The Simpsons Honors Hayao Miyazaki's Films

Recently, in the Simpsons episode "Married to the Blob," animators paid tribute to the works of Hayao Miyazaki and Studio Ghibli.

For those who may be unfamiliar with it, The Simpsons is a comedy TV show that has aired for 25 years! It is the United States' longest running prime-time comedy and animated series. The show is well-known for signing big-name celebrity guests (Lady Gaga, Michael Jackson) to do voice acting and for its countless references to popular culture. In every episode, we follow the misadventures of Lisa, Bart, Maggie, Marge, and the ridiculously foolish Homer, along with the rest of Springfield, a town full of memorable and funny characters.

In "Married to the Blob," the show's biggest otaku, Comic Book Guy, falls in love with a Japanese manga artist named Kumiko Nakamura. In a montage where they get to know one another, the song "PonPonPon" by J-pop sensation Kyary Pamyu Pamyu plays in the background! In addition, Stan Lee makes a cameo in this episode. He is the creator of many superheroes, such as Spider-Man and Iron Man.

But the biggest honor of the episode goes to Miyazaki-san. When Homer and Kumiko's father get drunk, they hallucinate fantastic images that are an homage to many Ghibli films, including Kiki’s Delivery Service, Spirited Away, Princess Mononoke, Howl’s Moving Castle, My Neighbor Totoro, and Ponyo. See if you can spot all of the references in the video!

The Simpson family members are big fans of Japanese culture. In a 1999 episode, the family visited Japan. And in an episode from 1997, Homer discovered that his face resembled a fictitious Japanese dishwashing detergent mascot named Mr. Sparkle, pronounced Misuta Spakoru.

This is a Tokyo Otaku Mode original article written by Dasuken Revolver