Pom Poko Is A Severely Underrated Masterpiece
Pom Poko is a Studio Ghibli movie that came out in 1994, starring tanuki (Japanese raccoon dogs). The film served as an environmental allegory and one that dove into the folklore around Japanese raccoon dogs. In folklore, raccoon dogs can be yokai, capable of magic such as creating illusions and shape-shifting, and they do so a lot in the film.
While incredibly loved in Japan, this Studio Ghibli film is not so well known globally. When fans outside of Japan think of Studio Ghibli's environmentalist juggernaut, they think ofPrincess Mononoke instead. Quality is not an issue at all with Pom Poko, as fans who have seen it love it and consider it to be a devastatingly hidden and underrated movie worthy of more attention. The message of Pom Poko only gets more connected to reality with time, as humanity is facing the consequences of over-urbanization and climate crisis. So many have asked, «why is this movie so underrated?»
BBC Children’s Network Acquires Rights for Ghibli Anime Series
There is a lot of Japanese folklore put into anime, and a lot of it is popular and fascinating with non-Japanese audiences. Many are charmed by the ideas of Shinto's animism and yokai. However, it can sometimes be quite odd to outside cultures, to the point that they focus more on the oddity than the message.
Pom Poko is a great example of this, as tanuki are beings of fertility and thus have their testicles out and noticeable throughout the whole film. They are also hard to be ignored, as they use their testicles for a lot of their magic, turning them into parachutes and weapons. While many anime fans would find this funny and delightful, it has made the movie not well known. On Netflix, it is listed as mature audiences for nudity, but a lot of
Read more on gamerant.com
