Japanese Toilet (South Park)
| "Japanese Toilet (South Park)" | |
|---|---|
| South Park episode | |
| Episode no. | Season 26 Episode 3 |
| Directed by | Trey Parker |
| Written by | Trey Parker |
| Production code | 2603 |
| Original air date | March 1, 2023 |
"Japanese Toilet" is the third episode of the twenty-sixth season of the American animated television series South Park, and the 322nd episode of the series overall. Written and directed by series co-creator Trey Parker, it premiered on Comedy Central on March 1, 2023.[1] The episode's plot centers upon Randy Marsh's purchase of a luxurious Japanese toilet,[2][3] which puts him and his fourth-grader son Stan in conflict with the rest of the townsfolk and the toilet paper industry.[4]
Contents
Plot
When the toilet in the Marsh family's powder room stops working, Sharon Marsh orders her husband Randy to get a new one. Though reluctant to part with "Ol' Blue", he goes to Home Depot, where he is intrigued by a Japanese toilet. Though Sharon is upset at its $10,000 cost, she too becomes enthralled by it. Randy calls his neighbors to brag about it, resulting in his son Stan being mocked at school. Randy tells Stan their family is akin to the Kennedy family of South Park and he is simply trying to open people's eyes, but Stan tells him that he is merely showing off.
Randy's proctologist, Dr. Sheltair, makes a house call to check on Randy's hemorrhoids, but when Randy states that he no longer has them on account of the level of cleanliness effected by his Japanese toilet, Dr. Sheltair is angered because the lower amount of work caused by the devices will mean that he and his wife will not be able to vacation in Tuscany. Stan's classmate Jimmy Valmer points out that despite that 70% of the world does not use toilet paper, Americans use it excessively, putting a strain on the resources used to produce it. Jimmy asserts that Americans do not want to change their toilets and never will. Randy delivers a speech at city hall extolling the virtues of Japanese toilets, and says that the public does not need toilet paper any more, but he is shot by an unknown assassin, and left in a coma.
Dr. Sheltair takes people at Home Depot hostage at gunpoint, saying that he did not shoot Randy and fears he will be silenced like that second grader who wrote an exposé about toilets two years ago. Sheltair is then shot dead, and Stan confronts Jimmy, realizing that he was who Sheltair was talking about. Jimmy says after he wrote a story about toilets for the school newspaper, he was silenced by the corporations of the toilet paper industry because they have too much to lose if Americans stop using toilet paper. Stan decides to reveal this to the public with his own press conference, but Randy, cowed by his attempted assassination, shows up to abort this, telling the public that toilet paper is a great product, and Japanese toilets are unnecessary. He apologizes to the public, and then removes his Japanese toilet. Restoring Ol' Blue, he resolves not to take the common, non-luxury items his family has for granted.
Reception
John Schwarz with Bubbleblabber rated the episode a 9 out of 10, stating in his review "the joke here isn't the toilets per se, its instead Matt and Trey devising another shot at a multi-billion dollar a year industry, and again shining light on another topic that I'm sure isn't top-of-mind for anybody but them, but is one that makes you think mere minutes into the guys' monologues. It just goes to show that nobody, not even potential advertisers in the areas of prescription drugs, fast food, and now toiletries, are safe from the magnifying glass that is South Park Studios, and the results are anything but shitty."[5]
Max Nocerino with The Future of the Force called the episode a "Solid A!", summarizing his review by stating "South Park has become the loudest and clearest voice in an echo chamber that is American BS. True, it isn't quite as hilarious as it was in its heyday. But I just love how they tackle all these little issues that we don’t really think about or accept as the total norm (despite being hogwash). Also, I am always down for Randy hijinks. I laughed a little but my eyes are now wide open."[4]
Cathal Gunning, in his review for Screen Rant, stated, "Jimmy's diatribe about the damage that toilet paper causes to the world's ecosystems further proved that the long-running series still has further surprises in its twenty-sixth year. Even though South Park has mocked every major religion, numerous dead celebrities, and even rival television shows, the series is very serious about the cost that Americans using toilet paper has on the environment."[6]
References
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External links
- "Japanese Toilet" Full Episode at South Park Studios
- "Japanese Toilet" at IMDbLua error in Module:WikidataCheck at line 28: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value).
