionary is unique.
The first half of Flip Flappers is like watching two cute girls going on a journey travelling to various worlds, interacting with the set world, learning various life lessons and returning into the own world as different people. This is easily the best part of Flip Flappers story because not only the show was capable of using it's coming of age elements with its captivating symbolism that synthesise well with the narrative but it also brings out a lot of core themes and messages that strengths the characterisation for Conona and Papika.
The second third is for the most part similar to the first third however it started to introduce its core themes and story elements to the mix. Not to mention this is where Flip Flappers comes full on character-driven series putting its episodic structure in the bench. There are a lot of themes that Flip Flappers explored like growing up, puberty, understanding one another, and sexuality and these's were masterfully executed in the anime.
If you are a Yuri fan then Flip Flappers would be your cup of tea. It has a lot of Yuri elements that only strengthens the show's core themes thanks to great direction and writing.
Despite Flip Flappers being one of the more unique coming of age stories from this decade of anime, it has one major flaw that prevented Flip Flappers from being one of the all-time greats from this decade and that is the final third aka episodes 9-13.
Spoilers aside from the series kinda lost of what it so special in the first place. The shows tried to introduce a lot of new plot elements that weren't explored in the earlier episodes but these new plot elements, unfortunately, fell flat on its face thanks to the lacklustre episode count which is not enough to flesh out the new story elements in the narrative.
To the final third's credit, the ending itself was satisfying as it was able to tie up most of the loose ends. Plus the character development for Cocona, Papika and especially Yakaya in the final third is incredible completely overshadowing most of the issues that I had in the final third.
Since Flip Flappers is a coming of age tale, the main characters must be great and interesting to justify the narrative and themes? Lucky the main characters in Flip Flappers were fantastic and well thought out from start to finish.
Conona is an example of a coming of age protagonist done right. She starts off as a shy and cautious person who doesn't know what to do in life thanks to her lack of social skills that prevented her to socialise with anyone apart from her grandmother and Yakaya.
As the series progresses as Conona spends more time with Papika travelling into various worlds in pure illusion she becomes more social and confident to others.
While Conona is a greatly written coming of age protagonist, she pales in comparison to the energetic and lovable Papika.
She is my favourite character in Flip Flappers.
On first glance, she appears to your usual girl who is the thirst of adventure. She has no sense of danger and has little understanding of personal boundaries that put people off but as the series, progress Papika not only starts being a more reliable person thanks to great character development.
The best part about Conona and Papika as characters is how strong their character chemistry. At the beginning of the series, Conona didn't care less about Papika but as the series progresses they understand one other thanks to brilliant character interactions and by the end, you really feel that these two are unbreakable.
While Cocona and Papika were great and well-developed characters, I cannot say a thing for the same thing for the supporting characters. They were not bad characters but at they were pretty forgettable then again that's expected from a coming of age story that is partially focused on a handful of characters but it would have been cool to see some supporting characters get a moment in the spotlight.
The one expectation of this is with Yayaka. Despite being part of a rival/villain organisation she a nicely written character that I loved from start to finish. Her development is a strong as Conona and Papika.
Flip Flappers visually can be best described as a firework factory that is filled with pretty and vibrant colours. The various world's that Conona and Papika were beautifully crafted as they all have their own identity. The various colour palettes for the background scenery Characters designs were unique and appealing to look at.
My praise for art doesn't end there. For starters, I really love how Conona and Papika have swapped hair colours when they transform.
Then there's the symbolism which is easily the second best things for Flip Flappers.
Without getting into heavy spoiler territory I found the show use of symbolism to be very clever.
From the change of colour contrast, character movement, imagery and great shot composition the show was able to communicate its narrative and themes through visual storytelling. The only other shows that I saw visuals storytelling done experimentally well is Utena, Penquindrum and Yuri Kuma all works directed by the very talented Kunihiko Ikuhara.
The glorious art is only made better of how smooth, dynamic and crisp the animation is.
You can tell the staff were fans of Gainax and Trigger as almost every fight has that Trigger/Gainax flavour.
As much I love Flip Flappers visuals there was one thing that kinda bothered me and that's the fan-service.
Fan-service isn't necessarily bad, but, the way the Flip Flappers uses it was pretty distracting. Frequent butts, tights and crotch shots mess up certain key moments in the series.
This wouldn't be such a problem if the characters were not middle school. I understand that puberty is one of the show themes and all but did we need weird and awkward fan-service? I don't think so.
The best word to describe the soundtrack for Flip Flappers is adventurous. Done by the underrated talented music group TO-MAS the score does a fantastic job at capturing the adventurous and mysterious tone of Flip Flappers thanks to the nice choice of upbeat, mysterious, electronic and sci-fi tracks that play in the anime.
The opening theme Serendipity by ZAQ is a great opening that fits the anime perfectly.
The ending theme FLIP FLAP FLIP FLAP by TO-MAS feat Chima is one of the best anime ending themes I ever heard in an anime thanks to its catchy and happy nature that masterfully closes an episode of Flip Flappers well.
Audio-wise Flip Flappers is very good that features a lot of talented voice actors for both languages.
If I had to pick dub or the original Japanese audio it would pick the dub as it is not only it's one of Sentai Filmworks dubs, in general, the dub actually fitted the show better.
Add this up with the strong performances by Luci Christian (Papika) and Brittney Karbowski (Conona) and you got yourself a great dub especially for Sentai Filmworks standards.
Flip Flappers is one of the best and unique coming of age tales I have seen in a long while. The rich thematic exploration charming characters mixed in with splendid soundtrack and the fascinating production values really make Flip Flappers one kind of a series even with its couple of handfuls of flaws from the underdeveloped final third (despite having a lot of good moments) and the shotty use of fan-service.
Regardless Flip Flappers is still one of the best animes I have seen from this decade but it's sadly no longer in my top 10 as it is now comfortably sitting in my top 30 rather in my top 10.
Flip Flappers is a beautiful ride that I will never forget.
Thank you Studio 3Hz and the staff for making this near perfect journey possible.
Spindleglass
Why do you shoot yourself in the foot time and time again, anime? Can't you just give me a gorgeous looking anime with stellar animation, two quirky cute main characters, and NOT sexualize it 24/7? Flip flappers is a work of art at times, with wondrous ideas that gain life by mastefully animating these moments. It is honestly a joy to see so much creativity presented on screen, and the story, alhough predictable and kind of bare bones, is still interesting enough. But let's go down to the meat of my issue with the show: the constant fan service of the clearly underage girls that justmakes the enjoyment from the beginning take a swan dive off the roof. It is really not necessary to plague your beautiful show with cameltoes and tentacle fetishes galore. Not kidding when I say there was at least one tentacle scene in each episode to the point you could make a drinking game out of it. They completely take you out of the story and make you just question who in the directing team has such pent up sexual arousal to be cramming all kinds of kinks throughout the duration of the show.
Have I mentioned the fact these girls are very much underage? Still in middle school and no shame in stripping them down to their panties (if that) whenever the writers have an occasion. Kind of revolting man.
And it is truly a shame because apart from that, flip flappers is a tight show, with most of the episodes showing the main characters going in a fun, little adventure that can range from cute to incredibly creative. As the show winds down to the end, some kind of plot arises and its good enough to mantain interest even though I felt it came out of nowhere and was not properly integrated.
Special shoutout to the ending song because it is absolutely adorable and has a jingle that will stick inside your head for a long time.
LegendAqua
Dimension Jumping Magical Girls with a dash of a "Coming of Age story" and a paintbucket full of beautifully bizarre scenery! LA wants to get straight into it...so let's dive into the technical rabbit hole shall we?. Flip Flapper's plot format for the first 10 episodes goes into a "World a Week" kind of schema but using movie and anime references as it's settings, such examples being Episode 3 having Fist of the North Star and Mad Max Fury Road settings to Episode 5 having the Shining merged with yuri genre settings to even the meta-narrative of "archetypes and HECK the MECHA genre in one episode. Eventheir transformation sequences harkens to Pretty Cure's transformations to the point it's oozed into their attack names. The plot format surrounds Papika and Cocona trying to find the the "amorphorus" for the FliFlap organization under the various omni-genred episodes we get for unknown reasons and another rival organization by the name of Asclepius trying to get it as well for the first 9 episodes. Really these early 9 episodes was to emphasis and develop the relationship between our two main leads of Papika and Cocona through going through their trials and tribulations of their relationship and most importantly Cocona's indecisiveness, they both face when going into the Pure Illusion worlds. Come episode 10, all the hints and the reasoning to getting the amorphorus, Papika in general, Cocona's involvement in all this, Pure Illusion in general all comes into full force, something LA wasn't HARDLY expecting. In all respects, this development isn't exactly new as the hints were their just subtle in it's approach and because of this, the plot twists come episode 10 were amazingly executed, what happens after episode 10, the omni-genred feature of self-reflection and coming of age story for Cocona for Flip Flappers quickly changed into a yuri shounen anime...seriously that's the vibe LA got after this development, but that a bit later.
Papika and Cocona are polar opposites for the most part and although it's an easy opposites attract what with Papika the hyper-always genki character who's rather clingy to Cocona, her mysteriousness can kinda be a saving grace to Papika (which was LA's perspective). Cocona on the other hand, is a strict, no nonsense character though she opens up halfway through the anime though she reverts or becomes confused by her relationship to Papika (quite frankly metaphorically visually shown in one episode). There is one other character, Yayaka who's a friend of Cocona but she's ALOT more that you'd realize and becomes a rather focused character by the end of it and her rivalry both in character and relationship to Papika and Cocona respectively really made an interesting character and really impacted the major plotline during the first 8 to 9 episodes, because of that she quite easily was LA's favourite character in the series.
There are other minor characters that do get their own development episodes but through LA's perspective is shown through some of the Pure Illusion worlds, the most easily noticable being Iroha Irodori voiced by Saori Oonishi and if you could interpret it, Hidaka voiced by Jun Fukushima. Once again come episode 10, a floodgate worth of character and plot development focus on many of the secrets of Asclepius and FliFlap comes into focus and essentially reigns in character development from the various characters surrounding these two secret organizations WHILE keeping Papika and Cocona's development simultaneously. LA really can't explain more otherwise it goes GREATLY in spoilers, especially one character development who's enveloped and connect to ALL of this.
The voice acting, there are two notable seiyuu's LA has to take note of, Ayaka Ohashi as Yayaka and Minami Takahashi as Cocona, they both nailed their characters greatly as well as giving them a wide vocal range though Minami had stuck round with the indecisively shy vocals due to Cocona during the beginning but she like Papika's seiyuu M.A.O got better over time. On speaking of which, M.A.O as Papika was narrowly annoying due to M.A.O's constant hyper genki status throughout their adventures and both M.A.O and Minami Takahashi shouting each others name in a moe cadence gotten M.A.O a bit of slack, but seriously, both M.A.O and Minami Takahashi as seiyuu's definitely gotten better over time. The rest of the vocal cast was pretty decent though some had the inflictions of hyper genkiness that M.A.O had like Jun Fukushima as Hidaka and NyuNyu's voice actor (was uncredited as LA wrote this). LA thought the one notable from the minor cast would easily go to Welwitschia's voice actor Aki Toyosaki in voicing one of the episodic villains and MAN did Aki go hammy in this one!.
As for the soundtrack, LA quite easily loved both the OP and ED for this anime, but most definitely Flip Flappers OP "Serendipity" by ZAQ was LA's favourite OP for Fall 2016. The ED, "FLIP FLAP FLIP FLAP" by TO-MAS feat.Chima added to the bizarre fairy tale book feel to the anime and at times during cliffhangars did bring in either a moodswinger once this ED arrived but nonetheless both OP and ED were great for Flip Flappers. LA doesn't have much to say about the OST in general, though it was atmospheric to say the most, but the OST and the sakuga used blended soo well that LA hardly noticed the OST half the time (though LA is saying this in a good light).
The animation, as LA stated at the preamble, Flip Flappers is an outright sakuga fest of animation and it's the more fantastical and broad reach of atmospheric detail from the crazy landscapes of the desert to tron-like cities to classic architecture to the more creepy mansion worlds and fast frantic battles makes LA be reminded of an Alice in Wonderland meets Anime kind of appeal to it's animation. The character designs are "exotic" and color-coded for easy distinction, not to mention LA just loves the parallels in color brought onto Papika and Cocona, easily coming from how Papika and Cocoa's hair color swaps during their transformation sequences further emphasizing Papika and Cocona's relationship with one another. What can LA say for Studio 3Hz, but if the anime's plot isn't getting to you, the animation most certainly will.
The final three episodes if anything really did change into a cohesive narrative instead of the episodic BUT at the same time tying loose ends towards those episodic episodes and even call backs to them, this also gave a HUGE amount of character development to Yayaka, however she's a really heavy spoiler character in Flip Flappers overall, what LA will say is that because of these final three episodes, she herself came to her own realization and she became a very focused and 3-dimensional character. This also leads up to Cocona's own realization which comes in the form of the surprise major "villain" of the anime which brings themes of "fate or your own freedom" which again ties up loose resolutions towards both Cocona's adventuring with Papika throughout all the Pure Illusions to Cocona's relationship to Papika solidifying itself by the penultimate episode. As much as the narrative structure changed, it also helped that the "episodic episodes" lead into something much greater and just wasn't used to be "filler-ish" episodes which gets revisited at one point along with a few relational indecisiveness from Cocona to have a resolution but it also helped in the character development to most of the major characters as well. If there was but one flaw LA could see in the final arc was that it condensed what was the mystery and subtle background hinting to the bigger picture into a simple yet slightly complicated story with a villain who doesn't know any better (though again not a bad villain on that regards due to the circumstances) with only the major characters impacting the plot. What compensated all this was the weird and intensely fantastical final battle with this villain along with it resolving the majority of the plotlines, THAT was enough to satisfy LA with this kind of ending.
Flip Flappers' episodic omni-genred nature to quickly change into a simple story with a villain just to resolve all the mystery behind Pure Illusion, Papika and Yayaka along with Cocona's indecisiveness. Flip Flappers had a great thing going with it's fantastical Pure Illusion worlds and the romp and character self-reflection, "coming of age story" as subtle hinting as good themes coming from these wondrous Pure Illusion worlds, it stumbled slightly however once it went into a cohesive narrative and turning what could have been turned into an anime with a bigger picture into a simple story, but LA can quite honestly give a saving grace for how the ending was resolved along with that final battle, but other flaws such as it's lacking character development from it's minor cast but nonetheless, LA doesn't think Flip Flappers NEEDED to fill ALL basis to be a great anime, what Flip Flappers ended with was good enough not to get LA's scorn for. Yet still praise it's storytelling in the form of Cocona's coming of age story, brilliant animation, soundtrack and satisfyingly resolved ending.
PrincessMomonoke
If something makes you happy, excited, or sets off another string of convoluted positive emotions, it’s kinda tough not to like. Hell, even things that makes you scared, anxious, or want to cry, emotions that seem negative in nature, are contributing factors to why you might like something. Think back to whenever someone tried to explain why they loved “Clannad: After Story” with “it made me cry,” or think back to whenever someone told you why they loved “Shingeki no Kyojin” with “I couldn’t stop looking at the screen!” The same can be applied to why people love those moe slice of life anime, itjust makes them happy. It’s tough to beat emotion with logic, which is why Flip Flappers felt so damn successful. A world where anything could happen, the writers do what they want because they felt like it, not limiting themselves to a set of rules or principles, and goddamn, it was lovely. Every episode explored a new world, with new characters and a different sense of fun each and everytime. Flip Flappers understood perfectly well how to have a good time, and it was an absolute fucking blast to watch.
However, all of the fun can easily be destroyed in the face of an underwhelming ending. Flip Flappers was shaping up to be a wonderful series, but a sudden shift from episodic fun to an attempt at establishing a serious story changed everything. You could certainly argue that the final arc was what they were going for the whole time, while everything else was filler, but the “filler” was still significantly better than the actual story. Somehow, even the absolutely gorgeous animation had suffered. In comparison to everything else, the final scenes looked underwhelming. This may seem like a silly criticism, but for a show that boasts visual beauty, it’s disappointing when that beauty fades. Even then, I wouldn’t mind if the story managed to stay on track, but it doesn’t.
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Fun Beginnings
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Flip Flappers absolutely decimated my expectations. The cover screamed nothing more than another typical magical girl anime. However, it really is so much more. This series is about exploration, travelling beyond the unknown, and doing crazy things for the sake of fun.
The series surrounds a middle school girl, Cocona, being carried away from her boring, mundane world by a very mysterious girl, Papika. Cocona gets introduced to this “portal” device that will allow her and Papika to travel to whatever world necessary in order to complete their objective. This objective is to obtain crystal shards, which Papika is having trouble gathering on her own, so she enlists Cocona to help her as best as she can.
Even if you haven’t seen the series, it’s pretty clear that this is a setup for something of an episodic nature. At first, the focus was on Papika, Cocona, and their adventures (or perhaps misadventures) within all of these varying places. Every episode explored a new world, and each world possessed strikingly different themes in a wonderful attempt at originality. It’s hard to confine Flip Flappers to one genre, because it tries so many things over the course of its thirteen episodes. A few examples:
There’s an episode where Papika ventures across a gorgeous orange desert in a battle to the death against a group of bandits. She was trying to protect a weak village of weak creatures, and when she squares off against their leader, she practically goes Super Saiyan, and you see the two zooming across the sky as if you’re watching Dragon Ball Z. This episode is clearly inspired by the super power genre.
There’s an episode where Cocona and Papika have to pilot giant mechs and battle with other giant mechs over the backdrop of a gorgeous neon city, destroying most of that city in the process. This episode is clearly inspired by the mecha genre.
There’s an episode where Cocona and Papika get trapped in a school, where doll-like figures with giant black holes for eyes follow them around telling them that all they want is to be their “friend.” This episode is clearly inspired by the horror genre.
It was hard not to appreciate what the series was trying to do, as every time I clicked “next episode,” I knew I was in for new. This was an absolutely wonderful change from what I had been used to. I was simply in love in with this sense of adventure.
However, Flip Flappers once again decimated my expectations, except this time it wasn’t in a positive sense. The last third tries to give us a real story. It tries to wrap up what it had set up, and it wants to leave us on a good note. I could understand this, as having the series stay episodic through and through was probably a scary thought, so the creators might’ve wanted to at least give it an ending. However, this final arc doesn’t manage to be as likable as the rest of the series, and it really destroyed some of the fun.
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Not-so-fun Endings
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Flip Flappers loses its charm when the creators shift the tone entirely. It tries to develop the characters backstories, give everything some kind of relevance, and they finally tell us what the hell is going on. There’s nothing wrong with what it was aiming for, but it just doesn’t work out the way I would have hoped.
What had happened to Papika and Cocona in their lives is incredibly compelling, and genuinely got me excited. Seeing Papika’s relationship to Cocona’s mother, and how they were stripped away from each other in such a barbaric way gave me goosebumps. We also get an explanation on why they’re searching for these shards, who the people chasing Papika and Cocona are, and why Cocona’s life is the way it is. Everything was explained decently, and at the start of the serious arc, I was convinced that it would work out pretty well.
However, where things start to get messy is when the series encroaches upon the conclusion. As Papika and Cocona draw closer, in an attempt to “save” each other, things become more about love, faith, and their “bond.” This sort of escapism might have worked before, in the mystical and whimsical portion of the series, but after giving us this serious, edgy, more depressing backdrop, all tension is diluted when it’s solved so inconsistently. The goosebumps faded away, and I was left with an empty feeling. It didn’t help that the animation started to take a serious hit. The final scenes felt underwhelming in comparison to the rest of the series. Not only the animation, but where all the previous fights were these epic unbelievable brawls, the final fight was more about hyping up a super-move of love to one-shot the final boss. Even if this was consistent with what the show was originally going for, the changing of the tone towards the end didn’t help that they decided to transition back into what they were originally going for out of nowhere.
Even if you disregard this, it’s not like the serious arc was being handled too well to begin with. Sure, I liked some parts of it, but it didn’t change that the writing started to get a bit messy, characters were acting inconsistently, and the story felt underwhelming with its attempt to dramatize everything. Seeing Papika and Cocona go from lovely, fun personas to this serious bunch with edgy backstories felt out of place. I started to get used to it, but then it did a complete flip and they went back to what they originally were. It’s hard to be sure what to feel at this point, so all I could do was watch aimlessly.
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Conclusion
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Flip Flappers starts out wonderfully, giving us a taste of pure fun for the sake of fun. It does whatever the hell it wants in an attempt to excite you, and it really works. Where things start to fail is when they try to create a darker story, characters, and tone. The serious arc is unfortunately very underwhelming. Although it isn’t bad, it never manages to be as fantastic as the series was beforehand. Flip Flappers really could’ve been something, and I’ll never stop being disappointed that it didn’t turn out the way I wanted.
Myrmiderp
Flip Flappers is a strange anime that I bailed on when I first gave it a shot in 2017. I thought it was a mildly interesting anime with great art but completely insufferable dialogue—you will surely notice that the two main characters scream each others’ names back and forth over and over again for large portions of the show. I came back six years later, and I’m not entirely sure why. Did I feel bad that I didn’t give it a real shot? Did I want it to be better than it was? Well, unfortunately for 2017 me, I stopped on the episode *just before* itstarted getting interesting. I’ll give you this piece of advice: make sure you give it 3 or 4 episodes just to be safe. It’s not that the show *fundamentally changes* or anything, but they really rush you into the premise during the first two episodes, and it takes a while to build up to the meaty bits.
So, what’s good about Flip Flappers? The art is fantastic. The character designs can be a little odd, but it doesn’t take long to get used to. Papika and Cocona explore some *wildly different* environments over the course of the show, and all in all they do a great job keeping everything looking fresh and interesting. The animation is fun, and they really flex their cartooning muscles throughout the series.
In addition, I’d say they do a good job with their mostly episodic plot. Some individual episodes I found to be special and impactful, and they do make a reasonable attempt to tie things together through foreshadowing and metaphor and these intangible themes that carry between episodes. The symbolism and meaning is easily confused for pure irreverence because of how well they’re able to do both at the same time. When it works, it’s great.
I don’t *love* the plot, though. My main criticism is that I wish they did a more consistent job tying the surreal mind-bending themes and environments to tangible truths in their “real world”. They do often, but other times they kind of phone it in and just let it be crazy for crazy’s sake. And this is totally personal preference; if you don’t mind that, then you’ll probably love it. But to me, some things need to be earned, and Flip Flappers takes a lot of narrative elements for granted that I wanted to see them build with honest work. Because of that, I didn’t come away completely satisfied. Also, if you’re watching in English, I’ve never loved Sentai Filmworks’ dubs. They have some good actors, but the direction clotheslines them.
Lastly, hate to bring it up, but I really wish the show didn’t push the sexualization of kids. Look, there are times where the adolescents are sexualized and I *got it*. It felt deserved, like these girls were learning things about themselves, exploring aspects of their personalities that they really hadn’t until now. But then the character designers get kind of greedy and really push it. From there, it rides in that typical anime “these girls are probably too young for this” zone… until the little girl shows up in the high-waisted spaghetti strap v-cut thong with a generous inch of fabric covering her genitals between her otherwise completely exposed midsection and upper thighs. There’s just no need for that, seriously. The show has adults, the show has young teenagers, and then there’s this kid—there is no question as to what’s going on here. It’s not good.
But hey, if you can ignore that last part, it’s a 13 episode series with unique art, and some good themes that they touch on here and there. It’s also a magic girl show so it has that going for it, I suppose.
Plasmatize
When keeping up with 2016 anime, I would often watch a title with a nagging sense that something was missing - something I wasn't seeing that was keeping a show with a workable or seemingly exciting premise from being truly engaging. And yet, for the longest time I couldn’t quite put my finger on exactly what that something was. Then, as the year approached its end, I was shown a world almost entirely unlike anything I knew from that year. Suddenly, it all made sense! What was missing was surprisingly simple: a sense of passion - ambition! A willingness to take risks - to try somethingbold, run with it confidently, and, perhaps most importantly, to have fun along the way!
This key ingredient sums up exactly what Flip Flappers sets out to do, and for the most part, it delivers in style! It’s not a show that’s interested in playing it safe, running with the pack, or following the norm. It does its own thing in its own world. It remains committed to this and never looks back. Not only does it feel novel, but as it runs, it succeeds in providing something many of its contemporaries struggle with: pure, unapologetic fun.
The show immediately pops with a striking presentation style that is excellent for the experience it attempts to create. Anytime the setting enters the whimsical world of Pure Illusion (which it very frequently does), a vibrant and impressionistic colour palette combines with sketchbook character designs to create worlds which immediately pop out at viewers; smears and flashes of colour - the worlds themselves - comes alive onscreen through highly expressive and fluid animation, all backed by a suitably fantastical score. Whenever this show wants to sell a big set piece, bombastic moment or climactic sequence, it does so with ease, energy and expression filling every frame! These moments are exciting; often breathtaking, and they combine with a general livelihood and an ever-present sense of wonder and novelty to immediately make Flip Flappers a fun watch!
But such moments aren’t the only things contributing to this anime's flair. The very nature of Pure Illusion - an abstract world which seems loosely representative of characters' inner states of mind - is a perfect fit for this style of entertainment. Flip Flappers can effortlessly realize just about any setting it wants without it ever feeling out of place, nor completely random. This is great for keeping the level of variety and creativity consistently high. With this, and since much of the show runs on a cohesive semi-episodic structure, pretty much any crazy idea the show comes up with can be successfully built up to, and then executed with gusto!
And so, when the main pair of magical girls suddenly finds itself in an epic high-speed flying surfboard chase to escape from a crazy torture factory, or a DBZ-style fight involving a mind-altering mask culminating in a meteoric final smash, it works like a charm!
All of this crazy not-quite-randomness is thankfully held together by a controlled yet dynamic sense of tone and pacing. Each episode offers something new - something fresh - and each one makes an effort to go all-out with itself. In addition, it all ties into a core theme of the show: that of identity. Pure illusion itself is an expression of this, and in terms of story, each episode for most of the series tackles aspects of the theme in a different and interesting manner. One particular highlight of this (and of the show’s writing as a whole) came in episode 6. I won’t say any more on the matter, but it remains one of my favourite anime episodes of 2016. Point being, the show has a sense of cohesion that keeps most of it from feeling too unhinged, and allows viewers to build up expectations that it can subsequently defy in any number of ways.
Just a few episodes in, I was already preparing to crown this my favourite anime of fall 2016 by far! And... in the end, I definitely think this is a show worth watching, but unfortunately, it hits a few stumbles.
For all the strengths of the show’s presentation and structure, the characterization is often lackluster. While the main characters aren’t one-dimensional, per se, they tend to lack in depth or detail that could really make them interesting to invest in. The main duo of Cocona and Papika can certainly be fun to watch as they contrast with and bounce off each other, but this dynamic relies heavily on moment-to-moment chemistry and less on meaningful conflict or development. That’s not to say it isn’t present. Cocona in particular does go through several instances of personal conflict and development - disagreements with Papika’s adventurous ideologies being one example - but little of it, for Cocona or any other character, is presented with the kind of weight, importance or urgency to get a viewer eager to see them grow or overcome any difficulty. Similar things can be said for the rest of the main cast. As for the supporting characters, they’re pretty forgettable, with maybe one or two exceptions (Again, I refer to episode 6). As a whole, the characters don’t actively harm the show, but rarely do much for it either.
One may also notice many of my aforementioned praises apply to "most" of Flip Flappers. Alas, it admittedly falters a bit later on, and in ways that prevents it from ultimately reaching its full potential. Sometime around the halfway point, Flip Flappers had a change of writers, and it shows. I suspect the general direction of the story was either changed or left on the sidelines for too long, because when things finally start unravel, they REALLY unravel. And so does the quality of storytelling. As if from nowhere, the show decides it has a ton of plot to reveal, and is going to pick up the pace as much as it deems necessary to get through it all.
How much is that, exactly? Enough that all the viewer's attention is suddenly fixated on following this mass of new information and development, instead of actually enjoying the ride. Flip Flappers, which relies so heavily on its apparent simplicity and well-paced structure to remain grounded - to create its special brand of charm - loses itself to a degree when it comes unhinged. In its strives for progression, it sacrifices any chance to be reflective or create a sense of wonder and fascination, and it doesn't leave the audience much time to catch their breath either.
The result resembles a rollercoaster whose design was unexpectedly and radically altered partway through assembly. What was once a carefully-paced ride quickly becomes a tornado of loops and corkscrews and twists and turns one after another, and another, and another, and another, while the track suddenly becomes bumpier and more hastily-thrown together at the expense of rider comfort!
It’s almost as though they got two-thirds of the way through construction and realized the track was too straightforward, so they decided to build THREE TIMES AS MANY CRAZY TURNS into the last third to compensate! “What’s that?! We’ll make our riders dizzy?! No worries! We’ve got them in the cart already!” I admire the ambition, but Flip Flappers may have tried to tackle just a tad TOO much. Attempting to cram all the resulting plot development into 4-5 episodes was always going to be nigh impossible without the pacing suffering to a degree. If it had been granted a longer construction time and was a 2-cour series, then likely none of this would have been a problem, but regardless, what we got was, at times, a bit of a mess.
Thankfully, Flip Flappers doesn’t completely lose its way during this segment. Even at its clumsiest of times, it never completely loses direction, and if one can keep up with its frenetic pace, the story can still be followed to a degree. In addition, its sense of expressiveness and energy remains mostly intact throughout, while the visual quality stays impressively consistent. And fortunately, this jerky ride still eventually reaches a fairly satisfying and conclusive stopping point (ending) so riders can steady themselves.
One final silver lining to the comparatively weaker third act actually emerges from the previous ones, and that is the show’s knack for effective foreshadowing. For all the twists, turns and unexpected bits of information Flip Flappers eventually blasts through, many of them are actually built up to quite well. While a few things still feel a bit spontaneous, Flip Flappers as a whole rarely seems to haphazardly throw out its plot twists without some level of setup. I won't be giving anything away here, as even with the chaotic structure near the end, discovering these things can be fun to an extent. Amidst all of them, though, there was one revelation in particular that really impressed me with its unusual yet brilliant method of foreshadowing. Without giving too much information, one of the ways it hints at itself is through the very structure of certain episodes themselves, and the effect that structure has on the viewer. If that sounds rather meta, you’d be right, but if it sounds like I’m overthinking things, I can affirm I’m not.
If only the viewer was a bit more invested in the character(s) involved. Then, perhaps, this revelation would have had more impact - beyond its novel execution - and indeed, the same can be said for the show as a whole.
Ultimately, Flip Flappers concludes itself as an imperfect but valuable marvel. It strides forth unexpectedly, as if from another other world, seemingly out of nowhere, to show what it can achieve! As a thematically varied audiovisual treat, full of creative energy, it possesses a rare, passionate desire to do what many series forgot how to do: to just have fun for once. In today’s period of frequent anime monotony, Flip Flappers stands out as a welcome modern breath of fresh air; one that knows its strengths, and plays to them well. Even if it didn’t quite reach the highs I was initially hoping for, it has enough standout qualities to make it worth watching for anyone interested. One small warning, though: the ending theme won't be leaving your head for a while.
cottonpie
Flip Flappers is without a doubt eye-pleasing. The first half of the series is intuitive, spontaneous, and entertaining. At first, the story is confusing. It's not clear what you're watching but makes you connect the dots as you watch more. For one thing though, the animation is superb. The themes are not clear cut, they're actually quite ambiguous. The show's themes require you to think a little bit and piece it together which can be challenging but interesting. It makes you think and each scene is meticulously made to probe thought. But as you watch more you'll find the themes resonate more as a coming-of-agestory surrounding the main character, Cocona such as gaining independence and exploring your place in the world and identifying who you in relationship to the people around you.
Unless you wanted this theme explicit to you, then this may not be the anime for you.
Otherwise, this anime relies on animation a lot to help the audience make inferences about the story and drive the momentum of the story. However, this also means that the characters are not fleshed out enough. I feel like the show had a lot of opportunities to grow their characters more but a lot of them are left without actual substance to the story. For instance, there are a few characters that come up that are seemingly important but if you were to think of their contribution to the anime as a whole, that importance may not be there.
Also, the pacing of the anime is confusing (perhaps re-watching might change my mind about this). The first half of the series is a slow-build and it gets more intense towards the last 4-5 episodes. But as the series goes into the end, the story becomes messy and there's a lot of information thrown at you which can be overwhelming. Surprisingly enough, the animation quality is still consistent. But, there's quite a number of plot holes and ongoing questions that the anime fails to answer or give closure. There is some attempt to answer these questions but it's still very ambiguous episode after episode.
Overall, the the series is highly commendable. It's intuitive, fun, and very eye-pleasing. The use of colors and animation is superb and impressively consistent. An ongoing problem with the show is that there's a plot holes in most of the episodes (probably due to their heavy reliance on using animation to tell the story) and become more frequent in the end of the series. However the ambiguity makes you think and urges you to piece it together.
Also, there is a tendency of throwing too much information at the audience especially towards the end of the series. The characters are not fleshed out that much but perhaps this was done intentionally to probe that "coming-of-age" theme.
Even so, I would urge anyone to watch this anime. It's entertaining, amusing, thought-provoking, and fun-loving. Give Flip Flappers a chance!
(Review subject to change after rewatching)
BlueKite
Flip Flappers is a show I didn’t initially care about as I just saw it as an average cutesy fantasy show. Magical girls, inter-dimensional journeys, cute aesthetics, these are things that the show possess that have been done before already. I wasn’t a fan of the cast at first as well. Most of the cast lack substance and the two main characters Cocona and Papika’s rollercoaster relationship annoyed me to death. However, I kept watching and every new journey that unfolds lead to new things that continually picked up my interest. It eventually peaked and came to the realization that this show proved that ithas a lot of potential, albeit not all of them has come to fruition.
The first thing that fascinated me is the visuals. They are just hypnotizing as we are presented the world of Pure Illusion and how it contrasts with the real world. The animation is good yet eccentric at times with its bright colors and fast-paced scene transitions, like a constant attempt to grab the viewer’s attention. It’s honestly the main reason I didn’t decide to drop the show early on, it’s just a well-done eye candy.
The setting looks generic but it keeps on unveiling a lot of things, though gimmicky at times, as the main duo travels through the different faces of Pure Illusion. It helped me understand the characters better as it reflects the character’s perspective. Cocona sees it as a nuisance yet Papika sees it as an adventure. Yayaka sees it as a long-term mission and the rest of the cast sees it as a mystery. This conflict aided the strengthening of relationships especially the two main characters who seemingly fight all the time.
As the show progressed in the second half, major revelations are being dropped one by one which caught me off-guard. The whole Pure Illusion started making sense with respect to what the objective of the story is. While I mostly received this as a positive thing, it’s also problematic since the show decided to suddenly go deep into the story when it’s been doing well episodically beforehand.
Like mentioned before, the show has a lot of potential as it keeps opening these potential plot points by the episode. New aspects of the setting are being explored, the characters are starting to get fleshed out, and the story is starting to take flight with the real objective being uncovered. However, not all of them were addressed by the end of the show. There were a lot of questions and mysteries left to what the show was trying to offer. It’s like we are presented these tasty ingredients prepared to be transformed into a dish, but the product feels unfinished. Nevertheless, the story remains solid enough to not crumble on itself.
Overall, Flip Flappers managed to go beyond my underwhelming first impression. It turned out to be one of the best shows this season had to offer. It’s a show recommended to those who like cute girls dealing with fantasy elements with a bit of personal edge to it. Well-presented, consistent, cutesy, heartwarming, I think I already written enough trying to describe how a surprising delight this show is despite addressing a considerable amount of issues but give it a shot anyway. It looks nothing special on the surface, but you might be in for a possible surprise.
ggultra2764
Flip Flappers is an original entry in the magical girl genre focused on middle school student Cocona and her interactions with the energetic Papika as both adventure in the alternate world of Pure Illusion taking on enemy creatures and acquiring magical powers from the amorphus gems that are left behind by the creatures when defeated. The one thing that sticks out with Flip Flappers is its gorgeous animation when the series is taken over to Pure Illusion. The scenery of Pure Illusion offers up some rather creative and bizarre environments and enemies that Cocona and Papika encounter in their adventures that include a colorful landscape whereour two heroines start to develop rabbit-like characteristics and a gloomy version of their school that traps the two girls in a time loop. There are a variety in the types of threats that Cocona and Papika have to confront within Pure Illusion that allow for some variety in the type of choreography seen in action scenes throughout the series from a typical superhero-powered battle to even a mecha fight. The animation has some shortcomings with character designs looking a bit on the simple side for details in certain regards and some of the animated sequences looking a bit jerky with movement. But these don't detract too heavily from the rather unique presentation offered with Flip Flappers.
Moving past presentation, Flip Flappers' storytelling is mostly straightforward with focusing on Cocona and Papika's adventures. The first half of the series is mostly focused on the two girls collecting the amorphus gems they acquire from defeated enemy creatures, learning more about the world of Pure Illusions, developing their relationship, and crossing paths with a rival organization also seeking out the amorphus gems for mysterious reasons. There are hints dropped in early episodes that Cocona and Papika may have a closer connection than what it would seem on the surface. The second half gradually explores these developments (and what is revealed leads to a dramatic twist for the series compared to its more light-hearted mood) and the motives of the rival organization in question, which eventually build up to a climactic battle that tests the bond that our two heroines established with one another throughout the course of the series. The revelations mostly make sense when looking back on some of the hints dropped, though there are a few unclear elements to the plot that Flip Flappers regrettably does not address in its finale.
Minor issues aside, Flip Flappers was still a solid entry in the magical girl genre having a creative alternate world that Cocona and Papika have their adventures in and offers up an engaging plot focused on exploring the bond and connections that our two heroines have with one another. A solid recommendation if you are a fan of magical girl titles.
Maddyoso
(Updated 12/31) For anyone who's seen the other works of Studio 3Hz, you'd know that they created Sora no Method, which spiked about a 6.7/10 on MyAnimeList, and continues to be criticized for one of the worst plot holes seen in anime. On top of Sora no Method, Dimension W, a Sci-Fi Seinen that got pretty popular spiked about 7.3/10 on MyAnimeList. Studio 3Hz didn't do Dimension W on their own, the did it in part with the studio Orange, and besides Sora no Method, there seemed to be no original, redeeming work that could make a name for this studio. Fall 2016 rolls around, and withthe releases of several new fan favorites and a few new sequels to popular anime, Flip Flappers was one of the releases. Just like every season, there's seemingly one or two anime that get pushed aside and not really mentioned, and Flip Flappers is one of those anime. Does it deserve it? Absolutely not.
Flip Flappers is something totally different, a breath of fresh air in terms of animation, character, music, story, and setting. Every time I watched an episode of Flip Flappers, I felt happy, relaxed, and desperate to watch the next episode. It starts early with a hook, and it definitely keeps you reeled in.
Studio 3Hz really blew it out of the water with this fun, colorful, beautiful, and enjoyable anime with extremely likable characters, both protagonist and antagonist and even background characters who are hardly mentioned.
Story - 8
Flip Flappers has a concept I've never seen portrayed in anime. The collection of "fragments" throughout the setting of Pure Illusion is both relaxing and will keep you on the edge of your seat to see what happens. The setting Studio 3Hz set for Flip Flappers is gorgeous and so flexible, so full of adventure and molds the story into something that's beautiful, enjoyable, and allows viewers to feel like they're a part of the world Flip Flappers portrays.
However, what keeps the story from the perfect 10 is that in the first 4-5 episodes, the story seems scattered and spotty. The execution of the story is weak, but eventually the hook that starts in the second episode with more story in Pure Illusion makes the story eventually progress like it should. The first few episodes seem to lack follow a plot that progresses later into the anime, it's more to show us, the viewers, the world of Pure Illusion, and the inhabitants and natives of Pure Illusion.
If the story in the beginning would've started off with the story of Cocona's confusion about her life, and about her parents, and how she's started going to Pure Illusion after meeting Papika, then this score would be much higher.
Art - 10
Flip Flappers has gorgeous animation and character and setting design that Studio 3Hz has never indulged in. To quote my friend, it has that "Trigger" feel to it. The feeling that reminds you of Kill la Kill or Uchuu Patrol Luluco. The animation is smooth, the setting of Pure Illusion is gorgeously portrayed and makes you want to pause so you don't miss a single thing it shows you. Even when the setting isn't in Pure Illusion, the art is still bright and colorful.
Even when the ambience on the animation and color is turned down to a darker scale, like in some parts of Pure Illusion or at night time, it still pops out and looks gorgeous. The art is extraordinary.
Sound - 10
Personally my favorite part of the show is the sound and music. I'll be honest to tell you that the opening song and ending song are probably on my top favorite anime songs of all time. The music is just the right amount of hype to get the viewers excited for the episode that follows, and the ending song is peaceful and has the viewers on their toes desperate for the next episode, so they can experience the beautiful atmosphere this anime create.
The sound for the battles that happen are realistic, but also add to the added Sci-Fi genre Flip Flappers have, giving it that "futuristic" feel. That's what I love most about this anime - it's Sci-Fi, but it's not a Sci-Fi that's ruined with over-the-top cliches, especially in terms of the sound. The ambience and sound in Pure Illusion just hypes up the gorgeous setting more and more.
Character - 9
The characters in Flip Flappers are unique and all differentiate from one another. We have Cocona, who later in the anime has more of an important role than the beginning, but is portrayed at first as an idolized honors student. Papika is a mixture of our comic relief, but is also Cocona's loyal, cute, and enjoyable partner. Together, these two take adventure into Pure Illusion, where we meet Yayaka, who is partnered with Yuyu and Toto. Yayaka, Yuyu and Toto prove to be interesting characters and great antagonists for our heroes Cocona and Papika.
With Pure Illusion being used in the first few episodes just to show off how this universe and world work, we are given a variety of unique and amazing characters that do not come back after the episode they're premiered in. Characters like Welwitschia would be amazing to see work alongside Yayaka, Yuyu and Toto, but is seemingly removed right after her appearance. Uexküll, Cocona's pet rabbit, is given a good chunk of screen time in the beginning and is seemingly shown to maybe have an impact in the show, but never actually does a lot. And the addition of TT-392, or Buu-chan could've been done so much better. Buu-chan seems to have a lot of potential, but is easily manipulated and converts to whatever female antagonist is thrown at us, and seems to be more of a hinderance than a partner to Cocona and Papika.
Enjoyment - 10
As I've continually mentioned in my review, the anime's hook starts right when we're introduced to Cocona's and Papika's delve into the wonderful and gorgeous world of Pure Illusion. The anime is extremely enjoyable and makes you want to delve into the same adventures of Cocona and Papika (Studio 3Hz, Flip Flappers game pleaseee?) Every Thursday watching this anime, I was so excited for the newest episodes to come out that I would wait at the 30 minute mark before they came onto Crunchyroll just to watch them right then and there.
This show is extremely fun and enjoyable, and it's definitely my pick for my absolute favorite for Fall 2016.
Overall - 9.4/10 (rounded down to 9/10)
I could not recommend this anime more. It's so fun and so stunning, Studio 3Hz really blew it out of the water with this.
WATCH. THIS. ANIME!
Stacys__Mom
As with any type of storytelling media, the overall value of a show will be inevitably judged by how much the viewer makes out of it. And, if there’s a show that exemplifies this idea of a viewer’s dedication to enjoying something affecting their overall opinion of it, it’s a strange little magical girl show from Fall of 2016. Flip Flappers is one of the most polarizing series I’ve ever seen in anime. On the one hand, there are those who would defend it as ingenious and philosophically meaningful, while on the other hand there are those who dismiss it as cheap yuribait with a contrivedand unfitting final arc. Obviously, I’m not going to be in the hate camp. But I won’t be trying to defend the show’s philosophical value either. I’m simply here to explain the reasons why I enjoyed a fun little Alice-in-Wonderland-style romp through the mind-bending world of Pure Illusion.
CHARACTERS - 7/10
The characters in this series are quite simple to understand, be it for better or for worse. Three stand out as our main heroines: Cocona, a melancholic schoolgirl who desires to quietly lead a normal, safe life but often finds herself going on fantastic adventures; Papika, an energetic girl who seems to be the polar opposite of Cocona in almost every way, and Yayaka, a more mature girl who seems to be grounded in reality as is Cocona, but even less so susceptible to the emotions that drive Papika.
Some fans have compared these three girls to the proposed three parts of the human psyche: id, ego and superego. This comparison would paint a picture of Cocona (ego) being pulled towards emotional, spontaneous desires by Papika (id) while simultaneously being pulled toward more realistic, colder motivations by Yayaka (superego). Now, there is no way to confirm whether or not the writers initially intended to structure the interactions of their characters in this way. However, it certainly makes for interesting and believable interactions, because the fact remains that, whether intentionally or not, the characters do reflect the psyche and the internal conflicts felt by almost everyone.
One of the biggest appeals of this show is the way that it embraces the “show, don’t tell” style of storytelling. The first eight episodes of the show focus almost solely on Cocona’s relationship with Papika, demonstrating to the viewers their characteristics and the clashes in their ideals by putting them in various fantasy situations that they’ll need to work together to get out of. Because of how, as the viewers, we able to experience the girls’ interactions firsthand rather than by being told about them via exposition dumps, the climax of the series when Yayaka starts to play a bigger role in the story feels much more meaningful than it would have if the show hadn’t spent its first two-thirds introducing us to our characters.
The side characters, although fun, don’t serve much of a purpose other than to provide occasional exposition or fanservice. However, each of them, no matter how small their role in the story may be, undergoes a complete character arc by the finale. All of their motivations and worldviews are explained through flashbacks, which additionally help us to understand their reasons for doing what they do and, more importantly, why Pure Illusion behaves for them in the way that it does.
VISUALS - 9/10
Easily one of the strongest aspects of this show is the visual style. The art is totally unique, looking very much like a strange combination of SHAFT’s character designs and Trigger’s vibrant, energetic artistry. The characters are drawn beautifully, and the landscapes of Pure Illusion somehow look even better. The trippy watercolors that blend together to form the backgrounds are stunning, and very well convey the atmosphere for any given episode. The dull grays that blend together during the “horror” episode set a completely different tone than the neon lights of the “mecha” episode, which feels altogether unique when compared to the infamous “Mad Max” episode.
Because Flip Flappers is a show about differences in perception of reality, another thing that it does exceedingly well is conveying a character’s emotion by showing what they can see. In one episode, Cocona and Papika are experiencing childhood through the eyes of girl in a dysfunctional family. When she walks in on her parents fighting, they are drawn very loosely, and they pulsate and distort, colors blending and changing to reflect the terror and confusion that this girl feels.
Flip Flappers also likes to tell its story through the use of symbolism and optical illusions. Early on, a character shows up who will later be revealed to be a villain masquerading as a kindhearted woman. Her first few appearances depict her as the famous illusion that makes it impossible to identify whether the figure in question is a beautiful girl or an old hag. Later on, the show teaches us to associate two characters with each other by giving them the same clover crown at two different times in two different episodes. It even warns us that it will get darker near the end during the first episode, when Cocona and Papika huddle together in the unmistakable shape of a human skull. Even simple things like inconsistencies in reflections tell entire stories in themselves, and a sharp-eyed viewer is rewarded handsomely for their attention to detail. If you pay close attention, you can predict almost the entire show just by watching the OP.
Finally, the animation during action sequences is absolutely brilliant. The fights are characterized by colorful explosions and bright streaks of color as the camera does loops and flips to follow our heroines. My personal favorite sequence is when Cocona and Papika fall through a tunnel into Pure Illusion, and the lines of their characters and the colors of ear skin and clothes begin to change and flash in a total acid trip of gorgeous animation. There is a beautiful scene when someone explodes into clover leaves that drift through the air in a single spectacular shot.
During the final episode, the Flip Flappers team ran into budget problems. Because of this, there is an obvious drop in quality during the finale, causing the show to just look “good” and not “phenomenal.” But hey - Evangelion ran into the same situation, and everyone loves that show.
SOUND - 10/10
The soundtrack is, simply put, one of the best I’ve ever heard. The OP is very catchy, and all of the insert songs are memorable and fit the tone of the scene well. However, the real shining point in the soundtrack is the ED, which is not only easily the best ending theme ever, but one of the best pieces of music ever. Listening to the ED just once will give you a good idea of how the series plays out. It starts as a simple, upbeat song accompanied by little bubbles and other sound effects that fully immerse you in its musical world, but it gradually evolves into an epic, more-than-slightly foreboding and mysterious orchestral piece that sounds like something out of Madoka Magica.
STORY - 7/10
Flip Flappers is a show about the Umwelt. The Umwelt is a theory proposed by a scientist named Uexkull (people who have watched the first few episodes of Flip Flappers may recognize Uexkull as the name of Cocona’s pet rabbit). This theory states that perception of reality is different for every given organism, and that each interpretation of the same experience is just as correct as the next. This show takes the seemingly abstract and advanced concept of Umwelten and makes it much more accessible and fun by presenting us with a story about two magical girls who have the ability to jump into these realities created by other people’s interpretations of their surroundings.
Now, what sets Flip Flappers apart from other magical girl anime is the fact that, after jumping into these Umwelten (called “Pure Illusion” in the show), what our characters do has a clear effect on the “real” world after they leave. Large amounts of the story are told through symbolism, and the viewer has to be paying full attention in order to get the full experience. For the first eight episodes, very little plot development actually occurs, or, at least, very little that is immediately visible. The final arc harkens back to everything that has happened thus far, and has the potential to catch the viewer by surprise if they got too used to the idea of being drip-fed a story. Flip Flappers draws influences from, parodies, and gives not-so-subtle nods to (some would even say “rips off”) Evangelion, Mad Max, Code Geass, Gurren Lagann, Alice in Wonderland, and Nausicaa, to name a few. I won’t try to defend these influences due to the fact that they didn’t bother me. The story was still a good one, and that was what mattered.
There are many theories as to what deeper meanings may be concealed within Flip Flappers’ eccentric plot. One of the more obvious points is the fact that, as the story goes on, it becomes more and more apparent that Cocona and Papika are in love with each other. As Cocona struggles to come to terms with her sexuality, she is eventually forced to confront an over-protective mother who is less than pleased that her daughter is a lesbian.
Additionally, Pure Illusion has been compared to the Dantean model of Hell by some, as various characters in the show state that Pure Illusion has layers, much like Dante’s model. Symbols of Hell and similar concepts such as the Thinker statue, the Drowning of Ophelia, and a literal vision of eternal damnation populate the show’s early episodes. Now, as I said, I’m not going to try and defend the show’s supposed philosophical value. But I will state that the entire series is very open to interpretation, almost as though it is the viewer’s own Umwelt. I can’t say whether or not this is intentional, but it’s very enjoyable either way.
The show can be divided logically into two halves. As previously stated, the first half is about Cocona and Papika’s relationship, and is very episodic. Some of the episodes suffer pacing issues, but nothing too dramatically awkward happens. Following the girls’ ninth trip into Pure Illusion, the plot finally kicks in and the show starts to feel more deconstructive, or at least much darker and more mature. Similar to how the Harry Potter books get progressively darker to reflect Harry’s maturing, Flip Flappers does the same as Cocona finally comes to terms with her sexuality. This is what has awarded the show with the most criticism: the ending. However, it didn’t bother me, because I saw it coming all along.
ENJOYMENT - 9/10
There’s not much to say here. I love this show. I would run home from school on Thursdays just to watch the latest episode, then lie down and ponder it for at least a good hour afterwards. I participated in drawing the great big thank you card that /a/ sent to the studio after the last episode.
OVERALL - 8/10
Flip Flappers is quite the enjoyable ride, for someone willing to keep an open mind and accept the show for what it is. It’s unique and pretty, if nothing else. Give it a try, and see if it suits your taste. If you aren’t sold by episode 5, it’s probably not going to be worth your time. But if you’re looking for something equal parts tender and intricate, this is a perfect choice.
