| "Chinpokomon" | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| South Park episode | |||
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| Episodeno. | Season 3 Episode 11 | ||
| Directed by | |||
| Written by | Trey Parker | ||
| Production code | 310 | ||
| Original air date | November 3, 1999 (1999-11-03) | ||
| Episode chronology | |||
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| South Parkseason 3 | |||
| List of episodes | |||
"Chinpokomon" is the eleventh-aired and the tenth-produced episode of thethird season of the American animated television seriesSouth Park. It originally aired onComedy Central in the United States on November 3, 1999, making it the 42nd episode of the series. During this episode, the kids become fascinated with the latest fad: a fictionalJapaneseanime series calledChinpokomon and its related products, such as video games and collectible toys. It is a parody of the popularPokémon media franchise. "Chinpokomon" was written bySouth Park co-creatorTrey Parker, who also co-directed the episode together with animation directorEric Stough. The episode was nominated for anEmmy Award in 2000.[1]
The children of South Park become obsessed with an animated Japaneseanime cartoon,Chinpokomon (a parody ofPokémon). The cartoon features overtembedded marketing andsubliminal messaging to encourage the purchase and consumption ofChinpokomon-related merchandise. Unbeknownst to the parents,Chinpokomon products all containanti-American sentiments with the aim ofconverting American kids toJapanese childsoldiers.
Kyle Broflovski 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. However, the merchandise lineup is so extensive that he is always one step behind. Meanwhile, the boys make plans to attend the officialChinpokomon camp, which is actually a front for a recruit training boot camp designed by theJapanese government to train and brainwash the kids into becoming soldiers for an upcoming attack onPearl 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 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 toBattle of the Network Stars. Kyle's motherSheila 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 leftKenny McCormick in a trance-like state after anepileptic seizure caused by playing theChinpokomon video game.
Becoming increasingly concerned, the parents attempt to defuse the fad's popularity by trying to manufacture new fads: The "Wild Wacky Action Bike", an abnormal plasticglow-in-the-dark bicycle contraption that cannot be steered, and "Alabama Man", an abusive,alcoholic,redneck action figure that comes with a bowling alley playset and a redneck wife to use as apunching bag. The boys, uninterested, call both the bike and action figure "gay".
As the boys march through the town with 'Emperor Hirohito',PresidentBill Clinton will not act against the invasion as he too has fallen for the "incredibly large penis" trick. Finally, the parents decide to usereverse psychology and pretend to beChinpokomon 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 likingChinpokomon now, he will be following the crowd, so he prepares to leave in a fighter jet to bomb Pearl Harbor. A heartfelt and contradictory speech byStan Marsh confuses him into reluctantly getting off the jet.
The group decides to avoid fads for a while, and Kenny is discovered to have been dead for some time once his body explodes, unleashing a large number of rats. This outcome disgustsEric Cartman while Stan and Kyle laugh.
Thechinpo orchinpoko element inChinpokomon is actually a vulgarJapanese word for "penis". According to the DVD commentary, the Japanese man who repeats the "incredibly large penis" trick is based on someone the creators met inBeijing. South Park animator Junichi Nishimura, who Stone met in college, voices the Emperor in this episode.[2] Saki Miata played the Japanese woman in the in-universe commercial.
Later, when asked if they would mock thePokémon Go craze in a 2016 interview, Parker responded "We did, in 1999."[3]
DVD Verdict described it as "perhaps the most devastating parody of the seemingly endless pop culture craziness of forced Japan fads", noting its jokes about the quality ofPokémon games, toys and anime.[4] ElderGeek described the episode as "a very ironic take on children’s trends and how debilitating they can be".[5] Adam Crane of PixelatedPop ranked the episode 23rd in a top 25 greatest episodes list in 2012.[6] ScreenJunkies wrote "The blindness of parents, the zombie-like children following a fad, and the irrational paranoia of Americans who fear the Japanese simply because they make the occasional incomprehensible TV show were all parodied to perfection".[7] IGN said "'Chinpokomon' was a great rip on the wholePokemon craze with a lot of crude jokes about Asian male anatomy".[8]
The A.V. Club noted that this episode wasSouth Park's first "fad episode", in which characters become obsessed with a recent trend and suffer consequences, before changing their minds and dropping it.[9]
