For someone who loves Tuong Lu Kim, the City Wok owner, I couldn’t have asked for a better South Park episode. Thank you Matt and Trey!! City Sushi has opened up right beside City Wok and Lu Kim now has some serious competition. Elsewhere, Butters suffers from supposed schizophrenia and goes to see a therapist, which is nowhere near as entertaining as Lu Kim’s quest to get rid of City Sushi. Noticeably absent were Stan, Kyle, Cartman and Kenny but the City Wok vs. City Sushi battle provided more than enough entertainment.
I’ve always loved the whole City Wok gag, I laugh at literally everything Lu Kim says. And while he’s been featured prominently in other episodes before (Child Abduction Is Not Funny), this was really his shining moment. His constant scheming against the City Sushi owner is downright hilarious and I seriously couldn’t stop laughing at him.
The war between him and the City Sushi owner was reminiscent of his war against the Mongolians in Child Abduction Is Not Funny and it was a very welcome trip down nostalgia lane. Some may grow tired of the feud as it keeps going on and on but I personally couldn’t get enough of it.
Butters’ plot was rarely funny and didn’t elicit too many laughs. I do like Butters as a character but his plot was stupid and I lost interest pretty quickly. The whole thing with the therapist switching personalities felt tired and lame and I just didn’t find it funny.
Granted, Butters hasn’t had the spotlight for a few years, so it was nice to see him back in it. It’s just unfortunate that his plot was weak. I appreciate that Matt and Trey stuck to the whole bewilderment and ignorance aspects of the character but I just thought the plot was a bit lazy.
Trey and Matt do redeem themselves though and make up for the poor writing in Butters’ plot. They do this with a clever plot twist that despite throwing continuity to the wind, is actually cleverly done and a welcome addition to the episode.
So in conclusion we get, LMFAO’s seriously overplayed Party Rock Anthem. A shamefully funny Pearl Harbour reference (“It was sneaky, kind of like Pearl Harbor. That was a little sneaky, too. We can all be a little sneaky”). The City Wok owner starting another war. A surprising plot twist and a valuable lesson that taught us that the only thing Japanese people like more than killing people is killing themselves. I’d say it was a pretty successful half hour.
While it wasn’t the best South Park episode we’ve seen this season, it’s right up there and I can’t wait until next week.
By the way, anyone else catch The Simpsons reference?