Fall 2016 Anime Season First Impressions (Part 2)

The saga continues!

Flip Flappers

One of the season’s most criminally underrated works, Flip Flappers is a wonderful series directed by Kiyotaka Oshiyama, and follows the adventures of two girls (Cocona and Papika) as they explore mysterious and new places that fall under a different dimension/time-plane, titled “Pure Illusion.”

There really isn’t one way to describe Flip Flappers. You could call it a light-hearted adventure, I suppose, although that doesn’t really support some of the series’s darker aspects; take for instance some popular optical illusions hidden in just the first episode: these illusions can range from anything like the old “beautiful young woman or old lady” fallacy, to a frame in which the two main characters, whilst hiding in a snow fort, paint a skull shape across the screen. It’s quite odd, but also quite intriguing... the perfect blend for an anime’s beginning.

I often talk about animation when discussing any sort of anime, but that’s just par for the course: like most people, I am attracted to shows that have good visuals. However, in the case of Flip Flappers, while the animation is great, there is something a bit different about it; it just feels so fresh. Even when looking at the first episode, I could already tell that the anime’s animation team was truly something special: I couldn’t tell if the staff consisted of new, talented artists, skilled veterans, or both. The visuals draw inspiration from plenty of sources (Studio Ghibli’s work is heavily speculated to be an incentive among fans), while still retaining its own unique style.

But above all else, there is one key word I think whenever Flip Flappers pops into my mind: excited. The show just has so much raw potential: the animation, the tone, and more; so much so that I can’t wait to see what Flip Flappers has in store for us next.

7.5/10- Featuring talented artists, young and/or old, Flip Flappers oozes enthusiasm; I would give this anime a higher score initially, yet I feel that it has so much potential that I need not do so just yet.

Season Recollection

Well, that was a short batch of first impressions… in a way. You see, I’d much rather have three shows of very high quality (and all of which I am heavily interested in) than several shows that I’m on a mediocre stance with, having only a select few out of the bunch I really like. This season, though, I was planning to have one more anime added on to part two (which is also one of the reasons this second part is a bit delayed), although after looking at it a bit, I’m not too certain on whether or not I want to watch it in the first place. The anime in question is Yuri!!! On Ice, and while it does look like it might have some great potential (and I’ve heard pretty good things about it as well), I want for it to settle first before I try it out. Anyways, that’s all for this article series for now! See you next season!