Konnichiwa and Ossu friends! Saikin dō?
In our silly lil game, we sometimes see things pop in that we have no clue as to their Origin. They seem familiar, but we just can’t pinpoint from where. So that is why we decided to make a fun lil reminder out of it. To let you know just Where Did THAT Come From?
So EA decided it’s time for all of us to go around the world or at least to France, Japan, and Brazil in a there’s lots of new stuff for Springfield tourism sort of way that also included a legitimate airport. This walking carpet is super stoked so far. Of course, with new events and a preponderance of items comes my perpetual task of diving into the Best. Show. Ever. and pointing out just where everything comes from in the show. For this round of origins, we’ll be looking at lots of the Japan items including Mount Fuji, Royal Tokyo, Shinto Shrine, Torii Gate, Pagoda, Battling Seizure Robot, America Town, Sumo Stadium, Sakatumi, Osaka Seafood Squid, KTV Building, and Himeji Castle. No surprise… all of these come from the Japan-centric episode… “Thirty Minutes Over Tokyo” (S10:E23).
The Simpsons are going to Japan! It’s all started by Homer losing the family savings for a vacation at a cyber café courtesy of cyber squandering and a Snake robbery… Hello Java Server and a bonus origin!
The Simpsons end up following the savings advice of Chuck Garabedian courtesy of his Mega-Savings Seminar. It’s how you “live a Burt Reynolds lifestyle on a Mac Davis income.” I guess frugal living is better than robbing your neighbors who “live like royalty in their fancy castle. The Simpsons “squeeze every penny” and end up flying mega cheap by not caring where they go. At the Springfield Airport… they swipe mega saver no show seats from the Flanderseses and are off to Tokyo.
Am I alone in wondering what could have happened if Hawaii, France, Transylvania, or Jamaica had worked out for our favorite yellow family? Anyhoo… we see Mount Fuji with our first glimpse of Japan. As someone who lived in the Land of the Rising Sun… I can vouch that the inactive volcano dominates the skyline provided you can get to a place where you can see it.
The Simpsons initially stay at the Royal Tokyo hotel and there’s a reason it is so massive in our games. The panning shot shows it’s super tall.
Fun fact… there’s a couple different hotels in Tokyo this could be… some tall… some not so much. My guess is this was inspired by the Shiodome Tower.
There’s so many places in Japan they could visit… the Imperial Gardens, the Meiji Shrine, the Hello Kitty Factory… one of these should look very familiar in the game complete with a red torii gate.
I just love Homer bursting through tatami walls repeatedly during the episode. It’s in the hotel room that we see several different paintings of Japanese pagodas. It’s also where the family sees the battling seizure robots on the hotel room’s TV which IMHO is one of the most hilarious parts of this epic episode.
Of course… like most Americans… they head to Americatown instead to see “the Japanese take on the club sandwich.” A place where tables are laid out like the United States’ geography and the UCLA Yankee Cola servers act out hilarious American stereotypes. While I have not been to the Tokyo equivalent, Okinawa had an area called American Village this always makes me think of.
From there, Marge, Lisa, Homer and Bart split up and the Simpson men head to a Sumo Stadium where they see Sakatumi fight Nakadowna and are arrested after Homer calls Sakatumi tubby (it’s a glandular condition), wins a match (if chair knock downs count), and then proceeds to insult the Emperor by tossing him into a box of sumo thongs. Poor El Barto and Clobbersaurus…. Misunderstood awful Americans.
At least we get another view of Mount Fuji in their hospitable tatami prison cell. The horror of tea ceremonies, sushi, and matronly geisha is too much for the Simpson men who somehow learn Japanese and the secret of inner peace. How long do you think they were in there?
Marge bails the boys out but unfortunately they’ve run out of money so it’s off to the Osaka Seafood Concern to gut fish for airfare back to Springfield. The squid is part of the company loyalty song. “Knife goes in, guts come out, that’s what Osaka Seafood Concern is all about.” Bart has taken a particular shine to the task and mantra.
Of course, this would be a boring way to solve their money woes and fortunately, the family sees a game show on their work TV (Happy Smile Super Challenge Family Wish Show) which offers a chance to get home provided they are willing to humiliate themselves for the enjoyment of Japanese viewers to do so. It’s off to the KTV Building to fulfill their wish of getting back to Springfield, USA. Fun times with a host voiced by George Takei on a show where ignorance is punished. Pinata shenanigans, a literal lightning round on top of the famous Tokyo Tower, and a volcano!
They win the tickets and head home but not before experiencing “some Gozilla-related turbulence” next to a much smaller version of Himeji Castle. Thankfully Mothra, Gamera, and Rodan were busy fighting each other.
So there you go friends. All the goodness I spotted while re-watching a radical episode about our favorite yellow family going to Japan. I’m sure there was something I missed like the lanterns in the park where Homer makes a origami crane of their last 100,000 yen but this post is fairly comprehensive. Do you like this episode as much as me? Anything in it you’d have rather had besides what we got? Did you buy the premium stuff? Sound off in the comments and happy classy tapping.
Sayonara… TTFN… Wookiee out!