Naoya’s off to rescue Lotte from the human world, but it’s not without some awkward moments for all involved.
What They Say:
Episode 7
The Review:
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers)
Naoya’s arrival in the world of man is something that is a bit awkward to accomplish, what with having to get sucked up by a giant frog that then gloms onto the tree so that it can ride the magic wave to take him back. It works in its own strange way, and with the way that the show has a very calm nature about it, but it’s worth the weirdness to have him back at his house, knocking on the door and shocking Lotte with his presence as she certainly didn’t expect him. And once she’s aware that he’s there, she doesn’t want him there as she’s actually enjoying the bit of quiet down time that she’s gotten.
Having the two of them on Earth for a little bit together would lead to some awkward situations in just about any other show, but here it continues to be rather mellow and relaxed as Lotte is jut dealing with her issues and both happy and sad that she’s having to give up her alone time. It’s not free from awkwardness, as there’s a brief scene that has her leaning out the window from the second floor and threatening Naoya and he has to point out to her after she pauses for a moment that she has no underwear on. Thankfully, it avoids really making a visual issue of this as we don’t get any near-shots or anything else awkward. Just keeping it to a verbal piece really does help to tone down what would be an incredibly awkward scene otherwise and allows it to keep its humor while fitting in with Lotte’s personality.
When the pair are back in her home realm, there are some awkward moments to be had there as well but a lot of it is in the eye of the viewer. Having the two of them go to an amusement park together is cute as they spend time together while some of the others are elsewhere, but it offers up moments where Lotte is licking an ice cream cone and Naoya gets a bit off of her face which sends her spiraling. It could be so much worse seems like a common defense of this show, but it’s true and by being so tame it helps to keep the focus on the characters themselves. Their situations are definitely awkward, with who is related to who and what it is that Lotte has to do with Naoya at some point in order to handle growing into an adult succubus, but its awkwardness ends up coming through the viewer’s expectations of what it will do, even after this many episodes, rather than what it actually does itself. I still find this show to be surprisingly charming and fun even though it should be totally offensive based on the basic premise of it all and the designs.
In Summary:
Astarotte’s Toy thankfully avoids making the excursion to Earth with just Naoya and Lotte alone together into a longer venture and instead brings them back fairly quickly. The fun here is in watching the varied cast together in this realm with the kinds of connections and issues that they have between each other while doing it with a sense of softness and warmth. The atmosphere for this show continues to really define itself in that way rather than pervy and crude, even when it does have slightly perverted moments. And that’s the killer in that it only brushes up against them. A breeze blowing through the park lifts up some of the younger characters skirts, but rather than show their underwear, it just offers it as a possibility but doesn’t follow through. That kind of design and writing is mirrored with the characters themselves, particularly with Lotte and what she’s dealing with when it comes to Naoya, her mother and her life in general. And that makes it endearing and far more charming that I would have guessed.
Grade: B
Simulcast By: Crunchyroll
Review Equipment:
Sony KDS-R70XBR2 70″ LCoS 1080P HDTV, Dell 10.1 Netbook via HDMI set to 1080p, Onkyo TX-SR605 Receiver and Panasonic SB-TP20S Multi-Channel Speaker System With 100-Watt Subwoofer.
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