Chinpokomon

"Chinpokomon"

"Chinpokomon" is episode 41 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.

Plot

The children of South Park become obsessed with an animated Japanese cartoon, Chinpokomon. The cartoon features overt embedded marketing to encourage consumption of Chinpokomon related merchandise. Unbeknownst to the parents, Chinpokomon products all contain anti-American sentiments, such as an exhortation to "DESTROY THE EVIL AMERICAN POWER" that is received when children pull a string connected to a representation of Pikachu.

Kyle is originally oblivious to the fad, and as its popularity increases he reluctantly attempts to keep up-to-date to avoid ridicule from his friends. Unfortunately, the merchandise lineup is so extensive that he's always one step behind. Meanwhile, the boys make plans to attend the official Chinpokomon camp - which is actually a front for a recruit training boot camp designed by the Japanese Government to train and brainwash the kids into becoming soldiers for an upcoming attack on Pearl Harbor. As the adults start to become aware of the scheme, the Japanese distract them by telling them that Americans have "huge penises" compared to the Japanese - a tactic that works surprisingly well against the male characters.

The parents start to suspect the nonsensical cartoon is dangerous - as "stupidity can be worse than vulgarity and violence" and compare it to Battle of the Network Stars. Sheila Broflofski suggests it is just another harmless fad. This is juxtaposed with the truth of the fad's influence, which has turned the children into brainwashed soldiers and left Kenny in trance-like state after an epileptic seizure caused from playing the Chinpokomon video game.

Becoming increasingly concerned, the parents attempt to diffuse the fad's popularity by trying to manufacture new fads: The "Wild Wacky Action Bike" - a plastic glow-in-the-dark bike that cannot be steered, and "Alabama Man," an abusive, alcoholic, redneck action figure. However, even Alabama Man cannot distract the children's attention away from Chinpokomon.

As the boys march through the town with Emperor Hirohito, even former President Bill Clinton will not act against the invasion as he too has fallen for the "incredibly large penis" trick. Finally, the parents hit upon the idea of using reverse psychology, pretending to be Chinpokomon fans themselves - figuring that whatever they like their children will immediately dislike. The trick works, and all the children except Kyle instantly lose all interest. Kyle claims that if he stops liking Chinpokomon now, he'll be following the crowd, so he prepares to leave in a fighter jet to bomb Pearl Harbor. A heart-felt and contradictory speech by Stan confuses him into reluctantly getting off the plane.

The group decide to avoid fads for a while, and Kenny is discovered to have been dead for some time, as evidenced when his body explodes, unleashing a large number of rats.

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."

Cultural references

The name Chinpokomon was intended to be a parody of Pokémon. The South Park Studios FAQ notes also notes it as a play on the Japanese word for penis (Chin Chin).

External links

• South Park: Chinpokomon synopsis on TV.com
• Chinpokomon at the South Park Studios episode guide