Anime about folklore raccoons who defended their lands from people with the help of magic

Our world has dozens of religions, mythologies and cultures, but I like Japanese Shintoism because it has a place for thousands of spirits and entities of all stripes, among which you can find both ridiculous and funny. And I think many anime fans have at least once come across stories about tanuki, raccoon dogs, which, according to the belief of the Japanese, have a tendency to transform. And today you will see their talents.

Let me introduce you to an amazing anime with an urban atmosphere Heisei Tanuki Gassen Ponpoko. And let me first quickly tell you about the plot of the plot in this work, and then we will discuss in detail everything that I liked about it and for which I recommend it.

Plot idea

Welcome to the outskirts of Tokyo, to the forest where the tanuki live. These cheerful boobies fought for territories, had fun in their free time and did not know serious troubles, but here civilization approached the borders of the forest. Moreover, for the sake of expanding the city, people began to methodically destroy the forest, and for the tanuki this did not bode well.

Therefore, in order to save their home, they made a desperate decision to fight the construction to the best of their mighty raccoon forces, mastering forgotten tricks, trying to breed less, and studying the enemy. And this furry war against the expansion of the city is what you will be watching, and I propose to discuss why it is interesting.

An overview of the main advantages of the anime “Heisei Tanuki Gassen Ponpoko”

If you want to live, learn to appreciate small joys. And I want to start with the atmosphere, and in fact, there is everything you need for a good fairy tale. For the most part, the story will be light, light-hearted and even funny in places, but the problem of losing your home will not let you relax. Behind all this lamp disco there will be a terrible story of the struggle for survival, where there will be dying important characters and terrible statistics. But don’t get scared.

All this is presented in a fairly acceptable manner, and you don’t want to cry over the anime, in any case it remains such that even children are not ashamed to show it. And of course, as in any fairy tale, there is a moral here, and it lies in the Ghibli’s favorite idea of ​​the struggle of progress with nature.

All this gives the anime a peculiar style, and it is difficult for me to remember at least one analogue where one could watch a fairy tale with a voice-over, which at the same time immerses oneself. Anime is easy to watch and good for it.

The second point I want to dedicate to our cute tanuki raccoon dogs. In the anime, they are often found, but the folklore part of the tanuki has never been revealed so well. And yes, you can fall in love with them. Just imagine a whole species of mystical fluffies, the meaning of life for which is carelessness, holidays, delicious food and, ideally, drinking.

They will celebrate for any reason, they will have fun between battles, celebrating small victories, hiding the sadness of defeat, and just because they can. After all, is there any point in taking life seriously?

And it was so interesting to follow these furry fools that, honestly, sometimes I myself wanted to dance. At the same time, they did not forget to show us the other side of the tanuki, but this deserves a separate paragraph.

Let’s just imagine what a pack of raccoon dogs can oppose to technological progress? It would seem that they are doomed, but not everything is so simple. Tanukis are masters of disguise and illusion, and this has spawned a whole bunch of beautiful magic and funny moments.

I looked at the parade of monsters in the city with all my eyes, and only for the sake of it I would like to review the anime, and the three wise old party-goers making their way around the city will definitely conquer you. But all this fades with their militant disposition.

I’m not even going to say that in their illusions they can be very insidious, but where else can you see how a flock of raccoons fights with a SWAT squad with the help of scrotums? Fortunately, this is decently served and anime can still be watched by children.

I sincerely recommend this anime, since everything described above should be seen, not imagined.