Flip Flappers
Flip Flappers 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. The series is a science fiction adventure story that revolves around two heroines, Papika and Cocona.
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
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Media
Anime
The series by 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 and was simulcast by Hulu, Crunchyroll, and the Anime Network. The opening theme is "Serendipity" by ZAQ, while the ending theme is "Flip Flap Flip Flap" by To-Mas feat. Chima. The anime was released across six Blu-ray & DVD volumes. MVM Films released the series in the United Kingdom.
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. 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." 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." 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."