Line #40 WesternAnimation/KappaMikey


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6	[[quoteright:250:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/kappy-mikey04.jpg]]
7
8	->''"Hey! (Hey!) Look! (Look!) Out in the streets!\
9	Don't you see the man is Kappa Mikey?!"''
10
11	A 2006-to-2008 FishOutOfWater WorkCom [[Creator/{{Nickelodeon}} Nicktoon]] animated in-house at Creator/AnimationCollective, and Creator/{{Nicktoons}} Network's first original cartoon. The show blends tropes from both [[AnimationTropes American cartoons]] and [[JapaneseMediaTropes Japanese cartoons]]. ''Kappa Mikey'' is about American teenage actor Mikey Simon who wins a contest giving him a role in the flagging {{anime}} series ''Lily Mu'', and [[GrowingTheBeard ends up making it a hit]]. ''Lily Mu'' is a show that parodies, and includes, more {{Superhero}} and {{Shonen}} tropes than would fit in this article, and are all the more appropriate to contrast with the ordinary "real world" in the main show.
12
13	After moving to Japan, Mikey constantly finds himself [[CultureClash in conflict with both the culture]] of his new homeland, and with his cast-mates. Episodes usually revolve around Mikey and his friends learning lessons as they [[OnceAnEpisode deal with off-screen problems that are impairing their acting performance.]] Said problems are often rather bizarre, like the time ''a rapping, self-aware sock puppet'' threatened to upstage Lily on a magazine's "Most Beautiful People" list. An in-joke for the Creator/FourKidsEntertainment fans exists where most of the voice actors also worked on their anime dubs back in the day.
14
15	The show was available on iTunes until it was quietly taken down around 2015. It is also succeeded by one {{Spinoff}} mini-series that is available on Website/YouTube.
16
17	Now with a [[Characters/KappaMikey Characters]] page. Any tropes specific to an individual character should go there. Also a [[Recap/KappaMikey Recap]] page.
18	----
19	!!This series features examples of:
20	* TwoDVisualsThreeDEffects: Most of the vehicles and robots. Always used in the ''Lily Mu'' segments. Any background with a building in it is also CGI.
21	* AbsurdlyDedicatedWorker: In the Christmas special when ''Lily Mu'' is cancelled mid-filming no one yelled cut so Gonard never stopped acting.
22	* {{Aesop}}: Played with in the end of 'Splashomon''. After the conflict has been resolved, Ozu claims that one shouldn't jump to conclusions, and if anyone has a question, they should just ask, as he'll always be honest. [[BlatantLies Always.]]
23	-->'''Mikey:''' Ozu, where do babies come from?
24	-->'''Ozu:''' Er, internet.
25	-->'''Gonard:''' Where does the Tooth Fairy live?
26	-->'''Ozu:''' Inside a hurricane.
27	-->'''Mikey:''' Can robots love?
28	-->'''Ozu:''' I'm sorry, but sometimes robots only hate.
29	* AlwaysIdenticalTwins: Ozu and Brozu.
30	* AlwaysSomeoneBetter: Mikey is this to Lily.
31	* AnimatedActors: With a twist.
32	* AnimationBump: They are rare, but can usually be found in places where the animator got free reign to do what he/she wanted with a given shot, and particularly in the Karaoke Episodes, where the beat of the music ruled the animation.
33	* {{Animesque}}: Virtually all of Japan is drawn in Anime-style with all of the classic elements. Only Mikey, an American, is kept as an American cartoon character.
34	%% * {{Animeland}}
35	* AnimeThemeSong: One of the few, if not ''only'', instances of a J-pop band writing an original song for an American cartoon! "Hey! X2 Look! X2" was performed by the Beat Crusaders (best known for "Tonight, Tonight, Tonight", the fourth opening in ''Manga/{{Bleach}}''), and was the only piece of music for ''Kappa Mikey'' that was not written in-house. This band tended to sing mainly in English and were influenced by the United States heavily. They also performed the original theme "Hit in the USA" for ''Manga/{{BECK\|1999}}''.
36	* AnticlimacticParent: The story of ''La Cage Aux Mikey''. Taken one step further when it turns out Mikey's parents CAN'T make it to dinner, so he hires two other characters to play his parents.
37	* ArtShift: It's amazing how smoothly Mikey and the Americans are animated... but they make up about 5% of the characters! The other 20% are okay-looking anime, and the remaining 75% are ''chibi''.
38	* BankruptcyBarrel: In "The Karaoke Episode."
39	* [[BigDamnMovie Big Damn Fan Movie]]: [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1yLy1_iacvU Well,... the trailer, at least. ...and a damned GOOD one!]]
40	* BookEnds: The ''Lily Mu'' sequence bookends [[OnceAnEpisode each episode]]- the first time, the take is ruined, and the second time, they get it right and it is changed to incorporate whatever lesson was learned. Though they did get it right on the first take a few times.
41	* BottleEpisode: ''The Clip Show'', along with being what it obviously ''is'', features about eight minutes of original animation, the seven main characters, no new designs, and takes place indoors, mostly in the studio.
42	** Especially in Season 2, the ''[=LilyMu=]'' sequences were recycled and altered in new episodes.
43	* BreadEggsBreadedEggs: One writer, or a pair of writers, depends on this a lot as jokes in a few episodes.
44	* BrickJoke: In one episode, Mikey accidentally destroys Ozu's precious bonsai tree. In a later episode Mikey pulls out a katana, cutting everything in sight, including, you guessed it, a bonsai tree. Both even catch on fire after losing all of their branches.
45	* BrokenTreasure: Mikey at one point loses the photos containing Mitsuki's fond memories, and frantically takes replacements before she gets wise.
46	** Pretty much anything Ozu values in his possession gets destroyed or lost by Mikey.
47	%%* ButtMonkey: Mikey.
48	* CastingGag: The [[Franchise/DragonBall Goku]] {{Expy}} Gonard is voiced by Goku's English voice, Sean Schemmel.
49	* CatsAreMean: Kello the Kitten, who tries to sabotage the ''Lily Mu'' show and cause the cast to lose their jobs, however he ends up getting sent to a vicious pre-school show.
50	%%* ChristmasEpisode
51	* ClipShow: The second season includes one, framed by Guano being forced to make his OWN clip show of ''Lily Mu''. Played straight AND spoofed on occasion..
52	* {{Cloudcuckoolander}}: Gonard when he off the set.
53	* ComicallyOversizedButt: In the episode "Uh Oh Guano", there is a one-off character named Sergu with a giant posterior who immigrated from Buttstonia, a fictional country known for its equally big-butted citizens with currencies the shape of rear ends. Once Sergu became the richest man of Buttstonia, an ambassador from said country visited Japan via hot air balloon to pick him up.
54	* CompositeCharacter: A plot point in "The Wizard of Ozu" [[spoiler:has Yes-man and Ozu being the same person with Yes-Man behind the Ozu projection]].
55	* {{Continuity}}: Pops up on occasion.
56	** In "The Karaoke Episode Part II", a newscast reports that the yen has taken a bit of a dive and goes to tycoon Richie [=McMillions=] for comment, who was a scripted antagonist in "Tin Putt".
57	* [[CrazyCatLady Crazy Cat Burglar]]: The Cat Burglar in "The Fugi-Kid", who planned to use thousands of cats to pull off the biggest heist in history. He even admits that he loves to [[EatTheDog eat cats.]]
58	* CreditCardPlot: Hog Day Afternoon begins with this.
59	* CreditsGag: ''Mikey At The Bat'' ends with various crew members creating baseball-related middle names for themselves.
60	%%* CrossPoppingVeins
61	* CultureClash: Mikey constantly fails at grasping the world he has entered. At one point, he even mistakes Japan as having a president instead of a prime minister, and after some persistent correction from his friends, winds up calling him "Prime Minister The President". His Japanese friends occasionally have the same problem with American facts.
62	* CutawayGag: Of the ''WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy'' variety, though not used so much as to make the show memorable for it.
63	* DeconstructedTrope: On surprising occasions. "Live [=LilyMu=]" showed what would happen if someone kept screaming her vocal cords out for an extended period of time, repeatedly. (Go on, guess who).
64	* DerangedAnimation: To an extent. It's enhanced even more during the songs of ''The Karaoke Episode''.
65	* DistaffCounterpart: Brozu's assistant to Ozu's. Ozu's assistant is one Yes Man and Brozu's is known for the CatchPhrase "No Way".
66	* DrunkOnMilk: Guano, after he quits, in ''Script Assassin''
67	-->'''Guano:''' -Hic- Another Banana Bonanza, please.
68	-->'''Beef:''' Ya haven't left that seat in a week, kid. Ah think you had enough.
69	-->'''Guano:''' (throws dessert off the table) [[IllTellYouWhenIveHadEnough NO! I think YOU have enough!]] You're not the-- BOSS of me! NO one is! Not Ozu, not no one! (falls off the stool)
70	* EdutainmentShow: Averted; it's clearly not, but being set in a country other than where it was made and is seen, basic facts pop up on occasion that the target audience (little boys) may not have known about beforehand. This leads to some TruthInTelevision examples, such as how Japan has to recycle all their garbage to conserve space on their small island nation (there really ''are'' tons of recycling cans in every building), or how kabuki actors are all men.
71	* EpunymousTitle: While most of the audience might not realize it, the name "Kappa Mikey" is based off of Kappamaki: A type of sushi.
72	* FaceFault: Parodied in a few episodes where Mikey, as an American cartoon character, can't do it, no matter how hard he tries.
73	* {{Fanboy}}: Several appear throughout the series. An episode focuses on Mikey getting kidnapped by a duo of teenage fanboys and becoming a member of their club held in their mom's basement!
74	* FashionShow: The episode ''Fashion Frenzy''.
75	* FeudEpisode: Several.
76	** ''Easy Come Easy Gonard'': Gonard and Mikey have a falling out. [[spoiler:Mitsuki has them make up later.]]
77	** ''Script Assassin'': Guano quits in tears after Ozu revises his script without telling him, [[spoiler:and they make up on a talk show.]]
78	** The side story of ''Mitsuki Vanishes'' involves Yes Man quitting.
79	* FillingTheSilence: Pauses are filled in by cartoon noises for the slightest bit of movement.
80	* FlowersForAlgernonSyndrome: Gonard eats a radioactive sandwich and becomes super-intelligent in ''Go Nard Hunting''.
81	* ForgottenBirthday: The first third of ''Like Ozu Like Son''.
82	* FreakyFridayFlip: The episode ''Manic Monday'' parodies both the trope AND the film on which it is based, where the two yin-yang heroines switch bodies in a standard story formula.
83	* FunnyBackgroundEvent: ''Live [=LilyMu=]'' - Gonard is on-stage doing a prop comedy sketch for the audience and says, "Now if you want milk with those eggs..." We cut to Ozu giving his team a pep talk backstage, where in the background we hear a cow's moo, a hard punt, Gonard's scream, and a crash.
84	* GagSeries: And how!
85	* GassHole: Gonard on most occasions, though after she accidentally ate ice cream with "fart powder" on it, Mitsuki became one during the series finale, "Live [=LilyMu=]".
86	* GeorgeJetsonJobSecurity: Ozu threatens to fire the cast or cancel the show literally every other episode if not EVERY episode!
87	* GermansLoveDavidHasselhoff: InUniverse, ''Lily Mu'' was very popular in [[{{Ruritania}} Buttswana]].
88	* GooGooGetup: In "Mikey's Place", in the subplot, Lily is caught red-handed showing hatred toward babies, so Ozu forces her to take care of a baby for one day to regain ''[=LilyMu=]'''s reputation. When the baby crawls away, Guano is forced to take his place. Guano comes to enjoy being treated as a baby, though.
89	%%* GreenAesop: "Mikey Kappa"
90	%%* GreenEyedMonster: Lily.
91	%%* HardWorkMontage
92	* SugarWiki/HeReallyCanAct: InUniverse, Mikey is usually a terrible actor and fumbles his lines or generally acts in an incompetent manner. But when given the chance, he can shine as an actor.
93	* HowTheCharacterStoleChristmas: Not the focus of the special, though... and it only lasts a minute.
94	* IdiosyncraticWipes: Two words: dancing sushi.
95	* {{Irony}}: [[NoExportForYou This never aired in Japan.]] It was otherwise MTV Network's first ''global'' acquisition and was translated into at least fifteen languages. Given what the show is trying to say, it's actually not surprising.
96	%%* InvisibilityCloak: A trench-coat.
97	* InvisibleStreaker: In the episode, "The Fugi-Kid" Mikey has a trench-coat that turns him invisible, he uses this to walk around naked at one point, and then the trench-coat gets caught on something.
98	* ItsAWonderfulPlot: The Christmas episode.
99	* KaraokeBox: The entire two-part episode ''The Karaoke Episode'' focuses on this activity. Each character even has their own ImageSong during the course of the episode.
100	* LampshadeHanging: "We go through this every time, Mitsuki. You tell me not to do something, I do it anyway, things go wrong, I try to fix it, it gets worse, we talk about our feelings, and everything's cool! So chill'ax, already!"
101	* LemonadeStandPlot: "Easy Come Easy Gonard" has Mikey and Gonard setting up a lemonade stand in order to [[WorkOffTheDebt work off the large tab Mikey grew in the Tatami Megastore]]. While it initially works thanks to their fame on the ''Lily Mu'' show, their rising ego and a feud ruins any chance they have of getting the funds.
102	* LoveAtFirstSight: Mitsuki to Mikey in the pilot, Mikey to Lily in the pilot.
103	* {{Macekre}}: InUniverse; when ''Lily Mu'' is imported to America, it's edited to make Guano the star of the show and Mikey's character is changed to a fairy and a background character.
104	* TheMagnificentSevenSamurai: There is an episode where the five crew members are called by a little boy to save their playground from a garbage man intent on turning it into a landfill. The boy is under the impression that they are heroes instead of actors, and the [=LilyMu=] crew is [[AllPartOfTheShow under the impression that it's all a publicity gig!]]
105	* MeanCharacterNiceActor: Mitsuki and Gonard. Mitsuki is the tough-as-nails deuteragonist while Gonard is the main villain of ''Lily Mu''. Off the set, Mitsuki is a sweetheart with a major crush on Mikey, while Gonard is a BigFun KindheartedSimpleton who is Mikey's best friend.
106	* MediumBlending: While Mikey's animation (as well as the American citizens) are Flash-animated, the Japanese people are animated in an anime style.
107	* {{Mouthflaps}}: Subverted; only the anime characters have mouths that just go up and down when they talk in a normal indoor voice and never accentuate what they're actually saying, while Mikey's mouth covers the full spectrum of movements.
108	%%* NationalStereotypes.
109	* NiceCharacterMeanActor: In ''Lily Mu'', Lily plays the cutesy DamselInDistress heroine. Off the set, Lily is a [[AlphaBitch mean individual]] [[ItsAllAboutMe who only cares about her needs]].
110	* NoCommunitiesWereHarmed: Many of the backgrounds were based on actual locations in Japan like downtown Tokyo, as the most obvious example, and Yoyogi Park.
111	* ObliviousToHatred: Mikey is unaware of Lily's hatred of him because he's in love with her.
112	* PaperThinDisguise: Several instances. Sean Schemmel does a drop-dead hilarious Swiss accent!
113	* ParodyEpisode: Several. One of them involving ''Film/TheRing'', of all things (though possibly because it was based on a Japanese horror film). Another episode parodies ''Literature/MurderOnTheOrientExpress'', although its title is a play on ''Film/TheLadyVanishes''.
114	* PluckyComicRelief: The Dancing Sushi. They have no importance to the show's plot, all they do is take a few seconds of screen time for themselves dancing and singing at random moments.
115	* PortmanteauCoupleName: InUniverse, Ozu tricks Gonard and Lily into a fake relationship purely for ratings purposes. "Lilynard" is printed on newspaper headlines, and on Gonard's T-shirt- he later rips it off to reveal another that says "Gonuki", saying, [[CrazyPrepared "ya never know..."]]
116	%%* PunBasedTitle
117	%%* RapidFireComedy
118	* RealPlaceBackground: Most of the show takes place in the Ginza area of downtown Tokyo. Yoyogi Park, Nagano, and the Yodo River are also real places.
119	* TheRashomon: The episode ''Splashomon'' presents an utterly and hilariously absurd version of this.
120	* ReactionShot: All subtropes are covered, and used so frequently, it gets annoying.
121	* RiskyBusinessDance: Briefly in "Mikey Impossible".
122	* ShoutOut:
123	** One minor character resembles ''Manga/DrSlump's'' Senbei Norimaki, particularly the later version of Senbei who cuts his hair.
124	** Two walkons are based off of Music/PuffyAmiYumi, but in particular the ''WesternAnimation/HiHiPuffyAmiYumi'' version of the pair with slightly different color palettes.
125	* ShowWithinAShow: ''[=LilyMu=]'' is the action, Japanese television show that Mikey stars on. Each episode starts with the group taping an episode of ''[=LilyMu=]'' and then Mikey screwing something up which serves as a catalyst to whatever antics the group gets into.
126	%%* {{Slapstick}}
127	* SpinOff: ''Dancing Sushi''
128	* SplitScreenPhoneCall: Featured in several episodes. Lampshaded by Lily, who, at one point, pushes a horizontal split-screen line into Mikey on the other end.
129	* StatusQuoIsGod: A lesson is learned at the end of every episode, but by the next episode, no one changes.
130	** Lampshaded when Mikey messes something up again, Ozu muses with Guano and Yes Man that they should probably start holding Mikey responsible for his actions. They [[{{Beat}} think about it]], then ''laugh''.
131	* StrongFamilyResemblance: In one episode with Mikey's great grandfather Cincinnati Tex, (who looks like exactly like Mikey with brown hair, a baseball uniform and a twirly mustache.)
132	* SuperDeformed: 70% of the time for everyone who is not Mikey.
133	* TakeThat: To how American dubs, particularly Creator/4KidsEntertainment, always edit anime shows to ridiculous levels.
134	** The pilot has Ozu expressing a deep hatred for [[TabletopGame/YuGiOh cards]], and that all shows seem to have them.
135	** Ozu, when explaining why he's changing the format of the show.
136	-->'''Ozu:''' This is what audiences want to see! [[RealityShow Attractive people! Doing ABSOLUTELY! NOTHING!]]
137	%%* TenMinuteRetirement
138	* TheMusical: Or rather, the Karaoke Episode.
139	* TheatrePhantom: The Phantom is parodied as "The Phantom of the Studio", using a mask because someone wrote "fart" on his forehead.
140	* ThickLineAnimation: How Mikey is animated. The rest of the cast are drawn in Anime style.
141	* TomboyAndGirlyGirl: Lily and Mitsuki alternate between this:
142	** On-camera: Lily's Girly Girl to Mitsuki's Tomboy.
143	** Off-camera: Lily's Tomboy to Mitsuki's Girly Girl.
144	* ToiletHumor: The punchline of many situations is usually just farts or thereabouts.
145	* TrueCompanions: All five crew members are only together because of their occupation- an anime show. This also makes it a WorkCom. They usually despise or don't understand each other, yet you can bet that at the end of any episode, they will discover something about one another they admire. Same goes for Ozu and Yes Man.
146	* {{Tsundere}}: The two heroines Lily and Mitsuki can arguably personify the two behaviors the trope describes toward their attitudes toward Mikey (Lily is tsun-tsun, Mitsuki is dere-dere). However, both have been known to switch behaviors on occasion.
147	%%* TwoGirlsToATeam
148	%%* TwoLinesNoWaiting
149	%%* TVNeverLies
150	* UnknownRival: Mikey is unaware of Lily's jealousy towards him, as he is infatuated with her as is his character on the show.
151	%%* UnspokenPlanGuarantee
152	* ViewersAreMorons: Self-admitted in this show.
153	* YetAnotherChristmasCarol: Played straight and subverted in the middle.
154	%%* ZanyScheme
155	----
156	->'''Engineer 1:''' How do you think the network is going to feel about all that farting?
157	->'''Engineer 2:''' Are you kidding? They're going to ''love'' it!
158	-> --The very last lines in the show.

Context WesternAnimation / KappaMikey