Oh, what a surprise! We’re comparing this do Madoka Magica!? *ahem sarcasm* Well as much as we would like to avoid it, after episode 3, Flip Flappers confirmed it was built on this ‘evil magical girl vs good magical girl’ recipe of success from Madoka. Both series have a normal girl basically being forced on to becoming a magical girl. Madoka Magica starts all happy and slowly turns dark; the girls are being told one thing but they are really being used for other “hidden agendas” and friends become enemies once they find out about each other’s magical abilities.

Besides the plot, Madoka and Papika, as well as, Homura and Kokona share similar personalities and even character designs. We have the bright colored hair protagonist who is very cheerful, positive and enjoys being a magical girl to help out. Then we have the dark haired co-protagonist that is sort of gloomy and wants to avoid this “magical” situation but gets involved anyway by taking care of her new friend. As a plus, both series have a strong theme of friendship and both sets of girlfriends, in either of the series, show hints of Yuri. In other words, if you’re really enjoying what Flip Flappers has offered ‘till now, then you will like Madoka Magica for sure... if... you haven't seen it already, that is.

Just like Flip Flappers, the series Humanity Has Declined will quickly give the vivid colorful art style a dark, dark twist. The story develops in a world where humans are almost extinct and a huge colony of happy looking fairies are rapidly occupying the land. Ms. Sweets or commonly known as “Watashi” gives herself the bizarre task of trying to settle the dispute between humans and fairies. Similar to Flip Flappers, Humanity Has Declined has a main plot line but the series is episodic, meaning each episode is a different story that connects bits and pieces to the main story line. Do be warned, this series flips and flaps all over the place, as it is not a linear story (see what we did there, hahaha..ha.. ok...).

As for characters, Watashi’s personality can be seen as kind of a mix between Kokona and Papika; she is quite serious but at the same time fearless in an innocent way towards situations that might cost her her life. Her adorable appearance comes with a very pessimistic set of mind, kind of reminding us of Kokona’s regular attitude combined with the “super powered” pink haired transformation. Aside from the characters, both series share the fact that they have strange worlds filled with loony characters that kind of give us the sensation we’re exploring unseen lands inside the story of Alice in Wonderland.

An optimistic person, a robot and a grumpy pessimistic character travel different worlds. If you though Flip Flappers, good! But we’re actually talking about Space Dandy. The overly confident Dandy wants to cruise down the easy path of life aboard his spaceship, the Aloha Oe, but to do so he needs to earn a lot of cash. Together with his robot friend, QT, he decides on doing the hardest task of a space hunter,one that will get him the most amount of money; finding unidentified alien life throughout all the galaxy. These two oddballs are joined by a cat alien named Meow, a cynical little character that even though he constantly feels like he’s gonna die during the crazy adventures, he can't help but stay around for fun or “just in case” Dandy hits the jackpot.

Dandy and his crew face different challenges in all the worlds they visit, sometimes fixing the problems of the inhabitants, saving their own butts or sometimes just accidentally messing up time and space. Each episode features one different world with its own stand-alone story in which some case,s even the art style changes, much like Flip Flappers. This show appeals more to guys than Flip Flappers does, but if you’re a guy that’s enjoying every second of the adventures of Kokona and Papika, we got you covered. Watch Space Dandy and say you stumbled upon Flip Flappers thanks to us, even if it was the other way around, we got your back! Nothing to be ashamed of!

Congratulations! You have been chosen to become a magical girl! Oh, no, that wasn't an offer, it was a notice! We already have everything planned for you!

Like Kokona from Flip Flappers, Illya from Fate/kaleid received a passive aggressive invitation to the realm of magical girls and for a while, struggles between “to be or not to be” a magical girl. Coincidentally, like Papika, even though Rin Tohsaka has magical powers, they’re simply “not enough” and has to look for a partner to train and help complete her assigned tasks. Both series start strikingly similar, having little girls with awakened magical powers working for a secret organization; the girls are tasked with finding and collecting some powerful magical items for unknown purposes. All this is sprinkled with lots of Yuri bait to reel in male fans.

Resuming, yes, Fate/kaleid is similar to Flip Flappers, but it's mainly because it's similar to every other magical girl anime. Flip Flappers is more pure hearted and simple, it’s the innocence of magic, while Fate/kaleid is a ten episode trial of how Flip Flappers would look like tainted by lolis, dere tropes, fan service and perverted jokes.

Let’s start by saying that Flip Flappers and Rolling Girls’ main similarity is, girl power! In all honesty, these series don't have much to compare. They are very different shows but the journey that Nozomi, together with her friends Yukina, Ai and Chiaya, will traverse, definitely will remind you of Flip Flappers. In Rolling Girls, there’s many confusing moments that will make you say “what the hell am I watching”, but don’t let that throw you off. Soon enough, your screen will be filled with colorful ‘heroines’ and their even flashier attacks, as well as, lively art with many cute characters. If the splashy colorful style doesn't convince you enough to be on par with Flip Flappers, then this next argument will: The ‘rolling girls’ travel around Japan in search of jewels that grant the holders superpowers. In every territory they visit, they must help out the people or manage some kind of conflict to hopefully obtain one of these “stones” they’re looking for.

This is exactly what happens in Flip Flappers! Just change Japan for Pure Illusion and voilà, an instant connection of plots. Of course, both shows drift apart from each other in many points, but we assure you that Flip Flappers will end with a more substantial plot than Rolling Girls; just hop into this show to enjoy the pretty scenery and stay if you think it’s worth your time.

Ok, let’s be clear: Abenobashi is not a Mahou Shoujo and there aren't any magical girls. So why pick this series you ask? It’s surprisingly similar to Flip Flappers, believe it or not. Two kids travel to different dimensions where they explore fantasy worlds. In each world, they must face an enemy and/or fix something about the world’s society. Every world is drastically different than the previous one, and sometimes the art style changes to match the theme or “feeling” of the world they are in. In every episode, only one world is featured and each world of each episode feels like it presents a different genre to the series.

While the two protagonists in Abenobashi are a mismatched couple like in Flip Flappers, they’re actually both very pessimistic, but that makes everything a whole lot funnier. In Flip Flappers, the girls can't return to ‘reality’ until they have recovered the Amorphous stone. In Abenobashi, Arumi and Sasshi can't return to their real world until they resolve all the issues of all the worlds they’ve traversed through. Conclusion: if you want to avoid the fluffy puffy plot of a magical girl show but would like to enjoy funny protagonists traveling to different “realities” like Flip Flappers, then this is your next destination!