Comic Book Guy gets engaged to Kumiko, a comic book artist from Japan. Her father flies to Springfield to talk some sense into her. Recruited as the go-between, Homer takes him to a Japanese restaurant for a man-to-man. A few too many glasses of snake wine later:


A drunken stupor whisks them off to a full-blown homage to Hayao Miyazaki.

Starting with Spirited Away (the mask-wearing ghosts). Then My Neighbor Totoro (Otto's cat school bus). Porco Rosso (Chief Porky Wiggum). Kiki's Delivery Service (Patty and Selma flying to the DMV). And Howl's Moving Castle (Apu's moving Kwik-E-Mart).

Labels: anime, miyazaki, personal favs