Flip Flappers

Score: 4.5 out of 5 stars / 8 out of 10 Pros: Gorgeous animation Unique narrative that is layered and weaves together the random elements of the first 6 or 7 episodes into a longer narrative "pay-off" The random episodes, even seemingly without a coherent plot, are a true joy to watch Cocona and Papika's evolving relationship Never knowing what to expect Cons: Exposition at the end felt a tad bit rushed Character introduced towards the end with no narrative importance There is an instance in episode 11 where the animation was still frames for 5 seconds. This did not effect the story Not everything was fully explained in the end but the conclusion is still satisfying Review Summary: Innovative anime with lots of hidden nuances and metaphors behind all the fun insanity. The story is deeper than it first appears. You may like this if: You enjoy FLCL, Magical Shopping Arcade Abenobashi, or Paprika. Recommended

I have a weird and personal hangup with that anime, because halfway through it made me hope for something way grander, but then it used very safe tropes. Maybe someone else would feel that way? So I'm sharing my thought for those who like to take on a "writerly" stance towards what they watch and read—that is, a stance that participates a lot in creating meaning rather than letting the work do it all. Great animation and characters, I remember the OST being good, none of this is a problem. By the way look up what the rabbit's name refers to, biosemiotics are very interesting. In the first half, the anime starts pointing, maybe accidentally, at a very interesting concept: flip-flapping can actually deeply affect the psyche of other persons, with ethically questionable results. The two main characters also seem to want to become more independent from their organization and the missions they're given, because they're facing novel problems. I just love this kind of rule-breaking and bigger stakes overriding the initial ones, so it made me very hyped. The potential seemed enormous. Then the second half gets back into "let's fight the evil organization" and figuring out mysteries that could have been left unsolved to preserve some wonder. Then it ends on a final lesson that other anime have already done but better. It's not awful! But wow, this is so, so much less interesting than what the first seemed to be starting to point to. I don't think most viewers saw this potential, so for them the experience was good or great. If you did see it, this is like a curse, because the second half does *not* live up to it!

I love this show so much; it is a thoughtfully written queer coming of age/self acceptance story that is paired with beautifully designed worlds and whimsical animation, but it has the problem of having a female writer and male producers/directors. I don't like how the middle school aged protagonists are overly sexualized, with kill la kill style transformation sequences and robots that like to perve on the girls. I have such fond memories of watching this show (especially when I was a similar age to the girls), and I would still recommend it for anyone wanting to watch an anime with great queer representation. I still want people to enjoy this story written by a queer woman (even if it is mishandled by male producers), but I'd still watch with a discerning eye.

Flip Flappers is an underrated masterpiece. Character writing 10, story telling 10, world design 10. This is not a typical magical girl type anime or an all cute cutie world thingy. The show starts off really weird and kinda confusing, but with time past it forms such an interesting plot with amazing characters who fit perfectly into the world. Whoever made this show, had a vision and stick to it. It's different, and it doesn't try to fit in, and this is totally fine. In fact, that's the reason why this show will be something refreshing in times of repetitive, overused settings and the same old story. If you need something fresh and a deep, touching story, this anime is perfect for you. I don't want to spoiler you. Just give it a chance and get lost in a fantastic world.

First thing to note is that the art style & animation are absolutely gorgeous. The characters have a wonderful hand drawn look to them, while the backgrounds have a stunning painted look, every single frame is a pleasure to behold. Next the soundtrack/score which just like the animation is amazing & incredibly diverse as one minute you get a nice, light traditional percussion piece & the next you'll be tapping away to a fast paced, energetic techno piece for some of the more intense action sequences. The series also features a few mind bending & surreal sections/locations that just add to the overall uniqueness of the series, that also helps to keep you on your toes as you never know what's coming up in the next scene. The series follows Papika & Cocona as they adventure in the world of Pure Illusion in search of Shards that once collected will unleash your wildest dreams & wishes (and perhaps more). Papika is a very energetic, bouncy girl who can tend to follow her heart more than her head often leading into trouble but all the while she's having fun & has quite a thirst for adventure, whereas Cocono is more steadfast & tends to more often than not use her intelligence & not rush into things before thinking them through & at the beginning isn't very adventurous like Papika. It's the relationship between these two that really carries the entire show watching them grow & bond with each other is an absolute joy to watch. Except many plot twists & character revelations that'll leave you speechless as well. For a series almost reminiscent of the works of Studio Ghibli & with some lovely heart warming scenes, tear jerking moments & a hearty dose of adventure & fun this is a show that'll keep you entertained until the final credits roll. 9/10

overall: Flip Flappers has a very gorgeous, bright, and fun animation style, which is why it is ranked a six. it truly was a pleasure to watch, plus a stellar op and ed which i really enjoyed. but it does fall flat in terms of the story. the majority of points given are for how cute papika and cocona are, plus the visuals. characters: the 13 episodes focused mainly on papika and cocona, and they do have a very lovely relationship that i enjoyed watching grow, but the side characters also piqued my interest, so it was disappointing that they weren't fleshed out more. yayaka's character development seemed to be going somewhere when she was reconciling her choices and her relationship with cocona, but she didn't have a major part in the final battle or an opportunity for her to "prove her love" in the way that cocona and paprika did in the final battle. yayaka could have been more than a side character, given how much love she has for cocona and how intertwined their lives are. i appreciated mimi's character and how she represents the line between a loving, protective mother, and a controlling, violent mother. however, i would really have loved to see how she got to that point, and to have seen her "descent into madness"; it seemed like a missed opportunity. the same goes for salt, who in his earlier years is portrayed as a curious, kind researcher who turns cold and domineering. i think that what really carries it for me is this soft spot that i have for this “type a meets type b” trope, with one character being the charismatic extrovert (papika) and the other being a hesitant introvert (cocona) but having two wonderful main characters seemed to have left the side characters neglected. story: as far as pacing, i enjoyed how the earlier episodes were focused on just the fun adventures the girls were having but they definitely could have added more information pertaining to the larger plot in the beginning to tie in the beginning of the show with the end, instead of having such a harsh division of "fun beginning" and "serious final boss end" (but, having all the information at once was a similar experience to how cocona found things out, so maybe it was intentional?) there were many things that were left underdeveloped, such as the origin of the organizations, how pure illusion came to be, how the wishes work, or each person's wish, and the side story with the older art student. this story truly could have been something spectacular, which is why its a bummer that its not. this could have potentially been solved by making the series into a movie (as my brother suggested) or by adding another 12 episodes, to hopefully spend more time fleshing out the world, while still having time for papika and cocona's fun adventures.

In a sense, 'Flip Flappers' is a bit of a tricky show to review, because it's a slippery show. Not in a bad way, not at all. But I can't help but approach this review feeling like I can't entirely work out what works and what doesn't, simply because of how weird it is. Okay, that's a little untrue, there's plenty I can say unreservedly, despite the weirdness, mostly in the raw production value of it. Despite coming from a studio that, at the time, had only made two previous series, the animation feels clean and well-executed, definitely showing a good use of its budget to create a world, and often action scenes, that feel like they wouldn't be out of place in the work of studios like TRIGGER and SHAFT. The score is also absolutely top, a unique, fun soundtrack that sticks out in the best ways, with a nice amount of variation between them. The conceptual work is fantastic, with each new alternate world feeling unique and wonderfully bizarre, and really makes the story easier to buy into because of it. But, like I say, that story is weird, and it makes it hard to get a grip on, because at so many points, I feel like it's walking a tightrope, and it knows it. Part of me feels like the story is a little on the messy side, a little jumbled in places, a little weirdly paced, but at the same time the core of the story manages to feel so sharp and concise, and it never actually leaves you feeling particularly confused, that I can't help but argue in the show's defence that the messiness is deliberate; it's hardly out of the question that a show about weird worlds that mess with human logic might be a little creative with its structure, and it's not like this show's as difficult to follow as something like the 'Monogatari' series. It definitely feels like it makes a couple of jumps, a couple of scenes that feel like we missed, but it wasn't like I was ever overly confused either? It's a strange show, that feels like it's playing around with how you tell a story, and if I'm right, then this show works well, and if I'm making it up, then it's probably a mark against it. Ultimately, anyone who reviews something, especially something they liked, is going to be generous and a little biased, so I'm going to go with the former. Because, weirdness aside, I did think 'Flip Flappers' was pretty fantastic. On the surface level, it's a fun, silly Magical Girl show with a good aesthetic and some solid action, that gives you enough to cling onto with the characters journeys that it elevates the show that step higher. It's also a pretty fantastically executed queer love story, that isn't embarrassed to wear its heart on its sleeve in that regard, and gives us a pairing that's always easy to root for, long before the romance aspects seep to the surface. There are a definitely a couple of things that I might have liked; not even criticisms, they don't ruin the show that's there, but little things that I'd have liked to see. While it doesn't have the impact on the story something like 'Angel Beats' or 'Farewell, My Dear Cramer', I think a 24 episode run would have given some breathing space, some time for a handful more low-stakes adventures in Pure Illusion that happen off-screen in the show we got, as well as some time to expand on the worldbuilding aspects that get left behind; more about FlipFlap and its members would have been nice to see, given how fun the characters are. But, overall, I don't really have anything bad to say about this. It was fun, the story was weird and a little messy (deliberately or otherwise) but absolutely a well-told narrative, about characters that were easy to connect with and root for. I had a lot of fun, and I'm sure you will too.

very few issues with this anime at all. the thing about this is how many different genres and ideas it puts together in every episode that also progresses the story it has... like what else is there to say? the art is beautiful, and actually very stylized of its own accord. its got the ghibli vibe at times but then the rest its on its own level. and the scene creation and story creation is phenomenal. this is one of those anime you can sit there and break down to understand everything if you want to but it gives you enjoyment no matter what level of thinking you do. just an amazing anime. i guess the only bad thing i have to say was the ship i had in it being disturbed. but still def watch it

Holy shucks did I love watching this show. The show was fantastic. So let’s get into why. The first thing I have to say is anime is weird. It’s sad as it often something that though continue reviewing you kind of lose A sense of awareness of it. It shows like these that brings out the weirdness which I am so dearly love from anime. This show offered one of the most unique experiences I’ve ever seen. Every episode followed new themes, some episodes had darker more serious scary terms, and others were super lighthearted and funny. I personally really enjoyed Episode 3 as I felt it encapsulates the show well. The one aspect of the show that I never felt really dropped had to be the animation. I can’t think of a single fight that I didn’t say “oh that looks good” or “Damn, kick it’s ass.” Really I enjoyed watching this. The characters were also amazing in the piecing in the show felt very fitting for the show. I really like how they introduce subtle hints to a deeper story behind the scenes which is slowly unraveled over the episode, it’s also weird to say that 13 episodes felt so long (in a good way) yet allowed for me to think “how is it already over” by the end credits. Finally the characters. Each character felt so unique and interesting, with so many on interactions among them. I really enjoyed the piecing together on how everyone knew each other. Overall this offered a weird, unique, fun, interesting, and overall engaging story. It shows like this that I watch anime for.

Review [EN/PT-BR] Note: this text was translated from PT-BR to EN by google translator [EN] A well-traveled psychedelic mahou shoujo, I think that phrase goes well with the idea that I had when watching the first episodes of FliFla. The anime is fun in several parts, but there was a lot that seemed to drag me, one thing that bothered me a little was not understanding anything during several episodes, it didn't seem to have a significant progression for me, only after 8 to 9 episodes that it felt like the anime was giving me some answers. This can please or dislike depending on the person, in my case, it was something negative that made me lose a little interest in finishing the work. Another negative point, in my view, was how things were resolved through feelings, resembling shounen animes a lot without giving many explanations of why. I usually don't give it much importance, but this time it bothered me. Something that is worth highlighting as a positive point is animation and the characters, the animation is beautiful, fluid and very well done, the colors are vivid and strong, I didn't think I would see so much quality in such an anime. With regard to characters, there are no bad characters, most are not very well developed, but it is an anime of 13 episodes, you can't ask for the impossible, the main characters are cool, Papika is extremely charismatic and fun, it improves the mood of the series, Cocona is a good character, however, it is boring at sometimes. Overall I liked it, but I don't love it. [PT-BR] Um mahou shoujo psicodélico bem viajado, acho que essa frase passa bem a ideia que eu tive ao ver os primeiros episódios de FliFla. O anime é divertido em várias partes, mas teve muita coisa que pareceu arrastada pra mim, uma coisa que me incomodou um pouco foi não entender nada durante vários episódios, não parecia ter uma progressão significativa para mim, só após uns 8 a 9 episódios que pareceu que o anime me estava dando algumas respostas. Isso pode agradar ou desagradar dependendo da pessoa, no meu caso, foi algo negativo que me fez perder um pouco o interesse em terminar a obra. Outro ponto negativo ao meu ver foi como as coisas eram resolvidas através de sentimentos, lembrando bastante os animes do gênero shounen sem dar muitas explicações do porquê. Eu costumo não dar muita importância pra isso, mas dessa vez me incomodou. Algo que vale destacar como ponto positivo é animação e as personagens, a animação é linda, fluida e muito bem feita, as cores são vividas e fortes, não pensei que iria ver tanta qualidade em um anime desse tipo. No que diz respeito a personagens, não tem nenhum personagem ruim, a maioria não são muito bem desenvolvidos, mas é um anime de 13 episódios, não da pra pedir o impossível, as personagens principais são legais, a Papika é extremamente carismática e divertida, ela melhora o clima da série, a Cocona é uma boa personagem, porém, é chata em alguns momentos. No geral eu gostei, mas não adorei.

Flip Flappers is a great, cutesy, mahou shoujo. I enjoyed the carefree feel that Papika created on all the adventures she brought Cocona along for, and this was supported by the art style which is a very soft and smooth art style. I never found an episode to be overly boring, some episodes had a good bit of length that was dry but most were filled with interesting moments with very little downtime in between. The show failed to seemlessly string together a coherent backstory by the time the show ended which I did not like, but it did not completely ruin my enjoyment of the show. I enjoyed the dynamic between carefree Papika and the up-tight Cocona while they have to go through the many different worlds in Pure-Illusion and find the crystal hidden in each world. The ending was alright, but as I said earlier could have been great if they had presented the information better, some information about the background was never given out at all!

When I watched this series, I did so with skepticism. had been introduced to the world of anime by friends who frequented phrases like, "You'll like it, but it's very sexual and weird." and "Sometimes, I'm embarrassed to tell other people I like to watch this stuff!" Of course, this absolutely shocked me. I had grown up believing anime was a lot about large scale, epic fights, and messages of friendship and perserverance. I had been introduced to what some call "Shōnen." The shows intended to fill the hungry hearts of young kids with empowerment! "Yeah! anime's the coolest! I love Naruto!" As I grew up, I began to think it was cringey, that I was weird for holding on to these Shōnen shows. I hadn't explored much else of anime, I was worried and intimidated by my friends comments. There were some shows I held on to however. I fondly remember watching some of "K-On" and the "Lucario and the Mystery of Mew" was one of my favorite movies as a kid. Just as unfortunately as the fact that these nostalgic anime aren't on this site, I unfortunately did not want to venture much further past them. Flip Flappers seemed like a simple, and charming show to me. I was entranced by the animation and the creativity of the setting (known as Pure Illusion) and I was willing to give the site a shot! So I signed up for a free trial and entered into the world of Cocona and Papika. The strong, nostalgic feelings reminded me of my own life, and the shows themes of family and being yourself are strong. At least that's part of what I got from it. That's what some people want to hear, isn't it? How do I talk about the show without spoiling it? I want the people to have the same fresh experience as me, but I don't know how to sell it! I spent the review proving how much I don't know, but I don't know how to tell you what I do. Let's start like this. Flip Flappers made me love anime. It began cute and charming, and it changed into something I could not stop watching. It's my favorite anime of this season, and possibly my favorite ever. I sit here, writing this review, and I still feel there's so much more I want to say. But I want to get these feelings out of my head and ride on the melancholic, yet incredibly, powerfully, satisfied it's ending made me feel. I hope one day I may get to talk about the show more, but for now I just have to push it and shove it onto you like a weirdo who doesn't know what he's typing. I am a safe person. I tend to love the consensus masterpieces, but FF gave me a lot more than that. It made me interested in anime again. If there's anything I do agree with the consensus on though, it's that episode 3 was my favorite. I think there's something more personal and hard to explain about why I like the show so much. It's not that it's a magical girl show (I never understood or even watched many of them), yet something about Papika and Cocona are a lot more personal and meaningful for me. I've finished the show, and now that I have a Crunchyroll I don't really know where to go from here. It would be great to know if anyone had more ideas for shows I should watch from this season it'd be awesome! I'm just really new to this. I'm gonna watch every show I can. Shows like this inspire me to make my art better and to strive for positive relationships. I want to make the most of this site and I am desperate to find another show that makes me feel these feelings.

I decided to watch Flip Flappers because of the beautiful artwork and because I was bored. There wasn't many series I wanted to watch during fall, and because the amount of animes in Summer that failed to live up to the hype, I didn't have any shows I missed to catch up on. However after seeing a little bit of Flip Flappers artwork I decided it might be worth a shot. When I started watching Flip Flappers I was impressed by the visuals but nothing else really caught my attention right away. However when a few episodes later I started to enjoy the missions they went on more and more, Cocona and Papika became more lovable with every episode and by the end of the anime I wanted nothing more than for them to be happy. The artwork was some of the most beautiful art I have ever seen. The amount of detail that went into every scene was amazing and I often found myself re-watching scenes just so I could truly enjoy the artwork. This one's a minor not the biggest reason to watch the anime, but for some reason I found that the ED was catchy, cute and all around fun song to end the episode with... Definitely take a listen to the ED instead of just skipping to the next episode if you decide to watch Flip Flappers. The only real problems I had with Flip Flappers was the poor ending and little character development the characters received. The ending felt rushed and after finishing it I found myself with more questions with answers. This is to be expected for a 12 episode anime as closing out an anime's entire plot that fast can sometimes be quite difficult. Also being a 12 part series, it's pretty hard to give every character the development they need. However with that being said, after ending the series we know almost nothing about the Twins, Toto and Yuyu. We met the characters around the first few starting episodes, yet we learned almost nothing about them. By the end of the anime I couldn't recall anything about either of the characters. Also this is more a personal thing but I wish they talked more about what happened to Iroha Irodori, her whole life was changed from Papika and Cocona, yet they never gave her the proper closer to her story... I really think Flip Flappers went under appreciated and definitely believe it's a hidden treasure of 2016. I really hope more people pick it up because this series definitely deserves more praise for it's beautiful artwork and exciting characters/story...

Flip Flappers: One of the few anime I have watched where every episode, I say, "wow....." and wondered what was going to happen next. Story: 6/10 The story follows two girls, Cocona and Papika, and their journeys through Pure Illusion. It is a magical girl anime where they transform into the "Flip Flappers," but it is not the magical girl element that is the focus, but the common themes associated with the genre, with friendship as the main theme. The girl's friendship is tested time and time again, and every time they go to Pure Illlusion, we learn more about their and their bond. Unfortunately, the main storyline suffers from being quite subtle. For an anime with heavy imagery, it favors having the audience put everything together over keeping a straight storyline. The main plot isn't introduced until the second half, and many of the characters are put in the background in favor of the main three characters, Cocona, Papika, and Yayaka. I felt that characters such as the twins and the "evil organization" had little time to develop and play any sort of significant role in the story. Character: 5/10 I loved the characters, but I wished we got to know more about the other characters in the Flip Flapper organization. Let me break the main ones down for you though: Cocona: The main character. She's rational, afraid of making decisions, and indecisive. She has a kind heart and wants to do the right thing. Papika: Childish, loves adventuring, and has no sense danger. Her spunkiness is her charm and biggest flaw. Yayaka: Strong-willed, determined, and knows exactly what she wants. She'll do anything to feel like she belongs. I loved how the characters were all foils of each other, with Papika being incredibly childish, and Yayaka being the most adultlike, and Cocona somewhere in the middle. However, they all struggle with their feelings and conflicted between right and wrong, and we watch the characters grow through the story, which was very charming. However, all the other characters has little to no development, but generic character arctypes. There's the crazy scientist, the artist, and that one generic guy in a Ku Klux Klan hat who does nothing but pretend to play an important role in the story. And then there's the Pure Illusion characters. Since the girls travel to a different world every episode, these characters received almost no love at all after their episode. (If you've watched the show, I wanted to learn more about "Pops," the scientist of Pure Illusion. He was so cool!) Sound: 9/10 I loved the soundtrack to this anime. It was fun, bubbly, and fit the show. The opening is incredibly catchy, and I never skipped it. The ending gave me goosebumps after the episodes. Art: 9/10 This show deserves an award. I loved the colors, from Cocona and Papika having contrasting hair colors to the fun, craziness of Pure Illusion. Enjoyment: 9/10 Just because I felt the other characters weren't developed doesn't mean I didn't enjoy this ride. While I believe the story suffers, this show is incredibly fun to watch. There's an episode where they even go Power Rangers style and make a big robot to save the day. Each individual episode has its own world, and I enjoyed the interactions the girls had with the citizens of Pure Illusion. Overall, this show is worth a watch if like shows like Madoka Magica, or are interested in Magic Girl in general. It has a nice spin on the genre, and I highly recommend it for its strengths.

First off, im going to start by saying that for the first time i watched this anime, i got pretty much surprised. i decided to watch this just out of curiosity and didn't even expect anything from it. but the first episode actually surprised the hell out of me. and i will give my reasons as of why, and what surprised me. The story to be honest, it looks kinda targeted for kids to me but it feels not at the same time. there is a gap between those two and that's where the story is. i said it's not targeted for kids or at least teens at the same time cause of the combination with the animation. i feel like the animation made it so that person above, let's say 15 or 19 can enjoy this show too. And what makes the story looks different is because of the serious element in the story itself. usually, story that only targeted for kinds, well you know, it's just a normal story. more like fairy tale story. with out any serious problem or complicated problems but Flip flappers is actually have some of them. especially regarding the main character. even i got a bit surprised when they revealed everything about the main character backstory. so, i think overall, the story is really well made. although, i think the conclusion isn't really that impressive. it's just a normal ending imo. i only got impressed with the plot revelation. from that point, i think the show got really serious and pretty deep. but i must say, the story has one mistakes. they didn't put any details about the supernatural elements. maybe more like world building ? i kinda feel like, with not doing that, there are some people who want to know about it so badly, but to me, regardless, i think it's great to not putting more details about it. so that it can gives a mystery elements from the story. and it will remain as a mystery even the story ends. i like that kind of story so i love it a lot. The character. i think the character are amusing and interesting. when it comes to character. i don't really know much what to talks about it tbh. one thing that i must say, it's so catchy to the story and animation. overall, it think it has a very good characters. Sound! just loved to the opening and ending song a lot. i didn't pay a lot more attention with the soundtrack tho cause i was pretty serious with the story xD but the opening and ending song are really the best imo. catchy with the show too. The animation and character design. This one, is one of the thing which surprised me a lot from flip flappers. i didn't expect, a single tiny bit, that the animation would looked like what usually studio trigger or gainax made. this is one of the thing which got me excited with this show too. the animation looked awsome. this is rare tbh to me. this kind of show, having the kind of animation which is on the same level like one punch man. it isn't the character design but the animation. as for the character design, it's more like rough imo, but in a good way. which when they made it into an action scene, they just nailed it a lot. So, from overall view, this anime is a rare one from 2016. the story was really interesting and always get me thinking "what the fuck is going on?" and made me want to watch more and want to know what's next. moreover, the animation always made me excited. they start the show with a good song and end it with a pretty nice song too. really like the set up. great show overall. 9/10 this show felt like a disney show to me xD generic ? full of cliche ? cgdct ? yuri ? at first you will think like that but when they gave you the backstory or revealed everything, that view will changed i think. only it just looks like magical girls but they don't even state that it's a magical girl so...yeah...i think they are using it to look more entertaining and i think they nailed it. at least to me tho. i don't know about everyone. if you are searching for new stuff, i will recommend this show. Hope my review can be helpful to you. Thanks. Have a nice day :D

A girl named Cocona lives a seemingly normal life until one day this mysterious other girl called Papika appears and takes her on a fever dream induced series of adventures to collect magical fragments for an unknown reason. Let's Flip Flapping! First of all I just wanna comment on how visually great the show is, which is arguably its biggest strength. The artstyle itself is unique and cute but the animation is the real highlight. There is virtually zero CGI used and the show is packed full of constant, beautifully hand-drawn sakuga moments, sometimes even outside of action sequences. Also a lot of impressive, dynamic camera movement being utilized will guarantee a visually pleasing viewing experience. Now as for the narrative itself it's a bit of a mixed bag for me. It uses a lot of symbolism and visual metaphors but ultimately it's not as deep as it might seem and is actually a lot more surface level. A big part of the show is comprised of these episodic episodes that deal with some kind of a unique scenario and the girls extracting the "Amphorous" fragments from within them in favor of their own organizations. Yes that was plural for a reason. Cocona and Papika are working for one faction but we also have this other cult-like faction also wanting to possess the fragments for their own cause. Bits and pieces are slowly unveiled as to what the fragments are used for at a decent pace to not keep the viewers too much in the dark but also to pose questions to keep the brain thinking. Personally these episodic adventures were the better aspect of the show for me. They even dealt with a rare topic in dementia in one of them that was a pleasant surprise. When the show was starting to reach its climax however and it became more action oriented with the characters and audience realizing what all of the stuff means it got less interesting for me. There was some decent character growth payoff don't get me wrong but I preferred the earlier escapades. Another thing that I really didn't understand was the.. fanservice(?). I'm as degen as it gets but there were a lot of random pervert moments be it acts, dialogue or crazy camera angles for seemingly no good reason besides to have some included? Maybe it's just me but they didn't feel like they belonged in a show like this. Honestly I'm not sure how I feel about the show overall. I don't have a ton of stuff to complain about but at the same time I can't really say my enjoyment of it was very high either. From an eye candy perspective it's a nice treat but besides that I felt like I got a more happy version of Evangelion presented to me. I ultimately didn't feel invested enough about the girls and whether that's an issue from my end or not, I can't tell. And finally, what the hell is Uexkül?!

Fun, dumb, and gay. Mostly an animation showcase with a lot of nonsense worldbuilding. The animation and art direction are very good, though. Fast paced and colourful, each episode takes a mahou shoujo duo into a new fantasy setting with a different theme and aesthetic. I loved the Moebius inspired Mad Max world, and the haunted house episode was effectively creepy. The writing is slight when it comes to building a mythos, the mechanics and lore of the world are truly uninteresting, but some of the individual episodes do have good stories. There's an otherworldly eeriness to some of the worlds the girls arrive in and the tone changes often enough to keep things engaging. Other than the more somber episodes, some are just meant to be a goofy good time. The show is balanced a little too strongly towards the latter as the Utena/Evangelion-like shifts in storytelling come a little bit too late for my liking. A lot of the characterization and plot details aren't revealed until the ending story arc. This didn't work for me as for most of the series I had a very "so what" response to those aspects of the story, and when those gaps are eventually filled in it doesn't land strong enough to feel like the withholding was justified. The fan service is, y'know, a lot. This features one of the horniest transformation sequences I've ever seen, which is saying something. This doesn't really bother me, a certain amount of it I can enjoy, and there are moments of genuine tenderness sewn into the story as well. Also, look, I'm not made of stone: when magic is activated by girls holding holds with each other I'm fully on board, regardless of whether or not it makes any sense.

This isn't exactly the title you'd expect to come up in conversations about the magical girl genre, but it definitely belongs there. Story: Flip Flappers does not have a story that is easy to follow and some of these more complex stories from original anime really should draw more attention than they do. Cocona is extremely unsure on what she wants to do in life, calling herself unremarkable on multiple occasions. However, she eventually meets a girl who introduces herself as Papika, and after meeting, they almost immediately go into an alternative world known as Pure Illusion. Here, they attempt to find crystals that are deemed as important by the organization that Papika belongs to, Flip Flap. These crystals are known as amorphous fragments, and they have the power to grant wishes, including giving both girls magical powers. However, there is a rival organization who are also after these crystals, including Cocona's dear friend, Yayaka, whom belongs with that organization. Most of the series shows us different, wild scenarios that Pure Illusion generates and it's in each of these scenarios that our elegant duo have to retrieve the fragments. They face different ordeals along the way and while the end results can feel somewhat repetitive, it's the journey that you're mainly watching for, and it's a lot of fun. The first few episodes shows Papika trying to get into Cocona's school so that she can be around her more, and it makes for a good chuckle or two. However, the series unfortunately takes a long time before we actually realize what the full extent of the story is trying to tell us and this sadly will drive audiences away. Cocona and Papika go to each of these Pure Illusion worlds to try and find the amorphous fragments, they encounter Yayaka and her team along the way, they clash, and eventually see the fragments. It's a bit of a cycle. The girls' magical powers allow them to transform and fight their enemies in Pure Illusion, however, fighting scenes are not the focus of this series. We see that the girls need to solve puzzles on multiple occasions and in some episodes, we barely see their abilities. With that in mind, I love their transformed states. Papika's transformed state is known and Pure Blade where as Papika's is known as Pure Barrier - both fairly explanatory at what they specialize in. I love when series take a pairing and give them opposing abilities. This sort of reminds me of the Diablo manga series where our characters represented a sword and shield. I do wish they showed them use their powers in tandem more, but this was still brilliant design. The final few episodes wrap everything up nicely and answers pretty much every question we might have, all at the same time. They manage to integrate a character very close to one of our two girls into the story and it makes us care about them just a little more. It's done really well and if anything, the pacing might have thrown some audiences off. Original anime always have really good endings - in part because there is no source material in an incomplete state - and this one was no exception. (7/10) Characters: Cocona, as previous mentioned, is unsure where life will take her in the future and it somewhat fits the theme of her character for the rest of the series. This isn't for a lack of confidence though. This may sound contradictory, but we see multiple times in the series that she's confident at doing what she's doing once she gets going - she just needs a slight push first. She develops wonderfully as the series goes on, especially after the handful of episodes at the end. Papika is quite the opposite in that she's extremely happy and straight forward, sometimes to the annoyance of Cocona. There was room for to make her a bit of an annoying character, but they never really get her to that point. The friendship between these two characters is what drives through much of the series, especially at the end. Yayaka is a classmates of Cocona and has known her since childhood. She's pretty serious most of the time and her part in the finale was pretty awesome. They add in some points for her character along the way and she's a strong add to our cast. Side characters are a bit of a mixed bag. Hidaka and Sayuri are researchers for Flip Flap, but are unremarkable except for the occasional laugh. Mr. Salt is the supposed head of Flip Flap, but his role in the entire thing doesn't get revealed until really late. Yuyu and Toto are twins that accompany Yayaka on her missions and while they are actually neat from a character standpoint, they don't add enough. Yuyu seems to develop some character near the end though and that was really nice to see. Nyunyu is another comrade of theirs, and at first, they made it seem like she was this big personality to deal with... then did nothing with her. So while some of the side characters were okay, many felt pretty irrelevant. (7/10) Art: Flip Flappers is a bit of a different art style in that it fits into the magical girl genre well. The real world is well displayed and it meshes all together well. Pure Illusion has a large variety of styles they use and reminds me a bit of Puella Magi Madoka Magica's alternative worlds. Sometimes it's just bright colours that are used or darker scenes that might just creep you out a bit - if you've seen it, you know what I'm talking about. The Pure Blade and Barrier designs were top notch and I loved what they brought to the table. (8/10) Sound: The OST had a nice mix of upbeat tunes and more quiet tunes, though I don't recall a ton of variety. The OP was awesome, though it sounds a bit too much like some of ZAQ's other songs. The ED was fun and quirky and fit well, especially with the animation that was given to it. I think we can all agree that Luci Christian (Cocona) is a brilliant VO and she does everything right by Cocona here. Additionally, Brittney Karbowski (Papika) really knocks it out of the park here. This isn't the type of role I've heard her in before and she crushes it. David Matranga (Hidaka) has a ton of fun and I couldn't even tell it was him until his "it's time" line. I'm very much warming up to Patricia Duran (Yayaka), as this isn't the type of role I've heard her in before either, and she's great here as well. Much of the side cast didn't have a ton of lines but were all convincing from top to bottom. (8/10) Overall Enjoyment: Flip Flappers was a bit of a puzzling anime when I started watching because I wasn't sure where the story would go. However, I'm very glad I stuck around until the end. This isn't your typical magical girl anime, but they do enough with it to keep it different from others in the genre, while slotting in a lot of questions that Cocona needs to answer. This was an enjoyable watch and while it certainly didn't blow me away, it's still a worthwhile watch. (7/10)

Flip Flappers (2016– ) 7/10 It's not perfect, but it's pretty damn fun 8 May 2021 Let's start off with the good. First of all, I cannot overstate how much I love the visuals. They aren't the most technically impressive anime visuals I've ever seen, but they give off some impressive vibes. If this looked more like a "normal" anime, I definitely would have given it a 6. This show might be worth watching just for those alone. The soundtrack is also pretty good, but it's not special like the visuals are. I liked the characters and the way they interacted as well, even if it got confusing. The fight scenes were a blast as well, and I thoroughly enjoyed all of them. (Also the names of everyone in this show are awesome, they are all super satisfying to say) Now with the bad. I'm about to say a bunch of stuff I didn't like, but remember overall I really liked this show and I would recommend it. First, the worldbuilding and explanations sucked. They barely gave any explanations for anything that happened, it all just was kind of happening. If you are going to introduce a world this confusing, the least you could do is explain it! Characters were doing one impossible thing after the next, and they gave like no explanation either. The ending was rushed and ill-explained as well, it felt like they could have benefitted from an extra episode to try and explain how things ended a little better. Next is character motivations, actions, and relationships. The relationships were all really interesting, but there are tons of flaws. There are wayyyyy too many battles that are solved literally only with the power of friendship (I'm not making that up) and it seems that even characters who don't know anything can still do lots of stuff they shouldn't be able to do. I like how yayaka and Cocona's friendship developed, and I liked how Cocona and papika interacted, but the writers aren't really good at making extremely believable characters. One thing I had to mention is that there is a single episode that is scarier than anything I've seen in anime so far, and I've seen a lot of anime. I kinda liked the change of pace, even if it did creep me out. Overall, this is a ton of fun if you can look past a lot of the flaws and issues.