Part of the fun of doing these reviews, of course, is that the anime quite often gives me some outside-looking-in perspective on American pop culture. In this case, it’s a joke about “bathroom god” dressed like a giant turd that;s getting me to realize how popular potty humor is on this side of the pond.
“But, Tom…!” you shriek. “This doodie gag is happening in BINBOGAMI GA, and that’s a Japanese show!!! WAAAAAAAH!”
I realize that. I’ll never forget that. And, upon seeing this deuce joke and finding it kind of novel, I realized that toilet humor actually isn’t as… regular in anime. Sure, BINBOGAMI GA certainly isn’t the first to go for this kind of laugh, and there probably are plenty of other comedy series that go down this path, but they really don’t do it as often. I’m sure we can all agree that gags about boobs, panties, perverts, voyeurs and erection-induced nosebleeds occur far more frequently.
An outside observer would see those gags and find them befitting a culture where public groping is enough of a problem as to require PSA’s and used panties may (or may not?) be sold from vending machines. Realizing that, I can only imagine what that same outside observer would make of all the pooping, peeing and farting that preponderates American comedy. I’m honestly as a loss as to how this might be represented in Americana when it’s compared to other countries.
Are we freer with when we cut wind?
Are public bathrooms more accessible?
Are gas suppressants like Tums and fiber-enriched cereals a bigger part of the national dialog?
That’s not for me to know… only to speculate upon.
Oh, and the whole plot about Sakura rescuing the dog was quite moving, too. Oh, absolutely. However, the show’s ability to pull heart strings is not as discussing-provoking as the possible commentary it makes about doodie.
Watch this episode, "It's Like Secretly Mixing Pumpkin Into a Stew in Order to Feed It to a Child Who Hates Pumpkin” here and decide for yourself, then read my comments on the previous episode here.
Tom Pinchuk’s a writer and personality with a large number of comics, videos and features like this to his credit. Visit his website - - tompinchuk.com - - and follow his Twitter: @tompinchuk
