Thirty Minutes Over Tokyo/References

Episode	References	Gags	Appearances	Gallery	Quotes	Credits

◄ They Saved Lisa's Brain

Thirty Minutes Over Tokyo

Beyond Blunderdome ►

Trivia

• An item named "Skittlebrau" can been seen in the 33 cents Store. The item was made up by Homer in the episode "Bart Star"; however, Apu claimed there was no such thing (unless the product came out months after the events of "Bart Star," or Apu could not have heard of the product, despite it being on the market, or the product is only known in discount stores).
• Numerous "That 70's Show" mugs can also be seen inside the 33¢ store.
• This episode was banned in Japan due to scenes that are considered offensive to Japanese culture (the scene regarding the Hello Kitty factory (due to the implication that the various Hello Kitty products were created by burning various cats alive), the "Battling Seizure Robots" parody (kind of based on the Pokemon episode "Dennō Senshi Porigon" that caused about 700 people to go to hospital in Japan, which is why the Japanese people wouldn't want a reference to it, see this [1]), Homer tossing the Emperor of Japan into a sumo thong Dumpster and declaring himself "Emperor Clobbersaurus" before getting arrested, and the Japanese game show sequence). The episode is also not included in the Japanese version of the season 10 DVD and is not available on Disney+ Japan. It was also initially banned in South Korea due to its rocky history with Japan in the first half of the 20th century, although it eventually aired there in 2007.
• Homer is clearly not impacted during the first "seizure" scene, and just "goes along" with the family, rolling around on the ground. When the show returns he seems to be impacted by it just like everyone else, as his eyes enlarge. Although it is possible that during the first set of seizures he was not actually looking at the TV. (He was just trying to fit in the first time).
• The Boeing 707-320 was produced from 1959-1970, so by this point the plane would be 20-30 years old.
• At the Americatown Restaurant in the overhead shot Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, and Alaska are missing.
• The Godzilla scene at the end of the episode was a subtle reference to the 1998 Godzilla film, as three of the actors for the Simpsons (Hank Azaria, Nancy Cartright, and Harry Shearer) had live action roles in that movie.

Cultural References

• Chuck Garabedian, when doing his Mega-Savings seminar, claims he got the tux he was wearing at an extremely cheap price because it was the suit that Roy Cohn, the McCarthy-era lawyer, died in.
• This episode's title references the 1944 war film "Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo", which was based on the true story of the Doolittle Raid.
• Marge says to Homer on the plane that he liked the film Rashomon. Homer's line, "That's not how I remembered it," is a reference to the famous Rashomon-style storytelling, in which three (or four) people tell the same story, and often exaggerate or omit details.
• Whilst in the hotel, Bart watches an anime cartoon called Battling Seizure Robots, which features a robot with its eyes flashing so quickly that it triggers seizures. This is based on the banned Pokémon episode, "Electric Soldier Porygon", in which a scene with rapid lighting flashes sent 685 (310 boys, 375 girls) children into seizures.
• Homer recounts being forced to act in a production of Chūshingura. He wanted the lead role of Ōishi Yoshio, but had to settle for Horibe Yasubei.
• While on the plane heading to Japan, the Simpson family sees Jim Belushi in a toga being filmed on their plane, which is a reference to the 1978 comedy movie Animal House, which starred Jim's older brother, John Belushi, whose character, Bluto, wears a toga at one point.
• Rich Uncle Pennybags, from the Monopoly game, is at the Mega savings seminar.
• From the hotel window, Lisa sees the Hello Kitty factory where cat howls are heard then the smokestacks release smoke.
• The Simpson family goes to a restaurant America Town. The front of the restaurant has a picture of the Kool-Aid Man and Elvis Presley and Uncle Sam. Inside they see animatronic versions of the Statue of Liberty, Abraham Lincoln, E.T . the Extra-Terrestrial, Marilyn Monroe, and Muhammad Ali fighting Neil Armstrong.
• While at America Town Homer tells Bart that he once made acquaintance with a man from Nantucket, a reference to the many limericks, in which the name of the island of Nantucket creates obscene rhymes and puns and the protagonist is typically portrayed as a well-endowed, hypersexualized persona. He then tells Bart "Let's just say the stories about him are greatly exaggerated."
• While walking the streets Homer and Bart see Woody Allen filming a commercial for crackers. Woody asks himself how did he get to this low point in his career and then remembers and says "OH ya" in reference to his child sexual abuse allegation against his adoptive daughter Soon Yi Previn by his then-wife Mia Farrow in August 1992.
• When Barney is trying to imitate Homer, he says "That boy ain't right" referencing Hank Hill's catchphrase in "King of the Hill", when Bobby does something that Hank does not approve of or understand.
• Godzilla attacks the plane at the end of the episode. He is later shown with Mothra, Rodan and Gamera.
• When Godzilla peers in through the plane window at Lisa, it is a reference to Jurassic Park when the T-Rex peers in through the Jeep window.

Goofs

• When Database is at The Java Server, he is using a gray computer but in the next scene he is using an orange computer, then he is using a gray computer again.
• During the Mega-Savings Seminar show, Mr. Burns was seated two chairs away from the end and Mr. Monopoly was one chair away, but when Mr. Monopoly enters the car, Mr. Burns is now one chair away to the end.
• Marge drops one of her shoes into the 'volcano' but in the next scene when the entire family plummets down, her shoe is back on.
• When the subjects for the gameshow are presented, the host gives a brief translation. Properly translated, they are "Painful!" "Why do you do that!?" and "Let me die!"
• The airline announcement at the end revealing that the Simpsons' flight out of Japan was experiencing "moderate Godzilla-related turbulence" referred to Mothra as a "he" when revealing that Mothra was currently too busy fighting Rodan and Gamera to attack the plane. In actuality, Mothra is female, so the pilot should have referred to Mothra as a she.