Mar 10, 2016
I feel the need to write this review since I believe many people are greatly misinformed when it comes to this series and don't understand what the purpose of the show is.
Sushi Police is a social commentary/satire of Japanese nationalism, based off true events. In 2006, Japan's Minister of Agriculture had ate at a Japanese restaurant in Colorado, and had noticed that sushi was served alongside Korean BBQ beef. He was outraged at this, claiming that the restaurant was inauthentic and didn't do Japanese culture justice. To prevent the growth of these type of establishments, he proposed an idea to the Japanese government: create an
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undercover police force to go to Japanese restaurants in foreign countries, and judge the cuisine. If it was authentic, it would receive promotion on the windows of the restaurant, as well as sponsorship on a Japanese government website. Media news laughed at this, and coined the term "Sushi Police" to mock the proposal.
This new series of shorts, Sushi Police, not only uses these events to parody the "Sushi Police incident" (which although almost 10 years old, the news story is still relevant today as Japan has a voluntary "Sushi Police" of sorts), but also as an outlet to poke fun of the ridiculousness of Japanese nationalism that tends to plague the nation. One of the main characters, Honda, is a physical representation of a typical Japanese traditionalist, and the fact that all three of the main cast are named after Japanese auto companies further cements the idea that they are satirizing nationalists.
Furthermore, Sushi Police manages to look at how other nations react to the combination of foods from different countries. While the Sushi Police looks at this culture fusion of cuisines with disdain, the Pasta Police (from Italy) takes a far different view. This episode in particular showcases the different priorities regarding how some Japanese people look at this blending of cultures as a tainting of their own, but how other cultures don't quite feel the same way. Each episode manages to add another argument as to why great amounts of Japanese nationalism is absurd and if anything, making the country look bad.
I hope this review was able to add more context on the series. For more information on this, I'd recommend checking out a video I have posted on YouTube titled "In Defense Of: Sushi Police (Analysis)" as well as Pause and Select's podcast "Weekly Watch Episode 8: Understanding Sushi Police". Until then, I hope you all learned something new from this!
Reviewer’s Rating: 7
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