Flip_Flappers

<i>Flip Flappers</i>

Flip Flappers

Japanese anime television series


Flip Flappers (Japanese: フリップフラッパーズ, Hepburn: Furippu Furappāzu) is a Japanese anime television series produced by Studio 3Hz, directed by Kiyotaka Oshiyama, written by Yuniko Ayana, featuring concept art by tanu, character designs by Takashi Kojima, and music composed by To-Mas. It was first announced on March 25, 2016, at the AnimeJapan convention, and aired on AT-X and other networks between October and December 2016.[4][5] The series is a science fiction adventure story that revolves around two heroines, Papika and Cocona.

Quick Facts フリップフラッパーズ (Furippu Furappāzu), Genre ...

Plot

Cocona is a seemingly ordinary middle school student living a normal life with her grandmother. As she ponders over what future career she should take up, she meets an energetic yet eccentric girl named Papika, who immediately takes an interest in Cocona. Without hesitation, she drags her into an organization called Flip Flap.

This organization specializes in retrieving mysterious, amorphous fragments which are said to grant wishes from various alternate dimensions known as Pure Illusion. After completing their first mission, Cocona and Papika are immediately sent to another world in Pure Illusion. As a dangerous creature stalks them, they use their shards to transform into magical girls, Cocona into Pure Blade and Papika into Pure Barrier.

However, as they try to defeat the creature standing before them, three other magical girls from a rival organization barge in and slay the creature, later taking out an amorphous fragment left in its body. Realizing the potential rivalry between them and the rival organization and creatures living in Pure Illusion, Cocona and Papika must learn to work together and synchronize their feelings so that they can transform more effectively.

Characters

Main characters

Cocona (ココナ, Kokona) / Pure Blade (ピュアブレード, Pyua Burēdo)
Voiced by: Minami Takahashi[6] (Japanese); Luci Christian (English)[7]
An ordinary school girl in the second year of middle school who finds herself going on bizarre adventures after meeting Papika. She has an amorphous fragment embedded in her left thigh. She is the daughter of Mimi and Salt.
Papika (パピカ) / Pure Barrier (ピュアバリアー, Pyua Bariā)
Voiced by: M.A.O[6] (Japanese); Brittney Karbowski (English)[7]
An energetic and eccentric girl from the FlipFlap organization who becomes Cocona's partner. After recovering most of the amorphous fragments, she remembers that she was once known as Papikana and was partnered with Mimi.
Yayaka (ヤヤカ)
Voiced by: Ayaka Ohashi[6] (Japanese); Patricia Duran (English)[7]
Cocona's childhood friend, who works for the rival organization Asclepius alongside Toto and Yuyu, often battling them for the amorphous fragments they are seeking. She desires to be close with Cocona and despises Papika for getting in her way. In episode 10 it is revealed that she became friends with Cocona solely for the sake of Asclepius' work. However, she does develop a sweet spot for Cocona, hindering her from collecting amorphous fragments which resulted in her termination from Asclepius. As of episode 11, she officially gains an amorphous fragment for flip flapping.

FlipFlap

Salt (ソルト, Soruto)
Voiced by: Kenjiro Tsuda,[6] Kōhei Amasaki (young) (Japanese); David Wald[7] (English)
The head of the FlipFlap organization, who is intent on seeking out the amorphous fragments for some unknown reason. He is revealed to be an old acquaintance of Papika and Mimi, and is Cocona's father.
Hidaka (ヒダカ)
Voiced by: Jun Fukushima[6] (Japanese); David Matranga (English)[7]
A scientist at FlipFlap organization.
Sayuri (サユリ)
Voiced by: Yoko Hikasa[6] (Japanese); Chelsea McCurdy (English)[7]
A scientist at FlipFlap organization.
TT-392
Voiced by: Kazuyuki Okitsu[6] (Japanese); Jay Hickman (English)[7]
A robot that follows Papika everywhere, nicknamed "Bu-chan" (ブーちゃん).

Asclepius

Toto (トト)
Voiced by: Sayaka Inoue[6] (Japanese); Philip Hays (English)[7]
An elementary school student and Yuyu's twin brother, who works alongside Yayaka. He, along with his younger sister, are very distant from others to the point where they would abandon a team member for the sake of an amorphous fragment. However, it is shown that they care deeply for each other towards the end of the series when Toto sustains a head injury.
Yuyu (ユユ)
Voiced by: Airi Toshino[6] (Japanese); Carli Mosier (English)[7]
An elementary school student and Toto's twin sister, who works alongside Yayaka. She wears a cast on her left arm when they are not in Pure Illusion.
Nyunyu (ニュニュ)
Voiced by: Marika Kōno (Japanese); Emily Neves[7] (English)
The third amorphous child who replaces Yayaka. She is very lively and gets along well with TT-392.

Other characters

Uexküll (ユクスキュル, Yukusukyuru)
Voiced by: Michiyo Murase,[6] Rikiya Koyama (Pure Illusion version) (Japanese); Mark X. Laskowski[7] (English)
Cocona's pet rabbit. Named after the scientist.
Iroha Irodori (彩 いろは, Irodori Iroha)
Voiced by: Saori Ōnishi[6] (Japanese); Kira Vincent-Davis (English)[7]
An upperclassman in the Art Club at Cocona's school. While usually spending a lot of time painting in the art room by herself, her personality changes after Cocona and Papika alter things within her Pure Illusion world.
Cocona's grandmother (ココナのおばあちゃん, Kokona no Obā-chan)
Voiced by: Tamie Kubota[6] (Japanese); Tiffany Grant (English)[7]
Cocona's grandmother who has looked after her since her parents died. This turns out to be a ruse, however, as she is actually a robot part of Asclepius.
Mimi (ミミ)
Voiced by: Ai Kayano[6] (Japanese); Shelley Calene-Black (English)[7]
A mysterious girl who was Papika's previous partner. She is revealed to be Cocona's mother, who possesses Cocona after all the amorphous fragments are gathered. Mimi is shown to have lived her life in the Asclepius factory, as an experiment, due to her ability to go to Pure Illusion. Her love and protective nature of her daughter cause her to lose sanity and disrupt the balance between Pure Illusion and reality. In order to protect Cocona from being taken away, she develops another personality by giving into her power. However, this new personality becomes the main antagonist.

Media

Anime

The series by Studio 3Hz aired in Japan between October 6, 2016, and December 29, 2016, and ran for 13 episodes. It is licensed in North America by Sentai Filmworks[8] and was simulcast by Hulu, Crunchyroll, and the Anime Network.[9] The opening theme is "Serendipity" by ZAQ, while the ending theme is "Flip Flap Flip Flap" by To-Mas feat. Chima.[10] The anime was released across six Blu-ray & DVD volumes.[11] MVM Films released the series in the United Kingdom.[12]

Episode list

More information No., Title ...

Reception

Miles Thomas of Crunchyroll argued that each episode of the show focuses on "homosexual tropes" and gives an insight into "Cocona's coming-to-terms with her suppressed sexuality," saying it is part of the show's focus on gender identity struggles of queer people, specifically of Cocona and Papika.[13] Carlos Ross of THEM Anime Reviews was more critical of the series. On one hand, he said that the series is "hyperkinetic, visually inventive, chock-full of references...and at times emotionally hard-hitting" but on the other hand he said it had "crass pandering to otaku audiences," saying that the show has a problem of "the fetishization of middle school girls."[14] Ross said that the series intentionally uses imagery from the yuri genre, which is at times "virtually comedic" and called Papika's nudity to be a deliberate use of fan service, arguing it "cheapens and demeans" the plot. He added that these criticisms, he liked the character development, especially of Cocona and Papika, the openness of same-sex attraction in the anime, with scenes which invoke Nausicaa, Madoka Magica, Maria Watches Over Us and Kill La Kill. Nick Creamer of Anime News Network called the series "inherently rare and special" as an anime passion project which was "beautiful, original, and altogether stunning."[15] He argued that the show is a coming-of-age story touching on how our families define us, how the world views us, and how we begin to love ourselves, containing a "multi-generational love story," broken homes, and a rebuke of "how society reinforces our fear of honest self-expression." Creamer also said that the show stands as "a remarkable union of emotional intent and visual execution" even as it is "pretty messy" by having occasional fan service, and music that isn't memorable. Even so, he said that he found himself "stunned" by everything the show accomplishes and attempts, with references to Neon Genesis Evangelion and Penguindrum, grading the sub, dub, story, animation, and art an "A," the music a "B+," while praising the "purposeful visual storytelling" and criticizing the "occasional fanservice."

Notes

  1. All English episode titles are taken from Crunchyroll.

References

  1. "FLIP FLAPPERS". Sentai Filmworks. Retrieved August 29, 2018.
  2. "Studio 3Hz's Flip Flappers October TV Anime Revealed". Anime News Network. March 25, 2016. Retrieved March 25, 2016.
  3. "Flip Flappers TV Anime Reveals Additional Cast in 2nd Promo Video". Anime News Network. August 8, 2016. Retrieved October 21, 2016.
  4. "Flip Flappers English Dub Cast, Preview Clip Revealed". Anime News Network. January 16, 2018. Retrieved January 16, 2018.
  5. "Sentai Filmworks Licenses Flip Flappers Anime". Anime News Network. September 28, 2016. Retrieved September 28, 2016.
  6. "MVM Release Announcements". Anime News Network. May 27, 2017. Retrieved May 27, 2017.
  7. Thomas, Miles (November 30, 2016). "FEATURE: Queer Discovery in "Flip Flappers"". Crunchyroll. Archived from the original on January 24, 2019. Retrieved August 18, 2020.
  8. Ross, Carlos (2017). "Flip Flappers [Review]". THEM Anime Reviews. Archived from the original on January 16, 2021. Retrieved March 6, 2021.
  9. Creamer, Nick (January 11, 2017). "Flip Flappers - Limited Edition Blu-ray [Review]". Anime News Network. Archived from the original on November 9, 2020. Retrieved March 6, 2021.

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