Chinpokomon

"Chinpokomon"

"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.

Plot

Cartman is at home eating chicken tenders while berating his cat and watching his new favorite TV show, Chinpokomon, a parody of Pokémon. The show's protagonist (who, despite having blond hair, is a parody of Ash Ketchum) dreams of becoming a Royal Crown Chinpoko Master and says that the viewer watching can become one too by purchasing Chinpokomon-related merchandise, which range from plush dolls to video games, and finally by attending a Chinpokomon-themed camp. The Chinpokomon video game also causes Kenny to suffer a seizure, similar to an incident where an episode of Pokémon entitled "Digital Soldier Porygon" had to be banned after it caused a large number of Japanese viewers, especially those with epilepsy, to experience seizures and convulsions.

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, the merchandise lineup is so extensive that he can never manage to get up to date on the latest toys, as a new item is released as soon as he buys the most recent product. His parents, as well, are surprised by how much money he's spending, try to explain that fads are just meaningless, but, feeling sympathetic and, at the same time, making him promise to get one for Ike as well, give him as much money as 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 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.

Sharon and Randy Marsh, Stan's parents, watch a Chinpokomon video tape of Stan's and are confused and dismayed by the content. An example is the protagonist saying: "Lambtron! you are losing the battle of your life!" and later, "I am sad now, because Lambtron must be very lonely seeing as there are so few Lambtrons in the world, will he ever find a companion?" Stan's parents start to suspect the Japanese makers are up to something, as their show is portrayed as being generally unintelligent, and as Sharon points out, stupidity often has worse effects then vulgarity and violence. So, they inform the other parents and show them the tape. Sheila suggests it is just another harmless fad that helps her get responsibilities out of Kyle in return for promising to give send him to the camp.

The boys' parents eventually discover the truth behind Chinpokomon after the kids start acting strange in class (Mr Garrison keeps getting answers to questions in Japanese and he and Mr Hat are constantly called "Garrison-san" and "Hat-san") and are determined to prevent their sons and daughters from participating in the Japanese bombing campaign by diverting their attention with another fad. Neither the "Wild Wacky Action Bike" (a glow in the dark bike thats main selling point is that it is impossible to ride. In the commercial for it the child can't steer it and slams into a truck), nor "Alabama Man" (an action figure that bowls, drinks beer heavily and abuses his wife), appeal to the boys. No suitable substitute can be found.

The boys later rally through the town with the Japanese leaders. The parents try to sort out the problem and say that the Japanese are conspiring against them, but, once again, they are distracted by the "Americans have such large penises" trick again. Then President Bill Clinton tells them what the Japanese plan to do, but that 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 pretending to like Chinpokomon themselves and encouraging their children's interest in the show. The boys near-instantly lose all interest in Chinpokomon as a result, except for Kyle, who thinks everyone is still into the fad and becomes the object of ridicule once again when he attempts to discuss Chinpokomon with his friends and leave in his Kamikaze fighter jet to bomb Pearl Harbor. Through some talks with Stan, Kyle realizes he's just too confused, and gets off the plane.

The end scene has the boys at the bus stop discussing the newest fad with Kyle saying that he's no longer into any fads. Cartman attempts to chase away some rats from Kenny's comatose body when Kenny's body bursts open and rats come out, much to the amusement of the kids.

Trivia

• The episode's title, Chinpokomon, is a portmanteau word originating from the words chinpoko and Pokémon. Chinpoko (along with chinpo and pokochin) is a children's euphemism for "penis" in Japanese, much like "wee-wee" in American English. Thus, Chinpokomon can also be interpreted as "penis monster."
• This episode was never aired in Japan, nor released in the Japanese version of South Park's Season 3 boxset.
• In this episode, one of the Japanese characters is named Hirohito. This was the name of the Emperor Shōwa who was in power in Japan during the attack on Pearl Harbor.
• The ending of Independence Day is referenced near the end of the episode, in the reaction to finding a method to defeat the enemy ("tell them how to bring those sons of bitches down") and that the message was delivered in morse code. This was also done in the episode "Something Wall-Mart This Way Comes."
• This episode is one of a handful of South Park episodes to feature live action video. This is both during "Chinpokomon" episodes featuring a live action Japanese woman, and during the scene where the boys are shown commercials for fictional toy products "Wild Wacky Action Bike" and "Alabama Man", also created by Parker & Stone.
• During the commercial for "Wild Wacky Action Bike", when the boy crashes into a parking cone, you can hear the someone laughing from behind the camera.
• This episode aired days before Pokémon: The First Movie was released in theaters.

See also

• Good Times with Weapons, an 8th season episode with a parody of martial arts anime.
• South Park Is Gay!, another episode which featured a fad followed by the boys, except Kyle.

Kenny's death

• Has a seizure while playing the new Chinpokomon video game, but doesn't officially die until near the end when rats burst from his body (though presumably they had long since eaten his internal organs).

External links

• South Park: Chinpokomon synopsis on TV Tome