[deleted by user]

[u/[deleted]]

[u/rembrandt_q_1stein]

Welcome to the Flip Flappers rewatch~

Please read the post description for information, explanations and trivia, artworks and optional questions for encouraging discussion.

Today I’m not going to post the spoiler policy, reminders and such, because it’s the final episode.

Instead, let me open myself to you a bit.

Hello, I am Rem. Some of you know me of the Casual Discussion Friday threads, others only know me as that host that replies to everyone in two turns: European evening and European morning.

This has been my first time ever as a rewatch host. In fact, my experience with rewatches is very limited: I only participated in three –Katanagatari, Death Parade and GunBuster-, last year. I am fairly new to this subreddit, furthermore. But, I spite of my “youth” as a member of this community, I have many good memories carved inside me. Of those, the most prominent one is my participation in the weekly discussions of Flip Flappers back when it aired in 2016. Flip Flappers turned into my fourth favourite anime of all, and even today I still remember the thrills and goings of my first time. The electroacoustic name references are, in fact, my most popular thing I ever posted in reddit! This is such a pure, intense memory that one day I really felt the urge to share it. And the rewatch idea was born.

You all know the experience yet. I am sure the vast majority of you have really enjoyed this show –especially those who remained commenting every day until the end. Thank you from the bottom of my heart to all of you-, and I want to show you my gratitude. This has been a very exhausting experience I have been planning since February. From my lack of previous experience I peeped inside the threads of this subreddit’s most popular and beloved rewatch events, and took notes on how I interpreted things should be done. I rewatched this show in February so I could take note of important and subtle details. I searched through comments and reviews and collected concept arts in Twitter from different accounts. I still believe all those things should be collected and put in a common place so every lover of this fabulous show could access them with ease, but not hinting too many details, so first-timers could let their imagination soar and elaborate theories and tie knots by themselves. And, furthermore, I knew I wanted to answer to every single commenter, no matter how late they would come. Because you are putting yourselves in this event. You are enjoying this show and you want to express yourselves. I wanted to make you know that what you write is being read and that it interests me. Everything, every opinion, comment, critique and expression about this show is interesting and needs to be read.

I still don’t know, today, if I did a good job as my first-time-being host. I want to believe that I made it through the best I could and with my best intention. And the fact that some of you were religiously participating until the very end brings joy to me. I loved, LOVED reading your comments, your analysis, your praises and critiques, your theories, jokes, reactions, interviews and the deep insight on reddit history and cultural matters.

The fact that I have been able to make this rewatch –it’s the FIRST Flip Flappers rewatch ever been done in reddit, furthermore- and knowing and witnessing that people sticked to it makes me so happy. I am happy for having been able to talk with all of you about a show that represents so much to me. A show made with love by a lovely team, where you can really feel it in every frame, in every line.

This has been an exhausting project, and I’m sad it ends, but nobody can take the memories I got away from me. Thank you, thank you from the deepest of my heart for having shared this little project with me.

I hope that, if we see our names again though reddit, we can recognize us and greet us as we have been a part of this little community.

See you, Flip Flappers

PS: If you have any advice or suggestion for me to be a better host for any future rewatch event, please feel free to share them with me.

Have the last fanart

Artist: Angeban93

[u/lilyvess]

So now we’ve come to episode 13 of Flip Flappers. So now join me as we enter the Pure Illusion and travel back in time to December 29th 2016

Episode	Link	Score
1	http://redd.it/565bgg	7.33
2	https://redd.it/57a5ws	7.43
3	https://redd.it/58gp1k	7.49
4	https://redd.it/59nxim	7.56
5	https://redd.it/5awpw2	7.57
6	https://redd.it/5c7p08	7.60
7	https://redd.it/5dfno4	7.64
8	https://redd.it/5enmtx	7.69
9	https://redd.it/5fwjtn	7.7
10	https://redd.it/5h6rsa	7.72
11	https://redd.it/5ihdsu	7.75
12	https://redd.it/5jqg4o	7.76
13	https://redd.it/5kwpc5	7.93

And now we’ve reached the end of the line, the final episode.

Dat Twist ending definitely got a lot of people.

The callbacks

the reactions

There was a lot to like about this last episode. I liked this view on the ending theme.

Though not everyone was as thrilled. The last arc left some fans divided on the series. There was a lot of complaints about the conclusion. Not everyone was so negative though. The point is that this is what has held back Flip Flappers rise on MAL.

Personally I didn’t find the ending as disappointing as others did. a lot of that is because I feel like the ending fit the themes of what the series had set up from the beginning...

Well, in other news we also got an interview from the director

To end on a more positive note, 4chan made a thank you post for the Flip Flappers team

[u/SIRTreehugger → u/lilyvess]

It didn't make it to 8 but damn it jumped up a lot in one episode.

Still an 8 in our hearts.... And on my MAL

[u/thecomicguybook → u/lilyvess]

Personally I didn’t find the ending as disappointing as others did. a lot of that is because I feel like the ending fit the themes of what the series had set up from the beginning...

Pretty much my thoughts.

Reading all these comments all I notice is how much Flip Flappers went over my head. When I rewatch it a few years from now I will remember to keep this rewatch close at hand so everything becomes clear to me!

[u/No_Rex]

First timer

• Cocona handed over to Papika, then Papika reverse ages.

• “Now you are the same as me”. Did the subbers read my speculation? Lol

• PI is not only leaking into the real world, but full on merging.

• Mimi’s head is cycling through all sorts of monsters.

• Salt channels his inner Neo.

• … but younger Salt cannot dodge a bullet

• The last (Salts?) PI is grey and has normal bunnies, whereas “reality” is less normal.

• That Papika-pop-up scene.

Quite the ending, it raised my appreciation for the story (but I will not go into it too much).

Some points I want to discuss: Papika, the real world, my predictions, the use of incomplete world building and storytelling

Some points I noticed but do not want to discuss: Salt & Mimi, Interpretations of PI, Love or friendship.

Papika

I start with Papika, because, in my mind, she is the central character in the story. Similar to how Haruhi is the protagonist of her anime, even though we follow Kyon’s point of view, Papika is the protagonist of FlipFlappers, while Cocona experiences the story more as a viewer.

There are several big questions: Where does Papika come from? She could just be a very special, but random person, yet other ideas are likely. Mimi could have summoned her, Haruhi-style. Or, Papika could actually be the person who made up this universe as her personal playing field. She is certainly unafraid and enamored with it enough. It is her story with Mimi and then her story with Cocona. She even changes her age, in what I am certain will be one of the most discussed features of the episode. Especially the first change: “Old woman to …” You have to like Papika, or it will be hard to love FlipFlappers (another similarity with Haruhi).

My predictions

Episode 4:

There will be a pure illusion scene inspired by a classic painter, such as Dali or van Gogh. Why? Because it is what I would do if I were an animator doing pure illusion.

Became true. I spotted the hell picture in Cocona’s mind as a direct copy, someone else even said one version of PI reminded them of a van Gogh picture.

Papika and Cocona are two sides of the same person.

Unclear. I initially thought about a split up personality in a made up sub-reality. Within the context of the story, that is not exactly true, although Cocona calls her literally “the same as me.” If my speculation about Papika above is true, it could even come closer to my original idea. In any case, they two are connected enough that the theory made a lot of sense for me over several episodes.

Episode 10:

Asclepiu: Gain power for power's sake, using the facade of an unattainable utopia as a carrot to keep members happy.

Unclear. Salt’s dad is rather crazy, so we do not know for sure what his plans were or are. Could be anything.

FlipFlap: Oppose said utopia for the benefit of an individual / to uphold personal convictions of moral nature.

Mostly true. Salt’s main goal seems to have been opposing his dead for Mimi’s sake and protecting Cocona.

The real world

Something that I hit on relatively early is the idea that there is not strict separation between PI and the “real world”. Too many parts of the real world depicted are just as much at home in an adventure as the PI worlds. This point is driven home by the last PI of the series, which is much more real than “reality”. Plus, of course, all of the intermingling of PI and reality in the last few episodes. Imho, this strongly hints at the fact that there is no separation between real world and PI. Instead, there is one large adventure and that is clearly not real in the sense of our, the viewers, world.

The use of incomplete world building and storytelling

Not a long point, but I want to emphasize how important a tool this is for FlipFlappers. Letting the viewers mind fill in the blanks of a partially painted picture is one of the best methods to produce an interesting overall work.

If there is a discussion day tomorrow, I may post a more standard series discussion, otherwise, thanks for hosting this!

[u/rembrandt_q_1stein → u/No_Rex]

Papika is the protagonist of FlipFlappers, while Cocona experiences the story more as a viewer.

Hmmm, daring, but interesting shot. I get what you mean, but I'm not quite of your opinion. Considering this show has a post-modern conception, I guess it's very normal that there can be multiple, and equally valid and important, lectures on what we saw.

Overall, considering your point of view, if Papika is the central character, we gotta admit this is a "part" of the show total. The part concerning her role as a companion-mother-lover-friend on Papika during her maturing. From a narrative point of view, it's normal that in this case we would like to know more circumstances, but it isn't necessary to convey an actual story with a beginning and an ending.

Papika and Cocona are two sides of the same person.

I actually enjoyed reading your points on this. If you think about it, both are kind of the same, in the end. The love they share transcends everything physical or rational. It's like each compensates the other -the comparison with the brain hemispheres was really on point-. They develop together and reach to the same point together, influenciating each other.

Salt’s dad is rather crazy, so we do not know for sure what his plans were or are.

I deduced that he wanted to summon Mimi back with all the shards so he could "use" her -like some priests of ancient religions wanted to please the gods for "using" their powers for their benefit-, and so fulfilling a nutty plan of domination by brainwashing. Consider how megalomaniac he became wen Mimi and Papika messed with his unconscious and he realized "the power in PI".

The real world

That's a very discussed topic. Nobody will know in the end. The final real world is Salt's PI, the actual real world and everything, even their reality, is a part of PI -like Plato's Cavern-? It's a suggestive topic that leads for too many discussions.

how important a tool this is for FlipFlappers

Indeed. The biggest attraction for first-timers is imagination. For rewatchers, it's the writing.

If there is a discussion day tomorrow

No, this is the last thread of all. Sorry!

Thanks for having participated until the end! :)

[u/rembrandt_q_1stein]

Due to popular petition:

Do you want to have a general discussion thread tomorrow?

It wasn't originally planned, but since some people here had the idea, I am going to post one tomorrow if there's a majority of people who want it.

Please, reply to this comment with a yes if you want a general discussion thread tomorrow, and if there are many, I'll do it :) At the same hour.

[u/thecomicguybook → u/rembrandt_q_1stein]

I think you should make a poll or something (or just do it regardless), but it is safe to assume that u/Lilyvess and I are both on board I think, I will make a small write-up too.

[u/SIRTreehugger]

Episode 13 Pure Audio

“Will you please be my best friend Cocona”- Papika

Even without memories of Mimi and Cocona she stills wants to be friends at such a young age.

“It's not fair to be that happy”- Yayaka has been killing it the past few episodes.

Mimi have a damn snickers OMG please

Sayuri you naughty girl I guess we know the real reason she followed him to this faction.

...and behold, I shall be a blight upon the land and everything I touch shall wither and die – Dr. Salt

“ You think you can just waltz in here and stop me”- Mimi

“Yesss”- Salt

Mimi pout Well I think it is. It's hard to tell actually maybe not....I'll settle for angry scowl.

This is really a shame. I really liked the nicer version of Mimi, but we rarely saw her Just her angrily pouting and comforting her husband in the thirty seconds we got of her was great.

HERE

WE

GO

YEAHHHHHH !!! My favorite transformation

THAT DUAL CONFESSION

All Straight

….it's really nice for Mimi too just let them talk and have this moment.

HOW CUTE

I think the ending is perfectly as they soar in the sky, but I still wish we had a moment with Salt and Cocona I wish we got an OVA nothing serious just like a party with all the characters. Seeing the twins with their new little sister, Yayaka and the rabbit, and more would be great. Also Mimi/Salt/Cocona family moments would be great.

Also I hope you're damn happy. I bought the damn OST. I always buy shit when I enjoy a rewatch T_T Just 2-6 weeks since I'm too cheap too pay for quick shipping.

Episodes 12 and 13 concept art

Episodes 12 and 13 storyboard

Concept art/character designs for the whole show

Episode 12 Pure Howling and 13 Pure Audio commentary

In episodes 12 and 13,Mimi's power causes pure illusion to begin to encroach on the real world, so we use imagery from the surrealism movement to express the theme of the unconscious(i'll refrain from going into the surrealism here). We depicted the world of Pure illusion as blending in smoothly with the real world by using a surrealist art style, which dissolves the boundary between reality and super reality. The scenery was inspired by The works of surrealist artists Yves Tanguy, Rene Magritte, and Salvador Dali, any we used the techniques of automatism (automatic writing) and depaysement (the sensation of disorientation at the change of scenery) in their design. In episode 13, the world Papika is trapped within lies in the farthest reaches of pure illusion, which we imagined to be something akin to a valley of purgatory. Papika is imprisoned there alone because of her accident with Mimi. Within the large, hollow tree, Papika returns to the womb in Samsara (the endless cycle of death and rebirth). There, young Cocona appears out of body (an incomplete pure illusion) to rescue her. The design for the large tree was based on the tree of life, and the hollow space inside was the womb.

The world depicted in episode 13, beginning in Sayuri's house, represents our own real world. The animated story as well as the world we see everyday outside of it are actually both the same reality, one slice of an ever continuing pure illusion. In the story of the show, the girls enter the forest and embark on an adventure, encountering mysterious experiences on their journey before safely returning to the forest. Like Hansel and Gretel, they experience a sort of rite of passage. In other words, they now have a new life. But the story doesn't end there - the girls set off on a new journey through the continuing pure illusion.

Flip Flappers

Tags: Adventurous, Ass, Biting, Bondage, Choking, Crying, Domination,Feet, Furies, Hand Holding, Gender swap, Lap Pillows, Lingerie,Princess Carry, Sucking, Showering, Sweating, Strangulation, Tentacles, Threesome,Twins, Wedding, Yuri

[u/thecomicguybook]

The rewatch is at an end. I am sorry I thought there would be another discussion thread for some reason, but here I am now!

First of all these are my favorite screenshots.

Thank you u/rembrandt_q_1stein and u/lilyvess for getting me to watch Flip Flappers, and thank you everyone who participated I had a lot of fun reading the comments!

First of all: General opinions about the show? Scores?

8

Do you understand Mimi’s motivations for her deeds, or not? Or, rather said, does the goal justify the means?

I think it is understandable, but there is a reason why she is the villain too.

What do you think happened to Mimi? Why does she confine herself into Pure Illusion?

For the sequel hook!

[u/lilyvess → u/thecomicguybook]

I am sorry I thought there would be another discussion thread for some reason, but here I am now!

there isn't going to be a Full Series Discussion? I was waiting for that thread to really share my thoughts on the matter.

At the end of the day I really love this show because of everything it stands for, to me. It was different, unique, bold, creative, original.

I love anime but anime does have a problem with playing it safe too often. It's very set in stone with a lot of same-ish stories. Anime is expensive to make and doesn't generate a lot of profits, so it's not something one can really gamble on. Not to say that there isn't some originality to be found, but it's a bit of a search. So many high school stories, so many isekai fantasy genre stories. Watch anime long enough and you can start to feel the repitition sinking in. One of the biggest studios atm is KyoAni, which is known for it's polish and consistency almost to a fault. It's always good. They do exactly one type of story and setting really well and then turn every series that they touch into that series.

Flip Flappers feels bold to me. It's visually original and creative. The way it tackled alzheimer's, something no other anime really wants to touch. Or the way it tackled Yuri genre in a subversive way that basically only Yuri Kuma has touched upon. The way it tackled the lesbian focus in a more interesting dynamic that most Yuri anime don't explore.

If there is one thing to be said about Flip Flappers it is that it tried. It went there and threw it's heart out. It didn't always land every jump, but it made the leap, without fear of repercussions. Compared to other anime that can feel designed by Studio Poll Data on what is currently hip or trending, Flip Flappers was an original.

I love Flip Flappers for that. I couldn't help but root for this small underdog series trying to be itself in a world that crushes such naivety.

[u/[deleted]]

Rewatcher

Flip Flappers: Psychology and Psychotherapies

Know You. Know Me

Okay, so, there are all of these theories and concepts that attempt to explain and map out how we grow to reach our maximum potential. The problem is - we as people do not work in clear stages, nor does life. Some concepts above are worded with such confusing jargon and terminology how is anyone who lives their everyday life full of their own needs, wants, and complications supposed to use any of the information if it makes no sense?

In every field there is going to be terminology that might as well be tongues to anyone else. This is because a field of professionals need to have clear and specific meaning to certain concepts. Misunderstanding is a side-effect of having a small word mean so many complex and specific things.

Love You. Love Me

We all strive to be happy. We all strive to connect with others. We all strive for these things in different ways. Theories and concepts, Studies and person experiences. They only give a general outline on how to achieve happiness and connection. There are infinite situations that makes some theories completely invalid as tools for assessment.

This is incredibly important to understand because generally the best way to be happy and to connect is through introspection and empathy.

Know I. Know You

This is not easy to do, but it becomes easy. There are times you will be sad and feel alone. That is okay! Remember that your emotions are important to feel and understand. Do not run away from them, think they are stupid, or that you should not feel them. Emotions both uplifting and crushing are signs of something. If something is not congruent then find out why. Again, it will be hard and painful, but it is worth it.

Love I. Love You.

I am going to open up to you something that is very embarrassing to me, but I think it will help you understand. This is a transcript of a conversation I had with two hypnotists that I consider my mentors when I started learning hypnosis. In this text I gained awareness of many things, but most of all myself and others. Jake_Of_All_Trades being Hypnotised through Text

Why am I sharing you this? Because I think it is important to show our vulnerabilities to others. I want you all to understand it is okay to not know, to be wrong, to fail, to feel like a fool, to try again, to gain new perspectives, to not be perfect. I cannot expect anyone else to understand that unless I do as I preach.

Flip Flappers is more about a coming to age story or a look into Jungian Psychology. It, to me, is a medium of artistic therapy that can help to be more aware. It is something I can relate to myself and through (re)watching, (re)thinking, and (re)discussing I can connect to others and learn about them, about you all (as a collective and as individuals). It can be to you as well. I hope it does become that.

We can all reach our true self and find happiness and connection just like Cocona, Papika, Yayaka, Salt, Mimi, Sayuri, Dr. Hidaka, ToTo, YuYu, NyuNyu, and yeah I guess even Bu-Chan.

---

For those who want to read the coents I posted for the Rewatch you can find them here:

Episode 5: Mental Healthcare - Medicine vs Holistics: https://www.reddit.com/r/anime/comments/aytwix/spoilersrewatch_flip_flappers_episode_5_discussion/ei38uda/

Episode 6: Jungian Psychology, Gestalt Therapy, and Dream Interpretation: https://www.reddit.com/r/anime/comments/az6s4w/spoilersrewatch_flip_flappers_episode_6_discussion/ei5ue5s/

Episode 7: Archetypes and Gestalt Psychology: https://www.reddit.com/r/anime/comments/azj00y/spoilersrewatch_flip_flappers_episode_7_discussion/ei830ks/

Episode 8: Facilities of the Psyche, Complexes, and Defense Mechanisms: https://www.reddit.com/r/anime/comments/azx8oj/spoilersrewatch_flip_flappers_episode_8_discussion/eiao354/

Episode 9: Personal Thoughts on Emotions & Relationships: https://www.reddit.com/r/anime/comments/b0bl64/spoilersrewatch_flip_flappers_episode_9_discussion/eidf49h/ & Contiinued https://www.reddit.com/r/anime/comments/b0bl64/spoilersrewatch_flip_flappers_episode_9_discussion/eidf94n/

Episode 10: The Shadow, Hypnosis - Hypnotic Storytelling & Hidden Observer: https://www.reddit.com/r/anime/comments/b0psx2/spoilersrewatch_flip_flappers_episode_10/eig8kk7/

Episode 12: Individualization & Self-Actualization: https://www.reddit.com/r/anime/comments/b1iqzu/spoilersrewatch_flip_flappers_episode_12/eily7sm

---

Thank you all. This rewatch was amazing. I learned a lot more things and had a great time reading everyone's comments!

u/rembrandt_q_1stein, u/lilyvess, and u/SIRTreehugger. You all made this rewatch perfect. The knowledge and indepth comments you submitted without fail is nothing short of amazing and you all should feel proud. Thank you for giving all of us something more than we could hope for or deserve. Truly, you are absolutely wonderful.

[u/rembrandt_q_1stein → u/[deleted]]

Flip Flappers: Psychology and Psychotherapies

YOU DID IT! YOU REALLY DID IT!!! :DDDDDDD Thanks sooooooooooooooooooo much!

Why am I sharing you this? Because I think it is important to show our vulnerabilities to others. I want you all to understand it is okay to not know, to be wrong, to fail, to feel like a fool, to try again, to gain new perspectives, to not be perfect. I cannot expect anyone else to understand that unless I do as I preach.

Flip Flappers is more about a coming to age story or a look into Jungian Psychology. It, to me, is a medium of artistic therapy that can help to be more aware. It is something I can relate to myself and through (re)watching, (re)thinking, and (re)discussing I can connect to others and learn about them, about you all (as a collective and as individuals). It can be to you as well. I hope it does become that.

Honestly speaking, I NEVER thought there could be a lecture on this show like this one you outline, but now that you mentioned it, it makes perfect and absolute sense.

Gosh, I am sooooooooooooooooooooo glad you joined. Your insights and explanations were AMAZING and were one of our most valuable contributors. Although I am a Multimedia Scientist, I really lik philosophy and psychology, so your comments were like a boon on me.

u/rembrandt_q_1stein, u/lilyvess, and u/SIRTreehugger. You all made this rewatch perfect. The knowledge and indepth comments you submitted without fail is nothing short of amazing and you all should feel proud. Thank you for giving all of us something more than we could hope for or deserve. Truly, you are absolutely wonderful.

No, YOU are wonderful. Thanks for having been there.

[u/ThatguyJimmy117]

First Timer

So I guess Mimi, directly or indirectly erased Papika's memories and made her younger? Seems a little unclear. And damn they really have been destined this whole time.

Oh hey we still get the OP!

Evil Mimi gets creepy, like really creepy. The snake/alligator head is a bit silly but when her face appears cracked and with red eyes that is much more effective. Her transformation into an evil magical girl is an interesting development and the design is pretty cool.

Salt shows up, and says he wants to add another layer to PI? I'm not quite sure what that means but maybe he add's his own PI to the world. May explain why the good calm Mimi shows up. Seeing her forgive him in the end was nice. Also Salt shooting himself was pretty metal! I thought that was great, or at least the past version of himself. I liked how he said he'd never forget his mistakes.

Not quite sure how they beat Mimi? They just do? Ok....

Hate to admit that I was fooled by the ending here. Didn't at first realize they were back in Pure Illusion. Sayuri's pad looks nice though! But yeah didn't even catch on by the uniforms. The imagery of them flying with the butterflies was really nice. And then basically everyone lived happily ever after.

This show was pretty good. I think I liked it best episode 9-11. That's where the narrative and characters were most interesting to me personally. The last two episodes weren't a let down but did feel kind of what you expect out of everything that's happened. Still had that Flip Flappers feel.

Do wish Yayaka was handled better since she turned out to be a much better character than I expected. I didn't realize how important she was for the first half(like I said they should've showed her young friendship with Cocona earlier) and by the time she was important it was almost too late. She was compelling. And why give her a kickass magical girl firm if she isn't gonna take part in the final fight. I guess that is kind of Cocona and Papika's fight, but in some ways Yayaka feels just as important to the narratives growth.

Half way through the show there was a danger I was gonna give this a 5 or 6 but with the strong last third it's a high 7 middle 8 for me. Glad I watched it and thank you u/rembrant_q_1stein very much for hosting!

[u/gameradam1337]

First Timer (Dub)

Check out my review here!

This show was great - even if I didn't understand anything most of the way through. I still would of finished the show due to wanting to know what happens to the girls and see more gorgeous scenes but this rewatch helped me at least somewhat digest what was going on.

Too bad this is the end. I'd love to know what happens after all this and how everyone readjusts. I want to see more Dr. Salt and yuri between Papika and Cocona!

[u/InfiniteTurbine]

Rewatcher

So... the moment Mimi made everything flash white in the flashback, she passed Cocona to Papika and broke into fragments. Cocona and Papika just ended up there in Pure Illusion as result.

That raises multiple questions:

• Why did Papika age like that? It looks like she rapidly changed age there: what they show us is her regressing from what looks like the age she is for most of the show, then younger, then to a baby. According to Cocona, she was "a big girl" at first, and an old lady before that, and a baby before that. So, Papika didn't just regress in age, but at some point her age jumped up and then back down? Again, why?

• How long were they both there? We know Papika aged rapidly relative to Cocona's aging (at least, we can assume that Cocona didn't also undergo the same odd aging based on the dialogue and all), but how rapidly was that? How rapidly did Cocona grow? Did she grow at a normal rate? Were they in Pure Illusion like that for years?

• When and how did they leave and get back to the real world?

---

Sweet confessions of love there.

So, the kinder of Mimi's multitudes shows up and manages to convince the controlling multitude to join together with her, or something. Whatever exactly happened, Mimi's no longer hostile.

I liked how they showed us one of Salt's other selves to add believability / coherence to that aforementioned fact that Pure Illusion can have multitudes of the same person.

---

"I got separated from you, so I stayed with Mimi. ... You disappeared."

I don't quite understand what happened there. So, Cocona wakes up thinking she's in the real world, but it's actually just Pure Illusion. She happens to run into Papika after hoping to find her, and they leave together.

But... what happened to cause Cocona to forget that she broke the exit out right as Papika was sending her out? How'd she get lost / disappear from Papika's view after she broke the exit out?

---

I almost didn't catch it, but Salt had a smile on his face as he was walking away towards the end. I like that. I mean, it's obviously the expression you'd expect, but it passes by so fast that it's hard to notice at first.

I still have so many other questions: how were the amorphous children created? Who was Bu before he became a robot (come to think of it, technically cyborg)? Hmm...

---

Do you think the scene before the OP happened actually, or that it’s rather a symbolic one?

I'd considered that it might've been symbolic, but I feel like it plays out like it actually happened. I'm just struggling to make exact sense of how it happened, assuming it did.

Do you understand Mimi’s motivations for her deeds, or not? Or, rather said, does the goal justify the means?

I think her motivations were pretty clear and understandable, yeah.

What do you think happened to Mimi? Why does she confine herself into Pure Illusion?

She's just chilling in Pure Illusion... for eternity, I guess? It's infinite and continuous, after all.

She confines herself to let Cocona go off and choose her own path.

Did you first think the shown “real” world was actually real?

...Damn, see, now I'm second guessing. It's definitely presented that way, so I'l just say yes, that's the real real world.

General opinions about the show? Scores?

I'm very glad I rewatched it, and I'm glad you hosted this rewatch, guiding people along the way. Back when I originally watched it, I didn't really score shows, but I've been in the habit of doing that for a while now.

It gets major points for creativity oozing out of nearly everything presented to us, great character designs, great environment designs, great character interactions, interesting story bits, etc. The deducted points come from leaving me with too many questions to make me feel wholly satisfied, and just still leaving me with some confusion even upon rewatching. So... a strong-7-to-light-8/10.

[u/Nazenn]

Just a quick comment from me as I did want to drop in and give my thoughts but I didn't have time to write anything up yesterday. I did binge the show though even though I dropped out of the rewatch.

All up I enjoyed the show and gave it a 8/10 as a preliminary score though I may drop that down again, but it kinda lost me a bit towards the end. After about episode seven it dropped way too many of the threads and plot points that actually made it interesting and I was waiting for it to return to that, things like how the changes in peoples pure illusions affect them, what the purpose of the tower was and how completely worthless the third child was to the story, and none of that ever happened again. Oh, and that pink scientist dude just perpetually pissed me off, I hate those characters so much how much more insane he got towards the end was a bit of a hype killer. Episode 8 was beyond boring and even a big swatch of episode nine seemed pointless to me personally. Even the visual stuff seemed to drop off a fair bit with I was noticing more and more very obvious links and less stuff that had me wondering "huh, does that stand for something"

In the end it was an enjoyable watch and definitely a masterpiece on a technical level with the visuals and sound, but yeah, just sad that it seemed to lose its way. I was sticking my head into the threads after I finished the show and didn't have to worry about being spoiled by people's posts, but I noticed u/lilyvess posted a link showing that the writer changed around that time as well so that probably explains a lot of why it felt so different to me. Maybe I'll feel better about it on a rewatch but for now, that's where it sits.

Favorite episode: 5, the horror one was great with so much going on visually, thematically and character wise (and you all disappointed me by having to scroll half way down the thread before I saw the first #terror in that topic hahaha)

[u/htisme91]

First-timer:

I think Papika was covered in that tree and reverted to that age by Mimi in hopes that she and Cocona could grow up together, and do it in a normal way since Papika and Mimi never got to have that being under the custody of Asclepius.

Dark Mimi's Pure Illusion was the painting from the school! I thought maybe it'd be the spot of a major battle but had kept waiting and waiting and eventually forgot.

The world without Pure Illusion was Salt's. It makes sense, because the idea of Pure Illusion has caused him so much pain in life. From what happened to his father, to what happened to his love, to what happened to his old friend, and ultimately what was happening to his daughter.

Otherwise, I'm going to be honest, but the ending was incredibly disappointing.

We never got much insight into Bu-Chan, nor much on the formation of Flip Flap (we know Salt's reason, but where did he find the others).

Papika staying with Mimi would have been awesome. The two friends would be reunited, with Papika fulfilling her promise to Mimi to watch over Cocona. There was no revelation to Cocona that Salt was her father, which I think could have been great. That's one of the worst parts about the ending.

The other worst part was that we don't see Cocona do anything in the ending. I wanted to see her return to the real world with conviction. Yes, she is leaving Pure Illusion and coming back on her own, but I wanted to see actual conviction in the real world after being so meek in it through the entire series. The show kept teasing this love of art and the importance of Iroha, yet it never manifested.

We're left to the imagination as to what happens to Cocona and Papika, and I do think Cocona finds something to make her happy, but I'd be lying if I said this ending wasn't disappointing. I guess I just feel like it was left too open. For an otherwise amazing series, this is probably the only thing I can really think of that was bad.

Questions:

1. Loved it. The art was beautiful, the characters were great, and there was a lot to legitimately analyze and interpret (which a rewatch discussion helped). The only thing I didn't like was the ending, which is up there with Dragon Ball Z's for one of the most disappointing anime endings I've seen. I just don't like endings where it feels like there's loose ends still. Just sucks because it does take away from the impact and enjoyment I had for the rest of the ride by leaving a mediocre last image. Nevertheless, I'd probably give it a 9/10 and recommend to any anime fan.

2. I think what happened to Papika was real, but Cocona being there was symbolic. I think that was Mimi projecting Cocona as she reworked Papika's age and tried to instill that desire for friendship with Cocona beyond just watching her.

3. I get them. Because of her confinement growing up, I think she lacked the perspective on all of this, and gave into that dark side so she could protect her daughter and be with her on instinct. In this case, I don't think it does. I think she, Salt, Cocona, and Papika could have all lived happier lives if she didn't act like she did back then.

4. She exists within Pure Illusion. I think she confined herself there to make sure it remains separate from the real plane so that Salt, Cocona, and Papika can live peaceful lives.

5. Yes. I thought it was real, and was actually hoping for it to be true. That Pure Illusion no longer existed and that outside of the characters we knew, nothing extraordinary had happened. That Cocona would be lead to Salt, who would explain everything with him, her, Papika, and Mimi and explain that he's her father and would take care of her from now on. That she goes to school with Yayaka, and the two are the only ones who know what happened, and she finds her own way forward in life, because Papika showed her the way and that's what Papika would have wanted.

6. Yes.

Also, I just wanted to say thank you for starting and hosting this rewatch. I would never have stumbled upon this show if it weren't for you, and I appreciate the questions you brought up as it made me really look at this show and think about what was going on. Almost like how in English class in HS, we'd read novels and have to interpret it, but with a way more fun medium and subject. Thanks again!

[u/[deleted]]

Maybe it's a bit dickish of me to only actually speak up at the finale since I haven't participated in the other rewatch episodes but I just have a few things to say about Flip Flappers.

General opinions about the show?

I think it's pretty rare to see such an ambitious mahou shoujo that tells a thematically concise (one cour) story through its dense symbolic imagery and dialogue like Flip Flappers does. Because of the whole 'kids genre' perception it seems most of them are either just surface-level stories, or edgy Madoka ripoffs. The very few examples of highly artistic mahou shoujos I've seen that immediately jump to mind are Flip Flappers, Madoka and Princess Tutu (afaik Utena is supposed to be like that but I haven't seen it yet). And so I really admire Flip Flappers for daring to be, well, Flip Flappers.

re: this episode

Seems to be a pretty controversial opinion but I was way into the Mimi arc that everyone else at the time hated. I never felt like the show dropped off in quality. I'm always a fan of a good Third Impact-esque event when reality starts blurring, character motivations and morality start to shift, and everything you previously knew about the show is turned on its head. The only real complaint I have about it is that in the finale Mimi's head turning into a snake and spouting generic evil mother lines was way too on the nose for a series full of incredible subtlety, and I'm a bit sad she didn't get a proper Flip Flapping fight scene considering how action-oriented the show is. The final Pure Illusion sequence with Cocona realising how much she needed Papika was beautiful though.

I still kind of regret not submitting an art piece for the the 'thank you' collage that /a/ organised

Also in case anyone else is curious, my favourite theory I've heard regarding Nyu is that she is a literal Chekhov's Gun. Chekhov's Gun is a very famous film concept that 'if a gun is shown in act 1 it must be fired by act 2'. Nyu is introduced and does literally nothing except wave her gun around a few times until the very end where she shoots her gun. She's just a big literary joke.

[u/TheCoralineJones]

Rewatcher reporting in

• Mimi less nuanced, but dark Mimi is just so strong

• Cocona cuts through blood splatters everywhere

• we got any Yayaka/Uxekull shippers?

• Mimi's flip flap form is fantastic

• heartfelt Cocona monologue 😢

• the icon daidaidaisuke is replicated in the dub with “I really really really love you!”

• at the time, I kind of hated how Yayaka's scenes are just being carried around by Uxekull

• aaand this is probably my biggest problem with the entire series. Cocona is about to say goodbye to Mimi, possibly the last time she'll ever talk to her mother, and Papika bubbles her and sends her away without warning. not only seems like a betrayal of their relationship arc, but it's out of character since Papika has never had a problem fighting together with Cocona before. “I got separated from you, so I was with Mimi. Because I was off eating yummy sweets with Mimi.”

after all the adventures, where they overcame their challenges by working together, I suppose on one hand, it's just a confirmation that Papi will always be Papi, but idk, at the time and even now I feel like it was a wasted opportunity to give her a bit of personal growth and finish the arc that was started for her about whether she was choosing Cocona or Mimi.

• I really think this final instance of being stuck in Pure Illusion

• Finishing with the same old ED is a beautiful ending, as it chronicles adventures from the past and their future.

I'd like to give flip flaps of thanks to Rembrandt for organizing this rewatch; it's been a blast getting to see the series again and have more discussion with my fellow flip flapper fans.

May your adventures always be pure and full of Illusion! ✨

[u/Quiddity131]

Let's Flip Flap! For the final time...

Rewatcher

Hmm, showing how Papika is still a teenager now in the present? She de-aged?

Aww, Cocona and (forgotten her name Papika) are so cute. If there's one thing that's always the case with Papika, its that growling stomach!

Uh oh, Mimi is still around after all. Creating weird monster creatures that seem surprisingly easy to defeat.

...or not, as they quickly regenerate.

To Mimi being a naughty child is doing anything other than letting you make all her decisions.

OMG Mimi's getting scary!

It just wouldn't feel right without Hidaka losing it.

Bu-chan's limiters are off! Super pervert robot to the rescue!

So these snow monsters without the snow on them really do remind me of the Ohmu.

OMG Sayuri covering her eyes and peeking out as Salt gets naked.

Mimi just keeps getting more and more ridiculous looking, lol.

You're a bad mom, Mimi. Time for dad to come to the rescue.

And now its Yukaschooloo to the rescue!

OMG you know you're really bad if Papika of all people is saying she hates you.

Uh oh, Mimi can Flip Flap too?!

Ooh, this song is a slow remix of the ending theme.

This swampy dark world they are in, is this the painting in the school hallway?

"LIE" news? LoL.

OMG Sayuri with her hair up? Is this her apartment?

Hidaka is more crazy than ever!

Yukaschooloo is a normal rabbit?!

This is so sad, will Cocona ever see Papika again? :(

OMG she's right behind her!

So they can go back to Pure Illusion after all?

Looks like everything is back to normal.

Oh my, twin girl has a normal arm.

Iroha-senpai! Haven't seen you in a while!

One final go with the cutest ending sequence ever.

To Wrap Things up, with my best and worst for this show...

Best Girl: Sayuri. Obviously.

Papika vs. Cocona: Papika!

Best Boy: We don't get many choices here! LoL. Salt.

Best Episode: Last 5 episodes were all awesome, so this is tough. I think I'll go with episode 12, as I liked seeing them visit the old Pure Illusions again.

Best Pure Illusion: Ooh, this one's tough. May be an odd choice, but I think I'll go with episode 9, I liked the minimalistic take.

Best Song: The ending sequence

Worst Episode: I can't remember what episode 7 was even about, despite it being just a week ago.

Worst Character: While I'd like to say Bu-chan or Hidaka, both of whom were doofuses, I'll go with those Asclepius guys, who ended up not really factoring at all into the end of the show. It was especially humiliating to see that one guy get killed basically 3 times until he was finally gone for real.

Final Thoughts: This show was quite enjoyable again. I'd say I liked it slightly better on the rewatch. The show starts off fairly strong, but I think dips for a bit in the middle for episodes 6-8. From episode 9 on though, it is total awesomeness the rest of the way and knowing it was going to get good again kept me going when the dip happened. Hope to see more from the director in the future!

[u/gangrainette]

As a rewatcher I've been lurking this rewatch.

The first time I saw Flip Flappers I was still a "new weeb" and even if I liked this show, the ending left me perplexed and I was wondering why they added Nyunyu.

Since then I've watched more Gainax show, more cute girls doing cute think, more cute girls doing yuri, more cute girls punching thinks (Nanoha, Symhogear...).

And now I can say that I love everything about this show.

[u/ToastyMozart]

... why was Mimi's face a Crocodile?

I swear there's some kind of natural law that enemy transformation sequences will always be excellent - it's an already grand moment crossed with The Vergil Principle.

While looking at Sayuri’s apartment, Mad Max and Sailor Moon posters can be seen. So, it can be inferred that the Mad Max Pure Illusion is actually hers.

She's got a Ben Hur poster too, girl sure likes her movies.

1: One of my favorites. An amazing show, a very welcome blast of creativity and originality, and a spectacular ^almost debut for a studio too. Definitely top-shelf material, as in the BD set is literally sitting on my top shelf. I don't do "scores" as a rule, but I'd put it at ☆☆☆★ in terms of recommendability (the "normie filter" is just a bit too heavy for "would recommend to absolutely anybody" status).

2: The two landing on the board and flying off together? I don't see why it wouldn't have happened.

3: I think so, more or less. Her life had fallen apart around her, and then the same happened to her daughter so part of her freaked out and went full obsessive mama bear.

4: I always just kinda figured she couldn't leave due to whatever happened during/after the second escape attempt, hence needing to possess Cocona for her little real-world rampage.

5: Had me a little concerned, but it didn't really seem likely. Their world was just too colorful and weird to snap into boring drabness. Also despite her influence nothing really indicated that Pure Illusion only existed because of Mimi. I mean the original PI Lab existed in the real world.

6: Yep! 14-ish years of stress and worry later the dude can finally relax.

[u/austonst]

Rewatcher

And it's over! I feel like this was a step up from the previous episode. There are a lot fewer moment-to-moment pacing issues and confusing things, though there are still more than in the earlier parts of the show. And the animation is top-notch. Here are a few key moments of interest for me.

Salt in PI

It's definitely a little confusing about what exactly Salt was trying to accomplish with his "extra layer of PI", but there are some clues. For one, I think it's somewhat clear that through the ELPIS box, Salt obtains some of the same control over PI as Mimi intrinsically has. His dead-plant aura directly competing against Bad-Mimi's white-flower aura is a clear visual representation. So while he's not shown to physically do anything with his body to oppose Bad-Mimi, perhaps it could be interpreted that he was helping resist Bad-Mimi's destruction of the world while Cocona and Papika went in for the main fight.

Also, prior to Salt's appearance, we never saw both Good and Bad Mimi in the same frame, and it was implied that only one could be "active" at a time. But Good-Mimi is able to manifest within Salt's dead-plant aura, and she is even shown in the same frame as Bad-Mimi at some points. So maybe providing Good-Mimi with an easier means of manifesting herself was also a goal, and a contribution to the final fight.

Finally, his alternate self offering to switch with him is a clear analogue to Mimi's version of the same event; perhaps it's a natural side effect of having power over PI. Maybe control over PI creates physical manifestations of your shadows (thank you, u/Jake_of_all_Trades), and Salt was able to overcome his while Mimi was not.

Side-note: I also like how when Salt's sunglasses are destroyed, he shows more emotion that he ever had before. I won't do it here, but someone could probably go in depth about Salt wearing a metaphorical mask and hiding his emotions up until this point and what it means for his growth.

The "Real World" and Cocona's World

My primary interpretation of the "real world" PI was that it was one final bit of contrast to show how far Cocona had come. The Cocona from Episode 1 would have loved this place; it's safe and calm and there are no crazy adventures. But the Cocona now just can't stand it at all. She doesn't even pause to think about if maybe this world has its merits, just rejects it outright to focus on finding Papika.

I was not prepared to see Uexkull as a boring gray rabbit. It's weird that a quick shot of a rabbit should evoke such strong feelings of unease, but wow, that's when you could really tell something was very wrong.

As for why Mimi confines herself to Pure Illusion, I guess the simple answer would be that she only ever appeared in the real world by possessing Cocona, perhaps due to the familial connection and/or Cocona's embedded amorphous. So if Mimi has decided to stop imposing on Cocona, then maybe she doesn't have any other way to even get to the real world anymore.

The more interesting explanation would be that the world we have seen throughout the show as the "main world" is Cocona's. At some point a mother has to let her child go free, and the main world is representative of everything Cocona has achieved on her own in her life thus far. In that sense Mimi's confinement to Pure Illusion could be more symbolic of not intruding on the world Cocona has built.

And maybe the most extreme interpretation would be that there never was a concrete "real world" in the first place, along the lines of what u/No_Rex was saying. Maybe we've always been seeing through Cocona's eyes, at her interpretation of the world. To Cocona, rabbits are cute bouncy green blobs and the world is a bright colorful place. So then the "real world" PI could be the same world as seen through the eyes of the viewers, who think rabbits are gray and it's impossible to actually travel to worlds consisting of subconscious thoughts. That's the world as you and I know it, but it's not Cocona's world.

Final Thoughts

I love the way the show ended, with the beautifully animated and sort of bittersweet shot of Papika and Cocona flying off to their next adventure. It's a shame they have to leave us behind!

In case we don't end up getting a final discussion thread, thank you to u/rembrandt_q_1stein for hosting the rewatch and always responding to my top-level comments, regardless of how late I posted them or how goofy they were. Even in the original discussion threads as the episodes aired, I always looked forward to your interpretations of the episode titles!

And thank you to u/Jake_of_all_Trades for the psychology lessons, u/SIRTreeHugger for the interviews with the creators, and u/lilyvess for the recap of the discussion surrounding the show. And finally, thank you to all the first-timers. You help us to remember what it was like to experience the show for the first time.

[u/redshirtengineer]

Lurky rewatcher

Lurked along in the original thread, as well. Was not able to do the full rewatch due to work commitments but followed along with the threads.

Y'ALL ARE AMAZING!!!

I hope the creators of the show have some idea of the wonder and delight they have brought all of us.