Had a similar experience when I called the Mitsubishi office in Japan after my local dealership in Greece screwed me over with a defective brand new car they refused to fix. "Mushi mushi" and me like "Hello, I am calling from Greece (I spoke English) they treated me like a customer this way and no joke, they brought a hell storm down. They got in touch with Holland who manufactured the car, then after 4 weeks in the shop with no response, got in touch with an inspector from England to go to Greece to see why the heads of Mitsubishi in Greece screwed us over. Hell of a scene when me and my dad walked in to the office and since we could speak perfect English to the UK inspector, the people in Greece could not keep up. In the end, it got fixed thanks to Japan. 20 years later, I still own that same car.
Homer always had a mild temper he was slow to anger and respectful it's just bart that would really piss him off... But yes he did have bad manners in other areas
RB2331 Its changing. You have more Asian sitcoms like "Fresh off the boat" and "Dr. Ken"...as well as Aziz's new show. Its still a lot of stupid stuff but things are changing slowly.
I don't know why, but the Japanese guy's "Hey Chief, lets talk, why not?" has always made me laugh. It feels like something he was taught in his third level english class back in high school and he's just remembered it twenty years later.
Sadly I think age has caught up with the voice actors and so now they just say their lines without adding those little nuances to preserve their voices. I gotta say though, the writing these past 4 seasons has been a worthy opponent to the golden age.
He just assumes that the people at Mr. Sparkle recognise his voice and he’s some kind of celebrity in Japan. 😂 Understandable when his face appears to be their logo.
@@sws212 The guy doesn't call him Mr Sparkle. He's saying he will answer questions about Mr Sparkle, as he assumes Homer is looking to invest in stocks and shares. He can't actually speak English as well as he thinks (and also doesn't know what Homer looks like) so doesn't know what Homer means by "I am Mr Sparkle".
I'm guessing they thought he would be distracting moving around (his hands at least) in the shot, so they wrote him to just take off running (for whatever reason) to get him out of it.
@@cherryjudgement8671 I've had so many Chiefs come and go since I wrote that comment. I will say, there was one who did get the reference, but he was into a lot of late 90s/early 2000s references in general because he was older like me lol.
Everything about this is so good. The library having a phonebook for Hokkaido (of course it does), the librarian's reactions to Homer, the length of Homer's dialing... And then we finally get to Japan and the guy who doesn't speak English foists the call into the "nerd" at the factory with his red glasses and "English" T-shirt, who doesn't speak English so much as English "phrases"
I agree....I think the guy asks if it was local and is told yes by homer ...but ..he grabs the phone and SLOWLY pushes many buttons (which means it is not local) and u see the guy sort of know in the background that Homer was lying ..lol !
He dials slowly because he isn't smart enough to remember more than one digit at a time and has to keep checking back to the phone book, just ....Homer basically.
I just noticed the librarian running away in the background, in the middle of Homer dialing the number. It seems he was about to let the manager know that they were going to get billed with a hefty phone charge.
Good old classic Simpsons, they were so dense with jokes. - Clerk immediately has the phonebook of Hokaido - Is it a local call? - Yes - Tedious typing the number with sounds of clerk's keyboard, funny look he gave to Homer, sounds of footsteps, all giving us a feeling that the number is far longer than it is - Production track with perfectly arranged powdered detergent and ton of people supervising it - This is Homer Simpson from America. Who may I say is speaking to me? - One guy that speaks English has red glasses and a t-shirt saying Champions of winning superb - Hello chief, let's talk why not - delivered in one straight line with some enthusiasm (I always die when I hear it) - Hello, why am I mr Sparkle? - You have many question Mr Sparkle, I send you premium, answer question 100% 9 jokes in 83 seconds. Most of them great. How I miss the Simpsons.
@@blacktimhoward4322 No worries, man. I guess we can't stop lamenting about what the show once was. The density just shows how much great material there was in every god damned second. Talking about it keeps what we love alive, I guess. I can also see how that might be annoying to other people, and voicing your opinion about that is a legitimate thing. Take care mate
Homer was probably rechecking the number as he dialed. First, he has to remember to dial 011 for int'l, then he has to get the right country code, then dial the correct phone number which may have a different number of digits than a regular american phone number. Not sure about the last, never had an urge to call Japan.
I've seen this episode many times and until now I never noticed the *Champions of Winning. Superb!* on his shirt rofl. You're just the show that keeps on giving, aren't ya?
@@Skzzlemister Something about Marge opening up a advise line at the church. Remember Jimbo, Kearny and the other guy chasing Ned all day and night on their mopeds? But youre right, Mr Sparkle is more memorable.
༼ つ ◕_◕ ༽つ I worked in Japan for 4 years in tech industry. I will tell you now that the japanese work ethic (even when answering for phone support), those folks will get down to business and direct you to what you need as a customer. From the moment they answer your call, they are precise and will listen to what you need. Back in the 90s, they had dedicated japanese workers who spoke intermediate english. Broken slightly in speech BUT they do find what you need in a jiff and are accurate - no BS or sounding like they hate their job. Each call is treated as if you are there in person. Now these days, Japan has a built in english to japanese translator via electronica voice system. They will say something in japanese, wait 1 second to translate in english, then you speak, translates to japanese, and so forth. Pretty cool!
Typical Japanese reaction to hearing English. They instantly check out & try to find that one guy in the office who homestayed in Indiana for a month as a high school student.
I always wonder how you Anglos would react to having to speak another language, as most of you (not all though) fall into sheer terror at the mere idea and are considered by most of the world lost cases in language learning. Japanese is a language isolate with no clear connection to any other elsewhere, so that doubles the merit of those Japanese persons able to grasp that Hell of a jargon English is (you wouldn’t believe it’s basically Old German covered in Norman French sauce, with a structure so simple that makes all Romance and Slavic language speakers laugh in contempt)
+R0ckG1r7 Note that there is a repeating sequence 965715361 which appears twice in the number, only divided by 8 in the middle, so there might be some idea behind this number. Any thoughts?
+kuntosjedebil Took the effort to google the number and oddly enough, there isn't much. Pretty much only one ancient usenet thread and they didn't even note the repeating sequence.
The fact that this has a Gong Ho movie tie is awesome. The factory supervisor was voiced by Gedde Watanabe. He was also in Gong Ho who played a factory worker from Japan.
This is 83 seconds of comedic genius. The exchange between Homer and the librarian; the timing of Homer dialing; the visual humor of quality control for the soap; Homer's stilted way of talking on the phone; the stereotypically bad English (that doesn't veer into racism or xenophobia). And it is made perfect by Homer's reaction to being promised the "premium answer question 100%". I feel like the lower quality of animation at the disposal of the show runners back in the 90s may actually be a reason for their better material. Whenever I see modern-day episodes o f the Simpsons, it seems like they are trying to be funny on a visual basis more than on a conceptual one. I'm kinda certain that they would have managed to come up with something much less impressive if they had tried the same joke now.
I was watching the Simpsons this year and it did actually make me burst out laughing. I was surprised. What else shocked me, is that in Dallas, it was the highest rated show at one point THIS YEAR. I remember our local sports radio talking about it. I was like 🤔?
- the librarian just has the phone book for Hokkaido right there - Homer can easily read it - Homer knows how to make an international call Three gags in one single action.
Just for fun, I once called a Japanese phone number by random dial. Got a Japanese answering machine......the phone bill was $12 for the 4 minute call.
They actually put in a lot of effort every day creating and refining layer upon layer of joke, whereas the problem these days is that they dont try very hard.
@@ComandaKronikk So true today they just do a lot of celebrity guest appearances, which gets over used and boring. Put whats popular in pop culture right now, without even trying, or making in smart & funny in its presentation. An often times its almost like im watching the same episode. It's more surprising that by going back to earlier episodes Homer was more smarter, and more human then the braindead off that he is today and thats saying a lot.
Mr Sparkle has some great customer service. Later in the episode, the tape this guy sends does in fact answer Homer's question, and they even appear to send an NTSC coded video tape (as opposed to the PAL standard used in Japan) so that their American VHS player could read it.
The video wasn't made for Homer to begin with. It was explicitly made as a way for the company to attract US investors. It just happened to have the answer to Homer's question.
In its heyday The Simpsons was relentless in the number of jokes written into every scene. From the librarian conveniently having the Hokkaido phone book at his fingertips, through the Japanese hipster who speaks English only in slang idioms, there’s at least a half dozen good gags fit into this minute and 23 seconds.
Is so weird that a small town library has the phone book for Hokkaido. If I try that in my local library they probably won’t have the one for this town.
It’s funny how the librarian just takes Homer’s word that he’s not calling long distance even though homer just asked for the phone book for Japan and wants to use the phone right away AND after hearing Homer slowly dialing a 20 digit phone number.
I had a friend named Kazunori who came to the states for his senior year of high school . After he went back to Osaka I decided to call him up and see how he was doing. His mother answered the phone sounding tired and rather annoyed . She got Kazu and he explained that it was 3 o'clock in the morning there . It was early afternoon at my house and I didn't factor in the time difference . But he was glad to hear from me anyway . Although he wondered why I was drunk in the early afternoon. Fair question.
Nothing will endure me, as a native English speaker, to someone whose second language is English more quickly than them starting with some out-of-pocket phrase like "hey chief, let's talk, why not?"
This is the genius of classic Simpsons. There was absolutely no reasoning behind the long dialing from Homer, it simply happened because it’s freakin hilarious.
Had a similar experience when I called the Mitsubishi office in Japan after my local dealership in Greece screwed me over with a defective brand new car they refused to fix. "Mushi mushi" and me like "Hello, I am calling from Greece (I spoke English) they treated me like a customer this way and no joke, they brought a hell storm down. They got in touch with Holland who manufactured the car, then after 4 weeks in the shop with no response, got in touch with an inspector from England to go to Greece to see why the heads of Mitsubishi in Greece screwed us over. Hell of a scene when me and my dad walked in to the office and since we could speak perfect English to the UK inspector, the people in Greece could not keep up. In the end, it got fixed thanks to Japan. 20 years later, I still own that same car.
Don't forget to thank England a bit as well.
The things you read on the internet
Cool 😎 story bro. Now THAT’S customer service!
Japan takes customer service exceptionally seriously. I'm glad they got that dealership in line.
maybe its time to get a new car my dude 20 years is a hell of a long time
I love how incredibly polite Homer is throughout this whole clip, so well mannered
"Who may I say is speaking to me" is a lovely little phrase
Parker I send you a premium answer question hundred percent hmm
Homer always had a mild temper he was slow to anger and respectful it's just bart that would really piss him off...
But yes he did have bad manners in other areas
They kinda made him dumber and dumber with each season
I love how the librarian immediately has the phone book for Hokkaido Japan ready for Homer
And how the librarian doesn't even think that Homer is lying about it being a local call.
Roman Soiko Skype only calls Skype for free not phones
and then how he immediately runs away from the desk the second he realizes Homer is calling Japan. Maybe he didn't want his boss to see him.
lol I never noticed that.
Then he walked away! Where'd he go?
The way the librarian looks at Homer when he's dialing the number lol
And then just runs off somewhere...
Where does he run off too? God I remember talking about this episode with my homie at school when I was like in 5th grade. Lol 😂
@@Gabez82 He doesn't want his supervisor to see Homer dialing so many numbers and realize he gave him the phone book because of the huge phone bill.
@@bassmentier I assume he went to pick another phone to hear who is he talking to)?
You're all wrong. He initially suspected something but eventually had something important to do.
I always love it when Homer puts on those crescent moon glasses. 😂
I know, it's like The Doctor and his brainy specs.
When I get old I want glasses just like his
Gibbous moon.
@@williamwilson6499 waxing or waning?
Homer in his reading glasses is my 39th favourite Simpsons character.
Hello chief. Let's talk, why not
shaun griffin You like Mr. Sparkle?
Ishbu101
No I am Mr. Sparkle.
You have many question Mr. Sparkle! I send you premium, answer questions 100%!
+Ishbu101 lol...even today Asian actors and characters are soooo treated badly ! Hello chied ...lets talk ..why not ...funny but damn ...smh
RB2331 Its changing. You have more Asian sitcoms like "Fresh off the boat" and "Dr. Ken"...as well as Aziz's new show. Its still a lot of stupid stuff but things are changing slowly.
"Is this a local call"?
"Yeeee....yes" XD
/M0ther_bra1ned/ beep, beep, beep, beep “librarian runs away” beep, beep, beep, beep, beep, beep, beep, beep, beep, beep, beep.
@@crazyforcoffee5950 its a bomb.
Then he dials the numbers snow as hell 😂🤣🤣
@@s.tavares3257 Search and peck.
@@s.tavares3257 toilet is full....
0 0
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I don't know why, but the Japanese guy's "Hey Chief, lets talk, why not?" has always made me laugh. It feels like something he was taught in his third level english class back in high school and he's just remembered it twenty years later.
I love to greet friends and colleagues with "Hey Chief, let's talk, why not?". 🤣🤣
@@crimsonclover9871 I'll say that to my management next time I have a meeting with them.
@@bnkrazie Let me know how it goes! 🤣🤣
He sounds like a chill guy. 10/10 would hang out with him
@@TheBehm08 why not
Homer's smile after 'answer question 100% ' is absolute gold lmao.
The guy was true to his word too, the VHS he sent did answer Homer's questions 100%.
@@lich109 Yep, there's your answer, fishbulb
Mmm!
@@staypuft44Let’s go home…
@@Hal9000izeWe are home.
Homer’s little “hmmm :)” at the end gets me every time
Sadly I think age has caught up with the voice actors and so now they just say their lines without adding those little nuances to preserve their voices.
I gotta say though, the writing these past 4 seasons has been a worthy opponent to the golden age.
@@melodyconte really? Have recent episodes been good?
@@melodyconte asking the same as the guy above
@@melodyconte I also would like to know. ✋
I'm glad others noticed this! It's my favorite part.
I love how casually the Japanese guy just accepts that he is talking to Mr. Sparkle.
WheresWallace4883 I think it's just his broken English. He means, "You have many questions [about] Mr Sparkle? I'll send you a pamphlet".
You raik Mista Spaka? xDDDD
WheresWallace4883 it’s more a politeness thing. Japanese don’t like to cause conflict.
I thought he thought it's just another bloke named Mr. Sparkle
Except wwii
"Hello. Why am I Mr Sparkle?"
He could not have asked it in a better way.
He just assumes that the people at Mr. Sparkle recognise his voice and he’s some kind of celebrity in Japan. 😂 Understandable when his face appears to be their logo.
@@kisbie No, pretty sure the guy just thought Homer was a Mr. Sparkle, not THE Mr. Sparkle and just sent him ad materials.
@@sws212 The guy doesn't call him Mr Sparkle. He's saying he will answer questions about Mr Sparkle, as he assumes Homer is looking to invest in stocks and shares. He can't actually speak English as well as he thinks (and also doesn't know what Homer looks like) so doesn't know what Homer means by "I am Mr Sparkle".
Well, he was branded as kind of dumb.
Random Japanese factory worker:”Mushi,Mushi!”
whenever my dad calls me i answer the phone 1 of 2 ways:
"moshi moshi" or "hello chief let's talk why not"
this is gold
I answer the phone with a "yellow"
I usually ask if he has gotten the cigarettes of if he isn't coming home yet?
I prefer: Ahoy-hoy!
That'd get old fast
I love it how library guy checks out Homer is phoning Japan and then walks off, so he can't be implicated.
You know, this makes sense. When I first watched this scene I thought he was going to disconnect the phone cable 😂
He probably had work to do
@@acceleratingthesupernatural I thought that too, but then we see Homer completing the call. 🤷
Ah, now I get it after all those year. Kinda explain why he have that look
The way Homer is so satisfied with his response is so funny to me 😂😂
I love Homer's face and voice as he says "Why am I Mr. Sparkle?"
fish bulb
realwizardry he looks so innocent and cute
realwizardry oh, you like mr sparkle?!
@@therealjcon I am Mr. Sparkle!
@@PhotoCore1936 you have many question Mr Sparkle!!
The weirdest part is where the librarian just quickly walks off like that. LOL
jajaja he was scared.
I'm guessing they thought he would be distracting moving around (his hands at least) in the shot, so they wrote him to just take off running (for whatever reason) to get him out of it.
He was afraid he'd get in trouble with his boss if he saw what just happened.
Takes longer/costs more to animate
he's going to ask his boss what to do and/or calling the police, but they don't follow up with it iirc
Corded phone.
Phonebook.
Library.
This clip is like a time capsule.
What are those things?
Great use of the Comedy Rule of Three
Drove just to get information
@@DeTodoUnPocazo1 relics of a bygone era, I'd tell you about them if only those darn hooligans would stay off my lawn
Libraries still exist and are still used by literally millions of people...
I'm in the Navy and say "Hello Chief, let's talk why not" whenever my Chief needs to talk to me.
I hope your chief does know the source of this phrase. It would make this brilliant!
@@cherryjudgement8671 I've had so many Chiefs come and go since I wrote that comment. I will say, there was one who did get the reference, but he was into a lot of late 90s/early 2000s references in general because he was older like me lol.
What rate
I just realized that the number he dials has the same tune as a typical japanese school bell, its actually a great detail
The Westminster chimes! Good catch, and that is a great detail.
You just blew my mind
Woah
And surprisingly that "premium" did answer his question.
We at Mr Sparkle believe answering question 100% is champion.
ha ha ha you a winner ha ha ha you a winner ha ha ha you a winner ha ha ha you a winner ha ha ha you a winner ha ha ha you a winner....
It's true!! , especially in Korea and Japan. U see premium label being slab on to all sort of goods lol!
Yep, there’s your answer, fish-bulb.
Premium, dude! PREMIUM!! DUDE!!
i love how the librarian pulls out the phone book of a japanese region, like It was normal and he do that every day
I like how you explained the obvious joke
I like who you responded to something nobody was asking for.
That's the joke.
tk7806 You'd be surprised at the amount of reference materials a library has.
thatsthejoke.jpg
"Come on kids, let's go home." "We are home" "That was fast."
ua-cam.com/video/w86rotpPU1Q/v-deo.html ,,
One of my favourite Simpsons moments ever. It's so silly but hilarious.
😅😅
Homer has some kind of brain disease that is progressively giving him dementia :(
Everything about this is so good. The library having a phonebook for Hokkaido (of course it does), the librarian's reactions to Homer, the length of Homer's dialing... And then we finally get to Japan and the guy who doesn't speak English foists the call into the "nerd" at the factory with his red glasses and "English" T-shirt, who doesn't speak English so much as English "phrases"
I love the pocket in Homer's shirt that is only visible when he uses it
The way homer dials the phone hilarious. 😁
+Macilyn Phares and u have to love the glasses !
I agree....I think the guy asks if it was local and is told yes by homer ...but ..he grabs the phone and SLOWLY pushes many buttons (which means it is not local) and u see the guy sort of know in the background that Homer was lying ..lol !
He dials slowly because he isn't smart enough to remember more than one digit at a time and has to keep checking back to the phone book, just ....Homer basically.
Superagurihyperteam I agree ...homer is the best Tv dad of all time !
Like an old person using a keyboard.
I just noticed the librarian running away in the background, in the middle of Homer dialing the number. It seems he was about to let the manager know that they were going to get billed with a hefty phone charge.
+FitGameDeveloper I agree ..but he should've told homer to hang up ...lol !
I thought he was going to pull the plug. Maybe he just sighed on the inside and accepted it.
I thought he was just running away to find an alibi to use when the phone bill turned up.
To be fair, homer asked to use the phone immediately after asking for a phone book from Japan.
That's the joke.
jcrowley1985 okay... whats your point?? I think everyone got the joke
Good old classic Simpsons, they were so dense with jokes.
- Clerk immediately has the phonebook of Hokaido
- Is it a local call? - Yes
- Tedious typing the number with sounds of clerk's keyboard, funny look he gave to Homer, sounds of footsteps, all giving us a feeling that the number is far longer than it is
- Production track with perfectly arranged powdered detergent and ton of people supervising it
- This is Homer Simpson from America. Who may I say is speaking to me?
- One guy that speaks English has red glasses and a t-shirt saying Champions of winning superb
- Hello chief, let's talk why not - delivered in one straight line with some enthusiasm (I always die when I hear it)
- Hello, why am I mr Sparkle?
- You have many question Mr Sparkle, I send you premium, answer question 100%
9 jokes in 83 seconds. Most of them great.
How I miss the Simpsons.
One of these days Simpsons fans will stop doing the "X jokes in Y seconds" thing and it will be a glorious day for humanity
@@blacktimhoward4322But it will not be this day.
@@firstweekofwinter Bruh I was in a terrible mood last night. You didn't deserve that and I appreciate that you didn't counte-smack me.
Best wishes
@@blacktimhoward4322 No worries, man. I guess we can't stop lamenting about what the show once was. The density just shows how much great material there was in every god damned second. Talking about it keeps what we love alive, I guess. I can also see how that might be annoying to other people, and voicing your opinion about that is a legitimate thing. Take care mate
@@firstweekofwinter lol
This entire scene is so meticulously funny, mastercrafted comedy.
Hmm 🙂
Many of the early Simpsons episodes are like this (seasons 3-9). At its peak it was arguably the greatest ever television show.
This shit doesn't exist anymore
I'm not sure why, but the way Homer holds down each digit for about a second or so always tickles me.
He's getting old and senile lol
Cute profile picture! :)
He's trying to make sure he dials the number correctly.
That Japanese quality control is epic! 6 people carrying out assessments for one pile of soap powder is just so... Japanese!
m I o . o I m I was thinking the joke was that the facility is automated yet they have so much people.
I work at a Japanese company, can confirm it's like that 😂 "I'm sure it'll be fine" is not a phrase that exists
@@ajc94 Rightfully so! If companies had more employees that actually cared about quality control, there wouldnt be so many lawsuits in america.
Imagine if fukusjina was under those standards 🤓
Not only that, those quality control guys have a quality control guy watching over them.
CHAMPIONS
OF WINNING.
SUPERB!
Premium. 100%
That librarian didn't even have to look for the phonebook
Homer was probably rechecking the number as he dialed. First, he has to remember to dial 011 for int'l, then he has to get the right country code, then dial the correct phone number which may have a different number of digits than a regular american phone number. Not sure about the last, never had an urge to call Japan.
After living one year abroad in Japan i can confirm that this call is more than accurate 😂👍🏻
"I send you premium; answer question, 100%!"
Homer: Well, I'm satisfied.
And it actually answered his question!
I love that little satisfied noise Homer makes at the end 🤣
The librarian always gets me laughing when Homer starts dialling. XD
RassilonsArmy where did he go?
Why did he just walk away?
I think he ran off to get his boss because Homer was dialing a long distance number.
It's like the look on the bus drivers face when he saw my drunk buddy throwing up on the seat the other day .
When he asked if it was a local call and they way he answered yes hesitating he was lying
I've seen this episode many times and until now I never noticed the *Champions of Winning. Superb!* on his shirt rofl. You're just the show that keeps on giving, aren't ya?
That English Japanese person "Hello let's talk why not?" Lol!
Theodore Tekkers you forgot to add “chief”
This B story took over the episode
I can’t even remember the main plot of the mr sparkle episode
@@Skzzlemister Something about Marge opening up a advise line at the church. Remember Jimbo, Kearny and the other guy chasing Ned all day and night on their mopeds? But youre right, Mr Sparkle is more memorable.
Every time I watch this episode again it confuses me that this isn't supposed to be the main plot
It's off putting
It's not the main plot?
@@malcorub Don't you DARE forget Dolph's name.
༼ つ ◕_◕ ༽つ I worked in Japan for 4 years in tech industry. I will tell you now that the japanese work ethic (even when answering for phone support), those folks will get down to business and direct you to what you need as a customer. From the moment they answer your call, they are precise and will listen to what you need. Back in the 90s, they had dedicated japanese workers who spoke intermediate english. Broken slightly in speech BUT they do find what you need in a jiff and are accurate - no BS or sounding like they hate their job. Each call is treated as if you are there in person. Now these days, Japan has a built in english to japanese translator via electronica voice system. They will say something in japanese, wait 1 second to translate in english, then you speak, translates to japanese, and so forth. Pretty cool!
Homer's reading glasses are probably my favorite visual gag. He only uses them for dumb stuff like reading the ingredients of honey roasted peanuts
Everything about this is perfect. Right through to the very last face and happy "hmm!" sound Homer makes. This is proper entertainment.
"-Why I am Mr Sparkle?
-You like Mr Sparkle?
-Well... I am Mr Sparkle"
Best conversation ever.
You have many Questions mister Sparkle, i send you Premium! Answer Questions 100%
@@kal-elofkrypton8584 mmmmmm
"Yes, this Homer Simpson from America. Who may I say is speaking to me?" gets me EVERY time!!!! lol
I love how the librarian just happens to have a Hokaido phone book behind the counter.
Don't you????😂
@@nosuchthing8No I don't. I have Tokyo, Kyoto, Hiroshima, Nagasaki and Osaka, but not Hokaido.😅
As a librarian, I also keep Japanese phone books on hand~
Typical Japanese reaction to hearing English. They instantly check out & try to find that one guy in the office who homestayed in Indiana for a month as a high school student.
I always wonder how you Anglos would react to having to speak another language, as most of you (not all though) fall into sheer terror at the mere idea and are considered by most of the world lost cases in language learning. Japanese is a language isolate with no clear connection to any other elsewhere, so that doubles the merit of those Japanese persons able to grasp that Hell of a jargon English is (you wouldn’t believe it’s basically Old German covered in Norman French sauce, with a structure so simple that makes all Romance and Slavic language speakers laugh in contempt)
@@calzabbath Seak englush
@@sirgentlebread7302 avle aspanyol sanyor
@@calzabbath abol epanol
@@sirgentlebread7302 non ce notta
That beat of the librarian running off never sat well with me. Always felt like he was running to get something to shoo Homer away from the phone
It’s always bothered me for some reason
The dialing of the number is way funnier than any drawn out gag Family Guy has attempted
If it was Family Guy, they would have stretched it out to 2 minutes.
Now now both are funny
@@stolensentience true but seasons 3 to 8 of the Simpsons is in a league of it’s own
@@AlJalandhari id argue that fg seasons 1-3 are right there
Family guy would have had the librarian staring at Peter for 10 seconds and that would have been way funnier.
Homer dialling the phone is one of the funniest moments in the simpsons 😂😂 Matt groening is a genius
Anyone figure out what the number he dialed was, based on the tone? Knowing the simpsons, there's probably a secret message in there.
+Red Judas The tones are 9657153618965715361 I used dialabc dot com
+kuntosjedebil SOMEONE CALL THIS.
+R0ckG1r7 My god. Who would dare try and step past the boundaries of reality and make the call into fantasy?
+R0ckG1r7 Note that there is a repeating sequence 965715361 which appears twice in the number, only divided by 8 in the middle, so there might be some idea behind this number. Any thoughts?
+kuntosjedebil Took the effort to google the number and oddly enough, there isn't much. Pretty much only one ancient usenet thread and they didn't even note the repeating sequence.
lol love when Homer puts on his reading glasses
Parker I send you a premium answer question hundred percent hmm
1:12 The amount of times "Mr Sparkle" is said in quick succession is very comical.
"Hello chief, let's talk why not?"
Uh hello, why am I Mr. Sparkle?
"Yes, this is Homer Simpsons from America. Who may I say is speaking to me?"
He speaks English. You take it.
The fact that this has a Gong Ho movie tie is awesome. The factory supervisor was voiced by Gedde Watanabe. He was also in Gong Ho who played a factory worker from Japan.
This is 83 seconds of comedic genius. The exchange between Homer and the librarian; the timing of Homer dialing; the visual humor of quality control for the soap; Homer's stilted way of talking on the phone; the stereotypically bad English (that doesn't veer into racism or xenophobia). And it is made perfect by Homer's reaction to being promised the "premium answer question 100%".
I feel like the lower quality of animation at the disposal of the show runners back in the 90s may actually be a reason for their better material. Whenever I see modern-day episodes o f the Simpsons, it seems like they are trying to be funny on a visual basis more than on a conceptual one. I'm kinda certain that they would have managed to come up with something much less impressive if they had tried the same joke now.
Legend has it, Homer’s still dialing.
Why do I find it funny that Homer has reading glasses
Librarian just so happens to have the right phone book for the right place in Japan. What are the odds??
Herro chief let's talk why not?😂
retsu toruku? Uai not?
hahahahahaha so funny lets talk why not..
“You have many questions, Mr Sparkle. I send you premium, answer question 100%!”
Simpsons was pure gold during these years; now, not so much
Willis Mac true when Will it end
People like you were also 'pure gold during those years'. Nowadays, however, you're all just dumbshits.
I was watching the Simpsons this year and it did actually make me burst out laughing. I was surprised.
What else shocked me, is that in Dallas, it was the highest rated show at one point THIS YEAR. I remember our local sports radio talking about it. I was like 🤔?
Ironically it explained its downfall in the poochy episode
I swear this episode has to be in at least the top 10 best Simpsons episodes of all time. It's so good from start to finish.
The intriguing noise Homer makes at the last second >
- the librarian just has the phone book for Hokkaido right there
- Homer can easily read it
- Homer knows how to make an international call
Three gags in one single action.
The cover is also in English for whatever reason.
0:22 It fully mirrors the grandmother trying to call someone 😂
Just for fun, I once called a Japanese phone number by random dial. Got a Japanese answering machine......the phone bill was $12 for the 4 minute call.
What did you leave as a message?
i love classic simpsons goofs because there's just so much going on in one scene to laugh about
Homer: *asks one question*
- "You have many questions Mr Sparkle!"
I love how old Simpsons is funny without trying
They actually put in a lot of effort every day creating and refining layer upon layer of joke, whereas the problem these days is that they dont try very hard.
@@ComandaKronikk So true today they just do a lot of celebrity guest appearances, which gets over used and boring. Put whats popular in pop culture right now, without even trying, or making in smart & funny in its presentation. An often times its almost like im watching the same episode. It's more surprising that by going back to earlier episodes Homer was more smarter, and more human then the braindead off that he is today and thats saying a lot.
They were trying, that’s what’s missing now.
They were trying hard but it was more subtle
It takes a lot of effort to look like you haven’t made any effort
Back when every episode of Simpsons was a genius artwork
Anyone else notice that if you speed up the dial playback, you get the 'Close encounters of the Third kind' tune
Never understood why the librarian ran off, I like to think he went to grab a weapon
I like the fact that homer can only process one number at a time in his memory. And a long button push at that.
This is explained in three seasons earlier, in S5E15 - "Deep Space Homer".
Its funny how the asians are drawn less yellow.
Mr Sparkle has some great customer service. Later in the episode, the tape this guy sends does in fact answer Homer's question, and they even appear to send an NTSC coded video tape (as opposed to the PAL standard used in Japan) so that their American VHS player could read it.
The video wasn't made for Homer to begin with. It was explicitly made as a way for the company to attract US investors. It just happened to have the answer to Homer's question.
Japan doesn't use PAL.
Japan uses NTSC, specifically NTSC-J
VHS isn't region locked. An NTCS or PAL VHS will play fine in either country.
@@Fireglo It most certainly will not, most American VCRs could not play a European tape without major distortion or no picture at all.
I think I just found my new voicemail message: “Hello chief; let’s talk, why not?” Beep..
Japanese efficiency: the supervisor turns to answer the phone _exactly_ as it starts ringing.
It's 2021 and Homer is still dialing the number
In its heyday The Simpsons was relentless in the number of jokes written into every scene. From the librarian conveniently having the Hokkaido phone book at his fingertips, through the Japanese hipster who speaks English only in slang idioms, there’s at least a half dozen good gags fit into this minute and 23 seconds.
That's quality writing.
Is so weird that a small town library has the phone book for Hokkaido. If I try that in my local library they probably won’t have the one for this town.
Business phones usually also won't dial long distance calls unless you activate the feature. In the case of a library, that is very unlikely.
"Hello chief, let's talk why not."
I'm gonna start picking up the phone like that.
I hate how in the syndicated version they shortened the dialing sequence.
Someone should run Homer's dialing through a DTMF decoder to see what numbers he dialed
Apparently the number Homer is dialing is a repeating pattern: 96571-53618 - 96571-5361... I don't know if there's an easter egg in this.
I like the way homer is always amused by little things, like the premium subscription at 1:22
Homer dials 19 digits, the correct number of digits required to call Hokaido from the US.
"Is it a local call?" fuck me I'm dying xD
I love this episode yet I've never noticed the worker's Engrish shirt: "Champions of winning. Superb!"
It’s funny how the librarian just takes Homer’s word that he’s not calling long distance even though homer just asked for the phone book for Japan and wants to use the phone right away AND after hearing Homer slowly dialing a 20 digit phone number.
The way he answered yes hesitating you think he would pickup on his lie
"There's your answer, fishbulb!"
Homer's "hmm!" at the end is hilarious
I had a friend named Kazunori who came to the states for his senior year of high school . After he went back to Osaka I decided to call him up and see how he was doing. His mother answered the phone sounding tired and rather annoyed . She got Kazu and he explained that it was 3 o'clock in the morning there . It was early afternoon at my house and I didn't factor in the time difference . But he was glad to hear from me anyway . Although he wondered why I was drunk in the early afternoon. Fair question.
Nothing will endure me, as a native English speaker, to someone whose second language is English more quickly than them starting with some out-of-pocket phrase like "hey chief, let's talk, why not?"
I love that little excited "hmmm!" right at the end.
Dial tone - Japan national anthem
"This is Homer from America".
Homer dialed 19 digits.
And the librarian had to stop using the computer when he made the phone call. Ancient America sure was wild.
His Japanese pronunciation "Hokkaido" is pretty good
The Homer whose only Odyssey was stupidity...
This is the genius of classic Simpsons. There was absolutely no reasoning behind the long dialing from Homer, it simply happened because it’s freakin hilarious.
Someone has never made an international call...
The philosophy behind American comedy has changed alot. I kind of think writers consider gags to be beneathe them now.
It may also have been to pad out the episode's runtime.
@@blacktimhoward4322 I mean you only need to add 4 numbers, it doesn't take that long 😂
@@blacktimhoward4322 your misunderstanding is that OP was remarking on the length of the button presses, not the number of them. Hope that helps.