Forum

BodaciousSpacePirate wrote:

meiam wrote:

the lady looking away does not also look like an old woman

It is one of the most famous optical illusions in the history of western art.
I am genuinely sad that you can't see it, and I mean that in the nicest way possible.

I'm obviously talking about the one linked in the article from the show. Rolling Eyes

Quote:

I am not entirely sure what the same thought Cocona and Papiko had in the same episode, but considering the world was in general about Cocona's icy appearance, than this was the probably the thought, and built a winter wonderland.

Okay so, Cocona just meet some weird girl on a surf board and some robot, Papika just found "the one" (obviously not even an hint of what make Cocona "the one). Both of them are sitting on a pipe in the middle of the forest and then they both think at the same time "gee wiz, wouldn't it be fun to be in an icy wonderland?" or Cocona went "Wow, my I'm so icy" and same for Papika, someone who obviously can't read the air though "Geez this girl is really Icy"...

Got it, not random at all.

meiam wrote:

BodaciousSpacePirate wrote:

meiam wrote:

the lady looking away does not also look like an old woman

It is one of the most famous optical illusions in the history of western art.
I am genuinely sad that you can't see it, and I mean that in the nicest way possible.

I'm obviously talking about the one linked in the article from the show. Rolling Eyes

Quote:

I am not entirely sure what the same thought Cocona and Papiko had in the same episode, but considering the world was in general about Cocona's icy appearance, than this was the probably the thought, and built a winter wonderland.

Okay so, Cocona just meet some weird girl on a surf board and some robot, Papika just found "the one" (obviously not even an hint of what make Cocona "the one). Both of them are sitting on a pipe in the middle of the forest and then they both think at the same time "gee wiz, wouldn't it be fun to be in an icy wonderland?" or Cocona went "Wow, my I'm so icy" and same for Papika, someone who obviously can't read the air though "Geez this girl is really Icy"...

Got it, not random at all.

It was far more simple than that.

The Flip Flappers team show that they both have a similar brain wavelenght and that they could be matched together as partners, so the robot grabs them and makes them embarassed at the same time, I'm not sure who says "No" and who "Please don't", but that synchronization of thoughts is what sent them down this black space that connects with Pure Illusion. The same thing happened when they both thought about Uexkull. It might seem random because they're forced, but at the same time it isn't because it was deliberately forced by other characters, not just because.

The Umwelt concept that was brought upon here is what happens next, the whole shaping of Pure Illusion is crafted by their imagination and pereception of the world, they don't make one single monlothic world, they make stuff that combines their thoughts together but at the same time it's different for each of them.

BodaciousSpacePirate wrote:

It is one of the most famous optical illusions in the history of western art.
I am genuinely sad that you can't see it, and I mean that in the nicest way possible.

To be fair, I had a hard time seeing that one in the show. The show doesn't have any eyes, which makes it harder to perceive a face. The original illusion has lines which work as indicators of eyes for both the young woman (only her eyelashes, though) and the old woman.

I'm not sure if it's intentional or not, but the "old woman" in Flip Flappers doesn't even really look that old to me, just "ugly". The lack of eyes also gets rid of the wrinkles on the old woman and the lack of a hat removes a cultural marker of age as well. The hair in Flip Flappers becomes almost wig-like when using the old woman view, as well, and the choker becomes some rather inexpertly applied lipstick on what I'd interpret as either a sad smile. The "old woman" is also looking more downward in Flip Flappers.

I'm not sure if those details have significance or not, but the show is clearly not playing it completely straight with its illusions as the two faces/vase illusion is modified in such a way as to be a two faces/hourglass illusion instead (and driven home by the fact that this design is part of a clock). The skull illusion is the most directly alike.

So this just jumped up to the top of my Watch list! It reminds me a bit of Humanity Has Declined ( anime#13787 ) except with far more Alice in Wonderland & Peter Pan influence (And a bit less dark jokes)

Meiam, I think the key to understanding this story is the idea that by using these visual metaphors, you explore things that you couldn't explore verball or literally. You're looking for a verbal explanation of these things, but I don't think it's possible to explain in words exactly what the meaning of these things are, because it relies on a lot of nonverbal concepts (mainly visual). Just because something doesn't have a literal meaning that can be easily put into words doesn't mean there's nothing there. Though the visual part of the brain is largely mute, it is vast and powerful: one of the main ways in which we interpret the world.

If this were a book, and the text read, "and then they went into the pipe and emerged in a snowy landscape," then no, it wouldn't really work, and it wouldn't really mean much of anything. But there's a lot more to it than just the fact that the snow is there. There's the specific positioning of the trees, the way the ice breaks, the way the creatures' tongue-things move. And all of these things mean something, and if they were different the meaning of the scene would change. It's not all something that you can write a literal explanation of what the symbolism is for. But from a visual standpoint and in relation to other things that are going on with the characters, setting, and plot, it does have a real thematic unity.

So far Flip Flappers has been the biggest surprise of the season for me. And, frankly, I hadn't even thought of the Madoka aspect. It is just ... itself. All kinds of yuri subtext out there this season though!

Most innovatively, the boundlessness of the colour design is such that the palettes used for Cocona and Papika were almost completely exchanged during episode two's Pure Illusion segment, with their original hair colours only represented by the colours of their outlines. It seems as if the central couple are synchronised in some yet-to-be-explained (or better still, never-to-be-explained) fashion, which will only lead to more of the vivid but complementary contrasts that have already proven to be this show's forte.

I really liked the design for episode three's antagonist, but the clear breakout character this week was definitely the spoiler[sweet potato].

BodaciousSpacePirate wrote:

I really liked the design for episode three's antagonist, but the clear breakout character this week was definitely the spoiler[sweet potato].

It's thanks to that the show premiered the girls' magical girls transformation sequence which felt rather nostalgic with the disco music and retro sound effects. I have to say Episode 3 really solidify the premise of this story while boasting probably the craziest action animation so far this season! Hopefully some peeps won't get the wrong impression the rest the series will be like episode 3.

Last edited by Jayhosh on Fri Oct 21, 2016 9:24 pm; edited 2 times in total

I gotta say, this show really surprised me. I had absolutely no interest in watching it until I saw some serious sakuga GIF's floating around. I just got done watching the first three episodes and it's seriously just so god damn whimsical. It gives me some serious Spirited Away/Ghibli vibes, with a healthy dose of classic early 2000's Gainax and Trigger style for good measure. And just like Spirited Away, if you question everything magical that happens, you're gonna have a bad time. I also love how it doesn't rely on over-compensative expositional dialogue to explain every little detail to the audience, like we're [expletive] idiots. A lot of anime tend to have this problem. Even Mob Psycho 100, which I absolutely loved, fell into this trap occasionally. It also goes without saying that the animation is drop dead gorgeous at times. You can definitely see the marks of a Space Dandy staffer in there. It's pure sakuga bliss. And the humor's pretty solid as well. I think my enjoyment of the two main characters' relationship thus far is a big reason for that. Even Papika, whose personality I'll admit grated on me initially, I've really grown to like as a character. It's stuff like this and Mob that remind me why I love animation, the Japanese form specifically. This could possibly be the under-the-radar hit of the season, as it currently stands. Hopefully it gets more attention over the upcoming weeks. That is, as long as it retains its current level of quality throughout its run. It's definitely going to be the anime I look forward to most through this season, with Izetta being another one I've enjoyed. Overall this season isn't turning out to be as totally shit as I initially assumed it would be.

I am really looking forward to Jacob's review of episode three. I did not expect anything like that.

I'm reminded simultaneously of Kaiba, Kyousogiga, Gurren Lagann and... Mad Max. This is why I watch anime.

I'm really wondering what they will do for episode four.

Nothing about the pre-season description of this series caught my eye. What a wonderful surprise.

The entire episode was the first episode from Hokuto no Ken: stranded in the desert, taken captive by the barely-scraping-by villages, small girl act as the "mediator" between MC and villagers, pirates attack, village elder goes "It's 'that' technique, you better observe closely," and so on and so on. And then, at the second half, the show doesn't just adds any Mahō Shōjo, but it was a Kill la Kill gravy, complete with sparkles and impressive stills of the characters with their attack's name shown, along with the general battle choreography.

The first 2 episodes weren't all that interesting to me, but the third one is a lot better.

Quote:

My favorite detail was the way that Cocona and Papika's costumes act as a crossfading illusion where you could see both one body and two bodies as they stand side by side.

Mine was the desert marauder mom, taking her son grocery shopping in a town so post-apocalyptic that the traffic safety cones are covered in spikes.

I know I've already pointed this out, but seriously, this episode gave off some serious Trigger/Kill la Kill vibes, from the awesome battle choreography to the magical girl transformation scenes. That, and the villain looked like something that came directly out of Panty and Stocking. And is anyone else in love with the Grimm-esque ending credits?

^ Everybody is in love with the ED.

I must confess that this episode didn't feel as lovable as the rest. I really liked all the influences (Cocona having "the style that defines our very world" made me laugh), how immersed in the world it gets you, the choreography and fight scenes were all amazing but I don't think I liked the narrative construction about it. Like, I don't think I ever thought about Cocona and Papika fighting, nor I felt any particular pump-up for it, because overall the buildup felt like simple brainwash, and the background behind the brainwash (which will be far more compelling by the end of the series) came much late, so they basically sacrificed that for the element of surprise.

The second half was far more enjoyable and interesting, given how now we're slowly getting into the meat of this world.

Forum - View topic
EP. REVIEW: Flip Flappers

This Week in Anime - Sex in Anime is Complicated

Code Geass: Rozé of the Recapture - Part 2 Anime Film Review

Live-Action Cells at Work! Film's Teaser Unveils Main Cast, December Debut

Atlus Recasts Tōru Furuya in Metaphor: ReFantazio Game

Look Back Anime Film Review

The First Anime That Made Us Cry

Spy×Family Anime Gets 3rd Season

Forum - View topicEP. REVIEW: Flip Flappers

Forum

Forum - View topic
EP. REVIEW: Flip Flappers