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Live-Action Web Show Reinterprets Thomas the Tank Engine as a Japanese Salaryman
posted on by Kim Morrissy
The official Japanese YouTube account for the Thomas the Tank Engine franchise is streaming a bizarre new live-action series: Thomas the Salaryman, which retells the plots of classic Thomas the Tank Engine episodes but with the characters as salary workers for a Japanese company. The episodes have closed caption English subtitles.
Although the show is presented with human actors, each episode simultaneously presents the original Thomas the Tank episode in the bottom-right corner with the Japanese dub. There is quite a bit of dissonance watching a grown man lip-synching to a high-pitched female voice.
The first episode (shown above) is a retelling of "Down the Mine," the 25th episode of the first series. In the original story, Thomas falls into a ditch, but his salaryman counterpart falls into "mobile game hell" instead. The story ends identically to the original, with Thomas becoming friends with his colleague Gordon after rudely snubbing him before.
The second episode (embedded below) is a riff on the sixteenth episode, "Trouble in the Shed." This episode has gained notoriety over time for its anti-union narrative. In the original story, Gordon, James, and Henry go on strike but realize their foolishness when Sir Topham Hatt cheerfully replaces their roles. Their salaryman counterparts have retreated to the staff toilet, where they look extra silly by the episode's end.
The third and final episode will stream next Friday. It will be based on "Thomas and the Rumours," the 17th episode of the fifth series.
The short web series commemorates the cartoon's return to Japanese television after 12 years. The 13th series was the last to air in Japan in 2010. The 25th series will debut on NHK on Saturday. The Thomas & Friends: The Movie film will open in Japan in spring 2023.
[Via Hachima Kikо̄]
