The Zany Bishojo Evalana answers you 1

This one goes out to Esme, who asked: "Your thoughts on ALL of the Care Bear Couples (for AiCaL) that you have heard about!"

Well, I don't really follow the shipping circles, but here are my thoughts on the few couplings I've heard of or thought of myself:

Grumpy/Share
This is the first coupling I called, based on the very first episode (A Little Help & Telltale Tummy) and confirmed by the second (Growing Pains & King Grumpy) ^_~ This is one of the few couples that I'd be fine with actually being canon. They're just so cute, with Share being so sweet, reaching out to him, and Grumpy being gruff, but with a secret soft spot for her. They'd both be the "little things" kind of couple, where their actions speak louder than words.

Grumpy/Cheer
I see this couple more as a holdover from the older series, which definitely had their Cheer/Grumpy moments. I've seen supporters of this couple in AiCaL cite "A Case of the Grumpies," but IMO, I saw her attempts at cheering up Grumpy as a project ("I'm sure I can do it," she said with such smug confidence), not because she had feelings for him (if you know what I mean). And that's really how I see their relationship, and Cheer's relationship with anyone, really. She's the one in charge, and the others are just the players in her plans.

Funshine/Share
Um, I don't really have any thoughts on them. I just don't see it. I guess this came from "Care-ful Bear," but I think that he would have felt bad no matter who got hurt. And as we saw from The "Best Bear in Care-a-lot," Funshine is just generally a good guy to everyone.

Funshine/Cheer
Of any pairings involving these two, I think that this one is the most likely, although it would probably stay the "practically a couple, but they don't realize it" kind of thing. They both tend to get ideas in their heads that they can't let go of. And if the idea was each other.... ^_~

Oopsy/Wish
I know I'm not the only one who noticed how similar Oopsy's usual drawn-in belly badge is to Wish's. My personal theory is that Oopsy has a crush on Wish, hence the badge similarity and why he was all gung-ho about Twinklets, but Wish has no clue. She really seems more the motherly type than a romantic, so she's a shoo-in for selective obliviousness.

Oopsy/Cheer
This one comes directly from Oopsy Does It, where Cheer was pretty much the only one who put any stock in Oopsy. And then she cheered him up with that song when they were locked in the dungeon. They'd be a nice couple, probably.

Grizzle/Share
Okay, maybe this one is just me, but seriously, "Rebooted" gave me a vibe for this couple. I mean, Share was the first one to be sympathetic toward Grizzle, and she gave him the lollipop and a hug (fortunately, Grumpy was not jealous. Or if he was, he kept it inside, but Grumpy doesn't really seem like the type to do that, y'know?), and she was the one who pointed out that Grizzled cared at the end. Maybe Share has a thing for the grouchy types, hm? ^_~

Love-a-lot/Tenderheart
A holdover from the 2000s version, but still a cute thought. I kinda see AiCaL Love-a-lot as being a little fickle, crushing on all the boys, but never looking for anything serious. Love-a-lot = ultimate fangirl.

Funshine/Love-a-lot
For me this falls under the "Funshine is a good guy" and "Love-a-lot is fickle" umbrella. You could actually get a lot of pairings out of those two for those two reasons alone.

Surprise/Funshine
Mostly based on "The Best Bear in Care-a-lot," how he was actually able to surprise her, and she respected him for that. But I think they'd be just friends.

Bedtime/Sweet Dreams
Yes, I know that she hasn't shown up in the series, but they made a plush of her in AiCaL style, so it's inevitable. And seriously, her only purpose is to be Bedtime's girlfriend. I guess he got lonely, being the only nocturnal bear.
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Super Secret Slash Section (don't read if you don't want the images)
Don't take these too seriously. They just amuse me, in a crack kind of way.

Grumpy/Funshine
Blame this one on Oopsy Does It. You know the scene ("Want another Care Bear Stare?"). Plus that one part in Rainshine Meadows where Grumpy said he hates seeing Funshine unhappy ^_~

Tenderheart/Funshine
From Dare Bears, I guess. They seem to hang out a lot.

Oopsy/Grizzle
This one comes from ODI. It would probably be an emotionally abusive relationship, as Grizzle would alternatively play on Oopsy's insecurites and make more, depending on the situation.

Grizzle/Mr. Beaks
You know it! ^_^

And there you have it. Feel free to ask me more questions, and I'll answer them to the best of my ability.

Shocking Discovery - Disney Fairies

Poking around the IMDB, I found the cast list for the upcoming Tinkerbell movie. An interesting ensemble, to say the least. I mean, I'm always glad to see Kristin Chenoweth listed, and it's no surprise that Rob Paulsen and Jeff Glenn Bennett are involved, but do we really need Jesse McCartney? Granted, my only experience with him is vaguely in the game Kingdom Hearts (my sister played it, so I caught the cut scenes here and there) and at the end of Horton Hears a Who, but still, it annoys me. And what's Angelica Huston doing there, anyway?
The girl herself (Tinkerbell) is voiced by Mae Whitman, who is not only Katara from Avatar: the Last Airbender, but was Suzie on Johnny Bravo (which is more impressive to me. Ah, my youth...). But the real reason I'm bringing all this to your attention is for two reasons. The first is that I'm happy to see that Vidia is in the movie (she wasn't on the movie site, so I thought she wouldn't be in it), but I just cannot make heads or tails of her voice actress: Pamela Adlon. Probably best known as Bobby Hill on King of the Hill, but I'll always think of her as that kid from Time Squad. So I'm very curious to see what she does as Vidia, because while her usual raspy voicings are not what I think of when I imagine Vidia's voice, it might work. But I really won't know until the movie comes out, which won't be until the end of October.

Creating mythology, part three

You know, I had forgotten this, but the Princess Bumble's first characterization was actually a lot more impatient and impulsive. In fact, her biggest story was how she got it in her head to actually do everything in the song, "Much More" from The Fantasticks, and started with "swim in a clear blue stream where the water is icy cold," since Bumble Lake was a pretty close match and nearby. Disregarding the fact that she couldn't even swim. Fortunately, she took her entourage to watch, and they rescued her, but she got a very bad cold. In some versions, this was the catalyst that brought Princess Gloria to visit her, but in other versions, they first met when Gloria made an impromptu visit to see the fabled Land of the Bees, but came again anyway when she heard her friend was sick.

Also, the idea of a coup was influenced by the finale to Pippin. I know what it's really about, but just listening to it, it could be about a group influencing him to do anything, really.

As I mentioned last time, everything written in the previous entries was all to lead up to this last part. But what I really mean by that is I came up with this next section first, and created the other two to bolster it, as it were. In this third part, the daughter of the former Princess Bumble, granddaughter of Bumble the Reformed, decided she was not satisfied with a cold and frigid Bumbleland, and set off on a quest to do something about it. She only took one bee with her, named Juniper, although in the very first concept she had three followers, and one was a girl (named Honey, naturally. This was before I came up with the "themed-naming done by queen" idea). I eventually took most of the details of her quest and turned it into my first NaNoWriMo novel, only I turned a couple of characters she met along the way into the main characters, saving only their reason for joining Bumble (they had to turn their friend, bewitched into a coat, back to normal) and making it the main quest catalyst. For the Bumble version, though, I toyed with a few different ideas for the end of the quest. In most versions, she found something, usually at the Royal Wonder Academy (blatantly stolen from the second season of Fushigiboshi no Futago Hime). My very first thought was the Moonstone, to go with the Sunstone in Flutter Valley, and thus tied to its power. It actually made the seasons progress in a week, so Bumbleland essential experienced a full year of seasons in a month. I also considered having her garner a favor from the Princess Ponies and use their wands to make Bumbleland as she wished it, but since I either never saw that episode or completely forgot what happened (and never bothered to watch it again, even though it was released on DVD), I never really considered this seriously. And in at least one version, she decided to just leave things as they were in Bumbleland, having a greater appreciation for it now that she'd seen the world.

Whatever the outcome, eventually her mother stepped down as queen and she took over. I came up with a very small concept of her own daughter's adventures, mainly that she became friends with Princess (now Queen) Gloria's grandson (he was good at playing the piano, she was good at coming up with lyrics), and he fell in love with her. When he asked her to become his queen, she declined, stating that she couldn't abandon her hive (never mind how they would produce an heir. In MLP-universe, anything is possible, either with magic or friendship or true love). This threw him into such despair that he was easy prey for some evil guy. Evil Guy filled the prince with a dark aura, causing him to act upon his basest desires: he had his Princess Bumble captured and locked up in a cage inside a labyrinth so that when the Bumbleland Army came looking for her, they got horribly lost. Fortunately, the Princess was able to sing and lead them to her. Meanwhile, the Queen Bumble took matters into her own hands and confronted the prince, somehow knocking the dark aura out of him. Just in time for the Evil Guy to announce himself, and a new age of Evil to dawn... Personally, I left it at that, because when it comes to thwarting evil, it's best left to the Little Ponies, right? They certainly have a knack for it, anyway.

And that's all she wrote, as they say.

Lost Images - Sushi Pack

Here are some images from the episodes I blogged before I had my Pinnacle.

From Deep Freeze:




Deep Sea Diver Dude:



Go With the Glow:





Satel-lightning:



World's Tastiest Heroes:

Ask The Zany Bishojo Evalana

To make up for posting so much about Sushi Pack lately (including posts I haven't finished yet), here's some reader participation:

Everyone has things they blog about. Everyone has things they don't blog about. Challenge me out of my comfort zone by telling me something, ask a question, or name a subject that I don't blog about, but you'd like to hear about, and I'll write a post about it. Ask for anything: latest movie watched, last book read, my religion, political leanings, insecurities, thoughts on yaoi, favorite type of underwear, graphic techniques, etc.

So go at it, folks!

Sushi Pack - Rex Marks the Spot

To sooth my broken heart at my VCR's betrayal (read: no "When Will Ben be Zen?" and "Wharf City on the Half Shell" on youtube for a good long time), I'm once again skipping So Says Who? and Darkness and Spice (I'll get to them, I swear!) to do a quick take on Rex Marks the Spot, the better of the two very Tako-centric episodes (Taming the Gaming will come later, just because I want to point out how much of a mess it is). And it is very Tako-centric, which equals one very happy Evalana (seriously, I kept squeeing all through this ep).
But first there's some plot at the beginning with a German scientist who created tiny trash-eating dinosaurs. It's not very interesting, although I did like the line about "a bunch of children's books written by celebrities" being in the pile of trash for the thing (Rex) to eat. Now, this next part I'm only describing because I cannot figure it out. Rex, which is small enough to fit in a test tube, doesn't want to come out, so the scientist sends out the other one, Clayton, instead. While Clayton chows down, Rex sheds a tear, then goes into a rage, and ends up knocking over some chemicals which it then splashes down into. And like I said, I just don't really get what's supposed to be going on in Rex's head. Any theories? Anyway, the only point of all that is to show that the scientist did not naturally create something that grows with the trash it eats, but that it was a side effect of the chemicals.
Finally, we get to the meat of the episode, which starts with Ben proclaiming, "Check it out, Sushies!" (Is that like "Scoobies?") He comes bearing pinky rings that he got from a mail order comic promotion back in the day (whenever that was), and seeing them now, they instantly reminded him of tiny crowns, perfect for sushies. The Pack is instantly enamored of them, and Maguro uses her telekinesis to grab them and crown everyone. Tako is noticeably absent. The others admire themselves; Ikura is especially into it, and Kani finally has an outlet for her crownlust, as seen in The World's Tastiest Heroes (the absolute only thing remotely interesting about that episode, so don't expect me to blog that one here). Ikura decrees they wear the crowns on all missions, but Ben finally points out that not everyone has one. The others whip their heads around to notice Tako, who insists that he's okay without a crown. Of course, the many-headed thinking routine tells a different story... (Mostly I think he's just offended because Maguro was the one who crowned everyone and she forgot about him.) Wasabi offers Tako his crown, but Tako again insists that crowns are not his style. Ben, sensing the truth, tells Tako to just say the word if he wants to wear a crown later. Leading to this lovely exchange:

Kani: Yeah, we can't read your mind!
Tako: There's nothing to read.
Kani: That explains so very, very much.

Of course, Kani's first line should have started (or ended) with "Unlike Maguro..." You know, if one were to read it that way, this episode could be a good basis for a Kani/Tako ship. Not that there isn't some Maguro/Tako in there, too, but this ep has the strongest Tako/Kani interaction I've seen to date. That I remember, anyway.
Back with the scientist, Rex is now huge, still growing, and somehow gained the ability to change things into garbage with his breath. Later, Sophia reports on Rex destroying the city, and the Pack gets ready for action! Maguro calls on Tako to give the catchphrase, but, still offended, he's not enthusiastic at all. Maguro implores him to tell her what's wrong, but Tako denies everything and runs off. Both Wasabi and Maguro have a bad feeling about the upcoming mission.
Out in the city, the Pack watches Rex turn a car into garbage, and they turn to Tako for a cunning plan. Unfortunately, Tako is too apathetic to come up with anything, and goes to face the beast himself. An offhand comment makes the others suspect that Tako really *does* want a crown, despite his previous comments. Tako shoots ink at Rex halfheartedly, complaining about the "stupid crowns" as he does, but Rex easily turns it into sludge, which it then slurps up off the pavement. Ikura attempts to cover Tako, but his attack on Rex meets exactly the same fate. Seeing Rex amble off to make more and more trash, Ikura predicts their doom. Maguro again turns to Tako for a plan (man, I know he's the thinker of the group, but think of your own plans once in a while!), but he brushes her off. Maguro snaps and demands he share his feelings, for the sake of the mission. Tako goes into his many-headed thinking routine once again as he wonders if he should lose his too-cool-for-school image and just admit he wants to wear a crown, when a whole 'nother Tako shows up to remind him of his pride. "Am I that vain? NO!" The other Tako pushes the real Tako out of the picture and goes on an absolutely hyperbolic rant about feelings. And I still can't listen to it without giggling. This, pure and simple, is what makes Tako so great.
Maguro calls Tako out of his reverie, and he suddenly lets loose all his true feelings in a humongous word glurge. Not just that he wanted to wear a crown, but that he thinks the others have an image of him as this cool and spicy handsome guy who would never do something as silly as wear a plastic crown. And he also throws in his apparently secret like of Bossa Nova music (I came right out and cheered when I heard this; I like Bossa Nova music, too!), thoroughly confusing everyone else. Tako reiterates his point: he wanted a crown but was too proud to say it (he's so cute right here ^_^). So Kani slaps her crown down on his head, saying they can share. See what I was saying earlier? Tako feels better for having let his feelings out, and Maguro feels better now that the mission can proceed. Speaking of the mission, Tako finally has a plan to stop Rex! He gives the crown back to Kani, since there's work to be done, and starts giving out orders, with only three minutes to get everything done! Kani works on the Sushi Craft, Ikura gets ready to give Rex the slip by doing push-ups, Maguro hones her concentration, and Tako and Wasabi grab as much trash as they can find (not too hard in the city's current state). After three minutes, everyone except Kani meets up, but Tako knows Kani won't let them down. Sure enough, she shows up with a pimped up plane in record time, and the Pack gets pumped up to take on Rex, since they only have one chance, according to Tako.
In the heart of the city, Tako attaches a trailer to the Sushi Craft and Maguro uses her telekinesis to load it up with all the trash Tako and Wasabi collected. Wasabi laces the trash with his hot sauce power, and Rex is drawn to it like a fly to, well, you know. Kani fires up the craft and Rex chases after it, conveniently forgetting that it can create as much trash as it wants. After a suitable distance, Ikura covers the pavement with salmon balls, sending Rex down a slippery slope. The Pack deserts the trailer, which rolls right to Rex. As Rex chows down, Tako has Ikura go get the scientist and the antidote. The wasabi in the trash sends Rex in search of a drink, but Wasabi also laced the nearest fountain with his particular brand of spice, so Rex is out of luck. The scientist arrives with his formula, the main ingredient being hot dog water, and as I've paid my dues in the dish room of my school's dining hall, I can tell you, hot dog water is powerful stuff (especially when there are still hot dogs in it :d), and Maguro sends it to Rex, who drinks it posthaste and shrinks back down to fit in a test tube, which is exactly where the scientist puts him. Maguro congratulates Tako on his plan working, and Kani's just glad he got over himself. Tako makes a vow to let his feelings out more often, and also makes a horrible pun.
Back at the lab, the scientist is ready to put Rex back with Clayton, only...where's Clayton? The Sushies are not too worried about the implications of this, and the episode ends.

I don't really do justice to how much I love the wangstastic Tako here, especially in his more wordy states. So don't take my word for it, read watch it for yourself.

Sushi Pack - Red Hot Chili Planet and Sweet Tooth

I can't believe I'm blogging these eps before So Says Who and Darkness and Spice. But I have to get this out of my system, so here we go. These two eps combined make up the Sushi Pack Handles the Issues combo, the issues being global warming and childhood obesity, respectively.


Red Hot Chili Planet, or Some Like it Hot
"That's not Wasabi-talk; that sounds Dutch."
Ben sneaks the Pack members into the local cinema via a Styrofoam container while funky music plays in the background. Inside the container, Maguro eagerly anticipates the documentary they're about to see, but Tako would rather see a sci-fi flick, and Ikura agrees, until Maguro points out that other movie involves bears, then he retracts his statement. Safely inside the theater, the Pack relaxes in the A/C, but Wasabi is way too cold and tells Ben to complain to the management. Ben, as you may recall, cannot understand him, so Ikura translates. The others point out that the cold is just fine with them, and since the majority wants it cold, that's the way it's gonna stay. This will be important later.
Hearing Wasabi's complaints, someone from the row behind them gets his attention. Who is it? Why, yet another group of returning for the first time villians, the Hot Squad! They invite Wasabi to join them, since they're all about the heat, but Maguro wants to know just what they're doing at a documentary about global warming. The Hot Squad leader claims they're just there because they like movies, but the documentary starts, so everybody quiets down. Until the narrator starts describing the effects of global warming, and the Hot Squad breaks out the cheers and wolf whistles. Even Wasabi chimes in at one point.
The question I have is, are we meant to take this seriously, or are the writers just poking fun? Knowing the forces behind the show, I'm guessing that the film is more a parody of An Inconvenient Truth than anything the viewers are meant to take to heart. I haven't seen An Inconvenient Truth, though, so I can't say how much of a parody it really is. But what it's really here to do is to help explain what the Hot Squad's plan is all about later in the episode. Once the film is over, everyone cheers, except for Wasabi, who froze into an ice cube during the show.
Back at The Green Donut, Wasabi, still freezing, cranks up the heat, but Tako cranks it back down when he notices. Wasabi is not pleased, so Tako puts the issue up for a vote. Predictably, only Wasabi votes for warmth, so the majority rules against him once again. Wasabi tries to appeal to a higher power, in this case, Ben, but as we've established, communication for them is nil. Ikura translates again: Wasabi wants a recount! Ben, seeing the futility of this, suggests a compromise, but gives no advice on how to actually go about this. The others fail to see a good way to compromise anyway, so Wasabi splits. Tako puts his many-headed thought process into action, and I think it says a lot about their relationship in that he describes Wasabi as "innocent, yet dangerous" and "daring, yet gullible." He tries to figure out where Wasabi would go, and immediately thinks of the Hot Squad. Now, when I first saw this clip on the official website, I thought that this was his view of a generic "stranger," and that made this scene much, much funnier. As Tako freaks out, Ben tells the others they should have compromised, although he still doesn't give them any ideas on how to do it. Break for commercial.
By the end of the break, Wasabi is already on the other side of town, grumbling to himself about the others. His ranting is cut short by a most curious sound coming from the old abandoned warehouse... His investigation shows the Hot Squad polka-ing their eyes out, proclaiming this as their only weakness. With their dance break over, they gather around their plans for a huge cover that will trap all the smog and stuff in the city, heating up the city enough to destroy the Sushi Pack, naturally. I'll be honest, I don't really care about their plan, so I'm not going to give all the technical names of the stuff involved. All you really need to know is that their overall goal is to heat the entire planet up to epic proportions.
Wasabi accidentally makes himself known to the Squad, and when they corner him, he whams Play on their boombox and gets away while the Squad members dance helplessly. He hightails it straight to a payphone and calls up the Green Donut, but unfortunately, Ben is the one who answers. Wasabi tells him everything anyway, and Ben tries to understand, but the leader of the Hot Squad shows up and melts the phone receiver with his breath. Ben tells the other members of the Pack about Wasabi's message, but can't seem to get Wasabi's words down pat, though not for lack of trying.
The Hot Squad assumes that Wasabi was sent as a spy, but Wasabi denies this, so they assume that he wants to join them. Wasabi hadn't thought of that tactic, but agrees, and the others welcome him into their group. Back at the Green Donut, Ben is still trying to talk like Wasabi, but to no avail. Then Ikura gets an idea(!): super-hot chili sauce will give Ben the kick he needs! Surprisingly, this works, and Ben gives them all the details he got from Wasabi . He doesn't seem too pleased with his new power, though. Wouldn't it have been faster to just go searching for Wasabi? What about the trackers they have, as seen in Wassup Wasabi? and So Says Who?
Meanwhile, the Hot Squad is conflicted about Wasabi. The red guy doesn't trust him, but the leader is sure Wasabi loves heat as much as they do, but changes his tune once they catch Wasabi ripping up their plans. They rush him, but once again all Wasabi has to do is hit the boombox and the Squad is powerless against the music. Then, like a dummy, he turns it off again, only to turn it back on again, but on a country station this time. Oops. The leader wisely melts the entire boombox this time, but it's too late, the rest of the Sushi Pack shows up in their plane. The two factions leap up for an epic battle, but both are distracted by Wasabi sneaking off in the plane. Tako wonders if it was all an elaborate trap, and it certainly seems so, as the Hot Squad attacks and easily overpowers the Pack. Just as the Squad endulges in a victory dance, a familiar refrain plays in the air: more polka! It turns out Wasabi just left to get a new boombox and tuned it to a 24/7 Polka Power station. While the Hot Squad is incapacitated, the other Pack members make up with Wasabi, apologizing for not compromising, but they still don't come up with any ways to actually do it. Instead, Wasabi just leads them in a cheer of "Sushi Pack forever!" while the Hot Squad dances in the background. And then the episode just ends.

Sweet Tooth, or The Power of Positive Snacking
"Show your face, Red Alert Code Seven Alarm Activator and Evil Doer!"
This episode opens late at night, with a dark figure on the prowl. A periscope from the hole of the Green Donut's sign spies what is obviously Maguro dropping a candy wrapper on the ground. Secret snacking, Maguro? The dropped wrapper sets off an alarm, warning the Pack of a Code Seven, and Kani, Ikura, and Tako leap into action! They arrive on the scene, spout some lines, and then goggle in shock when they find out it was just Maguro testing their reaction to the alarm, and not having a secret snack after all. She berates them for arriving without Wasabi in tow; apparently the others didn't notice, and have to think pretty hard to realize that he's the one missing. Speaking of the little glob, he shows up shortly after, panting and wheezing. The others are shocked, simply shocked, at Wasabi's out of shape condition, and send him back home to bed. Wasabi does not appreciate their concern. While he goes back to the Green Donut, Ikura asks just what a Code Seven is, anyway. A litterbug, according to Maguro, and the others freak out, although whether because litter is really that serious of a problem, or because she wasted their time with that, we don't know.
Or maybe it's because the next scene immediately shifts to some kind of cah-razy cartoon (except live action) starring a redheaded kid with a very toothy grin named Sugar Jimmy. Living in a world populated by animate flowers and clocks, he puts on his peppermint specs to see his viewers, ala Romper Room's magic mirror. Jimmy reveals the worries of a few of his viewers, and reminds them that all their problems disappear with just a bit of his ridiculously named and supposedly nutritious chocolate bar. We cut to Wasabi watching the show and chowing down on the bars, while Jimmy extols their virtues and declares 12 to be the recommended daily dosage. Meanwhile, the other Pack members arrive and Kani, spotting the many wrappers surrounding Wasabi, assumes that the real Code Seven activator has been there. But no, it's just Wasabi, who falls from the counter to the floor, much to the others' surprise. Back on TV, Jimmy leads his viewers in his pledge to eat all the bars they can find, which Wasabi relishes with glee. Tako calls him on his bar addiction, but Wasabi denies it, and Jimmy's show ends.
During the show, Ben pulled out his chemistry kit and analyzed the nutrition content of the bar. ....Oh, Ben. He can do anything the plot requires him to do. Anyway, his analysis shows a nutrition value of less than zero. Wasabi just can't believe his beloved Jimmy (he even has a doll!) would feed him a load of bull, but Kani shows him the evidence in his very own body, and Tako points out his lacking flame powers. With Wasabi essential out of commission, the others huddle up to make their plans: Tako and Maguro will investigate Sugar Jimmy, and Kani and Ikura will slim down Wasabi.
Since it's a commercial break, I want to take a moment to say this: fat Wasabi is the cutest! It may not be the proper sentiment the show wants to convey, but it's true. He's just so plump and squishable! *squee* Seriously, if he stayed like that (and nobody harped on him for it), he might have moved up to three on my Sushi Pack rankings list. Yes, I am that shallow.
The next day, Kani and Ikura wake up Wasabi and tell him about their plans for a Sushi Pack music video: all they need is a theme. Ikura suggests some whole grain cereal and juice while they think it over, and Wasabi doesn't even realize what's going on. Later, they get dressed up in Jazzercize wear (Kani is so cute!) and get down to exercising! Ben mashes play on the boombox and watches, equal parts bemused and concerned while Wasabi benchpresses, jumps rope, and jogs on the toilet paper. After their workout, Kani "just happens to have" some teeny tiny apples and carrots, which Wasabi wolfs down, none the wiser. You know, I think that the bars were less to blame for Wasabi's weight gain than the fact that he'll eat whatever you place in front of him, both figuratively and literally. Ikura reminds him that they still need a theme for the music video, and Wasabi enthusiastically shares his inspiration.
Over at the studio, Tako and Maguro witness the end of Jimmy's latest show. Once the cameras are off, Jimmy becomes an absolute brat, demanding imported bottled water and complaining about how the chocolate in his bars rot his "shiny Jimmy-teeth." He berates his costars and fires his stage manager, who also happens to be his mother. Maguro and Tako have to let Wasabi know about his idol's true nature, and they have the perfect plan...
Later that day, Wasabi is back to his lean self (aww...). Ikura comments, "It's amazing what a little exercise and healthy food can do." Yeah, amazing. You know, considering the Pack's reaction to Wasabi's weight gain earlier, it's likely that he put it all on within a day or two, so it's not surprising that it all came off fairly quickly. What I'm really wondering now is how Wasabi had the stomach for a million human-sized chocolate bars in the first place. I mean, seriously, he's tiny! And why did Ben buy him all those bars in the first place? Regardless of my questions, Kani rewards Wasabi by telling him they're all going to see a taping of Sugar Jimmy's show.
The next next day (I'm assuming), the Pack watches the show from high in the rafters, and Tako slips off, donning a maintenance disguise. He goes to the Grandfather Clock character and gives him a tune-up. "It'll only take a minute," he says, "and you've got plenty of those." Haha. Back on the show, Jimmy uses his specs time to propagandize against those who, like Ben, analyzed his bars on their own time and found them nutritionally lacking. According to Jimmy (dressed as a scientist), his bars are made by leprechauns. Maguro makes a few disparaging remarks, and Tako, showing up again, pretends he heard what she said, but it's obvious he didn't.
The Grandfather Clock announces the end of the show, and Jimmy's mother resumes her stage manager duties. Jimmy is not pleased to see her, but she's the only one who knows where to get his bottled water. Only this time she slipped him water from the janitor's sink. When Jimmy rebuffs her, she rips off his mask, revealing a 22-year-old brunette beneath a nine-year-old's facade. Wasabi is shocked! Jimmy's mother tells him he's through, but Jimmy is confident that even without the bars he can merchandise himself to death, until the director reveals that the Grandfather Clock was ten minutes fast, and everything that just transpired was seen by his viewers coast to coast! (Apparently, it's a live show.) Even Wasabi can't hide his contempt for Jimmy, and his mother slimes him and announces he's finished. Jimmy reacts appropriately (as appropriate as falling down and crying is, anyway).
With a couple of minutes left in both Jimmy's show and the episode, the Sushi Pack hijack the cameras to debut their music video, which they probably shot the day before, in between scenes. And it is...not good. A bad rap about eating fruits and veggies, and then the episode is over.

I think it could have been interesting if the end had revealed not an adult Jimmy, but that he really was this bratty kid who truly believed his bars were good for you. I mean, what if there was some kind of flashback scene that showed Jimmy in a meeting with the show's producers and/or head of merchandising, coming up with an idea for his chocolate bars, and Jimmy insisted they make them really healthy, but taste good, and be made by leprechauns, and all that. And they told him they would just to shut him up, or something? And then at the end, the truth about the bars would be revealed to Jimmy as well as Wasabi, and he would be shocked! And maybe even stop being a brat and start endorsing something really healthy, and everyone could learn a lesson, and there wouldn't be that awful rap video at the end. That's just a thought I had.