Interest

Western Cartoons Go Anime in South Park, My Little Pony, Gravity Falls

The long-running parody cartoon South Park took on the world of yaoi in its Tweek x Craig episode this week, when the aforementioned characters became the subjects of in-universe shipping. The result is what you would expect when "real people" are shipped into a relationship, and the two boys aren't exactly thrilled. However, the yaoi cat is out of the bag and the rest of the town's citizens are more than on board for more Craig and Tweek art.

While South Park has previously satirized Totoro and Dragon Ball Z two other cartoons are also looking across the pond for inspiration this week. The My Little Ponies: Friendship is Magic episode "Scare Master" is airing on Saturday, although it leaked early on iTunes. In the episode, Fluttershy is avoiding going out on Nightmare Night but ends up having to leave the safety of her home anyway. While going through the town, several "scary" decorations are set-up with suspiciously familiar characters. The drawings include pony versions of Sailor Moon, Rei Ayanami, Utena Tenjō, Bulma, and Ranma Saotome.

In Wednesday's episode of Gravity Falls, the characters travel through several "bubbles," each changing them into a different versions of themselves. One bubble changes Dipper and Wendy into anime versions of themselves. Chim Chim and Spritle from Speed Racer can be spotted in the back seat.

The Simpson's annual "Treehouse of Horror XXV" Halloween episode will also take a stab at Japanese pop culture parody on Sunday when Homer turns into "Homerzilla."

Thanks to Rukiia, TnAdct1, and bentleytrexler for the news tips