We’re going to LA!
America
This was one of the better portrayals of the US that I’ve seen.
They even got the customs at the airport right. Speaking of which, that customs agent is awesome. Dual mad scientist laugh!
Okabe keeps getting carted off by the police, too, which is pretty hilarious. Although it’s not clear to me why they didn’t put a bit more effort into the fonts on the police officer’s shirts… they looks hideous.
The episode even featured the ubiquitous shitty American motel! If anything, it was unrealistically clean inside. I like the “American Owned and Operated” sign too. I guess Japanese people must hear about all the “buy American” campaigns, but generally it’s not something most people think about when staying in a motel in America. I’m pretty sure that the American motel that isn’t American operated is extremely rare, at least.
Okabe has the right idea though. American pop culture has succeeded in passing along an important message to our Japanese friends: avoid roadside motels if at all possible. A personal story: one time I was forced to stay in one of these places. I went and got the key from the guy sleeping at the front desk. Put it in the lock, turned gently, and the key literally snapped in half. Went back and showed it to the guy at the desk, he wasn’t even surprised and wordlessly handed me a copy.
America is, of course, the Holy Land of Dr. Pepper. (The headquarters are in Waco, which is where Okabe should have taken his pilgrimage to. They have a museum there.)
Of course, cultural exchange is a two way street.
Unfortunately Christina does not want to share.
All in all, though, the setting did feel like America. It was one of the best portrayals I’ve seen.
The biggest thing they got wrong is the food. What the hell is this supposed to be?! If presented with this, most Americans wouldn’t even realize it was intended to be edible.
Distance
The biggest thing I noticed that they got right about America, though, is the sense of distance. Twenty-six Japans could fit inside America. When they talk about remote villages in Japan, I can’t help but laugh to myself. Consider Shiki or Higurashi. The villages there are supposed to be remote, and completely inaccessible. But the kids there can hop on a bus to spend the afternoon shopping in a neighboring city. That isn’t remote at all!
You can drive through west Texas for hours without passing a town with population greater than fifty. We estimate the size of a town by whether it has two, one or zero stop lights. Any place that has public transportation does not qualify as remote.
So I was pleased when they addressed this by having Okarin get stranded. That’s what happens when you have a taxi drop you off in the middle of nowhere (although honestly, he shouldn’t have been able to get so far from LA in such a short time… but whatever). And don’t worry about your cellphone running out of batteries. You’re lucky if you would have had service anyway. (although in the past few years, it has gotten much better)
And I liked how Okarin suffered from heat exhaustion too. It seems from anime like they always have nice weather in Japan…
That food is most likely omuraisu (omelet rice). Very tasty. It’s a modern Japanese spin on the omelet. Okabe had some at the maid cafe earlier in the series as well.
Yeah, definitely not something a restaurant would serve in America. Unless Christina was hired as the chef too…
I was actually hesitant about watching this since I found the series perfectly fine as it was. I had a hard time imagining what they might add that wouldn’t feel like some slapped on special that so many other anime include. Thankfully, I absolutely loved it and wanted to hug the whole world after that ending ^^
I agree, this show didn’t really need anything else. Well, I didn’t think it needed anything else until I saw this. 🙂 But it was a lot of fun, and it did help to wrap things up between Okabe and Christina.
Agreed. This episode gave a nice taste of all the cast, and excellent closure.
Also still love the way Okabe reminds himself about Ruka being male. Best trap ever imo.
I loved this episode. I can’t say I know much about America, but this episode had all of the stereotypes that I think of when I think of America. The discovery of Diet Dr. Pepper was hilarious.
I also laugh when they have “remote” Japanese villages in anime. Some places in Canada are only accessible by air once every few weeks, or if you can afford it, by a private propeller plane.
Perfect epilogue.