Flip Flappers (Anime Series) Review.

Flip Flappers (TV Mini Series 2016) - IMDb 

CW; Dementia

 

Imagine art. Alright, whatever it is in your head, hold onto that idea and wonder why you think it is. Is it colourful? Stylized? Is it something you think about a lot because of something that you still ponder on? Is it bad in a way you can never forget? Does it annoy you but is it memorable? Can you taste how you felt when you were chewing through it, fresh anger, resentment, joy or tragedy?

 

Okay, so Flip Flappers is art. It's not art I quite always agree with. It's not art I like every aspect of and it's art that feels indulgent in some ways that make me fucking roll my eyes. -But-. But but but. It is art. And it's art I remember.

 

Flip Flappers is a story about two girls who may (or may not?) be quite lesbian, may or may not be in a magical girl style show with transformations and a lot of exploitation both intra and extra diagetically and also, they may be fighting some very suspect looking characters in tall white hoods who are doing very suspect child experiments while searching for an entire array of parallel worlds running alongside our one. And if you think that's bizarre, I'll tell you another; this world or worlds or universe or universes? Is called Pure Illusion; and it plays somewhat to that; bizarre landscapes filled with vaguely familiar but highly odd people and non-people crossing a bevy of genres, from desert punk to giant robot fighting to bizarre horror.

 

In it itself, Flip Flappers suffers from tropes of the genre of animation that it is crouched in; bizarre creepy robots, icky fanservice that feels incredibly bleck to look at and some narrative choices that kind of feel bizarre and I had to explain whenever we went back to it because of course I did, this is an odd that reminds me of similar slightly disconnected story beats and oddities, like Aeon Flux. But; there are moments in this series that shine so bright for it.

 

A storyline involving the nature of dementia and how we lose people through it is a stark emotional dagger that is performed well in the horror that escapes from it; on top of that, the nature of the world of Pure Illusion and how it feeds back into people, how it can change people is a sinister undertone that is pointed to once or twice. The horror and bombast of the other episodes hitting their strides is imaginative, aided by a kinetic animation style that feels cohesive in places and a bright soundtrack. Whenever I think of this show, even when I struggle to remember everything, some things shine stark, bright and harshly when it comes to memory.

 

Much like other things I've reviewed, Flip Flappers is in itself not exactly friendly nor is it something I like to a degree as other challenging things I enjoy. But in a way, I am happy it exists. Art sticks with us and our feelings as we grow. Flip Flappers I am certain will stick with me for quite some time. If you want to give it a try, I warn it is not an experience everyone will enjoy nor should. But it is an experience worth having.

 

Picture taken from IMDB.

 

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