== Thinking about why *Upotte!* goes too far for me

[[Author http://ani-nouto.animeblogger.net/2012/05/04/upotte-begins/]]:

> Upotte was supposed to be this filthy innuendo vehicle for dirty
> perverts… but it really is not. It turned out to be a comedy, and
> honestly I liked its comedic payload more than that of Naruto SD.
> Funco dealing with puberty gave the haters the excuse to lash out, but
> it’s entirely up to the viewer where to focus.

I had a [[strongly negative Spring2012Brief]] reaction to the first
episode of *Upotte!* when I tried to watch it, but that's far from
universal and a number of people with good taste actively like the show.
Author's entry has pushed me into thinking in more detail about my
reaction.

It's certainly possible to deal comedically (and tastefully) with
puberty in the way that *Upotte!*'s sort of trying to do; I even [[quite
enjoyed SYDReactions]] a highschool comedy that went much further than
*Upotte!*'s relatively tame innuendo. What I think got to me is the
presence of the male teacher and the focus of Funco's thoughts on him;
this gave the jokes and especially Funco's daydreaming involving him
an uncomfortable edge, especially since Funco is in middle school. In
hindsight I don't think it's a coincidence that I stopped being able to
watch right at the point where Funco was fantasizing about him being the
one to work her trigger.

(Looking back on *Seitokai Yakuindomo*, I think that part of what made
it work for me is that basically everyone involved in the sex jokes were
peers; adults rarely or never got pulled into them.)

Of course, it doesn't help that comedy is hit or miss with me and
usually misses. The odds were always that I wasn't going to follow
*Upotte!* even if I didn't bounce off of it with a strong reaction,
but every season I check out a comedy or two in the hopes that they
will really click with me. When comedy works, it's great.