I couldn't wait any longer! I have been urging to talk about this show so I will!!! Flip Flappers was my favorite show of the Fall 2016 season and for plenty of good reasons. This entire show is just a big slob of artistic genius! I'm not the biggest fan of magical girl shows buut this one has captivated my heart and was one of the biggest surprise of the year for me. I am GiraffePants and today I will be doing a review of Flip Flappers!
*NOTE* There will be spoilers
SYNOPSIS
Our story starts off with an average normal teenager by the name of Cocona. One day Cocona has a fateful encounter with an eccentric girl named Papika and asks her to join her and organization known as Flip Flip. Flip Flap is an organization focused on adventuring to the parallel world known as Pure Illusion and collect crystal fragments that will grant a wish if they're all collected. Cocona soon discover's that her childhood friend, Yayaka also seeks the fragments but for a rival organization bent on conquering the world. As Cocona and Papika collide with Yayaka, Cocona will learn more about Pure Illusion and the secret it holds.
STORY
This is a wonderful story about new and old friendships just with OP magical girls and a sick ass parallel world. Friendships are every important in this show, and the show chooses to focus on three relationships; The relationship between Cocona-Papika, Cocona-Yayaka, and (Major Spoiler) Soruto-Mimi. Each relationship goes on a set of twists and turns that challenge the relationship (This is prominent in the case of Cocona, Papika, and Yayaka). The show drives the fact that relationships are important for emotional support and overcoming challenges. For example, towards the end of the show, Cocona is forced to face her mother Mimi in her dark transformation but she can't do it alone! She needed the support and help from Papika in order to defeat Mimi and the best way for the pair to grow strong was by realizing how important their relationship with one another is. These relationships definitely have their downs but all the challenges the show's relationships go through are important to strengthening the bonds between characters. I absolutely love that this was the focus of the show! It adds a nice deep level for character development that pulls through nicely might I add. We see many characters go through stages of maturation and if there's something I love, it's development.
Although, overall I enjoyed the story, I had trouble following what was going on in the beginning. This is the only negative I had with this show. In the beginning they throw the viewer into the world of pure illusion and developments happen quite fast in the first episode. Because of this, you can feel a bit confused after the first episode. Then in the third episode, Cocona and Papika are in a completely different situation than where we left off and it can come off as chaotic! The show does this because it wants the cover the concept that pure illusion is a world with differentiating environments and that the world itself doesn't follow the exact same rules as earth but when Cocona is suddenly the bad guy in a apocalyptic wasteland and we don't know why, it can make us tune out. It took me some time to process what was going on and understand the situation. That isn't the last time it does something like this so I can see where people may be turned off at some point. Besides that, this story was great all around and I enjoyed it immensely.
Although, overall I enjoyed the story, I had trouble following what was going on in the beginning. This is the only negative I had with this show. In the beginning they throw the viewer into the world of pure illusion and developments happen quite fast in the first episode. Because of this, you can feel a bit confused after the first episode. Then in the third episode, Cocona and Papika are in a completely different situation than where we left off and it can come off as chaotic! The show does this because it wants the cover the concept that pure illusion is a world with differentiating environments and that the world itself doesn't follow the exact same rules as earth but when Cocona is suddenly the bad guy in a apocalyptic wasteland and we don't know why, it can make us tune out. It took me some time to process what was going on and understand the situation. That isn't the last time it does something like this so I can see where people may be turned off at some point. Besides that, this story was great all around and I enjoyed it immensely.
CHARACTERS
As I've said, the focus of this show is on relationships and in order to illustrate that effectively, the characters have to be good and Flip Flappers does just that! The best characters of the show just happen to be Cocona, Papika, Yayaka, Soruto, and Mimi; The same set of characters whose relationships were focused on in the show. This isn't a coincidence. Each one of these characters shows a strong personality one way or another. Papika is care-free and generally happy while Cocona is cautious and shy. That isn't to say that this is how they are all the time; just like in real life people show a wide arrange of emotions aside from our most dominant common ones. For example, as the show progresses, Cocona learns to be more joyful as she continues to explore through Pure Illusion along with Papika.
I LOOOOOOOOOOVE the characters' design. The girls are very slender and nimble and have very large colorful eyes. Their designs are crafted to represent a sense of adventure, curiosity, and innocence. And then there's Cocona's and Papika's Flip Flap transformation! Oh My god, I can't begin to explain how much I love their magical girl design. Their clothes are tasteful; I think the revealing back design and lack of clothes covering their shoulders is awesome cause it makes them look fucking majestic! I especially love their legs; one being completely covered by a white stocking with a short boot and the other just being a long fading boot. Lastly, I love that their hair grows practically twice in size, and both the hair and eyes changes color! Take note magical girl shows cause this is good design!
I LOOOOOOOOOOVE the characters' design. The girls are very slender and nimble and have very large colorful eyes. Their designs are crafted to represent a sense of adventure, curiosity, and innocence. And then there's Cocona's and Papika's Flip Flap transformation! Oh My god, I can't begin to explain how much I love their magical girl design. Their clothes are tasteful; I think the revealing back design and lack of clothes covering their shoulders is awesome cause it makes them look fucking majestic! I especially love their legs; one being completely covered by a white stocking with a short boot and the other just being a long fading boot. Lastly, I love that their hair grows practically twice in size, and both the hair and eyes changes color! Take note magical girl shows cause this is good design!
MUSIC
The music for Flip Flappers is definitely enjoyable. I like both the OP and ED; Actually I love the OP and ED! The OP titled "Serendipity" by ZAQ is great to listen to. While listening, it pumps me up for the episode I'm about to see (Which is good since that is the OP's job). The ED "FLIP FLAP FLIP FLAP" by TO-MAS feat.Chima is also great. It's a very quiet song, with a simple rhythm and some fantastic singing. That song gives me a great feeling; It's kinda like a satisfying feel you get after seeing a great movie. It also feels very "Alice in wonderland-ish." The music within the show is pretty damn good. There's a wide range of genres the show uses to portray whatever feel they're trying to go for. When things are intense or action packed, they'll use Electronic music that's very fast paced and complex or when there's a need for a sense of wonder, the show will use orchestra music or other more traditional music that's more moderately paced. That's just a small taste of the music Flip Flappers that you can expect.
ANIMATION
OH! OH! Where the hell do I even begin here! Flip Flappers has the best animation out of all the shows that aired in 2016! They definitely deserve it for the masterpiece they've given us. First thing! the design of Flip Flappers is amazing! The regular world is full of beautiful European architecture and Patchy green lands. Then there's the world of Pure Illusion. Pure illusion uses many environments that range from snowy wonderlands to Tron like metropolises! It's practically orgasmic to witness just how much thought they put into the world alone.
Another great thing about this show is the color. Color plays a huge role in the animation and storytelling of Flip Flappers. Whether you're in the outside world or in Pure Illusion, the show is always colorful (except for that scary school episode). The world they go into in the second episode is especially good and my favorite! Colors are very bright and sometimes play an important role in showing character feelings. In the second episode you can see that Cocona's and Papika's Hair and eyes change color according to how they feel. Don't believe me, check that episode again and you'll see it.
The world and color of Flip Flappers is great but the movement of the animation itself is what drives this show in. The fluidity of scenes and the unorthodox angles for those scenes makes a hard impact on the viewer's eyes and delivers unique story telling you wish you could get everyday. From epic fight scenes to more subtle moments, Flip Flappers is carefully calculated and animated to give you a work of art that can only be described as "Breathtaking."
Another great thing about this show is the color. Color plays a huge role in the animation and storytelling of Flip Flappers. Whether you're in the outside world or in Pure Illusion, the show is always colorful (except for that scary school episode). The world they go into in the second episode is especially good and my favorite! Colors are very bright and sometimes play an important role in showing character feelings. In the second episode you can see that Cocona's and Papika's Hair and eyes change color according to how they feel. Don't believe me, check that episode again and you'll see it.
The world and color of Flip Flappers is great but the movement of the animation itself is what drives this show in. The fluidity of scenes and the unorthodox angles for those scenes makes a hard impact on the viewer's eyes and delivers unique story telling you wish you could get everyday. From epic fight scenes to more subtle moments, Flip Flappers is carefully calculated and animated to give you a work of art that can only be described as "Breathtaking."
FINAL VERDICT
Tchnical Score- 9 out of 10 (A)
If you can't tell, I think that Flip Flappers is beautifully constructed and the thought that went into this work has payed off well. Jaw dropping visuals and a fantasy story that explores relationships and the obstacles that come with relationships is what really makes this show great. Combine that with a fantastic cast of characters and well-composed music and you have one of the best shows of the year!
Personal Score- 8.6 out of 10 (B)
The reason why my personal score is lower is because I did have that initial confusion at the beginning. I wasn't able to process what was going on for a bit but If I watched this again I believe that this score wold be higher. In the end, I highly Recommend that people watch this show because it is a true piece of art that will astound your eyes and heart.
As always, I hope you guys enjoyed this post! I did my best to explain things out and show why I love Flip Flappers so much. If there's anything you guys want to comment, then feel free to write down below! If you like what I do, then consider checking out my YouTube Channel, GiraffePants Anime for more content and I'll hopefully see you all for another post! PEACE!!!
Good post!. I haven't seen flip flappers, however I have heard that it is very 'arty'. Keep up the posts!.
ReplyDeletePS; go with the name! xDD.