Meito Anizawa, Anime Tenchou
To start us off, here's one of said questionable examples from the main page:
- All of the rubber bands in Bands on the Run look more like used condoms than anything.
...No, not really? Tried to find screenshots from the movie in case they looked different there and I still don't see it at all
◊.
Big Catch, Sparkle Edition
Yeah, they look like sillybands. What?
Currently Working On: Incorruptible Pure Pureness
It's either real or it's a dream
I don't see it at all, that feels like a joke a Caustic Critic would make, but presented as an actual example. Easy cut.
Edited by harryhenry on Jun 21st 2023 at 3:12:19 AM
Meito Anizawa, Anime Tenchou
Speaking of Pokemon, I decided to fully look through the entire Pokemon subpage example by example. The Humans section was already dealt with in a different thread and left only one example, so I'll only comment on the Pokemon section (up to Bidoof, might do more later):
- A number of more anthropomorphic designs have unfortunately-placed feather/fur tufts sticking from their crotches. Some more infamous examples include Beartic, Reshiram, Hisuian Decidueye, and Blaziken. Feels very general, but I've definitely heard jokes/comments about some of these. Maybe rewrite the section a bit or split the valid examples with one point for each individual Pokemon?
- Metapod is supposed to be a butterfly chrysalis, but its overall slim shape and the points near its head just make it look phallic instead. Two of its very few moves being Harden and String Shot does not help its case, nor did the early episode where Ash and Samurai had a competition to see whose Metapod could stay hard the longest. Not really seeing the "phallic" resemblance, even with the moveset, and the competition sounds more like Accidental Innuendo
- Nidoqueen's chest coloring looks like a bra, though this could be intentional due to Secondary Sexual Characteristics. Its Japanese (it was edited for international release) Pokémon Stadium animation, which has it grabbing its chest and jiggling it, only added to the issue. Probably intentional, which I'm pretty sure would make it not an example
- Team Rocket’s Meowth from the anime is an unfortunately similar case to Hello Kitty, being designed with only three fingers. This isn’t much of a problem with the typical Meowths in the games, but in the anime, he ends up having to use his middle finger as as index finger. So whenever he points up, he unintentionally appears to be flipping the bird. This gesture also resembles a simple drawing of a dick and balls. For the "flipping the bird" example, probably valid
. For the "dick and balls" one... I saw a lot of comments about this screenshot specifically◊ which... yeah.
- Kadabra has a weird, um, segment connecting its tail to its underside. Not sure?
- One of Golem's attack animations in Pokémon Stadium and its sequel is to roll over onto its back, leaving its legs pointing forward at its opponent. It uses this animation when it's commanded to use Mud-Slap, an attack which involves spraying brown gunk at the enemy and— yeah... Possibly keep? Not really a part of Golem's design itself through
- Most infamously, Cloyster looks a bit like a vagina with horns stuck on it, complete with a giant horn on top of its head, right where a clitoris would be. This, however, may be intentional (or the developers realized after the fact), because in HeartGold and SoulSilver, there is a Young Couple Trainer duo who use Cloyster and... Onix. Coincidence? Probably keep
- Jynx's original black-skinned, large-lipped design was so controversial that Game Freak actually had to redesign her to have purple skin. Just compare her original look◊ to her new one.◊ Keep, Jynx is/was infamous in and out of fandom for this
- There's also the pattern on her dress that combined with her breasts looks like a penis and testicles. This, however, feels like a stretch/something you have to specifically look for
- Magmar and Castform have two bulges on their head and bottom, respectively. This is compounded by the fact that the former's Japanese name is Boober, which is supposed to be a reference to the booby birds, but can easily be misinterpreted as something else. Eh, not really something that stands out immediately
- Mewtwo has a similar issue to Kadabra in that its tail seems to be connected to its crotch, but it's worsened by the fact that it's a much deeper purple than the rest of Mewtwo's body. I always just saw this as similar to a belly marking sharing the tail's color, and unlike Kadabra there isn't really a part sticking out of the crotch or anything
- Mew has suffered this twice throughout the Nintendo DS era of Pokémon:
- Pokémon fans had a lot of humorous reactions to the Mew DS stylus which has the stylus protruding from Mew's crotch. Even worse, the red color resembles certain erect animal penises, and tip of the stylus is white and translucent. This stylus is indeed infamous, but the entry feels like it would work better under "Toys" or similar since it's about a piece of merch
- Mew's animated sprite in the Generation V games was based off of its sprites in Pokémon Diamond and Pearl, which wasn't well-received by fans due to the sprite looking somewhat weird. However, its animated form◊ makes it worse, with Mew's tail (which is somewhat thicker at the tip) seemingly gesturing into its butt. Feels like a stretch
- Pokémon fans had a lot of humorous reactions to the Mew DS stylus
- Espeon's official artwork◊ makes it look like it has a prominent butt, complete with hole, because of the way the tail is drawn connecting to the body. Stretch
- Feraligatr's Gen III back sprite◊ cuts off right below its back ridges, which makes them look like butt cheeks. Probably keep
- The entire Torchic line suffers from this one way or the other:
- Male Torchic have tiny black spots on their rear ends in an... unfortunate location. Interestingly, this actually may be a deliberate stealth reference to some methods of chick sexing involving squeezing them to look for a small pimple-like bump to identify males. Probably keep, I've seen people joke about Torchic "having a butthole"
- Combusken's body shape resembles a penis.◊ Humorously, it doubles as a Visual Pun for English-speaking players, since chickens are also called cocks. Maybe? I've seen several people make this joke
- As mentioned above, Blaziken has a tuft of feathers on its crotch, though it arguably has it the worst out of all the mons with crotch tufts. Thanks to an unfortunate 3D model, Blaziken's looks particularly phallic in Pokkén Tournament, and some of the animations in that game happen to include close-ups of the strangely-shaped "tuft of feathers", which really does not help. Nor does the fact Blaziken is based on cockfighting (cock as in chicken). Blaziken is already mentioned in top entry
- Male Torchic have tiny black spots on their rear ends in an... unfortunate location. Interestingly, this actually may be a deliberate stealth reference to some methods of chick sexing
- Nuzleaf also has a somewhat phallic look to it, and its legs being slightly larger than its torso and slightly bulbous in order to resemble pants doesn't help. It also has nipples, for some reason. Not really seeing it. The nipple-dots may seem weird but are just an actual part of its design
- Poor Gardevoir led to a lot of Rule 34 fanart because of the slit up the front of her (sometimes his, to make it worse) "dress". I mean, having a dress with a slit isn't really inappropriate in itself, it's not like Gardevoir has any inappropriate parts to show anyway, and the Rule 34 part doesn't feel relevant. (Also the comment/implication that "this feminine-looking creature is sometimes actually male and that's bad" feels... eh...)
- The Nosepass line is based on the Moai of Easter Island, but their giant noses make them resemble an Anti-Semitic caricature. Probopass has it even worse, since it has a mustache made of magnetic filings that somewhat resembles a stereotypical Jewish 'stache, as well as a cap that resembles a kippa. Unsure? I never made the connection and can't remember seeing discussions of this but as a non-Jewish person I don't feel too comfortable claiming "nope this doesn't look like an anti-semitic caricature" where others may see it
- Lileep and Cradily's petals unfortunately bear a striking resemblance to a certain part of the male anatomy. The fact that they are both Rock-type doesn't help. Not really seeing it
- Metagross gains a large spike on its front when it Mega Evolves, and it led to sex jokes almost immediately after its reveal. Unsure, I guess I can kind of see where people are comning from in some artworks but others just make it look like a chin spike
- Registeel's sprite in Pokémon Diamond and Pearl has its right arm raised in a Nazi salute. For the European release (as well as all versions of Platinum), it was lowered. Keep, this being changed is a good indication people took issue with it (though maybe change it to "what looks like a Nazi salute" since that was almost certainly not what it was meant as)
- Male Bidoof have two extra spheres under the tail that have made them the subject of a lot of "male bidoof have testicles!" jokes. Probably keep, I've seen a bunch of comments and jokes about this
- This could be intentional, since they are based on beavers. In medieval times, people had some very strange ideas about beaver testicles (which actually weren’t their testicles at all, but rather scent glands).
- This could be intentional, since they are based on beavers. In medieval times, people had some very strange ideas about beaver testicles
(I also cut the Bands on the Run example)
Edited by Zanreo on Jun 26th 2023 at 4:53:19 PM
"Leftover items still have value!"
Planeswalker
The Metapod one I think is valid, there have been plenty of dick jokes made at its expense over the years, especially with its only moves being "Harden" and "String Shot" (looks like white gunk).
Edited by PhiSat on Jun 21st 2023 at 12:19:49 PM
Oissu!
Big Catch, Sparkle Edition
Yeah, I've heard the same jokes too.
Currently Working On: Incorruptible Pure Pureness
Meito Anizawa, Anime Tenchou
Yeah, fair enough. Any other opinions on the Pokemon examples?
"Leftover items still have value!"
Slayer of YMMV complaining magnets
I have to make notice that the hat on Probopass is a reference to the actual red hats that some moai statues actually have (and some theorizes all of them originally had one)
Number one fan of characters that appear only once and ultimately were a recurring character either in disguise or trying a new image.
Goku Black
I've seen the Castform has balls /boobs thing a bunch of times. So I'd keep that.
"That's right mortal. By channeling my divine rage into power, I have forged a new instrument in which to destroy you."
I've seen Magmar boob jokes, too.
Edit: Same for Wiglett dick jokes.
Edited by badtothebaritone on Jun 26th 2023 at 2:39:24 PM
Big Catch, Sparkle Edition
Oh, true for both of those. Especially Castform.
Currently Working On: Incorruptible Pure Pureness
Tobias/TJ (He/Him)
I found an example that was considered Getting Crap Past the Radar (due to someone confusing the trope with Demographically Inappropriate Humor), in reference to the animated movie Robots:
- If you look at Madame Gasket's forehead you can see that the gears on it look rather...phallic to say the least (if you have a dirty mind). It is safe to assume that it was unintentional.
Given that the entry itself states that it was probably unintentional (and GCPTR and DIH have to be intentional examples), I'm bringing it up here to ask if it's a better fit for Unfortunate Character Design. For reference, here's what Madame Gasket looks like
◊. I kinda see it, but it also makes me think someone might've been trying too hard to see something phallic there, especially with the wording of "if you have a dirty mind".
Big Catch, Sparkle Edition
It's there if you really want to stare at tiny details, but like... who is even looking at that part of her anyway
Currently Working On: Incorruptible Pure Pureness
Tobias/TJ (He/Him)
![[up]](https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/smiles/arrow_up.png "[up]"){kind=icon}
Yeah, I felt like there was a possibility it was too minor of a detail to really count (especially since it's worded like "you might see this if you have a dirty mind", as I mentioned) - now that I think about it, part of the description for Unfortunate Character Design has this: "The offending part is pretty obvious. And it is so distracting that it can never be unseen."
I really only ever noticed it when I saw that particular entry, and I agree that it isn't overly distracting either (I'm not even sure if anyone else has made that connection, and most examples in UCD tend to mention people joking about or otherwise commenting on the unfortunate qualities of the character design), so I can see a valid point made to not add it.
Just thought I'd check. Thanks for letting me know ![[tup]](https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/thumbs_up_emote.png "[thumb up]"){kind=small}
Meito Anizawa, Anime Tenchou
...alright, so I never did get back to that full Pokemon subpage check, but I want to at least point out this example that seems like misuse:
- Gholdengo◊, with its yellow-colored body and four dangling tufts of "hair", looks like a giant string cheese snack to some.
And sure, I've seen a bunch of jokes about this, but not sure it counts as the "unfortunate" the trope name is referring to? Silly, yes, but not inappropiate. (Actually, what's the full scope of this trope - does it only refer to things that are "inappropriate" somehow - as the laconic says, "The character's design looks... problematic" - or also examples like this?)
In addition, the previously-cut example about Team Flare Grunts' hair apparently looking like poop was added back (presumably by someone else since it's worded differently), so I guess just cut it again?
Edited by Zanreo on Nov 17th 2023 at 2:34:06 PM
"Leftover items still have value!"
Looking through the Pokemon subpage of this trope and finding a bunch of questionable examples, and also some on the main page, made me think it could be a good idea to have a dedicated cleanup thread for Unfortunate Character Design in general, as some of the examples seem like a stretch (not to mention a possible magnet for stealth complaining/mocking). Of course, I can't know what anyone else sees when looking at certain designs, but to quote the page description:
So, seems like the inappropiate part should be obvious right away to more than one dirty-minded person or two. This thread is to discuss any examples where it seems like someone was trying too hard or where you can't really see it, along with various misuses.
Edited by Zanreo on Jun 20th 2023 at 7:15:26 PM
"Leftover items still have value!"