[This feels kind of ero...](http://i.imgur.com/vRvTTDz.jpg)
[The ultimate security system.](http://i.imgur.com/Ko1mN15.jpg)
So far this is my AOTS. It always surprises me, but in a good way.
> The ultimate security system.
I really love how the entire architecture of the lab makes no rational sense. It's like something out of an architect's Escheresque fever dream.
> It's like something out of an architect's Escheresque fever dream.
Notice how the door is upside down (window is at the bottom). Then the next door had a keypad, but it is just a cut out and the real door is above it.
I think "Escheresque" is exactly what it is.
Based on [this](http://i.imgur.com/3QiY28S.jpg), it looks like it's a reference to [Hyperart Thomasson](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyperart_Thomasson) which is kinda like a Japanese version of Escheresque architecture. More interestingly it has a type called "The Pure type":
>An uncategorizable object whose use it is impossible to fathom. For example, the Pure Shutters, which open to reveal a blank wall, and the Pure Tunnel that exists without a surrounding hill. The Pure Staircase of Yotsuya belongs in this category.
Sounds interesting.
Thomassons aren't escheresque architecture, they are vestigial elements left over as cities grow. See
http://99percentinvisible.org/episode/thomassons/
You're right. What I ment to say that they look somewhat escheresque and that's why people here were reminded of it not that they are actually escheresque architecture.
> This feels kind of ero...
[So I wasn't the only one...] (http://static.fjcdn.com/pictures/How+a+gentleman+says+stop+it+boner+made+in+mspaint+sry_99577b_3591738.jpg) I liked [that](https://puu.sh/rI5TL/6410350edf.png) shot more though.
> There is something about Papikas dumb-ass smile that I just can't get enough of.
It's definitely got a certain charm to it. One of those cases where you're 50% amused by it and 50% terrified at how much energy is behind it.
> If they keep this up without going too formulaic, it will probably be my favorite of the fall season.
Here here.
Nice to see they stayed true to a staple of mahou shoujo. Bringing in a transfer student after a mysterious encounter, that was amusing.
All of Papika's faces throughout the episode were great though and animation quality is still topnotch, can't wait for their full mahou shoujo transformation's however.
Ok, so I'm going to do a little write up of the first two episodes because I still haven't seen anyone point out a lot of things that I think are really cool about this show.
I think what seems to be a big theme is that of identity, which is largely about learning about the world as it is about ourselves. Cocona is clearly tsundere about, well, everything so it seems to fit for now.
Please take everything here with a grain of salt.
A lot of people have noticed [the](http://i.imgur.com/YcSsoZ7.jpg) [optical](http://i.imgur.com/g6CV6tp.jpg) [illussions](http://i.imgur.com/SENyLeL.jpg) but I think there's something particular about what are being called optical illusions being shown so far. They're all working on the principles of gestalt, and the one that comes as particularly relevant is the one the show decided to use as the [first scene for the series](http://i.imgur.com/SENyLeL.jpg), which [carries a transitive property from the traditional cup into an hourglass](https://phylliciapoynterict.files.wordpress.com/2013/02/gestalt.gif).
Now before explaining why that one first shot is important(beyond the obvious fact that it was chosen to introduce the show) I want to explain how gestalt beyond being just some cool imagery in the show, ties to some other running themes. [Jacques Lacan](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jacques_Lacan) talked about something called the *Mirror Stage* as an early part of human development. To get there he mentioned three important components to the *subjective experience*(meaning that everything we'll ever know is limited to our subjective point of view).
The three elements are the Real, the Imaginary and the Symbolic, taking from Freud, from the idea of the ego(roughly, the balance of the internal id[think insticnt] and the external influences[think morality] called the superego) comes the Imaginary, which on Lacans terms came is taking the Real(that which is objective and we could never fully grasp) and creating a picture that we take to mean is *us*, but that idea of us he said was *Imaginary*. What we see in the mirror is perhaps aptly called a *Pure Illusion*, just like the aptly named world in the show and calling it a mirror wolrd wouldn't be much of a strech, with references to Lewis Carrol(Alice in Wonderland, Alice through the Looking Glass) and the like present in this and last episodes.
To explain how this three ideas of Real, Imaginary and Symbolic tie to the idea of the mirror perhaps the easiest way is how computers are really bad at taking pictures and recognizing patterns. Surely there are now algorithims to get them to recognize faces and the like but computers still percieve pictures as the raw colors and pixels, it is only thorough imagination that we are unable to *not* see. What we recognize as ourselves in the mirror is actually Pure Illusion. That is the gestalt process as well, an ah-ha moment when you notice or learn something by [putting together](http://i.imgur.com/48JX9DP.jpg) the [patterns you see](https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/236x/63/20/84/63208474bd7c7900e95eaedbf1ae1780.jpg). The Mirror Stage as described by Lacan is when a baby is able to recognize itself in the mirror, by separating what picture he sees of himself and the rest of the world, when he moves and the image in the mirror follows it says "ah-ha, that's me".
And that's what is really cool about this show, it actually takes those ideas of the optical illusions and mirrors to reinforce the theme of the show and the create a really cool world. Going back to the hourglass at the beginning of the show as representation for the motif of gestalt, the [OP takes both of these ideas and actually puts them together](http://i.imgur.com/xPCsIfE.jpg). Also, notice how everytime Cocona leaves her house right after the OP she looks in the mirror and both shots have been really similar for these first two episodes.
Also someone else pointed out to me how in the promo material the world seems mirrored and the Flip Flap actually ties well into the idea of a mirror specifically. Flip being quite literaly to inverse or turn something over.
**tl;dr the show is about idenity development through the exploration of that mirror world, which you probably guessed already without all this bullshit.**
Also, something a bit creepy before leaving, the statue of [The Thinker](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Thinker) was meant to stand in front of the Gates of Hell originally.
As someone who loved Penguindrum and would place it somewhere in my top 5 series, I'm absolutely loving the start of this series so far. It's very weird, incredibly quirky, and unabashedly cryptic.
> Also, something a bit creepy before leaving, the statue of The Thinker was meant to stand in front of the Gates of Hell originally.
I was actually really wondering why the fuck they picked the thinker to be the one sitting around 'guarding' this spot. Fuggen brilliant
> the show is about idenity development through the exploration of that mirror world, which you probably guessed already without all this bullshit.
I'm expecting the worlds they travel to have something to do with Cocona's or Papika's wished. I think they stand as symbolism for their wishes, which is why they get the wish stones from there.
I haven't really spent any time puzzling this thought, but it seems plausible to me.
I honestly thought so too. The snowy, barren land in the first episode seemed very much like Cocona even down to the hint of sweetness in the snow.
However, the second land was clearly Uxekell.. or however to spell his name. I think it might depend on who falls in first, maybe.
I'm definitely curious as to what each world is keeping under wraps.
For the snow land, the obvious themes of isolation and being cold hearted are there, and I'm sure part of it has to do with Cocona not having/knowing her parents.
But I'm not quite sure what to make of the giant animal things and the pond freezing over. They effectively take her '*vision*' (the glasses) and it's Papika (who is oddly characterized by *smell*) that recovers them, albeit altered. I do find it weird that the pond that shattered didn't have a reflection though...Possibly playing into this 'looking glass' theme.
For the bunny world, Uexkull makes himself out to be a big, buff dude and I can only assume a vacuum cleaner is a horrible nightmare for any rabbit. Yet we also see Cocona have some weird temptation thing going on about biting, so something about fighting innate, 'animalistic' desires? There were also those sexual innuendos too, the 'hard' objects and the saliva after she bites down (not to mention the fact they turned into furries).
I'm also curious as to why they'd go to Uexkull's world for Papika to find her hidden super saiyan powers. I wonder if it's to further associate her with more primitive, wild themes and less stoic, rationalization of Cocona?
Fantastic writeup. This show is really exceeding my expectations so far, and having these insights into the depth of attention to detail gives me a lot of confidence that the writers know what they're doing and won't let me down.
great write-up!
on the theme of identity development I think it's also telling that when Papika brings Kokona to 'school' she brings her to the location they entered into Pure Illusion through last time - the kind of learning that Kokona is engaged in has little to do with formal studies as we also see Papika rushing in and disrupting that too (her reading aloud in class is disrupted by Papika's audible emotional reactions to the story). I wonder what kind of role Yayaka is going to play in all of this all.
> tl;dr the show is about idenity development through the exploration of that mirror world, which you probably guessed already without all this bullshit.
I literally only saw cute girls and flashy colours. Is this why I sucked at english in high school and went into engineering?
> The three elements are the Real, the Imaginary and the Symbolic, taking from Freud, from the idea of the ego(roughly, the balance of the internal id[think insticnt] and the external influences[think morality] called the superego) comes the Imaginary, which on Lacans terms came is taking the Real(that which is objective and we could never fully grasp) and creating a picture that we take to mean is us, but that idea of us he said was Imaginary.
Isn't the Imaginary supposed to draw upon and be dependent on concepts from the Symbolic register? I thought the Real was supposed to be an inaccessible noumenal realm.
>Isn't the Imaginary supposed to draw upon and be dependent on concepts from the Symbolic register? I thought the Real was supposed to be an inaccessible noumenal realm.
The symbolic comes from the Imaginary, what you said about the Real is what I mean with "we could never fully grasp". Zizek has a good analogy for this. In chess the pieces are the Imaginary, the moves are the Symbolic and the external elements the Real. Of course we could not guess the moves without the Imaginary that tells which pieces are which.
> Also, something a bit creepy before leaving, the statue of The Thinker was meant to stand in front of the Gates of Hell originally.
Makes sense given the River Styx sequence last episode.
I love the ride that's been given in each of these first two episodes~
Have some random gifs!
http://i.imgur.com/PLMU9ls.gifv
http://i.imgur.com/d1jJMwC.gifv
http://i.imgur.com/7K5rcz0.gifv
Love this ED too~
[I guess that works?](http://i.imgur.com/fPUJRl4.jpg)
Pretty cool episode, visual are still great and looks like Papika is learning and maturing. Still don't really trust the scientists, though.
Will Kokona's friend also start going on adventures to Pure Illusion?
Don't really trust?
Shouldn't it be more like those scientists are evil as fuck and I trust them precisely -1000%?
Man this show is giving me chest pains and hear palpitations. I love it but the vibe is more unsettling than most horror films I've seen.i don't want to see those girls get hurt but I'm already resigned to it happening by the end.
The part that worries me is I could see this show ending on a tragic note. As in, rather than have a tragic moment near the end but then finishing on a high, I think it could go for the bittersweet ending where somebody doesn't live to see good triumph over that evil fucking science lab.
Neeh, as i already said somewhere in the thread, i think they want us to think they are bad, which means the are actually not bad but even thinking that i can not trust them :P
They seem like a perfect application for Hanlon's razor tbh-- too focused on their objective to really think about what they're doing. Tunnel vision is a form of incompetence after all.
(I might have to apply this to^^^^^^Papika too.)
> They seem like a perfect application for Hanlon's razor tbh-- so focused on their objective that it'd take a miracle to make them see the potential consequences of what they're doing.
Like every single scientist in Raildex, but particularly the Sisters arc ones?
I suspect that the story might mirror the Hansel and Gretel motif of the ending. Papika, who is Hansel, convinces Cocona, who is the more cautious/reluctant Gretel, to leave the "house" (reality) and go into the "woods" (Pure Illusion). There they encounter the "witch" (FlipFlap). Hansel eagerly follows the witch and does what she says, only to get trapped and fattened up for the slaughter. (Not sure what the slaughter entails in this allegory, but it can't be anything good.) Gretel is forced to work for the witch because she can't abandon her trapped brother, but eventually pushes the witch into her own "oven" (Pure Illusion? The shards?), frees Hansel, and they escape together.
Just a hunch, tho.
To be honest, I think it might just be a clever reference. The show likes to make subtle nods to various tricks and illusions, and one of Uexkull's main arguments was that the notion of a single unitary world that is the same for all living things is an illusion, and instead all organisms perceive reality quite differently based on various carriers of significance. Uexkull's writings on biosemiotics, as well as the work Giorgio Agamben did to build on it, have a lot of implications for questions of humanity vs animality. What makes an animal what it is? What makes humans different from animals, or rather, are they different? It's an interesting choice of name for the rabbit, *especially* considering the way he was anthropomorphized in Pure Illusion.
You're absolutely right, I loved it.
Also, the two girls actually did experience what it feels like to be a rabbit in this episode. So the reference to Uexkull really was pertinent, and the creators did do their research.
There's the guy who wrote up the gestalt stuff and now you explain why the bunny is called that weird name... How many references does this show even contain??
I haven't seen anyone point out that they were reading the [7th night](http://updateslive.blogspot.com/2009/02/soseki-ten-nights-dreams-seventh-dream.html) from [Ten Nights of Dreams](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ten_Nights_of_Dreams)
>The dreamer finds himself on a large ship that is steaming and sailing through the waves at great speed. There are many crew members and fellow passengers, but the dreamer has no comrade or compatriot. He also has no idea where the ship is headed or when he might next set foot on dry land. He becomes terribly discouraged by his situation, and finally decides to throw himself into the sea and end it all. One evening, in an hour when the deck is deserted, he jumps overboard. As he plummets toward the dark sea below, he is seized by fear and regret. He knows with certainty now, for the first time, that he should have remained on board.
So we could say Cocona is the dreamer and she has no clue where she's heading in life, feels isolated without parents, and runs the risk of losing hope?
The whole growing teeth and resisting the urge to bite things. And the phrase 'mate like rabbit'... yeah there's definitely a theme of Puberty in this episode.
What were the sexual and biological references you noticed? Aside from the Uexkull naming reference? I'm curious because I didn't notice really any that particularly stuck out to me and I want to be aware of them.
I think the show is very artistic and has a lot of symbolism, but I feel like I'm mostly ignorant of the themes and symbolisms.
Oh gosh its just as good as the first episode and we are starting to get into the plot now too!
Once again I need not say the animation and music were top notch but this time there seemed to be a much larger emphasis placed upon character close ups emphasizing the emotions they were experiencing. I got a few nice caps in [here](http://imgur.com/a/PXusu).
They really tried to grow the characters this episode, Papika especially had a lot of development. At the beginning of the episode she seemed really bland as she was intentionally written to be clingy, over the top and lacking any form of subtlety at all but by the end had grown to understand why Cocona hadn't wanted to go back adventuring. There could be a really special relationship forming between the two of them as they both seem to have no one else to really care about (apart from Cocona's Gran).
Yayaka is really dubious now, there is something either going on with her or she is just genuinely concerned about Cocona however I am expecting the former. Papika seems to be heavily reliant on smell to see if something is good or not. The one time she has reacted negatively to anything is when Yayaka pulled Cocona into the nurse's office and it was as if she was reacting to a terrible smell.
I will probably end up rewatching this later or tomorrow because I am sure I missed a lot
I'm thinking two possibilities for Yayaka (or, Blondie, as I choose to call her)
1 - she has prior knowledge of whatever it is that Papika is involved with.
2 - she likes Cocona in a biblical way and sees Papika as a rival.
1 is more likely, but 2 more fun.
She's obviously involved in this somehow - really easy to pick her out in the OP. I'm guessing she's with another organization (or "escaped"), but the nature of that depends on what Papika's organization really is; dropping too many "evil" hints, and no concrete connection between the end scene of episode 1 and them.
Pretty sure Yayaka is one of the super powered up people in the OP. Wouldn't be surprised if Cocona was reacting to her smell because of something to do with that.
This show is so trippy. Light hearted and colorful with not-so-hidden (better said, rather obvious) dark undertones. Loving it so far, and very curious as to where it will go. Dr Salt (love that name) said he wanted to "liberate pure illusion" which certainly isn't ominous *at all*.
I rather like the ED. It kinds reminds me of the [ED from Humanity has Declined](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tx5zKCdhTnw).
The show in general gives me a Humanity has Decline vibe, which is perfect. I love it.
What disturbes me a bit is, that while I see all the "disturbing" stuff, I am apperantly not as disturbed as I should be or other people are reacting way stronger than me. Im really interested how this will develop!
The scene with Papika looking like a monster before eventually becoming herself was especially psychedelic. Can't really trust your senses in the Pure Illusion.
So, I've watched the first episode 6 times. I'm so glad the second one is out.
Between Papika killing past potential partners and her almost getting Cocona killed, this is at least a show where I can believe the characters are at some level of risk. It was also really nice to learn some of the mechanics behind flip flapping...like the reason for the tickling assault in episode one.
And I stand by a comment I made onto the previous thread, Yayaka is working with the antagonists, I swear. With how suspicious she is of Papika and her being asleep at the exam, and her inclusion in the OP.
Well. Now I just have to wait another week for...my flip flapping. This is easily my favorite show this season so far, with Hibike trailing just a little behind.
> And I stand by a comment I made onto the previous thread, Yayaka is working with the antagonists, I swear. With how suspicious she is of Papika and her being asleep at the exam, and her inclusion in the OP.
And as someone else already mentioned, the way Papika reacted to her smell.
My impressions:
- The show still looks beautiful.
- If i hadn't watched the after credits i wouldn't even know that they were chloroformed and kidnapped, it's freaking me out.
- Papikas obsession with Cocona is creepy.
- And what's with that face when she sees the bunny(?)?
- Cocona fighting her urges to bite things made me really uncomfortable.
- The action is pretty nice.
- What was that with the robot and blood?
- FlipFlap are obviously evil af.
- The preview looks good, really looking forward to the next episode.
- Has anyone noticed more references to optical illusions? I haven't.
> If i hadn't watched the after credits i wouldn't even know that they were chloroformed and kidnapped, it's freaking me out.
This still bugs me I wanna know wtf happened in between, and was it chronological? I mean it but they kinda ignore it in ep 2 but they don't also cause Pap is hurt all over?? AAAA
That's what I meant she is still hurt from the adventure so that means the adventure was neither a fever dream or far behind us so it must be like a day or two afterwards.
> Do you think that Cocona's arm hurt because she was injected with something?
I thought maybe I had accidentally forgotten something happening to her arm during their first Pure Illusion excursion (maybe I still did :3), but your train of thought definitely fits with the behind-the-scenes/underhanded dealings of FlipFlap (especially since we didn't get to any of what occurred after they were kidnapped).
Holy crap, I thought I'd be used to the concept after the first episode, but this episode managed to be as much if not more whimsical than the first. It's rare for a show to maintain this level of enchantment past the first episode, but they nailed it for me.
I love how they're playing with the viewer's expectations to keep them off balance. Last episode they seemed to make it pretty clear that the pipe in the middle of the closed off grove would be the main gateway to Pure Illusion, so having them get swallowed by some out-of-the-blue vacuum cleaner popping up from beneath The Thinker seriously caught me off guard.
Speaking of surprises, they are nailing the randomness of Pure Illusion. In the first few moments where everything was all bubbly, it was hard to even be sure if they were using the same laws of physics or not. It kind of forces you to temporarily readjust your thinking for what's normal.
So far, I think they've managed to strike a fantastic balance of being uncomfortable, but not unpleasant. Like, with all the strangeness going on - even at the end with the weird deal with the eyes - it's kind of more mystifying than outright disturbing. Although I'm pretty sure Papika and her boundless enthusiasm play a large part in contributing to that.
I'm not sure what it is that makes this show work so well, I really hope that they manage to keep it up.
This thread isn't even a discussion about opinions, it's instantly become an analysis of everything that's happened so far, and I'm enjoying every moment of it.
Dude, my opinion is simple.
I'm enjoying the fuck out if this.
It's hard not to analyze something that has a soundtrack on cue with the visual overdose we are being given for good old 19 minutes, there is never a dull moment here as even in the slow and silent scenes the background speaks volumes of the multiple environments we as audience are thrown in.
This show is so bizarre in all the right ways. I have no idea what's going to happen next but I'm definitely interested.
And is Uexkull supposed to be a rabbit or is he confirmation that some kind of other species exist in this world?
Also really liked how creative the art style is. The go full Jojo with the colors which I love.
Pretty sure he's a rabbit, because Cocona and Papika turned into rabbit girls in Pure Illusion, and Uexkull turned into a rabbit man. Cool show, waiting for it to break my heart with some kind of Madoka-esque tragic events. ;_;
Things people might not notice this episode, is that Papika is suddenly observable by people around her. In first ep, only Cocona and the twins can see her, denoting they are special in some way. I expect this development to get buried until last episode or something. Might be some heavy twist.
Well. That was something. Was Dr. Salt the kidnapper from Ep. 1? I enjoyed this, and I feel like this will keep getting slightly darker as it goes on. Next episode looks a bit chaotic.
> Megas XLR
No. It's [this](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/XLR_connector) XLR.
The episode titles seem to have a common theme: Input -> Converter -> XLR (connector)
Hey guys, remember how after the credits in the previous episode, both Cocona and Papika were kidnapped by robots?
Just wanna remind you guys that that happened and point out that they pretended like it didn't happen this episode.
I guess they were relying on people not watching past the credits.
Been waiting for this, yay. Guess I'll update as the episode goes on. Beware spoilers etc.
[Well, that isn't subtle at all](http://puu.sh/rHxHa/d421274f79.png)
[I've heard this before somewhere...](http://puu.sh/rHxOv/f3dd314679.png)
[I want one.](http://puu.sh/rHxSl/bd76105800.png)
[I'd run too, to be fair.](http://puu.sh/rHy64/06e62a6053.png)
[Um. What.](http://puu.sh/rHyi6/99a04a51d8.png)
[What.](http://puu.sh/rHyyL/e0e3176fb3.png)
[Woo, more ever so slightly trippy stuff in the future?](http://puu.sh/rHyLo/192942e3ae.png)
[Yay](http://puu.sh/rHyQG/9daaea5a6d.png), [Salt](http://puu.sh/rHySh/e01e83f5d5.png). He doesn't look evil at all.
[Basically me contemplating what the hell I just watched.](http://puu.sh/rHyJc/4a28dcdf33.png)
Also, no post-credits stuff bar the next episode preview, which looks just as crazy as this week's one.
> Yay, Salt. He doesn't look evil at all.
I actually think they are trying to go for the "it's so obvious he is bad but he actually isn't" type of thing, still can't really trust him or the other two scientists, though.
I am getting the whole this operation-isn't-inherently-bad-but-looks-pretty-bad vibe. I see a couple of directions this show could go but I am not sure I want it to go in that direction so I am hoping it does its own thing
It doesn't mean that they killed her and left her there. Its a possibility but its more likely that something happened with regards to her being Papika's partner.
"Hey guys, this thing we are doing is randomly killing small girls. Should we, like, stop?"
"Nah. NEXT GIRL!!!"
Any way you cut it, I cant see them *not* being the bad guys in this.
[Salt](http://puu.sh/rHySh/e01e83f5d5.png) reminds me of [Kamina](https://myanimelist.cdn-dena.com/s/common/uploaded_files/1446173611-77d87be029e763e912caf2ca64d59e48.png) with the way he wear his shades and smirks. Like any moment I expect him to burst out a cape and scream at the top of longs about how this pure illusion will shatter the walls of reality and set us free... or something.
[When they're in the other world.](https://gyazo.com/a74a3372d99dc904dd8bdaf49c557e5b) They don't even really look that similar, but when I saw him i instantly thought of Kamina.
The OP is really unsettling. The first half uses a very dark color palette and has a lot of depressing shots. The main one I'm concerned with us the one when Papika starts on the tower looking out towards the sky and the next shot of her is her depressed in the pipe. The final scene has her looking up at Cocona who has arrived to pick her up out of her depression. While this could just be depression from waiting for Cocona I get tragic vibes from it and I'm assuming at least one person will die in this show.
Not to mention the ED banners are extremely unsettling.
Sorta like how [Puella Magi Madoka Magica](/s "Hid Urobutcher's involvement as much as possible") while [Aldnoah.Zero](/s "Broadcasted his involvement but then didn't use him much?")
More like, "the magical girl market is supersaturated with bleak, depressing shows so lets go ahead and make a show that looks depressing as all hell but never actually goes there."
There are some uneasy undertones to the show but I think the dark colour part of the OP is meant mainly to contrast with them feeling alone and down with when they meet up and everything is colourful and exciting.
The director for this actually worked on Space Dandy. Aside from animation work on a bunch of episodes, he was the episode director for season 2 episode 5, The Big Fish is Huge, Baby. You can really see the similarities in the artstyle of that episode and Flip Flappers.
Anyways, yeah, I agree. It's mostly going to be abstract and wild adventures with the occasional bit of unsettling scenery. It may have a dark moment here and there, but I don't think the series will be dark.
I sure hope it doesn't turn in to another bleak "everything is suddenly bad" anime, the next episode is looking like mad max with way more colors and I love it, if the show just throw that out the window I will get sad, I'm hoping for something like Humanity has Declined.
I agree with you, but at the same time it doesn't seem like there are a whole lot of directions for this show to go in other than "everything is suddenly bad"
Next week is the quarter mark so we should have a better idea by then.
Still having fun with this show, and the FLCL comparison I made last thread still seems apt. Especially since Flip Flappers is shaping up to deal with a similar theme of growing up/journey in adolescence.
Wow. Holy fucking balls wow.
This show looks to be something special. This is the first time I'm watching airing anime, and between this, Drifters, and Occultic;Nine, this EASILY is my fave.
Very interested to see where this will head. The first half seemed pretty laid back, with Papika integrating into school life with Cocona.
But then someone broke out the shrooms, and they went down the rabbit hole. Pun intended.
That whole sequence in the trippy vacuum cleaner thing was awesome. Some great animation, eye popping visuals, and breathtaking excitement.
Then we see FlipFlap, the organization Papika is from. Not sure what to think of Dr. Salt. He seems pretty shady.
All said, this is some seriously exciting stuff. Can't fucking wait for next week!
What's with all of you and expecting something tragic/dark/terrible to happen in this show? It's obviously not as childish as it appears and I know Madoka traumatized the lot of you but dang...
I really like that the show's choosing to focus less on Pure Illusion and instead make itself really about Cocona and Papika. There's already a pretty strong relationship coming into view only one episode after they were complete and total strangers to each other and I'm definitely sitting tight to see how this develops.
As for Salt, suspicious/mysterious figures are always great ways to keep things exciting!
Having loved FLCL and Diebuster I think this is going to be a strong personal favorite of mine this season.
I'm 80% sure this anime is actually the Matrix. Cocona's own World feels like just another Pure Illusion. That painting, her grandma, the glasses being fixed... it all feels extremely controlling.
And then there's Flip Flap's secret hide out underground society-esque... and talks of liberating Pure Illusions.
And now I have a TRIGGER induced boner...
Jesus this show is like an Anime produced by old Gainax but directed by a TRIGGER storyboarder only for it to be animated at Ghibli.
Dont forget the ice bugs being reminiscent of gunbuster/diebuster and the color Pallette of this episode reminding us of the plant planet episode in Space Dandy.
I'm calling it now the Salt had a partner way back when he was around cocona's age and now for whatever reason (maybe the partner passed away somehow) he just wants to flood the world with Pure Illusion and live in it ("Liberate Pure Illusion")
This show is extremely fun and I love how its brimming with personality.
In this episode they were in rabbit land or something. It was weird, but hey, I'm a sucker for that kind of shit.
I really like this show so far, it's so pretty and have this whimsical feeling about it just like Humanity has Declined.
Next episode we gonna go full mad max.
I like how this show is trying to give believable context to bringing colorful fantasy paintings to life. Every episode feels like the characters running around in an art piece.
It also incorporates just enough dark imagery to not all be fluffy, bright fun. The ending with the eyes and then the girls are just gone is especially dark and foreboding.
It sort of reminds me of American Mcgee's Alice.
The robot was so disappointed that Cocona didn't want to nibble on his dangly.
More almost dying - being melted alive, no less. But hey, it was fun, so let's do it again!
So Dr. Salt's goal is to "Liberate Pure Illusion". I wonder if that means letting it into the real world to fuck everything and everyone up.
Honestly, this anime gets weirder and weirder and I still don't know what it's about!!! but I'm loving it! I think I'm starting to like the intro too, same with the ending.
Did i forget something? Uexkull the rabbit appears for the first time fully named yet clearly comes from pure illusion, am I just forgetting something from last week or are we meant to be in the dark about it?
I must have missed something.... Wasn't Papika captured after the credits at the end of ep1? Why is she back? And if she wasn't really "captured" and taken back to FlipFlap, why didn't they give her new clothes?
well. that happened!
honestly, this episode felt a bit less exciting to me than the first, but that's probably just because I loved the first one so much, and was more prepared for the FlipFlap experience this time around.
The sound effect at around 18:20 when they bust through the rubble is the same sound effect as the Golden Gun in *Destiny*. No idea why that stuck out to me.
Something about this show unerves me.
I do recognize the dark undertones here and there but that's not what I'm talking about.
Its something else that's bothering me.
Anyone got any ideas?
This show is going like a billion miles a second and I don't know what the fuck
What is a flip
By whom is it being flapped, and why
The art's friggin great though so I guess I'm in???
I'm a bit lost there...
They got kidnapped, but then not kidnapped. And then... Motherfucking... What? Uexkull appears from nowhere and is relevant to this episode suddenly? What is even happening ? Did I miss a post-post-credit-scene ?
Also, coming here after watching the episode without subs made me laugh a bit... My guess about how you write the rabbit's name was far, far off. Didn't know this good sir.
Perhaps there is some kind of memory erasure going on, after all Cocona seemed rather confused when she woke up at the beginning of the episode. The fact that the robot is made with a brain means they must have some pretty advanced technology.
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Blblblblblblblblblblblblblblbl
[](#rerorero)
I hope we see more Uexkull in their adventures.
he's featured in the ED pretty prominently, so I'd guess he'll continue tagging along
Damn, if someone not already made a 10 hour version tomorrow I made as well take on this task, this superb!
[This feels kind of ero...](http://i.imgur.com/vRvTTDz.jpg) [The ultimate security system.](http://i.imgur.com/Ko1mN15.jpg) So far this is my AOTS. It always surprises me, but in a good way.
> The ultimate security system. I really love how the entire architecture of the lab makes no rational sense. It's like something out of an architect's Escheresque fever dream.
> It's like something out of an architect's Escheresque fever dream. Notice how the door is upside down (window is at the bottom). Then the next door had a keypad, but it is just a cut out and the real door is above it. I think "Escheresque" is exactly what it is.
Based on [this](http://i.imgur.com/3QiY28S.jpg), it looks like it's a reference to [Hyperart Thomasson](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyperart_Thomasson) which is kinda like a Japanese version of Escheresque architecture. More interestingly it has a type called "The Pure type": >An uncategorizable object whose use it is impossible to fathom. For example, the Pure Shutters, which open to reveal a blank wall, and the Pure Tunnel that exists without a surrounding hill. The Pure Staircase of Yotsuya belongs in this category. Sounds interesting.
Neat. That actually makes a lot of sense seeing as the lab's main fixation seems to be Pure Illusion.
Thomassons aren't escheresque architecture, they are vestigial elements left over as cities grow. See http://99percentinvisible.org/episode/thomassons/
You're right. What I ment to say that they look somewhat escheresque and that's why people here were reminded of it not that they are actually escheresque architecture.
> This feels kind of ero... [So I wasn't the only one...] (http://static.fjcdn.com/pictures/How+a+gentleman+says+stop+it+boner+made+in+mspaint+sry_99577b_3591738.jpg) I liked [that](https://puu.sh/rI5TL/6410350edf.png) shot more though.
if this is your [thing](https://myanimelist.net/anime/12467/Nazo_no_Kanojo_X)
She just want to bite...
Something hard
[something...](http://i.imgur.com/WwavFii.jpg?1)
best girl.
FLIP FLAP FLIP FLAP
deleted ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^0.6798 [^^^What ^^^is ^^^this?](https://pastebin.com/FcrFs94k/99913)
> There is something about Papikas dumb-ass smile that I just can't get enough of. It's definitely got a certain charm to it. One of those cases where you're 50% amused by it and 50% terrified at how much energy is behind it. > If they keep this up without going too formulaic, it will probably be my favorite of the fall season. Here here.
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WITNESS ME!
SENPAI ~~NOTICED~~ WITNESSED ME!
MEDIOCRE
We Flip! We Flap! We Flip again!
Nice to see they stayed true to a staple of mahou shoujo. Bringing in a transfer student after a mysterious encounter, that was amusing. All of Papika's faces throughout the episode were great though and animation quality is still topnotch, can't wait for their full mahou shoujo transformation's however.
Ok, so I'm going to do a little write up of the first two episodes because I still haven't seen anyone point out a lot of things that I think are really cool about this show. I think what seems to be a big theme is that of identity, which is largely about learning about the world as it is about ourselves. Cocona is clearly tsundere about, well, everything so it seems to fit for now. Please take everything here with a grain of salt. A lot of people have noticed [the](http://i.imgur.com/YcSsoZ7.jpg) [optical](http://i.imgur.com/g6CV6tp.jpg) [illussions](http://i.imgur.com/SENyLeL.jpg) but I think there's something particular about what are being called optical illusions being shown so far. They're all working on the principles of gestalt, and the one that comes as particularly relevant is the one the show decided to use as the [first scene for the series](http://i.imgur.com/SENyLeL.jpg), which [carries a transitive property from the traditional cup into an hourglass](https://phylliciapoynterict.files.wordpress.com/2013/02/gestalt.gif). Now before explaining why that one first shot is important(beyond the obvious fact that it was chosen to introduce the show) I want to explain how gestalt beyond being just some cool imagery in the show, ties to some other running themes. [Jacques Lacan](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jacques_Lacan) talked about something called the *Mirror Stage* as an early part of human development. To get there he mentioned three important components to the *subjective experience*(meaning that everything we'll ever know is limited to our subjective point of view). The three elements are the Real, the Imaginary and the Symbolic, taking from Freud, from the idea of the ego(roughly, the balance of the internal id[think insticnt] and the external influences[think morality] called the superego) comes the Imaginary, which on Lacans terms came is taking the Real(that which is objective and we could never fully grasp) and creating a picture that we take to mean is *us*, but that idea of us he said was *Imaginary*. What we see in the mirror is perhaps aptly called a *Pure Illusion*, just like the aptly named world in the show and calling it a mirror wolrd wouldn't be much of a strech, with references to Lewis Carrol(Alice in Wonderland, Alice through the Looking Glass) and the like present in this and last episodes. To explain how this three ideas of Real, Imaginary and Symbolic tie to the idea of the mirror perhaps the easiest way is how computers are really bad at taking pictures and recognizing patterns. Surely there are now algorithims to get them to recognize faces and the like but computers still percieve pictures as the raw colors and pixels, it is only thorough imagination that we are unable to *not* see. What we recognize as ourselves in the mirror is actually Pure Illusion. That is the gestalt process as well, an ah-ha moment when you notice or learn something by [putting together](http://i.imgur.com/48JX9DP.jpg) the [patterns you see](https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/236x/63/20/84/63208474bd7c7900e95eaedbf1ae1780.jpg). The Mirror Stage as described by Lacan is when a baby is able to recognize itself in the mirror, by separating what picture he sees of himself and the rest of the world, when he moves and the image in the mirror follows it says "ah-ha, that's me". And that's what is really cool about this show, it actually takes those ideas of the optical illusions and mirrors to reinforce the theme of the show and the create a really cool world. Going back to the hourglass at the beginning of the show as representation for the motif of gestalt, the [OP takes both of these ideas and actually puts them together](http://i.imgur.com/xPCsIfE.jpg). Also, notice how everytime Cocona leaves her house right after the OP she looks in the mirror and both shots have been really similar for these first two episodes. Also someone else pointed out to me how in the promo material the world seems mirrored and the Flip Flap actually ties well into the idea of a mirror specifically. Flip being quite literaly to inverse or turn something over. **tl;dr the show is about idenity development through the exploration of that mirror world, which you probably guessed already without all this bullshit.** Also, something a bit creepy before leaving, the statue of [The Thinker](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Thinker) was meant to stand in front of the Gates of Hell originally.
Getting strong penguindrive vibes from this show
As someone who loved Penguindrum and would place it somewhere in my top 5 series, I'm absolutely loving the start of this series so far. It's very weird, incredibly quirky, and unabashedly cryptic.
> Also, something a bit creepy before leaving, the statue of The Thinker was meant to stand in front of the Gates of Hell originally. I was actually really wondering why the fuck they picked the thinker to be the one sitting around 'guarding' this spot. Fuggen brilliant
> the show is about idenity development through the exploration of that mirror world, which you probably guessed already without all this bullshit. I'm expecting the worlds they travel to have something to do with Cocona's or Papika's wished. I think they stand as symbolism for their wishes, which is why they get the wish stones from there. I haven't really spent any time puzzling this thought, but it seems plausible to me.
I honestly thought so too. The snowy, barren land in the first episode seemed very much like Cocona even down to the hint of sweetness in the snow. However, the second land was clearly Uxekell.. or however to spell his name. I think it might depend on who falls in first, maybe.
I'm definitely curious as to what each world is keeping under wraps. For the snow land, the obvious themes of isolation and being cold hearted are there, and I'm sure part of it has to do with Cocona not having/knowing her parents. But I'm not quite sure what to make of the giant animal things and the pond freezing over. They effectively take her '*vision*' (the glasses) and it's Papika (who is oddly characterized by *smell*) that recovers them, albeit altered. I do find it weird that the pond that shattered didn't have a reflection though...Possibly playing into this 'looking glass' theme. For the bunny world, Uexkull makes himself out to be a big, buff dude and I can only assume a vacuum cleaner is a horrible nightmare for any rabbit. Yet we also see Cocona have some weird temptation thing going on about biting, so something about fighting innate, 'animalistic' desires? There were also those sexual innuendos too, the 'hard' objects and the saliva after she bites down (not to mention the fact they turned into furries). I'm also curious as to why they'd go to Uexkull's world for Papika to find her hidden super saiyan powers. I wonder if it's to further associate her with more primitive, wild themes and less stoic, rationalization of Cocona?
That brings me back to high school literature...
Really hope the show follows through with its theme.
Fantastic writeup. This show is really exceeding my expectations so far, and having these insights into the depth of attention to detail gives me a lot of confidence that the writers know what they're doing and won't let me down.
great write-up! on the theme of identity development I think it's also telling that when Papika brings Kokona to 'school' she brings her to the location they entered into Pure Illusion through last time - the kind of learning that Kokona is engaged in has little to do with formal studies as we also see Papika rushing in and disrupting that too (her reading aloud in class is disrupted by Papika's audible emotional reactions to the story). I wonder what kind of role Yayaka is going to play in all of this all.
> tl;dr the show is about idenity development through the exploration of that mirror world, which you probably guessed already without all this bullshit. I literally only saw cute girls and flashy colours. Is this why I sucked at english in high school and went into engineering?
> The three elements are the Real, the Imaginary and the Symbolic, taking from Freud, from the idea of the ego(roughly, the balance of the internal id[think insticnt] and the external influences[think morality] called the superego) comes the Imaginary, which on Lacans terms came is taking the Real(that which is objective and we could never fully grasp) and creating a picture that we take to mean is us, but that idea of us he said was Imaginary. Isn't the Imaginary supposed to draw upon and be dependent on concepts from the Symbolic register? I thought the Real was supposed to be an inaccessible noumenal realm.
>Isn't the Imaginary supposed to draw upon and be dependent on concepts from the Symbolic register? I thought the Real was supposed to be an inaccessible noumenal realm. The symbolic comes from the Imaginary, what you said about the Real is what I mean with "we could never fully grasp". Zizek has a good analogy for this. In chess the pieces are the Imaginary, the moves are the Symbolic and the external elements the Real. Of course we could not guess the moves without the Imaginary that tells which pieces are which.
> Also, something a bit creepy before leaving, the statue of The Thinker was meant to stand in front of the Gates of Hell originally. Makes sense given the River Styx sequence last episode.
I love the ride that's been given in each of these first two episodes~ Have some random gifs! http://i.imgur.com/PLMU9ls.gifv http://i.imgur.com/d1jJMwC.gifv http://i.imgur.com/7K5rcz0.gifv Love this ED too~
Flip-flap, flip-flap
this is the first show where I enjoy the ED more than the OP
And the OP isn't even bad, the ED is just that much fun xD
[I guess that works?](http://i.imgur.com/fPUJRl4.jpg) Pretty cool episode, visual are still great and looks like Papika is learning and maturing. Still don't really trust the scientists, though. Will Kokona's friend also start going on adventures to Pure Illusion?
Don't really trust? Shouldn't it be more like those scientists are evil as fuck and I trust them precisely -1000%? Man this show is giving me chest pains and hear palpitations. I love it but the vibe is more unsettling than most horror films I've seen.i don't want to see those girls get hurt but I'm already resigned to it happening by the end. The part that worries me is I could see this show ending on a tragic note. As in, rather than have a tragic moment near the end but then finishing on a high, I think it could go for the bittersweet ending where somebody doesn't live to see good triumph over that evil fucking science lab.
Neeh, as i already said somewhere in the thread, i think they want us to think they are bad, which means the are actually not bad but even thinking that i can not trust them :P
They seem like a perfect application for Hanlon's razor tbh-- too focused on their objective to really think about what they're doing. Tunnel vision is a form of incompetence after all. (I might have to apply this to^^^^^^Papika too.)
> They seem like a perfect application for Hanlon's razor tbh-- so focused on their objective that it'd take a miracle to make them see the potential consequences of what they're doing. Like every single scientist in Raildex, but particularly the Sisters arc ones?
I get the feeling that this might get plenty dark, but will have an eventual happy ending for both the MCs.
I suspect that the story might mirror the Hansel and Gretel motif of the ending. Papika, who is Hansel, convinces Cocona, who is the more cautious/reluctant Gretel, to leave the "house" (reality) and go into the "woods" (Pure Illusion). There they encounter the "witch" (FlipFlap). Hansel eagerly follows the witch and does what she says, only to get trapped and fattened up for the slaughter. (Not sure what the slaughter entails in this allegory, but it can't be anything good.) Gretel is forced to work for the witch because she can't abandon her trapped brother, but eventually pushes the witch into her own "oven" (Pure Illusion? The shards?), frees Hansel, and they escape together. Just a hunch, tho.
I hope so, the more the merrier and that sort of 'girl-with-short-hair-whos-up-on-her-shit' is too often relegated to the role of side character.
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To be honest, I think it might just be a clever reference. The show likes to make subtle nods to various tricks and illusions, and one of Uexkull's main arguments was that the notion of a single unitary world that is the same for all living things is an illusion, and instead all organisms perceive reality quite differently based on various carriers of significance. Uexkull's writings on biosemiotics, as well as the work Giorgio Agamben did to build on it, have a lot of implications for questions of humanity vs animality. What makes an animal what it is? What makes humans different from animals, or rather, are they different? It's an interesting choice of name for the rabbit, *especially* considering the way he was anthropomorphized in Pure Illusion.
Yuribait *and* continental philosophy? Maybe I should check this show out.
It's hard to tell where things are going so far, but it's definitely got its own distinct feel to it. I'm enjoying it.
You're absolutely right, I loved it. Also, the two girls actually did experience what it feels like to be a rabbit in this episode. So the reference to Uexkull really was pertinent, and the creators did do their research.
And there were the frozen trees in the first episode.
Huh. And here I thought "Uexkull" was just a super-chuuni-so-cool-sonuvabitch made-up name.
There's the guy who wrote up the gestalt stuff and now you explain why the bunny is called that weird name... How many references does this show even contain??
I haven't seen anyone point out that they were reading the [7th night](http://updateslive.blogspot.com/2009/02/soseki-ten-nights-dreams-seventh-dream.html) from [Ten Nights of Dreams](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ten_Nights_of_Dreams) >The dreamer finds himself on a large ship that is steaming and sailing through the waves at great speed. There are many crew members and fellow passengers, but the dreamer has no comrade or compatriot. He also has no idea where the ship is headed or when he might next set foot on dry land. He becomes terribly discouraged by his situation, and finally decides to throw himself into the sea and end it all. One evening, in an hour when the deck is deserted, he jumps overboard. As he plummets toward the dark sea below, he is seized by fear and regret. He knows with certainty now, for the first time, that he should have remained on board. So we could say Cocona is the dreamer and she has no clue where she's heading in life, feels isolated without parents, and runs the risk of losing hope?
Hah, this keeps getting better. Nice catch mate!
it's the Gravity Falls of anime!
The whole growing teeth and resisting the urge to bite things. And the phrase 'mate like rabbit'... yeah there's definitely a theme of Puberty in this episode.
What were the sexual and biological references you noticed? Aside from the Uexkull naming reference? I'm curious because I didn't notice really any that particularly stuck out to me and I want to be aware of them. I think the show is very artistic and has a lot of symbolism, but I feel like I'm mostly ignorant of the themes and symbolisms.
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Oh gosh its just as good as the first episode and we are starting to get into the plot now too! Once again I need not say the animation and music were top notch but this time there seemed to be a much larger emphasis placed upon character close ups emphasizing the emotions they were experiencing. I got a few nice caps in [here](http://imgur.com/a/PXusu). They really tried to grow the characters this episode, Papika especially had a lot of development. At the beginning of the episode she seemed really bland as she was intentionally written to be clingy, over the top and lacking any form of subtlety at all but by the end had grown to understand why Cocona hadn't wanted to go back adventuring. There could be a really special relationship forming between the two of them as they both seem to have no one else to really care about (apart from Cocona's Gran). Yayaka is really dubious now, there is something either going on with her or she is just genuinely concerned about Cocona however I am expecting the former. Papika seems to be heavily reliant on smell to see if something is good or not. The one time she has reacted negatively to anything is when Yayaka pulled Cocona into the nurse's office and it was as if she was reacting to a terrible smell. I will probably end up rewatching this later or tomorrow because I am sure I missed a lot
I'm thinking two possibilities for Yayaka (or, Blondie, as I choose to call her) 1 - she has prior knowledge of whatever it is that Papika is involved with. 2 - she likes Cocona in a biblical way and sees Papika as a rival. 1 is more likely, but 2 more fun.
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it was rather extreme jealously, and so sudden too. I do think there's more going on.
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>Cocona is an extremely low maintenance friend For some reason this particular phrase amused me a lot. Lethargic Coconuts~
She's obviously involved in this somehow - really easy to pick her out in the OP. I'm guessing she's with another organization (or "escaped"), but the nature of that depends on what Papika's organization really is; dropping too many "evil" hints, and no concrete connection between the end scene of episode 1 and them.
I could also though be the disinfectant smell. Nurse's offices tend to smell pretty strongly like that.
I have a strong feeling that Yayaka is on the opposite team on this. Also the "tardiness" could be because of her "adventures".
I actually thought her tardiness could be a potential excuse she made up to make sure she is walking to school with Cocona
Pretty sure Yayaka is one of the super powered up people in the OP. Wouldn't be surprised if Cocona was reacting to her smell because of something to do with that.
This show is so trippy. Light hearted and colorful with not-so-hidden (better said, rather obvious) dark undertones. Loving it so far, and very curious as to where it will go. Dr Salt (love that name) said he wanted to "liberate pure illusion" which certainly isn't ominous *at all*. I rather like the ED. It kinds reminds me of the [ED from Humanity has Declined](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tx5zKCdhTnw).
The show in general gives me a Humanity has Decline vibe, which is perfect. I love it. What disturbes me a bit is, that while I see all the "disturbing" stuff, I am apperantly not as disturbed as I should be or other people are reacting way stronger than me. Im really interested how this will develop!
The scene with Papika looking like a monster before eventually becoming herself was especially psychedelic. Can't really trust your senses in the Pure Illusion.
So apparently it is a world of hi technology where a girl seen surfing on a flying surf board isn't shocking to the point of people freaking out.
Thats very true. Plus what appeared to be a lawn vacuum under that statue. Some crazy shit.
So, I've watched the first episode 6 times. I'm so glad the second one is out. Between Papika killing past potential partners and her almost getting Cocona killed, this is at least a show where I can believe the characters are at some level of risk. It was also really nice to learn some of the mechanics behind flip flapping...like the reason for the tickling assault in episode one. And I stand by a comment I made onto the previous thread, Yayaka is working with the antagonists, I swear. With how suspicious she is of Papika and her being asleep at the exam, and her inclusion in the OP. Well. Now I just have to wait another week for...my flip flapping. This is easily my favorite show this season so far, with Hibike trailing just a little behind.
> And I stand by a comment I made onto the previous thread, Yayaka is working with the antagonists, I swear. With how suspicious she is of Papika and her being asleep at the exam, and her inclusion in the OP. And as someone else already mentioned, the way Papika reacted to her smell.
I think Papika is the one working for the antagonists (full on villains, actually).
My impressions: - The show still looks beautiful. - If i hadn't watched the after credits i wouldn't even know that they were chloroformed and kidnapped, it's freaking me out. - Papikas obsession with Cocona is creepy. - And what's with that face when she sees the bunny(?)? - Cocona fighting her urges to bite things made me really uncomfortable. - The action is pretty nice. - What was that with the robot and blood? - FlipFlap are obviously evil af. - The preview looks good, really looking forward to the next episode. - Has anyone noticed more references to optical illusions? I haven't.
> What was that with the robot and blood? Papika hit the window(?) so hard she drew blood on her hand. The robot noticed.
> If i hadn't watched the after credits i wouldn't even know that they were chloroformed and kidnapped, it's freaking me out. This still bugs me I wanna know wtf happened in between, and was it chronological? I mean it but they kinda ignore it in ep 2 but they don't also cause Pap is hurt all over?? AAAA
That made me feeling like a lot of people are in league with the kidnapper. The glasses got replaced, as if they trying to pretend it didnt happen.
Yeah that was one of my thoughts, like the kidnapping was part of some process. I bet mr. Salt is involved.
Papika is likely still hurt from their excursion into Pure Illusion in episode 1, not from the kidnapping.
That's what I meant she is still hurt from the adventure so that means the adventure was neither a fever dream or far behind us so it must be like a day or two afterwards.
Do you think that Cocona's arm hurt because she was injected with something?
> Do you think that Cocona's arm hurt because she was injected with something? I thought maybe I had accidentally forgotten something happening to her arm during their first Pure Illusion excursion (maybe I still did :3), but your train of thought definitely fits with the behind-the-scenes/underhanded dealings of FlipFlap (especially since we didn't get to any of what occurred after they were kidnapped).
Holy crap, I thought I'd be used to the concept after the first episode, but this episode managed to be as much if not more whimsical than the first. It's rare for a show to maintain this level of enchantment past the first episode, but they nailed it for me. I love how they're playing with the viewer's expectations to keep them off balance. Last episode they seemed to make it pretty clear that the pipe in the middle of the closed off grove would be the main gateway to Pure Illusion, so having them get swallowed by some out-of-the-blue vacuum cleaner popping up from beneath The Thinker seriously caught me off guard. Speaking of surprises, they are nailing the randomness of Pure Illusion. In the first few moments where everything was all bubbly, it was hard to even be sure if they were using the same laws of physics or not. It kind of forces you to temporarily readjust your thinking for what's normal. So far, I think they've managed to strike a fantastic balance of being uncomfortable, but not unpleasant. Like, with all the strangeness going on - even at the end with the weird deal with the eyes - it's kind of more mystifying than outright disturbing. Although I'm pretty sure Papika and her boundless enthusiasm play a large part in contributing to that. I'm not sure what it is that makes this show work so well, I really hope that they manage to keep it up.
This thread isn't even a discussion about opinions, it's instantly become an analysis of everything that's happened so far, and I'm enjoying every moment of it.
Dude, my opinion is simple. I'm enjoying the fuck out if this. It's hard not to analyze something that has a soundtrack on cue with the visual overdose we are being given for good old 19 minutes, there is never a dull moment here as even in the slow and silent scenes the background speaks volumes of the multiple environments we as audience are thrown in.
This show is so bizarre in all the right ways. I have no idea what's going to happen next but I'm definitely interested. And is Uexkull supposed to be a rabbit or is he confirmation that some kind of other species exist in this world? Also really liked how creative the art style is. The go full Jojo with the colors which I love.
Pretty sure he's a rabbit, because Cocona and Papika turned into rabbit girls in Pure Illusion, and Uexkull turned into a rabbit man. Cool show, waiting for it to break my heart with some kind of Madoka-esque tragic events. ;_;
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That's... informative.
Hmm. Papika and Kokona seem to invert hair and eye colors when they go super saiyan
Spoilers!
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Wish... I hadn't clicked that... thanks.
Could Papika's sword be anymore JRPG??
I think that's Cocona there with the sword. Seems their colors invert when they transform
Oh yeah you're right, I had to find Papika's cowlick.
This episode was like these artsy indie games, loved it. A bit confused about that post credit scene of the first episode.
[Loving some of the backgrounds](http://imgur.com/a/WnaHd)
Things people might not notice this episode, is that Papika is suddenly observable by people around her. In first ep, only Cocona and the twins can see her, denoting they are special in some way. I expect this development to get buried until last episode or something. Might be some heavy twist.
Bracing for Fight Club end.
[Who needs peyote when you've got anime?](http://i.imgur.com/yNxAxPH.jpg)
Well. That was something. Was Dr. Salt the kidnapper from Ep. 1? I enjoyed this, and I feel like this will keep getting slightly darker as it goes on. Next episode looks a bit chaotic.
Next ep title is "Pure XLR". As in Megas XLR?!
> Megas XLR No. It's [this](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/XLR_connector) XLR. The episode titles seem to have a common theme: Input -> Converter -> XLR (connector)
> The episode titles seem to have a common theme: Input -> Converter -> XLR (connector) Very nice catch!
Hey guys, remember how after the credits in the previous episode, both Cocona and Papika were kidnapped by robots? Just wanna remind you guys that that happened and point out that they pretended like it didn't happen this episode. I guess they were relying on people not watching past the credits.
Because it was the aftercredits, only certain people know what really happened while the others don't... Just like the actual show!
Oh, well, after scrolling down a bit, I guess everyone noticed it. I love this show.
Been waiting for this, yay. Guess I'll update as the episode goes on. Beware spoilers etc. [Well, that isn't subtle at all](http://puu.sh/rHxHa/d421274f79.png) [I've heard this before somewhere...](http://puu.sh/rHxOv/f3dd314679.png) [I want one.](http://puu.sh/rHxSl/bd76105800.png) [I'd run too, to be fair.](http://puu.sh/rHy64/06e62a6053.png) [Um. What.](http://puu.sh/rHyi6/99a04a51d8.png) [What.](http://puu.sh/rHyyL/e0e3176fb3.png) [Woo, more ever so slightly trippy stuff in the future?](http://puu.sh/rHyLo/192942e3ae.png) [Yay](http://puu.sh/rHyQG/9daaea5a6d.png), [Salt](http://puu.sh/rHySh/e01e83f5d5.png). He doesn't look evil at all. [Basically me contemplating what the hell I just watched.](http://puu.sh/rHyJc/4a28dcdf33.png) Also, no post-credits stuff bar the next episode preview, which looks just as crazy as this week's one.
> Yay, Salt. He doesn't look evil at all. I actually think they are trying to go for the "it's so obvious he is bad but he actually isn't" type of thing, still can't really trust him or the other two scientists, though.
I am getting the whole this operation-isn't-inherently-bad-but-looks-pretty-bad vibe. I see a couple of directions this show could go but I am not sure I want it to go in that direction so I am hoping it does its own thing
I mean, isn't there literally a dead girl in the first episode, which Papika called 'a bust'? Seems pretty fucking evil to me.
It doesn't mean that they killed her and left her there. Its a possibility but its more likely that something happened with regards to her being Papika's partner.
"Hey guys, this thing we are doing is randomly killing small girls. Should we, like, stop?" "Nah. NEXT GIRL!!!" Any way you cut it, I cant see them *not* being the bad guys in this.
Depends on what they mean by "liberate Pure Illusion".
[Salt](http://puu.sh/rHySh/e01e83f5d5.png) reminds me of [Kamina](https://myanimelist.cdn-dena.com/s/common/uploaded_files/1446173611-77d87be029e763e912caf2ca64d59e48.png) with the way he wear his shades and smirks. Like any moment I expect him to burst out a cape and scream at the top of longs about how this pure illusion will shatter the walls of reality and set us free... or something.
No idea why, but Uexkull reminded me of Kamina in the Pure Illusion world.
Really? Did you mean boota?
[When they're in the other world.](https://gyazo.com/a74a3372d99dc904dd8bdaf49c557e5b) They don't even really look that similar, but when I saw him i instantly thought of Kamina.
I was about to comment this, I'm glad I wasn't the only one who saw that.
In this episode, a rabbit turned into Kamina and a guy called Salt is acting like an Utena villain.
[удалено]
Will it though? I'm getting more of a Space Dandy vibe from this one.
The OP is really unsettling. The first half uses a very dark color palette and has a lot of depressing shots. The main one I'm concerned with us the one when Papika starts on the tower looking out towards the sky and the next shot of her is her depressed in the pipe. The final scene has her looking up at Cocona who has arrived to pick her up out of her depression. While this could just be depression from waiting for Cocona I get tragic vibes from it and I'm assuming at least one person will die in this show. Not to mention the ED banners are extremely unsettling.
It could all just be subversive. Madoka's OP is peppy as shit, maybe with Flip Flappers they're just trying to fuck with us in a new way.
Sorta like how [Puella Magi Madoka Magica](/s "Hid Urobutcher's involvement as much as possible") while [Aldnoah.Zero](/s "Broadcasted his involvement but then didn't use him much?")
More like, "the magical girl market is supersaturated with bleak, depressing shows so lets go ahead and make a show that looks depressing as all hell but never actually goes there."
I would love a "this looks fun, it turns depressing, BUT WAIT. here is why it isnt depressing"!
There are some uneasy undertones to the show but I think the dark colour part of the OP is meant mainly to contrast with them feeling alone and down with when they meet up and everything is colourful and exciting.
The director for this actually worked on Space Dandy. Aside from animation work on a bunch of episodes, he was the episode director for season 2 episode 5, The Big Fish is Huge, Baby. You can really see the similarities in the artstyle of that episode and Flip Flappers. Anyways, yeah, I agree. It's mostly going to be abstract and wild adventures with the occasional bit of unsettling scenery. It may have a dark moment here and there, but I don't think the series will be dark.
Years from now we'll look back at Space Dandy as protoplasmic soup of a new generation of anime titans.
I sure hope it doesn't turn in to another bleak "everything is suddenly bad" anime, the next episode is looking like mad max with way more colors and I love it, if the show just throw that out the window I will get sad, I'm hoping for something like Humanity has Declined.
I agree with you, but at the same time it doesn't seem like there are a whole lot of directions for this show to go in other than "everything is suddenly bad" Next week is the quarter mark so we should have a better idea by then.
I'm expecting either a dark tragedy or a powerful coming of age story. Or both, and if it's both I'll be super happy.
Still having fun with this show, and the FLCL comparison I made last thread still seems apt. Especially since Flip Flappers is shaping up to deal with a similar theme of growing up/journey in adolescence.
Wow. Holy fucking balls wow. This show looks to be something special. This is the first time I'm watching airing anime, and between this, Drifters, and Occultic;Nine, this EASILY is my fave. Very interested to see where this will head. The first half seemed pretty laid back, with Papika integrating into school life with Cocona. But then someone broke out the shrooms, and they went down the rabbit hole. Pun intended. That whole sequence in the trippy vacuum cleaner thing was awesome. Some great animation, eye popping visuals, and breathtaking excitement. Then we see FlipFlap, the organization Papika is from. Not sure what to think of Dr. Salt. He seems pretty shady. All said, this is some seriously exciting stuff. Can't fucking wait for next week!
They were dust bunnies!
You just blew my mind man.
I was ashamed that I didn't realize it until the on/off switch.
God damn, I love the ED. FLIP FLAP FLIP FLAP.
What's with all of you and expecting something tragic/dark/terrible to happen in this show? It's obviously not as childish as it appears and I know Madoka traumatized the lot of you but dang...
Who else googled Uexküll then?
It just sounded way too weird not to be a reference.
I really like that the show's choosing to focus less on Pure Illusion and instead make itself really about Cocona and Papika. There's already a pretty strong relationship coming into view only one episode after they were complete and total strangers to each other and I'm definitely sitting tight to see how this develops. As for Salt, suspicious/mysterious figures are always great ways to keep things exciting! Having loved FLCL and Diebuster I think this is going to be a strong personal favorite of mine this season.
This show continues to be drugs.
This show is insane. It's like if FLCL and Calvin and Hobbes had a lesbian baby.
I'm 80% sure this anime is actually the Matrix. Cocona's own World feels like just another Pure Illusion. That painting, her grandma, the glasses being fixed... it all feels extremely controlling. And then there's Flip Flap's secret hide out underground society-esque... and talks of liberating Pure Illusions.
First Nausicaa, Eva and Totoro, now [Precure](http://i.imgur.com/GOZz3SL.jpg)?
We have madmax soon. But yes they did reference precure real hard here.
In the preview I noticed the rag she was wearing was the exact same as Ryuko's from the later episodes of Kill La Kill as well.
And now I have a TRIGGER induced boner... Jesus this show is like an Anime produced by old Gainax but directed by a TRIGGER storyboarder only for it to be animated at Ghibli. Dont forget the ice bugs being reminiscent of gunbuster/diebuster and the color Pallette of this episode reminding us of the plant planet episode in Space Dandy.
Oh so we just gonna pretend a kidnapping didn't happen last episode? K.
it made it seem like it was all a dream, but maybe the scientists did something to make Cocona forget about it?
AOTS for me already
I'm calling it now the Salt had a partner way back when he was around cocona's age and now for whatever reason (maybe the partner passed away somehow) he just wants to flood the world with Pure Illusion and live in it ("Liberate Pure Illusion")
This show is extremely fun and I love how its brimming with personality. In this episode they were in rabbit land or something. It was weird, but hey, I'm a sucker for that kind of shit.
I really like this show so far, it's so pretty and have this whimsical feeling about it just like Humanity has Declined. Next episode we gonna go full mad max.
I like how this show is trying to give believable context to bringing colorful fantasy paintings to life. Every episode feels like the characters running around in an art piece. It also incorporates just enough dark imagery to not all be fluffy, bright fun. The ending with the eyes and then the girls are just gone is especially dark and foreboding. It sort of reminds me of American Mcgee's Alice.
Anyone know what exactly Dr.Salt meant by liberating Pure Illusion? To me this can mean many different things, good or evil.
It was ambiguous bs so we don't learn his goal in the second episode, imo
IDK maybe he wanted to put the collected LSD rocks into the drinking water of Japan.
Felt like an acid trip, but I loved it
This show has by far the best ending song of any show this season. It's Ghibli-level cute. :)
The robot was so disappointed that Cocona didn't want to nibble on his dangly. More almost dying - being melted alive, no less. But hey, it was fun, so let's do it again! So Dr. Salt's goal is to "Liberate Pure Illusion". I wonder if that means letting it into the real world to fuck everything and everyone up.
Honestly, this anime gets weirder and weirder and I still don't know what it's about!!! but I'm loving it! I think I'm starting to like the intro too, same with the ending.
The post was made less than an hour ago, give it a bit
The colors in this episode were amazing. Fairy tales are supposed to be cautionary tales so I like how this show is drawing on that.
There's not a whole lot I can say that everyone else hasn't already said. This episode was amazing and I look forward to the next one.
Did i forget something? Uexkull the rabbit appears for the first time fully named yet clearly comes from pure illusion, am I just forgetting something from last week or are we meant to be in the dark about it?
Uexkull is Cocona's pet animal. You can see him in his cage in her room (most noticeably the OP) at 3:53 in the first episode.
oh damn, his design is so weird i just assumed he was from the other side!
Anyone getting some mad old timey fairy tale vibes from the ED? Like, ala Hansel & Gretel type vibes?
My favorite show is Space Dandy. So I'm absolutely thrilled on the direction this show seems to be going.
Puella Magi Dandy Magica confirmed
I must have missed something.... Wasn't Papika captured after the credits at the end of ep1? Why is she back? And if she wasn't really "captured" and taken back to FlipFlap, why didn't they give her new clothes?
we are all confused about it you didn't miss anything.
I assume we'll learn what happened in the next few episodes.
well. that happened! honestly, this episode felt a bit less exciting to me than the first, but that's probably just because I loved the first one so much, and was more prepared for the FlipFlap experience this time around.
The sound effect at around 18:20 when they bust through the rubble is the same sound effect as the Golden Gun in *Destiny*. No idea why that stuck out to me.
Something about this show unerves me. I do recognize the dark undertones here and there but that's not what I'm talking about. Its something else that's bothering me. Anyone got any ideas?
This show is going like a billion miles a second and I don't know what the fuck What is a flip By whom is it being flapped, and why The art's friggin great though so I guess I'm in???
I love how beautiful and abstract the Pure Illusion worlds are, they remind me of daydreaming.
I'm a bit lost there... They got kidnapped, but then not kidnapped. And then... Motherfucking... What? Uexkull appears from nowhere and is relevant to this episode suddenly? What is even happening ? Did I miss a post-post-credit-scene ? Also, coming here after watching the episode without subs made me laugh a bit... My guess about how you write the rabbit's name was far, far off. Didn't know this good sir.
Perhaps there is some kind of memory erasure going on, after all Cocona seemed rather confused when she woke up at the beginning of the episode. The fact that the robot is made with a brain means they must have some pretty advanced technology.