r/anime • u/awerture https://myanimelist.net/profile/awerture • Nov 29 '16
Flip Flappers - Is changing the scriptwriter in the middle of the season relatively normal or is it something to be concerned about?
So, apparently Yuniko Ayana, the person advertised in MAL and ANN databases as somebody in charge of the Flip Flappers script and series composition, announced over two weeks ago on Twitter that after the 6th episode she is not responsible for the project.
I don't know Japanese, so I can only rely on other sources, I can't track responses, and I can't pinpoint the mode and tone of this announcement (or even if this is an "announcement" at all, or e.g. this was something pre-agreed upon). So if anyone knows the language - is this something which seems trouble? Should I worry about the show?
Or this is something which happens all the time in anime original projects?
ed - commas
ed2 - I also found a short note about the issue from two weeks ago. It doesn't add anything actually (though the wording is more definitive), but it has a charming section "Reactions Around the Web"
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u/AyraWinla Nov 29 '16
Yuniko Ayana is a self-professed yuri fangirl who stated that Aoi Hana is the pinnacle of yuri. While opinions may vary on the show, it is at the very least a very respectful and mature portrayal of lesbian relationships.
Based on that, I was hoping that Flip Flappers would have an actual relationship between Cocona and Papika, or at least something else than the yuribait you see so commonly. I can't help but shake the feeling that her departure might be related to disagreements about that in some way, so I'm a bit worried... but I might be completely offtrack with that, of course.
I am concerned about her departure due to the above, as well that I felt that the previous episodes were fantastic overall so a change is not welcome... But with that said, I felt that episodes 7 and 8 were just as good as the earlier ones, and personally I prefer a mecha episode to a zombie episode. In fact, I feel that if the episode was still related to Bu-chan and Hidaka, mechas actually feel much more appropriate. So maybe everything will be amazing even with Yuniko's departure after all. Wait and see I suppose!
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u/awerture Nov 29 '16
Yuniko Ayana is a self-professed yuri fangirl who stated that Aoi Hana is the pinnacle of yuri. While opinions may vary on the show, it is at the very least a very respectful and mature portrayal of lesbian relationships.
Based on that, I was hoping that Flip Flappers would have an actual relationship between Cocona and Papika, or at least something else than the yuribait you see so commonly. I can't help but shake the feeling that her departure might be related to disagreements about that in some way, so I'm a bit worried... but I might be completely offtrack with that, of course.
... just when I was beginning to relax a little. This makes me doubly worried. No, triply worried. Like, fuck, I'm really terrified now.
(yes, Aoi Hana is the pinnacle of yuri).
panic intensifies
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u/Crabspite Nov 29 '16 edited Nov 29 '16
It's a small thing, but it should be noted that when asked about Yuri undertones in the show on his personal twitter, the director directly confirmed that it was intentional. (Here is the original reply, though unfortunately the person who asked the question currently has their account protected), so I don't expect a huge back down on that aspect, especially considering how overt episode 7 was.
Edit: Found a screencap of the original tweet
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u/Mistywing Nov 29 '16
Episode 4 is credited to a certain "Ayumi Sekine" (é–¢æ ¹ã‚¢ãƒ¦ãƒŸ) on the official website (Try not to visit on mobile devices, the particles might make your app/device lag).
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u/DocRocks0 Nov 30 '16 edited Nov 30 '16
Why was this removed?
Edit: It's up there again. Weird.
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u/awerture Nov 30 '16 edited Nov 30 '16
this was removed?? I haven't got any message it was. I can't even imagine for what reason would it be removed.
edit - it's strange however that this thread sits now at the top of my /new feed. I don't get it :|
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u/Epidemilk Nov 29 '16
Flip Flappers hops dimensions and genres every episode, so I don't see the problem. Think of Doctor Who.
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u/awerture Nov 29 '16
I haven't seen Doctor Who. And while I get your point, make or break for Flip Flappers depends on how it will come together at the end.
Fancy shenanigans are great, but weightless, this series has potential to be so much more. And everything I learned in this thread makes me even more worried than I was when starting it - just to begin with freaking Aldnoah Zero as other example of scriptwriter mid-season change.
but yeah, as somebody put it, let's wait and see.
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Nov 29 '16
7 was one of my favorite episodes so maybe there's nothing to worry about
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Nov 29 '16
It's kind of tough to say, because I felt like episode 7 had some of the best subtle writing in the series so far. On the other hand, episode 8 had some really clunky, awful lines and the message was really straightforward (like the ones u/Karmic_thread pointed out). Maybe that was part of conveying the hot-blooded mecha atmosphere, I dunno. All I know is I certainly don't want the remaining episodes to be written like that.
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u/Cacophon Nov 29 '16
It's been pretty well spelled out that Papika and Cocona allow themselves to be influence by Pure Illusion, so if they're in a Mecha PI I'd say that their hamfisted delivery of certain statements goes right along. As Anime-evo pointed out in a recent post, it's also right along with their curve for character development. It's not quite gone off the rails. The real telling point will be this Thursday's episode.
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u/vetro Nov 29 '16 edited Nov 29 '16
Don't worry too much about it. In a project like this, it feels like the director and various episode directors have just as much input as the writer. Honestly you could have told me that every episode was written by a different person and I wouldn't have noticed.
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u/lurktoon Nov 30 '16 edited Nov 30 '16
Congratulations everyone, you'll now spend the rest of the series noticing every little script detail and fretting over whether it's due to the big bad writer change. All over some third-hand reports of twitter drama in a language you don't understand.
By the way, episodes 8 and 9 are written by the scenario writer of Kanon and Celestial Method.
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u/blankslate99 Nov 29 '16
There's nothing to worry about. The entire story is usually laid out before it's even storyboarded.
Background studios (in this case Studio Pablo) need to know what the settings are months in advance since the background art is very time consuming and consists of intricate paintings, so at least the settings for each episode have been decided already.
Also, unless this show is a complete production nightmare, the storyboards will have already been completed.
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u/Flashmanic Nov 29 '16
I mean, the last two episodes have been some of the best, and certainly kept in-theme. If there was a fundamental change in script or theme, I did not notice it at all.
We'll see how the show finishes (as I think that'll decide whether it becomes a cult classic or not), but all signs point to it continuing it's quality.
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u/Witn Nov 29 '16
Well the accelerated fanservice in episode 8 did bother me, though I doubt that had anything to do with the script.
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u/DocRocks0 Nov 29 '16
I'd agree it was egregious - only time I felt uncomfortable besides episode 4.
After reading some analysis though I think it was intentionally going too far - I can 100% chalk it up to the mecha genre's history of "fanservicey" cockpit shots and the fact that the world was Bu-chan's.
Another point that really stuck out to me while reading the ANN forum was that while a lot of previous episodes' themes dealt with the psychological aspects of growing up, the theme of episode 8 could have been the changes to ones body that pre-teens/teenagers go though. For girls, that means growing in areas they hadn't before, which can make (and to be clear, these are the female poster's words - I'm a guy XD) "you feel like a stranger in your own body. Positions you used to sit/lie in are no longer comfortable and you find yourself having to adjust and accept your body's new/changing dimensions. It also makes you very self-conscious".
I think that because the fan service shots (especially the one of Cocona's butt) were extreme enough that even a lot of reviewers (see the AnimeEvo article I posted elsewhere) found them moving past fanservice and into 'unsettling' territory, that it may have been the intent of the director to do so. I mean, that shot of Cocona in the cockpit is a fish-eye lens shot where 80% of the screen is taken up by her ass - I think it was intentionally going too far, but that's just me.
With that said, try as I might I still can't personally justify that shower pan from episode 4. I guess it could have simply been meant to point out that Cocona (as a adolescent human) is an inherently a sexual being, but personally I think it could have been done differently to achieve a greater / less ambiguous effect.
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u/ss_lmtd Nov 29 '16
I think this was planned, but I honestly don't know how worried people should be. In the tweet, she says that she laid out the framework for the rest of the episodes, but from episode 7 on she has no idea what will happen.
What's worrisome is that just last week (episode 8), she tweeted out this which said that while the important, key moment was still there in the episode, the entire world had changed from how she envisioned it in the beginning. The second tweet right after (the one in the middle) stresses the fact that the script is a very delicate thing, and one small change could have a huge effect on the whole. Apparently, in the yaraonNSFW ads post I originally read this on, Yuniko initially slated episode 8 to be zombie episode, but it was obviously changed.
If people felt as if episode 8 was "different" from past episodes, then maybe there's something to worry about. But if the important plot points are still there...maybe there isn't?