The children of South Park become obsessed with an animated Japanese
anime cartoon,
Chinpokomon (a parody of
Pokémon). The cartoon features overt
embedded marketing and
subliminal messaging to encourage the purchase and consumption of
Chinpokomon-related merchandise. Unbeknownst to the parents,
Chinpokomon products all contain
anti-American sentiments with the aim of
converting American kids to
Japanese child
soldiers.
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 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 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. Kyle's mother
Sheila 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 McCormick in a trance-like state after an
epileptic seizure caused by playing the Chinpokomon 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 plastic
glow-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 a
punching bag. The boys, uninterested, call both the bike and action figure "
gay". As the boys march through the town with 'Emperor Hirohito',
President Bill Clinton will not act against the invasion as he too has fallen for the "incredibly large penis" trick. Finally, the parents decide to use
reverse psychology and pretend 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 will be following the crowd, so he prepares to leave in a fighter jet to bomb Pearl Harbor. A heartfelt and contradictory speech by
Stan 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 disgusts
Eric Cartman while Stan and Kyle laugh. ==Production==