thoughts on the patapon webcomic, toot a loot (and what is currently publically out) / 1/21/2023
it took a bit for me to ACTUALLY decide and finally do on what to first talk about, and since this site is sorta themed on patapon.. i thought id do something about pataroad first, but you know, il just do toot a loot!
i also wont consider this entire blog a "review" of the comic.. its just moretheless me dumping my entire thoughts about it and what i feel. just a warning that il also make "jokes" sometimes, so, i wont be completely serious.
also il assume youve played the entire patapon game and know the story- uh, thats it. now, lets just.. begin with this.. as a starting point..
for those who arent aware, patapon: toot a loot is a patapon fancomic made by the artist DriftStar13 on twitter, deviantart, and others i THINK. i dont know anyone else working on the project, however theres technically .. two versions. the older version is on an archive while a updated version for 2022 (and probably 2023) is on the creators deviantart. we'd be doing the updated version, of course!
the sad thing is that the webcomic.. technically hasnt really started off. its in a prologue state where it recalls the events of the main games, but i dont really blame that- if you wanna retell the story for game reasons, its reasonable! its called "return of halo" for a reason, anyway.
the first thing that the comic starts off is a REALLY lengthy prologue on patapon lore. like, lengthy, as in LENGTHY lengthy. theres juuust a lot of text for three/four pages straight and i heavily recall the creator not even liking these sections. i get why.
i dont exactly.. mind it, in the end, though. these feel easily skippable but theyre probably here for context for some moments in the comic.
theres also the mentions of ah oohs, which, if you dont know, covet hiss is one, and my biggest worry is that the webcomic might fall into the hole of "being transphobic about covet hiss".. maybe thankfully, it wont.
anyway, bad things are gonna happen.
REAAAAALLY bad..
and then makotons boyfriend is dead. see what i mean?
i might not mention it again, but the upgraded art and general artstyle for the comic is stellar. everyone has probably sang their praises, but like, its the style of patapon done in an expressive way and i really enjoy looking at every panel.
see? even makotons traumatized eye looks good!
onto the story though, theres actually a small change that i feel like is an actually good change. and, well,
the most obvious change is that, in the updated version, makoton doesnt even say ANYTHING. even if the older one is very more close to canon, i feel like this actually works more for the story.
he just watched his boygirlfriend die, and he just runs away without a single word. i mean, it isnt super amazing, but its a good change.
rather than watch the patapons suffer through the Hell Desert, the comic just cuts to gong and makoton.. alongside beetleton and spiderton.
but this scene isnt about THOSE stupid bugs its about makoton getting full of RAGE and MISERY and SPIokay not spite. DEPRESSION AND EVERY HORRIBLE THING
okay, i have to stop joking, but this is also a good scene/pair of panels. sometimes toot a loot adds in scenes that works better for a comic than a game, and i really like that decision. even if here it just boils down to "gong and his pals plan stuff and makotons just there" and i cant really say anything else exceeept..
BEETLETON LINES!!!!!!!!!!! dont ask why im so excited about this, and, okay he isnt that much in the prologue sadly, but hes very in character. i love it more than you think.
and i do have more to say! sorry about that. but the sad thing is that this part of the prologue never really finished. it was skipped off, or something of the sort, and cut to the second game. its an understandable choice, but we dont get to see much of beetleton OR of kharma. wished we could see her.
and despite beetleton being the one to be mentioned here, the first zigoton general that bothers to say "hey, fuck you!" isss..
oh yeah i forgot about this part
i dont think its BAD to clarify, i just got excited thinking of a handsome... sexy man.. but basically, ubo bon is here, pan pakapon is here, and i really like how ubo pon holds pan pakapon like a babybird before the patapons are attacked.
pan-tastic indeed..
and how the patapons just hide in ubo bon. it makes me wish the minigame guys (or patapookas?) were more active in the actual story..
but this isnt about THOSE lame LOSERS! its about..
my wife. my beautiful wife. so beautiful and joyous. so sinister and cruel. large ego. loves tanks and horses. hes everything i love. the worst autboy you could meet.
..okay, well, uh, i like him a lot. and i really like this scene. its just my bias hitting me, but compared to the two times that beetleton had screentime in the first game.. well, you might just mess up spidertons character.
personally, though? i think hes done perfectly here. with what else there is of spiderton, the only appearance hes ever had, its VERY in line for him to just be mocky and possibly take part in making the windmill.
my favorite thing about this part of the prologue is that the two other zigoton generals are more involved.. yknow, spiderton and beetleton. gong was pretty much in most missions and i feel like one of the patapons with the most appearances next to meden and hatapon. there was hardly enough of them, but at least people could STILL pull from their personalities..
i just like spiderton a lot. how cocky he is. and i guess hes gonna be cocky forever, because after hatapon leaves and talks to meden- thats basically the end of this prologue.
before i switch to the second part, i dont know if this would count as a "webcomic wishlist", but i really want to see spiderton again within the actual story. but im not sure if hes dead like beetleton and became a demon, or hes just.. alive, somehow. gongs alive and that isnt ever explained canonically i recall. but i dont know where the webcomic is ever gonna go, or if its ever gonna show more of spiderton OR beetleton.. but its just a hope.
id talk about a certain character related to this topic, but, not for now.. i have donchaka to talk about!
now we're onto donchaka, and its A LOT more longer. maybe because it actually has hero in it, and shes like.. in the third game, which is also important for some events in toot a loot i FEEL, so..
this is also an actually finished prologue, which is another reason why its.. much longer. i dont mind though, because it actually focuses on the karmens here and there.
skipping on when hero is freed from the rock (because i dont have anything else to say about it, but its good) and onto this. compared to the actual game where hero is kind of just.. given a name, theres a lot more dialogue here such as this.
he also has a little more to say, obviously, but still follows canon dialogue. his name is also jako in this one! so il call her that.
considering a certain piece of dialogue in the third prologue (if someone thats reading this actually gets to that), i WILL talk a little more about this.. but you sure dont have a choice at all, jako!
but the games events happen, they fight a dodonga, and they get the mater sprout back. nothing else to really even say here except gong! hey gong! nice to meet you gong!
and, as a reminder for this entire blog entry, il be referring to akumapons (the purple scorpion guys in the third game) as akumatans. it just makes more sense to me that the prefix for the word is -tan, considering kuwagattan.. alright? thats it.
now thats out of the way, lets talk about the akumatans. theyre barely in the prologue, and really, they dont add much to the story of patapon it feels? thats my hot take of the patapon series, but i think just putting the second half of the game into just a few panels that just go "by the way, these guys exist and the patapons fought them" is.. a little reasonable for a prologue.
DESPITE WHAT PEOPLE SAY, the karmens are a lot more important to the patapon story. at least i think so, but considering ormen karmen- leaving him out or erasing him just straight up doesnt make the patapon plot happen. they'd still be in patapole or something.
but i said its a reasonable decision because, outside of karmen focus (and i havent said it but i really love that decision), it makes a nice half of the game until you even see ormen karmen and his three generals. its also a prologue, so all else you can probably do is just make two or so pages of stuff that happened in the game and call it a day. the dark one (or ragewolf) is supposedly coming back though in the main story, and theres already some focus here and there ABOUT makoton and him becoming a demon much later on.. so, i dont have much else to say, but i get it, and i actually dont really care much. i probably worded it badly.
the art is ALWAYS stellar, too, especially here. who knew makoton still had a red eye under that mask, though..
the panel that this comes from IS taped onto my wall though. its like, a poster, but also not. just something to point out.
but NOW we're at the karmens!! and there IS a new scene with them, but im.. a little more mixed on this. their entire convo being here though is wonderful, at least for me.
i also really like hukmens minor design changes, such as the "fluff" (not sure if it WAS fluff in the first place) being changed to gray on there. it makes hukmen stand a little more out and sort of not meshing with the rest of his design. although, hukmen has the staff he has in the main artwork however, and NOT the heavenly staff he has in the actual game.. its a little more iconic, i guess.
and then some poor karmens get beat the hell out of.. im so sorry karmene. i love you karmene. i will give them all little kisses on their foreheads and give them big lollipops so they can run into the playground and have so much fun and joy.
..anyway, ormen wakes up, and most of his dialogue in this series is actually mixed with some original stuff (i think)? and this scene is a nice example of it!
rather than just fighting, ormen just stops the battle and decides to just have a little chat.. for a little while.
dont you know that the princess is your love interest jako? dont be stupid!
..and originally had a small thing here, but it took me like a minute to figure out that ormen probably said that out of some sort of spite? trickery or something? itd work for him, but my mind is just mush to realize things.
during this, theres some panels with meden and.. uh, hatapon? i dont know if its him or not, but that aside, i think this decision is good enough to explain ormen karmens entire entire deal by mushing them together.
if she were a human, she'd look like the oldest grandma you could meet. but shes an eyeball, so, it doesnt.. matter.
ormen karmen too! but this is gonna be more of a personal bias (and not against the creator) but im nooot a big fan of the detail of priestess meden being older than ormen karmen. i cant really even explain why, but il.. get onto it later.
also, the patapon in those panels with meden isnt hatapon, actually!
y'see, he's got a green tint in his eyes.. thank almighty thats there. (he also just reminds me of a cat here, honestly)
also i feel like you probably arent meant to question how their mustache is connected to their pupil so il just point this out and say nothing more
and not sure if jako actually knew that ormen trapped him under that rock or he just remembered that ormen did. that might be made clear though, anyway, and i just have a baby brain.
jako doesnt know about the princess though, and ormen gives an offer to go to the pata-pole capital and "maybe" he'd tell him.. although shes just gonna be shown that huh. arent you ormen cockmen.
but he accepts it, and we just cut to jako, meden, and hatapon talking about it. guess ormen karmen fucked off after that. and what a nice and polite megapon..
damsel in distress... woooooo..... yeaaaahhhh.........
pushing that aside though (and the thing i just mentioned is more of like a general gripe i have with the actual games, not this comic) i think those panels are neat and how the patapons princesses silhouette is within those white panels. it looks stellar and i like it, and how the mater trees glowing.. orbs seem to go along with it.
then game events happen. they use the zigoton catapult to break the painful wall the karmens built (you know, the one in that despair level or something) and them
THE KARMENS! THE KARMENS! THE KARMEN GENERALS AAAAAAHHHHHHHHH
okay, its a short thing with them, but the arts good and i like it a lot AND the zugagang too everything is so beautiful.. and i had to check their levels (the ones you fight them one by one in) and apparently both nomen and kimen both say "give me a taste of your power!" and i got it mixed up. those two didnt really know what else to say to the patapons, huh? thank god they dont die. thank god thats not a sex innuendo. i just like this a lot :]
but now the patapon army is at.. pata-pole.. woaaahh.. the palace specifically.. i wonder whaat could happeeen..
theres also the unused patapon house in the background.. i wish they added houses into the first game and you could see your units doing their own thing sometimes; but i could dream.
i am soooooo ready
before i just get into these pages (and the final pages, too) il just point out that some of the patapon units remind me of the uberheroes.
these two!! although the dragon fellow doesnt have like, a gun, like cannogabang, they still remind me of that guy and pyokorider.
i dont know if thats intentional or not however, but if its a reference, thats sweet!
anyway, instead of being told answers, hes shooown answers.. clever arent you ormen?
maybe he wasnt the one to cause all these visions of patapons dying in patapole, though. guess its haunted and ormen just felt funny. maybe he just felt funny all the time. (theres an actual reason why, im just tryna be funny)
and that dekapon.. heeeeeyyy..
theyre ghosts, idiot.
GHOSTS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
while hero is casually being told he was the fault for, something, hatapon is an idiot and listens to this patapon thats just there. but at the same time theyve never been been here, and were never warned that patapole had ghosts or something.
sure she is.
its not really touched on again, and she isnt ACTUALLY dead, but me too hatapon. me too.
then we cut back to jako and every vision shes having ever, and just a fair warning.. il be talking about the canon game again.
this comic goes with that ormen tricked jako into breaking the egg, but all the dialogue seems to.. suggest otherwise? that jako (or hero in the og game) broke the egg themselves. i dont know if theres any other proof that says otherwise, and ormen says "nothing will erase your sin for destroying the world!"
see? so i dont know if ormen tricked hero to do it or hero did it on their own. so. whodunnit?
back to jako and friends, hes facing his last flashback ghost with obvious love interest. i promise il be nice to her. shes very cute okay im sorry slinky
not gonna lie though, ormen drawn here is amazing and how his attacks are.. or rendered? vectored? probably vector works.
i dont even know if you or jako did it ormen. are you blaming the eyeballs for this
and now jako saves the day! id mention a joke but, i actually like this scene and how it cuts back to the beginning of the game of him just picking up the giant boulder.. now hes doing it with a hammer. i love callbacks. and a very minor thing, but i really like the small lines when ormen realizes something is wrong.. its a SMIDGE cute.
but i also have to mention what he says originally. it uh made me loose my mind for a while, but i understand why it was cut out LOL.. its a fucking whacking joke. of course hero would say this.
and then jako beats the SHIT out of ormen, pretty awesomely i might add, and its.. well, its deserved. it would probably be MORE deserved if the "oh princess.. you are destined to be my queen!" quote was kept in. thank god ormen isnt a freak here.
just an ass. big respects to the decision to remove that, because all his OTHER lines are kept in except that.. its just icky and doesnt really. add anything to the canon plot.
also, ormen probably didnt get beaten up. or die. he just teleported. aaand you know whaaaat THAAAAAT MEAAAAAANS
HES GONNA BE IN TOOT A LOOT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! okay maybe he wont but who knows
jako probably didnt hear that there was a demon summoned here, to be honest. (also wasnt jako meant to say "oh." there?)
AND WE'RE CLOSE FOR ME TO END THIS. AAAAHH anyway after the patapons fought dettankarmens theyre finally at the world egg? wasnt it shattered? ormen probably rebuilt it. you gotta trap seals in there!
speaking of seals.. slinkys here! thats her name. its meant to mean something sexy but i like to think it refers to how she moves like a slink sometimes. boing. boing.. boing... boing....
she is also just, really cute, at least to me. shes one of my favorites for made-up reasons though, but shes just nice.. so kind.. maybe even a little funny and silly and goofyu ahndmked;flkhcjkmdmfnhbnjmkll
OH MY GOD KARMENSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS
okay, excitement aside, im not the biggest fan of this scene.. for uh, biased and headcanon reasons. i wouldnt know what else to call it, but i made this loong post to talk abut my thoughts abut toot a loot.. so heres my thoughts on these.
firstly is the karmens just being.. patapons. with masks. i have a few thoughts and most of them go "well, *I* think-" but if the webcomic wants to go in this way? sure. i think a good pro is that, at least the karmens keep their masks on after this scene. i wouldnt really like it if they kept those off. the "without ormen karmen, we are finally free" line also irks me..
i have to clarify though, that this is mainly my bias, and il be pulling out the "well, *I* think-" direction here, so.. i personally think the karmens have a much different culture, and if they were the same build as patapons- their culture is incredibly different from theirs. not even sure if karmens arent even religious in some aspects, but they ALL wear masks which means its something important to them.
what im saying there is that im glad the karmens dont just keep their masks off after this. i wouldnt be a big fan if ormen was the one who made them put the masks off.. i dont think he did here, to clarify. just a "what if".
they probabkly just took their masks off to make the patapons trust them more, and show how a little "similar" they are. so i dont know if that ramble was worth it, really.
next is onto makomen.. which i actually like this protryal too! they have TWO fucking guns and i dont know why, but its great.
my very small con is how makomen says his best friend died.. but also bias. it doesnt even matter so let me just get onto the next thing..
it isnt really about the dialogue itself, but it feels like this is being treated for.. more of a joke? at least until hatapon goes "hey, this reminds me of that one makoton guy!" where it gets serious. either way though, hukmen being called out for just being selfish?
makomen.. sort of has a point (minus calling the patapons "bloodthirsty monsters"- which, fun fact, hukmen called the patapons that in the old version!), but at the same time its war. hukmen probably had to be goodie goodie with the patapons or else more karmens would die pointlessly, just like aimen. and without ormen, hukmen can now actually just put a truce on without more war to happen. it feels.. a little complicated, and i like that, even if it probably isnt. but i like that. just not the art here, maybe that gives off the vibe..
and this just feels mean.
and nomen wouldnnnnnt say thaaaaaaaat (unless they bonded over something i dont know about or hasnt been shown yet. idk)
okay, now thats done (and sorry if i got things wrong..) i can continueeee with thissss! its just the dialogue when princess first talks to hero probably after just hundreds of years of not being able too.
and he probably hasnt slept for a few days, too. he can just nap jussstt a littleee
and hey gong! hi gong! you brought your friends gong? wonderful. i love friends. theyre so silly and happy and joyous looking.. jokes aside, the scrapped generals are reused as the new generals for this comic. so thats nice!
guess someone already told her about gong, huh?
we also get some context. not really any context for why gong is suddenly back (maybe he never died in the first games prologue??) but why hes a lord in the first place.. kharma just resigned and it went to gong. I Really Wonder Why!
gong also still has respect for kharma, which fits. i dont think kharma would ever be talking to anyone soon though, but shes alive!
and then this prologue ends with jako being a snarkass. thanks jako! i dont think gong would bother to know your name.
and oh yeah! theyre going together.. sure. uh huh. mmh huh. yeah.
thats the donchaka prologue for toot a loot. as you can see, its actually finished, so its longer than the last one (which was. unfinished. duh).. but theres the third one!
the third prologues pages arent remastered yet, and its TECHNICALLY still going.. so il just talk about the old ones. il probably have to blur out the old name that jako had before.. onto the finale!
princess is busy talking with gong (and, well, basically gong isnt going on the trip) and i think medens distaste is veeeery clear. its a understandable distaste. id give gong that look too.
oh theyre gonna need a lot of help soon gong
and then meden is a bit of a bitch, but its understandable considering what the zigotons haaave done.. but they have to be goodie goodie with each other or something, or else shit will start.
probably a good thing that the soon-to-be ruler of the patapons wasnt there for the entire thing about like.. demon selling.. lots of dead zigotons.. anooother demon.. yeah just the first game in general.
princess here gives off the vibe that she is VERY understanding though. probably after the entire first prologue, she'd probably be an actually good ruler who makes good decisions for ONCE
love you princess. never change
i have a lot of mixed feelings about heroprincess, but i DO like it most parts.. and the way toot a loot protrays it here is actually pretty cute and it makes me wish that we could see more of the two before The Box.
oh yeah did i mention that box
sorry jako. the box is just really big and threatening that it.. scared the horse ):
all jokes aside, this entire section of the comic? before jako becomes an uberhero? its fucking stellar, and one of my favorite parts. the way meden looks up at the box, while all the patapons are off to open hell itself..
how meden just cries out when its too late for that, and jako?
all that dread for hell itself to be released.. again. thanks jako!
really though, im not joking that its my favorite. the next scenes are also a standout, but the way it just leads to the box being broken is.. augh, i love it. how the box is so obviously not to be opened, but the patapons do it anyway- because, hey, it might be IT!
and if you already played the first game, you really cant do anything else to stop it except watch.
after that, everyone in the army just turns to stone. except for hatapon of course, because hes immune, but.. oh jebus.
sorry meden, but youre gonna die for the SECOND time! or maybe tenth or something
jako obviously goes to help save princess and get the HELL out of there, but uhhh..
..yeah. thats gotta be traumatizing in some way.
after jako just.. gives up, hatapon calls out the rest of whatever other friends he has.
but nobody came.
..okay that probably wouldve worked better if the prologues third parts came out and i didnt have to black out the old names out of worry, but uh, yeah, thats how it starts! and like i said before, its fucking stellar.
i havent exactly talked about princess turning to stone, but that just hurts how shes crying out for jakos name before just.. turning into stone infront of their eyes. theres not even anything else to do now except just.. stand there, for hatapons case.
after experiencing all of THAT, hatapon questions himself and earthend. i promise it isnt a mistake, hatapon. just.. just wait..
because someone DOES come!!!!!!!!
and then it just sort of becomes mixed. i would say, "why is hatapon saying the biggest garden gnome collection here? those were his friends! his family! theyre all sorta dead!" but also its patapon. and, really, this fits how patapon itself is written to a T.
hes so nice.. and kind... id kiss silver hoshipon on the lips..
..sorry. anyway, hatapon is now gonna summon deities to save the patapons! now what would those deities be hmmmm
probably not this loser lmao
..okay, we all know its him. guess he'll be connected to god now.
oh okay thats just a hand alright
..its obvious though that like, im tired enough to not show most of his transformation during this, but its very clearly onto the PSP buttons. thats a nice detail, and i thinnnk its apart of the lore here?
not gonna bother more about it, but hey! hes.. fandomable.. now... thats not even funny
oooh i wonder who will this b
AAAHHH YARIDA JUMPSCARE!!!!!!!!!!!!
bad joke aside, yarida tells the entire deal with the uberheroes. aand the line that jako said, about being someones "puppet"..
guess he still doesnt have a choice, huh? and yarida doesnt even ANSWER their question. i wonder if thats gonna be brought up or removed in the remastered version.
..or, well, yarida WAS gonna answer that, but the comic at this point in time went on a hiatus before eventually coming back and being given some remasters. im VERY sure the third prologue will be "remastered" (just swapping out text and all) but that page with yarida and jako? thats it, but im actually fine with waiting.
and, uh.. you probably think im done, right?
WRONG
for the final thing il talk about this webcomic, il be talking about some of the original characters of toot a loot! and uh, dont worry. its just gonna be stuff thats publically available.
and i wont be talking about the characters that WERE in the comic, but then got removed. dont exactly.. feel cozy about talking about them.
first off is tenkopon! i uh, dont know anything about him, but il talk about their design.
tenkopons design is VERY recognizable, and also very charming. the feathers onto him give a connection to meden, and they probably DO have a connection to meden in some way.. and, thats a fact. i think.
he also has body markings and is more.. blue. thats probably gonna come up later, but i dont know how (but im excited for it!)
rukastune is up next, and i also know next to nothing. il just say stuff about their design..
the mask design is VERY stellar and i love the new weapons for this uberhero. the colorscheme reminds me of tenkopon now that im thinking of it, but thats probably.. just the orange. im also reminded of makomen (because they both got guns) so i wonder where else that might go..
speaking of the mask design, it reminds me of a cobra AND a butterfly. thats about it, though.
ignore meden and tenkopon in the back, but kasairu! i also know jack shit about them but their design is what i feel.. lesss on?
i just think the designs okay, it reminds me of something i might make, although the weapon feels like theres more to be desired. i dont really have much to say, but id like to learn more about them.
and finally, these two! kuwagatton and uhh.. zhythe. im not even sure if thats the name, but i wont say much about them.
onto kuwagatton though, apparently his name came from a piece of official artwork. hes technically unused, but probably got reworked into beetleton in the final game; and toot a loot very much loves to use unused stuff.. which i dont mind.
although only compliant is that kuwagatton is very close to kuwagatTAN. the a is just replaced, and i feel like someone might mix it up easily. kuwagatton is also supposed to be beetletons japanese name..? i dont know.
in the tags of the deviantart post these images are from, beetleton is tagged onto it. guess its the helm design, but hes probably related to beetleton in some way.
FINAL THOUGHTS
..and thats it. im finally done. it just took a few days, actually, but this feels PAINFULLY long.. if anyone has actually gotten this far, i love you, and im sorry i made you read so much of my thoughts.
if you want a tldr of what i think of toot a loot though? im excited to see where it goes, and although i disagree with some takes, i DO think some characters are written very well. i didnt mention hukmen last time, but hes stellar.
and the art is amazing, and close to canon. its pretty much the highlight of this entire webcomic for me personally.. said it before, but some of toot a loots artwork is taped to my wall. i wont take it off.. ever...
..but uh, im just gonna go to bed now. thats all i have to say until the comic continues again.
sweet dreams! and please dont spend 5/6 hours writing your thoughts down like i did