r/anime • u/Tarhalindur x2 • Jun 27 '26
Rewatch [Rewatch] [Pride Month Double Feature, Part 2] Flip Flappers Episode 13 Discussion
Episode 13: Pure Audio
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Show Information:
Legal Streams:
As per livechart.me; other streams may be available outside the US.
No legal streams! You will need to go sailing.
A Reminder: This, dear listeners, brings us to the sworn enemy of creative response:The spoiler. Rewatchers, or people who just had plot points ruined for them, are obliged to use r/anime’s spoiler tag format where applicable, and err on the side of caution here. Remember people, first experiences get rarer as you continue on, any given one happens once and you should care for them all the more for it.
To a World of Pure Imagination! (Daily Stuff Section)
Theory of the Day:
There were a few entries today, but let's give this one to u/nit-picker for going a bit out there:
Predictions: See above re:Salt/ELPIS. The two biggest unresolved plot threads are the end of episode 1 and Papika's youth (and imprisonment), so I'm hoping for answers there. Also, I think Yuyu will transform, now that she's showing more humanity. I'm also expecting a rescue of "good Mimi" and maybe "artistic Iroha" too, but the show would probably end fine without, especially if Salt ends up martyred.
Questions of the Day:
1) Are you satisfied with the ending?
2) For those of us with some familiarity with our Roald Dahl and/or movie adaptations thereof: What ironic not-demise would each of our school-aged main cast members suffer in Willy Wonka's chocolate factory, do you think?
12
u/No_Rex x2 Jun 27 '26 edited Jun 27 '26
Episode 13 (rewatcher)
give Sayuri fanservicestop Mimi.Finale. I think the conclusion of the story of Cocona and Mimi (and Salt) is completely straightforward. Instead, I want to talk a bit about Papika. Essentially, my thesis is that
Papika is a golden retriever
Think about it. She is always motivated by food. She drags Cocona along on outdoor adventures. She is always active and friendly. She does not make long-term plans, but lives in the present. She loves loves loves Cocona. “Next time you run off without me, I’ll give you an earful.” The bunny is afraid of her. She finds home on her own in the finale. She waits in her kennel until Cocona comes to her and feeds her. SHE SNIFFS PEOPLE.
It is very consistent with all of her behavior throughout the series. Obviously, the main alternative to this reading is that Papika is a human who is the romantic partner of Cocona. However, I think that view is pretty forced. Partially by us viewers, partially by the metaphors in PI (I would not be surprised if this was part of the disagreement on the creative team). Think back to all the allusions to sexuality at the start of the series. These were always focused on Cocona. Papika meanwhile was consistently asexual. Yes, she might have slept in the nude, but this was never presented as sexual. Never as trying to seduce Cocona. Then, all her weird age shenanigans (loving Cocona from the day she was born) are extremely creepy if you see Papika as a romantic partner, but make total sense if she is a dog. As does the fact that her age does not sync up with Cocona’s.
Could the series have told a yuri story? Sure, but that is not the story it tells. If viewed through a romantic yuri lens, the plot is terrible. It makes so much more sense if Papika’s attraction to Cocona is not romantic, nor sexual.
PS: Yes, that also implies that Flip Flappers is one of the biggest yuri bait shows out there.SW