Splashomon

"Splashomon"

Splashomon is the tenth episode of the first season of Kappa Mikey, which premiered on August 27, 2006. It is one of only several episodes to have made its premiere on Nickelodeon, instead of its home network, Nicktoons. The title and storyline are inspired by the classic Japanese film Rashomon. It is notable as having no real plot, and focuses instead on the personalities of each character.

Summary

The gang is staying at Ozu's penthouse apartment in LilyMu Towers for the evening during a storm, where he shows off a rare Jade Tigerfish he just aquired and is quite attached to. While he is in the next room to answer a phone call, he hears a smash, and discovers the tank it came in is broken and the Tigerfish is gone. He starts a crime scene investigation on who took the Jade Tigerfish, and each character proceeds to share their own takes on the events unfolding, all of which are contradictory and self-redeeming.

• Guano's story involves him being uncharacteristically heroic, as he tries to prepare appetizers for the guests, winds up battling a group of lobsters, and almost falls out of the 85-story window, when he finds out the fish was missing. In the end, he blames Gonard, as he noticed a fish's tail in his mouth.
• Gonard's story is told in the style of a Western film, complete with wide-screen transitions. He is a cowboy who tries to battle the lobster himself, in the form of a rival outlaw. Gonard wraps it up by revealing that Lily took the fish.
• Lily's story lightly parodies Sailor Moon- she imagines the evening is a fancy party, and she's in a blue sparkling dress. She is flanked by two handsome men fighting for her affections. Guano then jumps back up onto the balcony, connecting his own story with her's, and the moment is completely ruined, so she picks Mikey out of the fish's tank. She admits that she WAS the one who broke the tank, but blames the actual theft on Mikey, who she says flushed it down the toilet.
• Mikey, instead of proving himself innocent, only wants to tell a story that in the end has nothing to do with Ozu's interrogation. Mikey is a special agent hired by "Prime Minister the President" to find the fish. He is driving with Gonard down a highway with palm trees in a parody of Miami Vice. He then attends a party with everyone there, including Yoshi. Mikey explains that he fought the lobsters, who in this story are ninjas, right into the fish's tank.
• Before Ozu, in his last nerve, fires Mikey, Mitsuki interrupts him by admitting she took the fish, since she was afraid Ozu was going to kill it. The true story is that she made a phone call to Ozu's land line, thereby distracting him so she could steal the fish and hide it in her pocket. At the same time, she clears up and connects each and every one of the previous stories told by the other characters.

She holds the Tigerfish, still alive, in her hands to prove it. Ozu is confused and relieved, as he actually intended to make it the centerpiece of his new aquarium, to Mitsuki's joy.

There is no subplot in this episode.

Awards

It won a New York Television award for Best Color In An Animated Television Series of that year. The episode takes place mainly in a dark room, where the color scheme is tinted, and each of the confession sequences have a blurred effect over them- these techniques were not used as frequently in other episodes.

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