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REVIEW: Astarotte's Toy episodes 7-12


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PetrifiedJello



Joined: 11 Mar 2009
Posts: 3782
PostPosted: Fri Jul 08, 2011 10:54 am Reply with quote
mad mac wrote:
How many times do I have to say I was responding generally rather then about this show in particular?

I believe a few more times should pretty much tie up any loose ends.

Joking aside, I did see your closing comment, but something about the "Hey, stupid, if you don't like the pairs, don't watch the anime" attitude which came off a bit odd when most of what's in this thread is the fact this pairing was never entering the minds of its viewers.

If you, however, expected a pairing, you'd be the first.

Quote:
I have very little to say specifically about Lotte's Toy because it was super-squicky and I dropped it like a hot potato.

Me too, 12 episodes later.
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Blood-
Bargain Hunter



Joined: 07 Mar 2009
Posts: 23669
PostPosted: Fri Jul 08, 2011 10:57 am Reply with quote
Anymouse wrote:
Loli fan service premise leads to loli as a plot. News at 11.


If you had bothered reading Theron's review or watch the show yourself you'd know the real story was that loli fan service premise leads to expectations of loli fan service which for a period of time was surprising low-key thus leading some of us to hope that things might stay that way, but unfortunately the loli fan service got dialed up later on.

I agree your version is pithier, it just lacks a little nuance.
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TheRoyalFamily



Joined: 16 Apr 2010
Posts: 62
PostPosted: Fri Jul 08, 2011 12:34 pm Reply with quote
For once I actually agree completely with the review (well, not the score, but I don't think that really matters). Completely defies initial expectations, leading to new expectations...which lead to a bit let-down. I was liking the show, even with the more boring stuff, and then the last two episodes brought the show completely down. While I am now accustomed to anime that have a late-game conflict that breaks the tone of the series, I still don't like it. And it was especially stupid in this case, and worse, it was dragged out over almost two episodes.
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CareyGrant



Joined: 18 Nov 2009
Posts: 453
PostPosted: Fri Jul 08, 2011 5:10 pm Reply with quote
PetrifiedJello wrote:
I'm left scratching my head at this review. One the one hand, it basically states "It's a lolicon show", but on the other, it tries to justify a story.

Sorry, but not buying it. It is a lolicon show and there's no amount of "aww, look. Mommy still loves me." going to make up for the fact a 23+ year old man told a 10 year old girl he's in love with her.

I'm pretty tolerant of the "cutesy panty shots because little girls are little girls" (though I can never justify a defense for the spread-eagle shot of Lotte when she ran into the prince), but I drew the line at this blatant "Screw you" scene between Naoyo and Lotte.

I wouldn't recommend this pile of shit to anyone, regardless if they're part of the targeted demographic or not.

Anyone who can "get off" to this series will probably have a great future ahead of them.


Get out of my head! I was thinking along these exact same lines.

Anime should NOT make you feel like you have to register your location with local authorities for watching it!

What surprises me -not that this show was utter rubbish not fit to line the bottom of a bird cage or litter box- is how we as a community have greatly lowered our standards so much that this steaming pile is even considered, by the simple majority at least, as something normal, good or entertaining.

When I think back on all the great anime and manga I cut my teeth on, and then compare them to the same garbage we're being given season after season, there really is no comparison.

I feel sorry for new fans who think this is the measure of animes quality or all that it can be. Garbage like this is anime in name only.
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Key
Moderator


Joined: 03 Nov 2003
Posts: 18138
Location: Indianapolis, IN (formerly Mimiho Valley)
PostPosted: Fri Jul 08, 2011 5:45 pm Reply with quote
CareyGrant wrote:
What surprises me -not that this show was utter rubbish not fit to line the bottom of a bird cage or litter box- is how we as a community have greatly lowered our standards so much that this steaming pile is even considered, by the simple majority at least, as something normal, good or entertaining.


That's an awfully subjective interpretation. While I do have issue with the lolicon content here, I would hardly call it a "steaming pile." Beside I haven't seen anyone holding this series up as a paragon of quality, so I think you're making a mountain out of a molehill here; even when I was saying it had potential in my first half review, I was still pointing out that the artistry was very mediocre, for instance. Please reserve the hyperbole for places where it matters.

Quote:
When I think back on all the great anime and manga I cut my teeth on, and then compare them to the same garbage we're being given season after season, there really is no comparison.


That's a skewed viewpoint. 10, 20, or even 30 years ago the percentage of anime that was crap was pretty much the same as today; hell, Miyazaki himself made complaints in a published essay about the amount of substandard anime being produced at that time, and that essay dated to the the late '70s. Things really haven't changed over the years on that, but we've just (thankfully) forgotten the crap of years past and only seem to be getting more these days because the filters of practicality that once kept much of the bad stuff from ever making it across the Pacific no longer exist, thanks to digital fansubs and simulcast streaming.

Yeah, if you're going to compare the top-rate stuff that you watched in your early days to the run-of-the-mill stuff of today, then you're going to be disappointed. Compare that top-rate stuff to today's top-rate stuff, though (Moribito, Eden of the East, Cross Game, and so forth), and you'll find no drop-off.
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JuicyB



Joined: 08 Mar 2010
Posts: 278
PostPosted: Fri Jul 08, 2011 6:30 pm Reply with quote
maaya wrote:
Quote:
and underage panty shots is nothing remarkable in a country where such things can pop up even in kid-friendly family shows.


ugh, what? care to explain more precisely what you refer to, because that is hardly normal oO


Sailor Moon had quite a few panty shots IIRC.

I'm not bothered by "lolis" in anime, but this show doesn't sound very good in my opinion.
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JuicyB



Joined: 08 Mar 2010
Posts: 278
PostPosted: Fri Jul 08, 2011 6:33 pm Reply with quote
[quote="Key"]
CareyGrant wrote:
Quote:
When I think back on all the great anime and manga I cut my teeth on, and then compare them to the same garbage we're being given season after season, there really is no comparison.


That's a skewed viewpoint. 10, 20, or even 30 years ago the percentage of anime that was crap was pretty much the same as today; hell, Miyazaki himself made complaints in a published essay about the amount of substandard anime being produced at that time, and that essay dated to the the late '70s. Things really haven't changed over the years on that, but we've just (thankfully) forgotten the crap of years past and only seem to be getting more these days because the filters of practicality that once kept much of the bad stuff from ever making it across the Pacific no longer exist, thanks to digital fansubs and simulcast streaming.

Yeah, if you're going to compare the top-rate stuff that you watched in your early days to the run-of-the-mill stuff of today, then you're going to be disappointed. Compare that top-rate stuff to today's top-rate stuff, though (Moribito, Eden of the East, Cross Game, and so forth), and you'll find no drop-off.


Sturgeon's Law certainly applies to anime, just like it applies to every other form of entertainment media on the planet. The problem may be that there was simply not that much anime localized "back in the day" so all the crappy stuff never appeared on our radar. I mean think about it, we never ever in the past have had nearly every anime every season available to us through internet streaming. Of course the content is going to look worse because we are seeing it all, not the handful of series / movies / OVAs that some dudes in the industry cherry pick for a DVD or VHS release.
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Chagen46



Joined: 27 Jun 2010
Posts: 4377
PostPosted: Fri Jul 08, 2011 6:33 pm Reply with quote
PetrifiedJello wrote:
I'm left scratching my head at this review. One the one hand, it basically states "It's a lolicon show", but on the other, it tries to justify a story.

Sorry, but not buying it. It is a lolicon show and there's no amount of "aww, look. Mommy still loves me." going to make up for the fact a 23+ year old man told a 10 year old girl he's in love with her.

I'm pretty tolerant of the "cutesy panty shots because little girls are little girls" (though I can never justify a defense for the spread-eagle shot of Lotte when she ran into the prince), but I drew the line at this blatant "Screw you" scene between Naoyo and Lotte.

I wouldn't recommend this pile of shit to anyone, regardless if they're part of the targeted demographic or not.

Anyone who can "get off" to this series will probably have a great future ahead of them.


God damn, Jello. I normally like you, but I did not expect you to flip out like this.

I don't feel like getting into a debate, but I'm just going to say that I have no intentions of raping anyone, underage or not (which I couldn't even do anyway, do to being only 15), despite being a lolicon. Which kinda blows your entire point to pieces.
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Anymouse



Joined: 18 May 2007
Posts: 685
PostPosted: Fri Jul 08, 2011 6:41 pm Reply with quote
Technically you are only one year away from being capable of being a pedophile, according to the DSM-IV-TR.
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Chagen46



Joined: 27 Jun 2010
Posts: 4377
PostPosted: Fri Jul 08, 2011 6:43 pm Reply with quote
Still, I'm only attracted to real-life women my age and above.

And the correct term would be "Hebephile".
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Dop.L



Joined: 23 Mar 2007
Posts: 713
Location: London
PostPosted: Fri Jul 08, 2011 6:46 pm Reply with quote
The thing about this show was that it was nowhere near as bad as expected from pre-release publicity.

However, every time it had nearly managed to convince you that it was a cute and heartwarming little family dramedy about a lonely little girl finding new friends, they would take out the BAD AND WRONG stick and beat you about the head with it.
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Anymouse



Joined: 18 May 2007
Posts: 685
PostPosted: Fri Jul 08, 2011 6:52 pm Reply with quote
This show had an aesthetic that was just too tacky. I couldn't stand. I never liked shows like Orange Road either.

Chagen46 wrote:
Still, I'm only attracted to real-life women my age and above.
That's good!

Quote:
And the correct term would be "Hebephile".
I thought you meant attraction to prepubescent, which is technically pedophilia. Attraction to those who have just started puberty is Hebehphila.

The more you know....
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Blood-
Bargain Hunter



Joined: 07 Mar 2009
Posts: 23669
PostPosted: Fri Jul 08, 2011 6:55 pm Reply with quote
Dop.L wrote:
However, every time it had nearly managed to convince you that it was a cute and heartwarming little family dramedy about a lonely little girl finding new friends, they would take out the BAD AND WRONG stick and beat you about the head with it.


Unless you are a pedo, of course, in which case you'd be beaten about the head with the GOOD AND RIGHT stick.
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Anymouse



Joined: 18 May 2007
Posts: 685
PostPosted: Fri Jul 08, 2011 6:56 pm Reply with quote
Don't worry, the pedos will know the song: That's Good
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PetrifiedJello



Joined: 11 Mar 2009
Posts: 3782
PostPosted: Fri Jul 08, 2011 8:37 pm Reply with quote
Chagen46 wrote:
...I have no intentions of raping anyone, underage or not...

If this is what you took away from my post, even as a lolicon, then you've rather missed the point.

Clarification: in my opinion, this series insults boht audiences. It screws over the non-lolicon fans with the ending episode and it screws over the lolicon fans with content I'm sure they'd find as "Meh. It's okay, but my jollies just aren't getting tingly."

This leaves one demographic left, but they're not around to get offended. They're too busy stalking anime conventions to be wasting their time here.

I'll point out something else out since there's a bit of confusion here: I've nothing against those who are into lolicon. If it's your bag, then just be sure to clean up after yourself. My stock in Kleenex thanks you for your patronage.

However, you need to understand there's a limit I can tolerate and this series blew by it without any regard, which makes it a pile of shit to me.

I don't appreciate seeing the beginning stages of a little girl's mind collapse into a self-degrading cesspool of hatred which gets returned to society as a future "star" on an MTV television series titled "The Suck-You-Bus: Human Meat Tour!"
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