alright this video was a long time coming for the past several months i have teased
talking about this show but i figured fine it was finally time to talk about kappa
mikey since i'm covering a bunch of nickelodeon and nicktoon shows recently and going forward
what better time than right now and to appease the horde of comments i will get under this video
kappa mikey for nickelodeon all-star brawl now that that is out of the way
happy november aka december part 1. we have a fun month ahead of us because like i have
been teasing with the nicktoon stuff welcome to the fault in our nicktoons yeah it's the best
title for this i'm coming up with so yes we're gonna take a look at the show kappa mikey the
history behind it what happened to it and why i and by extension maybe you barely remember it
kappa mikey was an animated nicktoon series that ran between february 25th
2006 to september 20th 2008 for a total of 52 episodes the series parody japanese anime while
playfully highlighting the differences between western and japanese animation styles and tropes
while kappa mikey was produced exclusively for nicktoons nickelodeon as its parent network
aired new episodes on its channel as well as a way to kind of help promote the show in 2006 to
the start of 2007. kappa mikey is based around michael mikey simon a 19 year old american actor
stylized after western cartoons from cleveland ohio who wins a contest to appear on the japanese
tokusatsu show lilymoo where his anime-style co-stars represent different common anime cliches
mikey's character outside of lilimu is friendly and curious but also naive and arrogant with this
naivety and arrogance often leading to the major conflict of the episode kappamiki pulls humor from
the fish out of water element of mikey being from the united states and now being in japan
as well as playing off the fun anime cliches and tropes that he is now presented with a rejected
design of pikachu a version of goku they found in a walmart bargain bin sailor moon's backup dancers
you get it that's not to discredit or demean them in any way that's clearly the inspiration
they are drawing from to portray these tropes and usually when it comes to animation style mixing
it's very hit or miss and for me in most cases is a miss there's just something so jarring about
it but here for kappa mikey the juxtaposition of mikey's western animation and well everyone else's
japanese anime inspired animation really helps emphasize the fish out of water feeling meaning
i kinda like the mixing of the animation the biggest star in tokyo kappa mikey is up next this
is the end of anime as we know it within the world of lily moo mikey plays the lead role of a
superhero also named kappa mikey thus the name of the series mikey's anime inspired lilymoo co-stars
include gonard a large blue-haired man who plays lolimu's antagonist and who is the one to help
mikey finally settle in japan gonart is also good-natured friendly and not too bright lily is
one of the stars of lily moo and mikey's big love interest through the series despite her initially
disliking him since he took her spot as the star of lilymoo such a sharpay evans move there's guano
a purple furry mammalian creature with a blue gem in his chest who not only acts in lily moo
but also works as the fictional show's director writer and creator pikachu more like pika who
am i right like not only is little guano here a star but he's directing and writing and making a
paycheck and paying bills but has pikachu ever done outside of mooch free trips around the
pokemon world with ash think about that guano's numerous roles and responsibilities often cause
him to come across as nervous and stressed out mostly because he is finally there's mitsuki a
capable blue-haired woman who has a crush on mikey throughout the series though he never
seems to realize it while on lilymoo she plays a tough no-nonsense character outside of the show
she's a sweet and loving girl who serves as the heart of the team also working on lilimu alongside
the show's cast but behind the scenes is ozu the owner of lilimu studios and lillymu's executive
producer he's an overbearing and controlling boss who does not hesitate to yell at the cast members
when things go wrong also his yes man yes man there's also brosu ozu's one second older twin
brother who's obsessed with hip-hop dancing he most likely appears as a conflicting force
against ozu with his different opinions about how lilymu should run and what the show should
be about much like how y'all still argue about the different logos and how they do or don't fit the
vibe of the channel and carry on i guess i can't stop y'all at this point something that i do find
interesting is how the show was toted around here in the states in press releases at the time from
the network kappa mikey was labeled as the first anime produced entirely in the united states which
would also spark up a debate about the term anime as it traditionally means animation originally
produced for the japanese market which is where kappa mikey would directly draw its inspiration
from but here you go america here's here's your first united states anime it more times than not
whether it be plot based or due to the animation in general feels not like an anime that was
created in the states but rather what the states think or thought anime is or what it should be
which translates into something that feels a bit tone deaf sometimes and just trying to cash
in within the medium if they can episodes by and large fall into a standard formula beginning with
the cast of lily move filming a scene for their superhero tv show before the take is ruined by
some trouble or conflict the characters will have to deal with throughout the rest of the episode
the kappa mikey episode not the lilly moo episode the episodes mainly end with the cast of lily moo
completing whatever filming they were working on before the trouble arose normally with whatever
lesson they had learned throughout the day working it into their new script this episode structure
held particularly true in the first season but shifted slightly in the second by foregoing part
of the episode with some of the lilly moose scenes to give more time for the episode's overarching
main plot an episode that nicely showcases this early format is camp the episode begins with the
cast of lily moo trying to film a scene with mixed success to the executive producer ozo's
annoyance when the cast claims their poor acting is due to the overwork from ozu he lets them all
go on vacation which hold up is it really that easy to get a vacation from your boss like that
hello this is susan hi i know we're in the holiday season but can i take a no but i didn't even say
what i wanted hello susan hello here's what you know about mikey simon he's an american
actor starring in a japanese tv show check out the series premiere this saturday at eight only
on nicktoons network once the cast of lily moo excluding gonard who got a ride from his mom
instead of taking the bus with everyone else gets to the resort they were supposed to be staying at
as they realize it is in fact an acting summer camp for children they are told to improve their
acting skills or to not come back at all gonard's mom instead of dropping him off at the summer camp
instead drops him off at a cheerleading summer camp where he spends his time trying to befriend
the popular girls who keep running away from him terrified during the rest of lillimu's cast time
there at the acting camp mikey's stage fright and the source of his childhood trauma is explored
and worked through by the time the cast including gonard get back to the studio their acting skills
have improved and they are ready to finish their lilly move filming with help from the kids they
met at the camp little note that the theme song here is actually sung by the japanese punk band
the beat crusaders and it slaps kappa mikey was created by larry schwarz a writer producer
and photographer who is best known as the former ceo of animation collective before it shut
down in 2014. through his time running animation collective schwarz worked on a variety of projects
including some wrestling federation a live action show centered around thumb wrestling speed race
the next generation which was based on the classic speed racer franchise following the events of the
1967 japanese series and the kappa mikey spin-off series dancing sushi which is centered around
four sushi characters who want to be pop stars two quick notes episodes of dancing sushi can be found
on youtube if you look for them and kapamaki is a type of sushi also known as a cucumber roll kappa
mackie sounds like kappa mikey i might be not even saying it right but that also might be the
initial inspiration behind dancing sushi was that joke there and let me just reiterate if
this all wasn't clear to you kappa mikey had a freaking spin-off property what in his younger
days shores also worked as a child actor before briefly trying stand-up comedy to mix success
easy to see where the child star actor storyline of kappa mikey would come from as well as making
it a comedy 2 fusing all of his backstory into his work but how does the dancing sushi come into play
huh the world may never know now schwarz works as the ceo of larry schwarz and his band yes that
is the actual name of an independent studio that produces shows like alien dawn a series from 2013
centered around 16 year old cameron turner as he followed clues hidden in the pages of a comic book
to look for his missing dad while no formal sources have ever come forward about why
kappamiki was canceled speculations of course have been made across the internet and fan chat rooms
just in general that low ratings and possible low viewership is the cause tis the story of
most fates met especially on the nicktoons network the series just oozes that mid-2000s charm that
is hard to explain what that charm really was because it's more of a feeling and an experience
rather than a distinct reasoning of course the mixed animation styles remind me of when the
anime craze was starting for me and those around me when i was young and everyone was going to the
scholastic book fair to purchase the how to draw manga so now all you know how to draw is this
no just me ultimately though i'd love to hear your thoughts on kappamiki i've only received around
900 comments a day since i first teased doing this video months back so i'm excited to hear what you
all have to say about this show as always i thank you all for watching spending some time with me
here today make sure to hit the like button and subscribe for more content like this follow me
on twitter for updates on content and more i'll be back with another video soon but until then later
you