Tokyo Breakfast (2001) User Reviews

God help me-I like it.

[big_mark_anthony · 8/10 · 22 November 2005]

As a black man I should hate it! It wasn't written by Japaness, blacks, or the combination of the two. It was written by two whites guys (Mike Maguire and Tom Kuntz) that hired Japanese actors who speak broken English, when it's clear that their accents where put on, and use the N-word a lot (where's Jesse Jackson when you need him).

I can't help it. I love this thing. It had me on the floor dying with laughter. I just found it a week a go and it one of the funniest things I've seen in a long time. To watch a Japanese family call each other the N-word was a master stroke. Its so wrong (making fun of two cultures at the same time) but so funny.

And that's the bottom line-It's funny.

By the way, when was this thing made-2000 or 2002?

Mike and Tom, you did good.

I'm still kicking your asses when I see you....Neeeggaaa!

Brilliant!

[papacheesy · 9/10 · 15 May 2006]

It's easy for some to call Tokyo Breakfast racist and sophomoric due to the content of what it's parodying. In reality, though, this short film is a completely brilliant and well-executed multi-level satire of:

1- America's emulation of black culture. 2- Japan's blind emulation of American culture. 3- America's stereotyped perception of Asian people.

The execution is nothing short of genius. It's just a shame that most people don't get it. They choose to lump Tokyo Breakfast in with the very dime-a-dozen comedies that it is parodying. That's a mistake.

Watch this short film if you can find it. And just try to remember to think of it as a social critique before you go off, get offended, and start typing out your disgust in the form of an IMDb review. The pair that wrote and directed this thing aren't high school idiots. They've worked with the Onion. They know comedy/satire and they know what they're doing. So let's just trust them, OK?

Beautiful

[wholzer · 7/10 · 25 October 2005]

A very good commentary on whole-scale importing American culture, and doing it the wrong way. It's also a parody on (my understanding of) Japanese pop culture, as well as the result of overusing and devaluing obscenities. It's rather intelligent, despite its first appearance, kind of like an episode of South Park.

I would recommend obtaining and watching it, especially if you're a cynical and bitter person who hates popular culture and today's youth. I think it's a frighteningly possible look at how the near future might be in Japan, or really any other country, for that matter.

Six minutes of art.

Very Funny!

[Oogieone · 10/10 · 2 February 2006]

I came across this clip while at work. My co-workers and I, who are all kind of a mixed bag of races and ethnicities, cracked up! It was hilarious and it is well worth watching. Yeah, it is making fun of Japanese and their affinity for picking up things from other cultures. But, we all do the same thing in our culture...who hasn't seen the girls (or boys, or grown men or...)all decked out in anime style hair and Hello Kitty shirts in this country? I'm sure they make fun of that...and have you ever seen the show they have with the American manikins living in Japan? That show clearly makes fun of Americans...It is all done in fun and I think any native Japanese would think it was funny...

Awesome.

[gchucky · 22 July 2004]

The first time I watched Tokyo Breakfast, I was on the ground laughing. There's something so lovable about a family of Japanese people using the N word at each other. After that, I showed it to everyone I knew, and they all loved it. To fully get the joy out of this, you need to be able to overlook the expletives and the how wrong it really is. The ending, of course, is the punchline. No point in spoiling it, 'cause there's not much substance there to spoil. Aside from being so politically incorrect, it's awesome. Google for it if you want to see it. It's well worth your six minutes.

And yes, the Japanese on the bottom is correct. :]

Not bad... but racist.

[rjenson-2 · 8/10 · 7 February 2006]

Actually, having just downloaded this from another web site, I found it to be hilarious. The format was definitely intended for an American audience, rather than a Japanese one. In addition, the studio audience was also laughing on-cue to the jokes, which were in English (rather than the Japanese lines, which although they were aimed at comedy, fell short of anything truly comedic). The show lost points from me for the reason of being openly racist against both black people (which was the entire point of the comedy) and Asian people (which was unintentional and shows a lack of involvement of anyone really Japanese... stereotypes aside, this was not what I would call good form). Being an American, I appreciated the humor side of it far more than a friend of mine, who is from near Tokyo (Chiba City? Is that right?) and who explained some of the finer points of error to me. As pilots go, this wasn't entirely bad, and actually showed some promise. However, I'm not sure that the content was appropriate to a pilot on the basis of broad appeal and I have to wonder if there was something ulterior where motivations are concerned. Was this going to be a standard situation comedy? Was it going to be a series of skits, a la MadTV? Was it going to be a show about some Japanese people who were simply far too influenced by Western culture to fit into either Japanese or American societies? The point, it seems, was lost in the translation, and so I can see why this was never picked up beyond the pilot.

LMAO

[laeremanlaer · 10/10 · 21 February 2022]

We need more shows like this nowadays. Shows that are actually funny, and not meant to be taken so seriously - unlike most shows released recently. This pilot was clearly born from a stupid idea spoken aloud, and it probably would've been great had it actually been made. An instant cult classic.

Let's reconsider

[dcluuuv · 1/10 · 29 May 2008]

How about it's just not funny I don't see the genius that everyone is speaking of I didn't laugh once and to learn that it was made my two white guys "supposedly" making some kind of brilliant social commentary on intercultural exchange didn't make it any more funny or acceptable. on another note, they need their asses kicked for writing, producing and distributing this hatred masked as "creativity" or "comedy". To be comedy, shouldn't it make me laugh? Genius? Come on! Are we using that word like folks used the word "ghetto" when they didn't know how the hell to describe something? Genius implies something special, something uncommon, something groundbreaking. Any idiot could've written this. Let's reconsider our use of English words and stop adding words like "bling" to the dictionary.

What a disappointment. The biggest waste of six minutes I've ever spent in my life thus far.

Besides, how do Kuntz and McGuire still have a job in America after writing this blatantly hatred-based "comedy"? Oh, I forget, America is still a breeding ground of racist folks. They just wear suits instead of sheets now. Geez Louise!

Ha Ha Ha Japanese people using the N Word

[MisterZZZ · 1/10 · 24 January 2005]

This short was awful. I don't think there's anything offensive about it, the whole premise was stupid. First of all, hip hop is very popular in Japan and there are plenty of good Japanese rappers. There's nothing unusual about Japanese dressing in hip hop fashion or trying to emulate African Americans. Go online and listen to MP3s of Kick The Can Crew and Rip Slyme. The directors of this film are two unfunny white guys who thought it would be hilarious to have a Japanese family say Whas up ni**er every 5 seconds. The acting was horrible. People who like the FOX show Banzai probably thought this was funny. It might have been good if they set it in a country where hip hop is unknown, like Saudi Arabia.

PS: Congratulations on The Onion Movie going straight to DVD. Kuntz and Maguire will never work in Hollywood again. They're probably down at the bus station begging for change right now. Karma, ain't it grand!