Flip Flappers Episode 9 Review – “Pure Mute”

Last week, Yayaka gave Papika and Cocona a helping hand against the fragment monster as Toto and Yuyu watched with suspicion. After leaving Pure Illusion, Papika mistakens Cocona for someone called Mimi. What are the consquences of these events?

(Spoilers in this review)

Well, since Yayaka was so lenient on the magical girls, the evil organziation has decided she’s useless and recruits a third amorphous child. Yayaka has to resort to begging for one last chance. The conditions they give her? Secure the next fragment and take the fragments Cocona and Papika are carrying around.

Meanwhile, Cocona and Papika have drifted apart since Cocona is hurt that Papika is confusing her for Mimi. It doesn’t seem to be intentional on Papika’s part, but I can see how that could be frustrating. If I don’t like sweet carrots, I wouldn’t want to be offered a hamburger steak plate rice ball that has sweet carrots inside, either!

Cocona and Papika are still bickering once they enter Pure Illusion, opting to race for the fragment. I keep hoping there will at least be an attempt to explain why the two girls are always so near the fragment whereas the trio has to resort to letting Cocona and Papika locate the fragment before snatching it, but we’re running out of episodes and time for Flip Flappers.

As expected, the trio arrives and Yayaka is deadset on making sure she’ll be welcomed into the organization with open arms. To give Cocona somewhat of a warning, however, she reminds Cocona about having the right mindset (the word mindset pops up frequently in this episode, by the way). Cocona agrees and rushes towards the fragment. She beat the twins! It’s hers!

As a result, Cocona and the twins are trapped inside where they can only watch Papika and Yayaka fight. The twins call for a cease-fire as they try to figure out how to escape.

Even though they (verbally) agreed upon a temporary truce, Yuyu, who can lip read, plays dirty and lies about what Papika is saying to Yayaka. Thanks to Yuyu’s lies about Papika only talking about food and someone else other than Cocona (is Yuyu a mindreader? How did she know that’s what has been bothering Cocona), Cocona starts losing faith in Papika.

Meanwhile Yayaka puts on a brave front, but she’s conflicted. The organization’s orders were for her to secure the fragment and take Cocona’s and Papika’s fragments, too. To that end, she chases after Papika and tries to take get Papika to hand over the fragment in exchange for food (since the two of them ran until they grew hungry).

However, Yayaka gets incredibly irritated once Papika starts talking about how much she loves Cocona. Even though Cocona and Yayaka are currently on opposite sides, she is clearly jealous of the relationship between Papika and Cocona. Having such strong feelings for someone you’re supposed to ruthlessly defeat isn’t exactly helpful, Yayaka.

And then there’s a flashback showing how Yayaka and Cocona met as young girls. For some reason, the girls are being tested at some hospital. Is this a coincidence? What is the purpose behind these tests that Cocona and Yayaka mention? We don’t quite know.

To Yayaka’s despair, it’s Papika who helps Cocona (and the twins) escape the so-called prison. Apparently it was influenced by Cocona’s feelings. When she felt moved by Cocona’s desperate efforts to rescue her, the yarn-ball-prison (?) cracked and everyone was reunited.

Yayaka then has another flashback where it’s shown that she was in cahoots with the guys dressed in white to begin with. Cocona was always a target for Yayaka to observe ever since their staged first encounter (this makes Cocona’s past and parentage even more questionable. I wonder if her grandma is actually in the know about this). Yayaka also remembers them telling her that she belongs by Cocona’s side. It puts a sad spin on things when Yayaka is thinking about these memories as she’s watching Cocona and Papika hold hands.

Yayaka then seperates the two girls and summons an ice prison to enclose herself and Cocona while Papika is left fighting the twins by her lonesome. If the yarn-ball-like-prison responded to Cocona’s feelings, then I would say this ice prison responds to Yayaka’s memories. Her memories of her past with Cocona as well as what she sees (namely Papika being close with Cocona) flickers and reflects across the surface as she presses the offense against Cocona.

I thought it was interesting that Yayaka (and the twins) continues to call Cocona soft for being so trusting. But when Yayaka summoned this ice prison with sturdy looking walls, they prove to be fragile and brittle since she easily smashes through walls (as well as the memories). Perhaps it’s a reflection of her mindset during the fight? Someone else more qualified than me can do the analysis here.

While this is happening, by the way, Papika gets whooped by Toto and Yuyu. She was too exhausted from her bouts with Yayaka. Of course, the twins chalk it up to Papika having a weak mindset.

In the end, Yayaka manages to defeat Cocona, who is confused and doesn’t want to fight, and secure the fragment. But orders are orders: she has to take Cocona’s fragment, too. So Yayaka pulls out a knife, prepares to drive it into Cocona’s thigh…and she doesn’t do it. She can’t. Knocking out her childhood friend is one thing, but actually stabbing her is quite another.

Unfortunately for Yayaka, the twins decide that Yayaka blew her last chance. While claiming that Yayaka is the one with the weak mindset, they do some very unfriendly fire as Yayaka shields Cocona from the missiles. Papika manages to chase them away by inflicting some damage on Toto, but Yayaka remains in critical condition as the ED starts up.

After the ED, Yayaka is rushed to FlipFlap’s ER room. Meanwhile, the head honcho of the evil organization inserts the recently obtain fragment into the big thingamajig. It seems to have caused a reaction in Papika, who starts making a huge commotion about Mimi.

So what does that make Cocona, then, Papika?

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Next week’s episode is titled, “Pure Jitter.” See you next week!