Chinpokomon
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| “Chinpokomon” | |
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| South Park episode | |
 Kyle watches the other boys playing the Chinpokomon video game. |
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| Episode no. | Season 3 Episode 42 |
| 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's title 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,[citation needed] much like "wee-wee" in American English. Thus, Chinpokomon can also be interpreted as "penis monster" and Chinpoko Master translates to "penis master."[original research?] This episode was never aired in Japan, nor released in the Japanese version of South Park's Season 3 boxset.
The episode was nominated for an Emmy Award in 2000.[1]
Contents |
[edit] Plot
The episode starts with Cartman at home watching his new favorite TV show from Japan, Chinpokomon, a parody of Pokémon. The show's protagonist 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 (the video game triggers a seizure in Kenny) and by attending a Chinpokomon-themed training camp.
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, 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 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.
Sharon and Randy Marsh, Stan's parents, watch a Chinpokomon video tape of Stan's and are confused and dismayed by the content. They 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 than 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 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 math questions in Japanese and is constantly addressed as "Garrison-san" by the children) 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 that cannot be steered, which results in the child riding it to slam into a truck), nor "Alabama Man" (an abusive, alcoholic action figure that is shown to be a bad role model, as the two boys playing with him have developed a profane vocabulary and want to be just like Alabama Man) can divert the boys' attention away from Chinpokomon. 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. 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 using reverse psycology, 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 fighter jet to bomb Pearl Harbor. Through some talks with Stan, Kyle realizes he's just 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.
[edit] Kenny's Death
Kenny 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. Kenny's seizure is a reference to an incident where an episode of Pokémon entitled "Electric Soldier Porygon" was banned after it caused a large number of Japanese viewers, especially those with epilepsy, to experience seizures and convulsions due to a scene with a lot of bright lights that flashed at a fast pace.
[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] References
[edit] External links
- South Park: Chinpokomon synopsis on TV.com
| Preceded by “Jewbilee” |
South Park episodes | Followed by “Starvin' Marvin in Space” |
