Chinpokomon
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| "Chinpokomon" | |
|---|---|
| South Park episode | |
 The kids in class start to speak Japanese. |
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| Episode no. | Season 3 Episode 10 |
| Written by | Trey Parker |
| Directed by | Trey Parker Eric Stough |
| Production no. | 310 |
| Original airdate | November 3, 1999 |
| Season 3 episodes | |
| South Park – Season 3 April 7, 1999 – January 12, 2000 |
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| ← Season 2 | Season 4 → |
| List of South Park episodes | |
"Chinpokomon" is episode 42 of Comedy Central's animated series South Park. It originally aired on November 3, 1999.
The episode was nominated for an Emmy Award in 2000.[1]
Contents |
[edit] Plot
Cartman sits at home watching his new favorite TV show, the animated Japanese cartoon, Chinpokomon. The show's protagonist dreams of becoming a "Royal Crown Chinpoko Master" and claims that the viewer, a very excited Cartman, can become one too, but only by purchasing Chinpokomon-related merchandise and attending a Chinpokomon-themed training camp. This merchandise ranges from plush dolls to video games, all of which feature not-so-subtle anti-American undertones (e.g. one of the dolls says "Down with America").
All of the boys and girls soon become obsessed with Chinpokomon, except for Kyle who is mercilessly teased as a result and finally begins buying Chinpokomon merchandise just so he will be accepted by his friends. Unfortunately for him, the merchandise lineup is so extensive that he can never manage to get up to date on the latest toys, so just as he buys the most recent toy a new one is released. His parents, meanwhile, are surprised by how much money he's spending on a fad, so they sit him down and try to explain that fads are meaningless. However, feeling sympathetic and at the same time making sure he gets some merchandise for Ike as well, they give him all the money he needs.
Meanwhile, the boys make plans to attend the official Chinpokomon camp, which is in reality the front for a military boot camp designed by the Japanese Government to train and brainwash the kids into soldiers for its upcoming attack on Pearl Harbor. Whenever somebody is close to realizing the Japanese are conspiring against America, the Japanese distract them by telling them that Americans have "huge penises" compared to the Japanese. Kenny, in the meantime, has an epileptic seizure from playing the Chinpokomon video game (which is all about bombing Pearl Harbor). The seizure leaves Kenny in a kind of zombie or trance state in that he still walks around and does what the other kids do but he doesn't speak anymore nor does he initiate anything himself. It is not made clear in the episode but some time after the seizure rats start living in him (presumably eating him from the inside) - he actually dies in the end of the episode when the rats burst out from his body.
Stan's parents watch a Chinpokomon video tape of Stan's in an effort to understand why the children are so obsessed, and are confused and dismayed by the content. The show is mostly nonsensical shouting and poor animation, as well as going from one emotion from another (such as the protagonist at first encouraging his Chinpokomon to fight better, then suddenly feeling sad and commenting that his Chinpokomon's species is so rare that it is unlikely it will find a companion). They start to suspect the Japanese toy-makers are up to something, and as Sharon points out, stupidity can be worse than vulgarity and violence. So, they inform the other parents and show them the tape. Sheila Broflovski suggests it is just another harmless fad and points out that she has been able to use the camp as a reward for her son to do all his chores.
However, the parents soon discover the truth behind Chinpokomon when the kids start acting strangely (they answer questions in Japanese, refer to Mr. Garrison and Mr. Hat as "Garrison-san" and "Hat-san," and make anime-like faces). Determined to prevent their sons and daughters from participating in the Japanese bombing campaign, the parents of South Park attempt to divert their attention with another fad. They first try the "Wild Wacky Action Bike"- a glow-in-the-dark bike that cannot be steered, which in the ad results in the rider slamming into a truck. Getting no results, they turn to "Alabama Man," an abusive, alcoholic, redneck action figure, which according to the ad makes children who play with him develop a profane vocabulary, beat their wives, and want to be just like him. However, even Alabama Man cannot distract the children's attention away from Chinpokomon.
The boys march through the town with the Japanese leaders while the parents try to sort out the problem and say that the Japanese are conspiring against them. Once again, however, they are distracted by the "Americans have such large penises" trick. They tell President Bill Clinton what the Japanese plan to do, but he won't do anything because he has fallen for the "incredibly large penis" trick as well. The parents hurriedly hit upon the idea of using reverse psychology, pretending to like Chinpokomon themselves, figuring that whatever they like their children will immediately dislike. The trick works, and all the children except Kyle instantly lose all interest in Chinpokomon. Kyle claims that if he stops liking Chinpokomon now, he'll be following the crowd, so he prepares to leave in his fighter jet to bomb Pearl Harbor anyway. Stan helps him realize that he's just confused, and he reluctantly gets off the plane.
[edit] Fake commercials
This episode is one of a handful of South Park episodes to feature live action video. Multiple times in the episode, a live action Japanese woman was shown. And also, two fake commercials were filmed for the episode featuring the fictional products of the "Wild Wacky Action Bike" and "Alabama Man".
[edit] Cultural References
- The Chinpokomon are a parody of Pokémon. In the DVD commentary, the name is declared to be a reference to the Japanese word for penis: "Chin Chin".[2]
[edit] Reception
"Chinpokomon" is rated as the #25 on "Top 27 episodes" by Comedy Central.[citation needed]
[edit] References
- ^ IMDb Emmy Awards: 2000
- ^ "South Park FAQ Oct 08". http://www.southparkstudios.com/fans/faq/archives.php?id=8771. South Park Studios. Accessed Nov 19, 2008
[edit] External links
- South Park: Chinpokomon synopsis on TV.com
- Chinpokomon at the South Park Studios episode guide
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South Park episodes | Followed by “Starvin' Marvin in Space” |
