As someone who was born and raised in a rural part of my homeland (Korea) the ending scene where they vainly attempt to show the world the beauty they are throwing away made me shed a tear, admittedly. Our world is beyond precious, and the little town I once knew, the forests and mountains that I had known my entire life are now gone, destroyed for homes that we can't afford and roads that pave through generations of history. It reminds me of the pain I felt when we had to leave, and never again did I see the memories of my childhood.
Fortunately here in Europe, and expecially in my country which is Italy, we have faced the so-called "progress" in a slightly different way. Ok we made our part of disasters (for example on the costs there are "monsters of cement" built without any permission in natural areas,....), but i think there's more respect of our past, the cities tend to preserve their old downtowns, their ancient monuments and several natural parks were estabilished in the last 70 years, than in some part of Asia. So when i watch the Tokyo metropolitan area it looks almost unbearable to conceive.
@@lupodelupis3672 There is good and bad to both, frankly many of my trips to Europe have near murdered any sign of nature left. Yet in my home country there are still entire parts of the country untouched by even a road sign. I believe both our cultures deeply value the past and our traditions, saying one has done a greater job then the other is foolish and prideful, but we both have failed to also live in balance with the natural world. A shame we both share and perhaps both fight to redeem.
@@Nogu3 Maybe you should visit Italy more deeply, if you've ever been here. I make you an example, during the last WW the belligerent parts made an agreement to not destroy the millenial artistic monuments that there are in my country. Even the nazi were agree to not touch them cause they respected them. And if something was destroyed we rebuilted them as they were. Well i told you this because i know some japanese who are living in Italy since a few years and they told me what they love of my country. In general chinese and japanese love my country. I live near Florence and i saw the thousands asiatic tourists swarming this city.
I get what you mean. I'm in the states but grew up in a village that was basically mom and pop shops. I think we had maybe two local chain stores. There were so many trees there. I loved my house. It wasn't too far from neighbors but it reminded me of a house in the woods. We also had a forest right across the street. I looked on Google maps towards the end of last year and some stuff has changed. There's a new chain store and I'm not sure how I feel about that.
My favourite scene as well. That they do it not because it will help them win but in a final act of triumphant defiance in the face of defeat is so beautiful
Great video! I have wondered for years what all of these references were but had no way of finding out. I also realized from seeing your video that the version of the film that i have has some scenes cut from it.
Holy cow! Great job! Just now diving deep into Shinto and yokai folklore. Of course thought of this film. It was rad learning Tom Nook is a tanuki where his name came from. Now I gotta watch ur other videos. Pom Poko is underrated for sure. But i think i would put it right behind Mononoke, Spirited Away and Howl.
Die-Hard Ghibli fans will probably hate me for this, but I actually like Pom Poko far more than Spirited Away. I originally only watched it because it was one of the last Studio Ghibli movies which I didn't see, and I was shocked at how much I liked it. I will probably see it again several times more.
Good info. Pronunciation started out rough, but got better by the end. Next time your main topic is based on another language, try contacting a native speaker of that language for advice! (If not possible... try the audio playback on Google Translate)
@@StoryDive First, I'd like to thank you for replying. Hopefully, that means that you took it as the constructive criticism it was intended as and not as a troll. (As we all know, the first rule of the comment section is "don't feed the trolls".) And, I'd also like to thank you for putting the effort into trying to find the right pronunciation, even if it didn't pan out as much as we'd all like. Intention matters. So, I can't give advice for all languages, but as far as Japanese goes, each vowel has a single set pronunciation (like in Spanish), and unlike English, that never changes. Keeping that in mind could help with future videos using Japanese. Intonation is hard, so there's no easy advice for that... but the accent rarely falls on the second syllable. Anyway, as you probably noticed, I'm a subscriber and enjoy your videos. I hope my advice can help with future videos.
@@StoryDive ignore them. It’s a great video, when the insufferable critics put the effort you clearly have into a foreign culture, language and mythology, create their own video and nail the pronunciation… they have the right to "constructive criticism" until then, I’d prefer they keep their armchair expert opinions to themselves
@@musashilevi311 Yeah, I've always had a problem with my Japanese pronunciation, I may actually just hire someone to do the VO next time, but actually I tried to say the title "Pom Poko" in a more Japanese way at first and it didn't sound natural as I was saying it, so I just went with the American pronunciation for that. Maybe that was a mistake, idk.
@@StoryDive It wasn't just the pronunciation of "Pom Poko", but I honestly appreciate your effort nonetheless. Nobody's perfect, but as long as we work towards improvement, we're doing good. Keep making awesome videos! 頑張ってください！
In my opinion, although made by the master and co-founder Mr. Isao Takahata, based on its rich japanese inspired folklore and mythology, this story sticks closely to what Ghibli wants to show to the viewers, that is about Nature and Nostalgia, by evolving our society, we keep ignoring our mother nature and our past which are the ones who brought and brings us life and meaning. Pom Poko definitely is a very underrated Ghibli movie, with its message and a very simple yet interesting story that brings the audience knowledge about Japan's mythology and culture. Whenever I have the time, 9 out 10 I'm watching this. For me Pom Poko is in my top 3 for sure! Thank you so much for going through the details and explaining everything about this movie, specially this movie, really great job keep up the good work!
The movie is like if you rewrote the story of the Lorax to get the attention of the Japanese audience, by actually paying respect to the culture they thrive on.
I like Pom Poko, I like all the references to classical art. I do find it a bittersweet watch, as someone who lived in the countryside and seeing it being sold off to build cheap, nasty houses all over which the local people can't even afford to buy is soul crushing. But I suppose the final message is that there is some hope to be had, that change is inevitable and you must simply adapt and in such, survive.
I'm a Mizo( also known as indo-burmese) from northeast India. And now I finally realized why I love Japan so much cuz all these mythologies story they are depicting we Mizo also have encounter 'em all. Especially, the tanuki forming into fireballs we still see those kinda things( In mizo we call it "Tiaumei chherchhi") here in Mizoram even i have also seen 'em with my own eyes and the ghost/tanuki forming into " No face human" that also used to be common in the 90s but nowadays there's no report of encountering "no face human" anymore. Knowing that Japan culture and our culture have so much in common makes me kinda happy🤭
Tanuki feel a lot like Leprechauns or Clurichauns in Ireland to me - tricky, shapeshifting, love liquor and dancing, and the darker aspects tend to be smoothed over as they become a kind of folkloric mascot for the country. And of course, you see ceramic versions of them outside liquor stores all the time.
@@ShadowNinetales I didn't mean in a bad sense, I just didn't think of making a comparison like that. I suppose there there would be a lot of things to compare, even in folklore.
The ending scene where they create illusions and see the past really touched me, My house is also in the countryside with forests all around. Actually not my hometown but I grew up here as a baby. My parents came from a big city and have the intention of living a simple life, it really became my hometown. Now, a nearby area that used to be a forest has been cleared, everyone is adding buildings. Only my area was left with a dense forest surrounding a small house. I don't know what will happen in the future, but I'm sure I can still stay here. This area belongs to our family, it's just sad to see how quickly everything has changed in 10-20 years. I still have a long time to live, just can't imagine how different the surroundings will be when I get old.
The movie was okay for me since I am familiar with the Japanese myths. However, my son could not catch-up with numerous characters who were introduced in the movie and the length of its time caused him to fall asleep after 30 minutes.
Yeah it is like a cram corse of japanese folklore. I watched it first as a kid and enjoyed it, but I was 11 and my parents had by that point 3 Japanese exchange students over the years. I had stacks of Japanese folklore and pop culture books geared for kids. Irony being now is I would take a binge of breaking bad, some other crime drama or crusty old documentaries over anime. Just never really been into japanese media much unless its an older historical film or the odd Ghibli movie every few years.
Long story short: If you understand this movie, you're Japanese. ;) Edit: Regarding your last question, I've only seen this movie once, and while I could not follow the characters and humor, I think I liked the plot about the tanuki's endless struggle in a changing world. I think it could be my #5 in the Ghibli-catalogue, even if it's so immensely weird.
Thank you so much for talking about this hidden gem~ My favorite of the Ghibli-related movies, this story has a lot of heart and beautiful designs inspired by Japanese mythology. You nailed all the references! Long live the tanuki! Pom Poko~!
I just finished watching this movie for the first time yesterday and I loved it! It has a lot of charm and I felt so sad for the plight of the tanukis in the rapidly changing world.
Wow! Amazing video. I think the movie is so fun to watch with all the actions and it has a very deep meaning and a critique to the people forgeting those myths and the growing cities destroying nature. You deserve more recognition I can only imagine the amount of work you had to do such an informative video. I've come from a japanese family even though I was born there I lived in the West practically all my life. So there's a lot I didn't know our just heard vaguely. Very well explained!
I love Pom Poko for it's music. i'm a Taiko drummer and the score for this film is filled to the brim with Taiko, i'm teaching a class at the minute how to play "Going into battle" from this film.
The movie is perfection with regards to its balance of child friendly high jinx, adult friendly narration and dry wit, context and message. The action is exciting and the more adult themes unapologetic and candid...holding a mirror up to the shames and crimes against nature of post industrial revolution mankind. It literally had me belly laughing like a tickled child and weeping my body weight in tears like a man who has lost everything. I have a child on the way and I have always said I will sooner show my child ghibli moves over Disney any day (that’s not to say I wish to shelter my child from the more western straight forward type of entertainment being a brit myself) however I honestly feel that studio ghibli will do more than just entertain my child and will help me inform them with the too real trials and tribulations of life and the world our lives inhabit in a way that can be consumed with awe and a healthy sense of empathy by my child. Something most western infant aimed entertainment seems to neglect.
I’ve never heard of nor seen this film, but best believe I’m about to find it and watch it now. It looks like a really good film full of Japanese folklore history.
I watched it right through, and can only do that once. (ditto 'Fireflies") So very VERY heartbreaking, in the end. I wanted them to win. Didn't we all? As to rating it? Well It's up there with the best: As in: most emotionally engaging, and most gut-wrenching. Takahata really had the chops for that result. Should I mention 'The Tale of Princess Kaguya'? I cried. I was torn asunder. The Japanese can really do well what Disney always avoids: A hard ending. Death, Defeat. Loss. They pull no punches.
I wouldn’t say Disney always avoids those endings. “The Fox and the Hound” ends with the characters separating to never see each other again, and “Pocahontas” ends with the two main leads departing with one suffering from a fatal wound.
It's been a long time since we watched this movie. I loved it! I never noticed the references to Totoro, Kiki and other Ghibli characters in the huge scene! I've been wanting to rewatch it for years and now I have to just to see all the characters. To answer your question, I think this one is underrated. It would be interesting to see a video about Totoro. I'm not sure if there's enough myth and legend stuff in Porko Rosso and Whisper of the Heart but they'd be interesting as well.
Another cultural reference, at some point in the soundtrack of the movie they use an original folk song from Sado Island called Sado Okesa, as well as the awa odori music from tokushima
@@StoryDive What you forgot to mention is that, after the Tanuki told the humans visiting them, that they threw the Parade and not the Amusement Park (and after some humans sighted the Tanukies after coming out of their "Forest of Illusion"), the Humans of New Tama Town decided to add parks and reserves, so that the Tanukies can live among humans without fear, hence why the movie ends with the Tanukies throwing a party in what is to be believed as either a reserve or park.
I've got to give this flick another look. I think it's been 10 years since the last time I saw it, and my experiences have changed me enough in this time that I think I'd appreciate it a LOT more now. Excellent work explaining it all! :)
What a detailed, wonderful work! I am impressed so much. Almost all things are spot on. A few things - 1. The huge skeleton in the wood print by Kuniyoshi Utagawa was not Gasha-dokuro, but a different yokai. It has been used as one. 2. The ghost dog on which Hanasaka Jiisan is riding is his pet dog, Pochi (a name came in later years). The dog was killed by his jealous neighbor.
4:27: like he said, the following song from the movie is an original: ♪ Tanuki-san, Tanuki-san*, can't you play with me somehow. No, I can't. I'm eating dinner now. What's for dinner? I want some. I am eating pickled plum. Can I have a little crumb? Don't be such a greedy bum. Get your own. ♪ [*I’m paraphrasing, but I want to change “Mr. Raccoon” to “Tanuki-san”, because just calling it a Raccoon is incorrect, as Tanukis are more like dogs, hence the nickname “Raccoon Dog”.]
8:06: Is it just me, or does Japanese Dub Osho sound an awful lot like CEO Thaddeus Plotz from Animaniacs?: ruclips.net/video/KezSyQpmqHQ/видео.html ruclips.net/video/2G-kPXM5gdU/видео.html
At 6:14 they start singing a short song while transforming and I can't find the real lyrics for it because the English ones aren't accurate. Does anyone know the name of the song or the lyrics???
After recently watching Pom Poko, it's now one of my favorites from studio Ghibli!!! So rich with mythology, fun and yet serious and sad!!! Great video!!! Thanx!!!
10:51 When the tanuki appeared faceless, that poor man wasn’t the only one who was creeped out! I’m in my early 30s and that was extremely disturbing!!
I didn't enjoy Pom Poko as a young child, but I recently rewatched it and I absolutely loved it! I believe that I noticed a reference to the Yotsuya Kaidan? I can't pinpoint exactly when but I believe her ghostly appearance was one of the transformations the tanuki did to scare away some workers
Thank you for the detailed analysis. Pom Poko is an underrated Ghibli film for sure. I came to this video looking for the soundtrack of that opening music that you played in your video; I suddenly remembered it and started humming it. And on an unrelated note, THANK YOU for reminding me of Gauche the Cellist!! You just dug up 2 great childhood memories of Pom Poko and Gauche ❤ I have to watch both now!
Do you perhaps have the links to the resources you used to base off your information on? Its a wonderful video but i want to read more on it because im super interested now
Huh. I always thought the ending in the golf course was a grittily hopeful ending - after all the struggle and apparent defeat, tanuki adapt and survive and thrive and party down even in the new environment. [Maybe that's a North American resonance with our mega-resilient butt-kickin slouchin-thru-the-streetz racoon populations though...] and if you think about it, Whisper of the Heart is the sequel to Pom Poko, same part of Tokyo with the same development history, released the next year, theme song "Take Me Home, Country Roads" - tell me I'm wrong :)
You didn't talk at all about the socialist and radical politics embedded in the film. Especially the way they organize. I understand you may not see this as mythology, but revolutionary & insurrectionist rhetoric has its own iconography and tropes. From what I understand this studio has a legacy of radical leftist politics.
@@StoryDive Just so you know, when I see the main forms that they have within the story, their character designs remind me more of the Tom and Jerry artstyle. As for their forms they take between the Ghibli form and Shigeru form, the forms they take when having a party reminds me of Disney's Winnie the Pooh, mostly because of their facial details, like their snouts with black dots for noses. Here's something I want to mention, and that's with the character "Oroku". Since Oroku is actually a female, I feel she deserved the name "Oroku Saki" moreso than the Shredder himself, because Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird didn't realize that "Saki" is more feminine. If anything, if they were to retcon the Shredder's real name, they should go by what he was called in Japan: Oroku Sawaki; a name that the Shredder goes by when the Fred Wolf TMNT series was dubbed to Japanese (along with Hamato Yoshi being changed to the more formal name of "Yoshihama Takeshi"). One last thing to note: If people didn't like Illumination's Lorax film (specifically because of the B-Plot that contradicts with the Book's narrative of a desolate town), then this movie works as a substitute, because it's so crazy that this film also has some type of environmental message about protecting flora and fauna.
Excellent video! Undoubtedly extremely complete, rich in information and cross-references that help us understand Takahata's mastery and the cultural reach of Pom Poko. Please more reviews of these about anime masterpieces.
As someone who was born and raised in a rural part of my homeland (Korea) the ending scene where they vainly attempt to show the world the beauty they are throwing away made me shed a tear, admittedly.
Our world is beyond precious, and the little town I once knew, the forests and mountains that I had known my entire life are now gone, destroyed for homes that we can't afford and roads that pave through generations of history. It reminds me of the pain I felt when we had to leave, and never again did I see the memories of my childhood.
Fortunately here in Europe, and expecially in my country which is Italy, we have faced the so-called "progress" in a slightly different way. Ok we made our part of disasters (for example on the costs there are "monsters of cement" built without any permission in natural areas,....), but i think there's more respect of our past, the cities tend to preserve their old downtowns, their ancient monuments and several natural parks were estabilished in the last 70 years, than in some part of Asia.
So when i watch the Tokyo metropolitan area it looks almost unbearable to conceive.
@@lupodelupis3672 There is good and bad to both, frankly many of my trips to Europe have near murdered any sign of nature left. Yet in my home country there are still entire parts of the country untouched by even a road sign.
I believe both our cultures deeply value the past and our traditions, saying one has done a greater job then the other is foolish and prideful, but we both have failed to also live in balance with the natural world. A shame we both share and perhaps both fight to redeem.
@@Nogu3 Maybe you should visit Italy more deeply, if you've ever been here. I make you an example, during the last WW the belligerent parts made an agreement to not destroy the millenial artistic monuments that there are in my country. Even the nazi were agree to not touch them cause they respected them. And if something was destroyed we rebuilted them as they were.
Well i told you this because i know some japanese who are living in Italy since a few years and they told me what they love of my country.
In general chinese and japanese love my country. I live near Florence and i saw the thousands asiatic tourists swarming this city.
I get what you mean. I'm in the states but grew up in a village that was basically mom and pop shops. I think we had maybe two local chain stores. There were so many trees there. I loved my house. It wasn't too far from neighbors but it reminded me of a house in the woods. We also had a forest right across the street. I looked on Google maps towards the end of last year and some stuff has changed. There's a new chain store and I'm not sure how I feel about that.
Most of us have and will face the same fate of the tanuki. Begging in the streets and all.
This is my favorite Ghibli movie! The scene at the end where the tanuki see themselves enjoying their lives before the construction always gets me.
It's like the Lorax if it was Japanese.
My favourite scene as well. That they do it not because it will help them win but in a final act of triumphant defiance in the face of defeat is so beautiful
Mine too
Great video! I have wondered for years what all of these references were but had no way of finding out. I also realized from seeing your video that the version of the film that i have has some scenes cut from it.
i've seen every ghibli movie and i think this one is my favorite. makes me cry every time.
Holy cow! Great job! Just now diving deep into Shinto and yokai folklore. Of course thought of this film. It was rad learning Tom Nook is a tanuki where his name came from. Now I gotta watch ur other videos.
Pom Poko is underrated for sure. But i think i would put it right behind Mononoke, Spirited Away and Howl.
Die-Hard Ghibli fans will probably hate me for this, but I actually like Pom Poko far more than Spirited Away. I originally only watched it because it was one of the last Studio Ghibli movies which I didn't see, and I was shocked at how much I liked it. I will probably see it again several times more.
Really great work man super video!!!
can you do a video explaining the mythology and folklore of the google doodle champion island based on the tokyo 2020 summer olympics?
My answer to your final question:
This film is SEVERELY underrated
Great job! Love Yokai lore! though you forgot to reference the Shikome a couple of times. Nonetheless, excellent explanation.
Thhis movie made me think so much of kyousu giga (anime) is also plagued with japanese mythology (and a kickass soundtrack)
i swear i keep hearing that there's a scene where Kuchisake Onna yokai was in Pom Poko but I can't find any clips or which scene she was in
Amazing sd
Good info. Pronunciation started out rough, but got better by the end. Next time your main topic is based on another language, try contacting a native speaker of that language for advice! (If not possible... try the audio playback on Google Translate)
I did play a lot of it on Google translate but just went with the American style of Pom Poko if you're commenting on that.
@@StoryDive First, I'd like to thank you for replying. Hopefully, that means that you took it as the constructive criticism it was intended as and not as a troll. (As we all know, the first rule of the comment section is "don't feed the trolls".)
And, I'd also like to thank you for putting the effort into trying to find the right pronunciation, even if it didn't pan out as much as we'd all like. Intention matters.
So, I can't give advice for all languages, but as far as Japanese goes, each vowel has a single set pronunciation (like in Spanish), and unlike English, that never changes. Keeping that in mind could help with future videos using Japanese. Intonation is hard, so there's no easy advice for that... but the accent rarely falls on the second syllable.
Anyway, as you probably noticed, I'm a subscriber and enjoy your videos. I hope my advice can help with future videos.
@@StoryDive ignore them. It’s a great video, when the insufferable critics put the effort you clearly have into a foreign culture, language and mythology, create their own video and nail the pronunciation… they have the right to "constructive criticism" until then, I’d prefer they keep their armchair expert opinions to themselves
@@musashilevi311 Yeah, I've always had a problem with my Japanese pronunciation, I may actually just hire someone to do the VO next time, but actually I tried to say the title "Pom Poko" in a more Japanese way at first and it didn't sound natural as I was saying it, so I just went with the American pronunciation for that. Maybe that was a mistake, idk.
@@StoryDive It wasn't just the pronunciation of "Pom Poko", but I honestly appreciate your effort nonetheless. Nobody's perfect, but as long as we work towards improvement, we're doing good. Keep making awesome videos! 頑張ってください！
In my opinion, although made by the master and co-founder Mr. Isao Takahata, based on its rich japanese inspired folklore and mythology, this story sticks closely to what Ghibli wants to show to the viewers, that is about Nature and Nostalgia, by evolving our society, we keep ignoring our mother nature and our past which are the ones who brought and brings us life and meaning. Pom Poko definitely is a very underrated Ghibli movie, with its message and a very simple yet interesting story that brings the audience knowledge about Japan's mythology and culture. Whenever I have the time, 9 out 10 I'm watching this.
For me Pom Poko is in my top 3 for sure!
Thank you so much for going through the details and explaining everything about this movie, specially this movie, really great job keep up the good work!
The movie is like if you rewrote the story of the Lorax to get the attention of the Japanese audience, by actually paying respect to the culture they thrive on.
I like Pom Poko, I like all the references to classical art. I do find it a bittersweet watch, as someone who lived in the countryside and seeing it being sold off to build cheap, nasty houses all over which the local people can't even afford to buy is soul crushing. But I suppose the final message is that there is some hope to be had, that change is inevitable and you must simply adapt and in such, survive.
I'm a Mizo( also known as indo-burmese) from northeast India. And now I finally realized why I love Japan so much cuz all these mythologies story they are depicting we Mizo also have encounter 'em all. Especially, the tanuki forming into fireballs we still see those kinda things( In mizo we call it "Tiaumei chherchhi") here in Mizoram even i have also seen 'em with my own eyes and the ghost/tanuki forming into " No face human" that also used to be common in the 90s but nowadays there's no report of encountering "no face human" anymore. Knowing that Japan culture and our culture have so much in common makes me kinda happy🤭
Fascinating work! I love this movie and I feel like Takahata is a bit underappreciated in comparison with Miyazaki's work. Two geniuses nonetheless.
Tanuki feel a lot like Leprechauns or Clurichauns in Ireland to me - tricky, shapeshifting, love liquor and dancing, and the darker aspects tend to be smoothed over as they become a kind of folkloric mascot for the country. And of course, you see ceramic versions of them outside liquor stores all the time.
That's a weird comparison to note.
@@robbiewalker2831 How's it weird? It's interesting.
@@ShadowNinetales I didn't mean in a bad sense, I just didn't think of making a comparison like that. I suppose there there would be a lot of things to compare, even in folklore.
The ending scene where they create illusions and see the past really touched me, My house is also in the countryside with forests all around. Actually not my hometown but I grew up here as a baby. My parents came from a big city and have the intention of living a simple life, it really became my hometown. Now, a nearby area that used to be a forest has been cleared, everyone is adding buildings. Only my area was left with a dense forest surrounding a small house. I don't know what will happen in the future, but I'm sure I can still stay here. This area belongs to our family, it's just sad to see how quickly everything has changed in 10-20 years. I still have a long time to live, just can't imagine how different the surroundings will be when I get old.
The movie was okay for me since I am familiar with the Japanese myths. However, my son could not catch-up with numerous characters who were introduced in the movie and the length of its time caused him to fall asleep after 30 minutes.
Yeah it is like a cram corse of japanese folklore.
I watched it first as a kid and enjoyed it, but I was 11 and my parents had by that point 3 Japanese exchange students over the years. I had stacks of Japanese folklore and pop culture books geared for kids. Irony being now is I would take a binge of breaking bad, some other crime drama or crusty old documentaries over anime.
Just never really been into japanese media much unless its an older historical film or the odd Ghibli movie every few years.
Long story short: If you understand this movie, you're Japanese. ;)
Edit: Regarding your last question, I've only seen this movie once, and while I could not follow the characters and humor, I think I liked the plot about the tanuki's endless struggle in a changing world. I think it could be my #5 in the Ghibli-catalogue, even if it's so immensely weird.
What would you rank this movie in a Non-Miyazaki list?
Thank you so much for talking about this hidden gem~ My favorite of the Ghibli-related movies, this story has a lot of heart and beautiful designs inspired by Japanese mythology. You nailed all the references! Long live the tanuki! Pom Poko~!
I just finished watching this movie for the first time yesterday and I loved it! It has a lot of charm and I felt so sad for the plight of the tanukis in the rapidly changing world.
Wow! Amazing video.
I think the movie is so fun to watch with all the actions and it has a very deep meaning and a critique to the people forgeting those myths and the growing cities destroying nature.
You deserve more recognition I can only imagine the amount of work you had to do such an informative video. I've come from a japanese family even though I was born there I lived in the West practically all my life. So there's a lot I didn't know our just heard vaguely. Very well explained!
この映画がとても好きです。
この映画からは自然保護だけではなく、親元を離れて独立して生活をする中で、時々、親や兄弟と暮らしていた時間に帰りたくなる気持ちにも当てはまります。
I love Pom Poko for it's music. i'm a Taiko drummer and the score for this film is filled to the brim with Taiko, i'm teaching a class at the minute how to play "Going into battle" from this film.
If you don’t want to be so accident prone,
Stay out of our forest and we’ll leave you alone🎶🎶🎵🎵🎵
This is one of the most underrated ghilbis
Pom Poko is my favourite Ghibli movie and I think it's not well-known but it should be.
The movie is perfection with regards to its balance of child friendly high jinx, adult friendly narration and dry wit, context and message. The action is exciting and the more adult themes unapologetic and candid...holding a mirror up to the shames and crimes against nature of post industrial revolution mankind. It literally had me belly laughing like a tickled child and weeping my body weight in tears like a man who has lost everything. I have a child on the way and I have always said I will sooner show my child ghibli moves over Disney any day (that’s not to say I wish to shelter my child from the more western straight forward type of entertainment being a brit myself) however I honestly feel that studio ghibli will do more than just entertain my child and will help me inform them with the too real trials and tribulations of life and the world our lives inhabit in a way that can be consumed with awe and a healthy sense of empathy by my child. Something most western infant aimed entertainment seems to neglect.
I’ve never heard of nor seen this film, but best believe I’m about to find it and watch it now. It looks like a really good film full of Japanese folklore history.
I watched it right through, and can only do that once. (ditto 'Fireflies") So very VERY heartbreaking, in the end. I wanted them to win. Didn't we all?
As to rating it? Well It's up there with the best: As in: most emotionally engaging, and most gut-wrenching. Takahata really had the chops for that result. Should I mention 'The Tale of Princess Kaguya'? I cried. I was torn asunder.
The Japanese can really do well what Disney always avoids: A hard ending. Death, Defeat. Loss. They pull no punches.
I wouldn’t say Disney always avoids those endings. “The Fox and the Hound” ends with the characters separating to never see each other again, and “Pocahontas” ends with the two main leads departing with one suffering from a fatal wound.
Love this movie and even a recap of it still has me tear up at the end 🥺
Could you please please pleeaaaseee do a Totoro video 🙏🏼🙏🏼🙏🏼 love your videos so much 🥺💖
Now that you've done Spirited Away, Pom Poko, and ATLA, you should do Harry Potter and DBZ.
It's been a long time since we watched this movie. I loved it! I never noticed the references to Totoro, Kiki and other Ghibli characters in the huge scene! I've been wanting to rewatch it for years and now I have to just to see all the characters.
To answer your question, I think this one is underrated.
It would be interesting to see a video about Totoro. I'm not sure if there's enough myth and legend stuff in Porko Rosso and Whisper of the Heart but they'd be interesting as well.
I love Pom Poko! The ending where you discover who the narrator is still makes me tear up.
Another cultural reference, at some point in the soundtrack of the movie they use an original folk song from Sado Island called Sado Okesa, as well as the awa odori music from tokushima
OMG, how did you get all resources to explain them?! Are they your subjective opinion or?! Well done!
Thanks! I have sources for everything although with myths sometimes there are multiple versions
@@StoryDive What you forgot to mention is that, after the Tanuki told the humans visiting them, that they threw the Parade and not the Amusement Park (and after some humans sighted the Tanukies after coming out of their "Forest of Illusion"), the Humans of New Tama Town decided to add parks and reserves, so that the Tanukies can live among humans without fear, hence why the movie ends with the Tanukies throwing a party in what is to be believed as either a reserve or park.
Love this movie. Very underrated.
Awesome video! One of my favorite movies. I always assumed the choice of "Tama Hills" was also a testicle pun.
It is sad, beautiful and underrated. I learned so much about Japan in one movie.
I love this one a ton. It may knock Spirited away off my favourite spot, but I'm not sure.
22:24 is the most Buddhist "deez nuts" jokes I've ever seen.
Another great video! I can tell the amount of research that must have gone into this.
You deserve a lot more popularity.
I've got to give this flick another look. I think it's been 10 years since the last time I saw it, and my experiences have changed me enough in this time that I think I'd appreciate it a LOT more now. Excellent work explaining it all! :)
What a detailed, wonderful work! I am impressed so much. Almost all things are spot on. A few things - 1. The huge skeleton in the wood print by Kuniyoshi Utagawa was not Gasha-dokuro, but a different yokai. It has been used as one. 2. The ghost dog on which Hanasaka Jiisan is riding is his pet dog, Pochi (a name came in later years). The dog was killed by his jealous neighbor.
Thanks. Yes, I said "Ghost dog" because it was killed.
4:27: like he said, the following song from the movie is an original:
♪ Tanuki-san, Tanuki-san*, can't you play with me somehow.
No, I can't. I'm eating dinner now.
What's for dinner? I want some.
I am eating pickled plum.
Can I have a little crumb?
Don't be such a greedy bum. Get your own. ♪
[*I’m paraphrasing, but I want to change “Mr. Raccoon” to “Tanuki-san”, because just calling it a Raccoon is incorrect, as Tanukis are more like dogs, hence the nickname “Raccoon Dog”.]
That's the most complicated movie I've not yet seen.
8:06: Is it just me, or does Japanese Dub Osho sound an awful lot like CEO Thaddeus Plotz from Animaniacs?:
ruclips.net/video/KezSyQpmqHQ/видео.html
ruclips.net/video/2G-kPXM5gdU/видео.html
At 6:14 they start singing a short song while transforming and I can't find the real lyrics for it because the English ones aren't accurate. Does anyone know the name of the song or the lyrics???
My love for animals, folklore, culture, and nature made me wish I'd seen this movie sooner.
It's easily become one of my top 3
Loved the movie, very lure heavy
Yeah, its not the most popular Ghibli movie but I love it as well.
You should do the Tale of Princess Kaguya
What was the research process like for this video? I’m super impressed with your thoroughness
After recently watching Pom Poko, it's now one of my favorites from studio Ghibli!!! So rich with mythology, fun and yet serious and sad!!! Great video!!! Thanx!!!
10:51 When the tanuki appeared faceless, that poor man wasn’t the only one who was creeped out! I’m in my early 30s and that was extremely disturbing!!
Wonderful breakdown. And Pom Poko I think is definitely underrated. It's easily one of my favorite Ghibli movies.
I really hope that you do the tale of princess kaguya next if you can please.
I didn't enjoy Pom Poko as a young child, but I recently rewatched it and I absolutely loved it! I believe that I noticed a reference to the Yotsuya Kaidan? I can't pinpoint exactly when but I believe her ghostly appearance was one of the transformations the tanuki did to scare away some workers
very well-researched video.
Thank you for the detailed analysis. Pom Poko is an underrated Ghibli film for sure. I came to this video looking for the soundtrack of that opening music that you played in your video; I suddenly remembered it and started humming it.
And on an unrelated note, THANK YOU for reminding me of Gauche the Cellist!! You just dug up 2 great childhood memories of Pom Poko and Gauche ❤ I have to watch both now!
19:10 & 20:25 Kuchisake onna or the slit mouthed woman.
Would love to see you explain film called, Your Name.. one of the newest.. my favorite anime at the moment..
This film and Princess Mononoke are the saddest with humans destroying nature, wildlife.
Gonta was my Favorite raccoon, he had such a chip on his shoulder!🤣🤣🤣
best cartoon in the world 😭😭😭 cute funny cool emotional educational. they hv everything 😖
one piece also made references to a lot of these folklores especially in the wano arc
Fun fact, Jonathan Taylor Thomas was the voice of Shokuchi the raccoon
I think it's underrated, but it makes sense because ballsacks arent the most mainstream thing.
Do you perhaps have the links to the resources you used to base off your information on? Its a wonderful video but i want to read more on it because im super interested now
There are so many it would take a while to list them all but if you ask about a few specific things I'll post them.
@@StoryDive specifically for the ponyo section would be nice, its really interesting. Thank you very much
This movie was amazing just watched it last night !! Great job do more videos please on anime
One shot every time I heard the word Tanuki.
One of my favourite ghibli films
How interesting! Thanks for uploading!
That was great to watch. Very well done. Thx for the upload
7:37 scroctum as a drum - that looks painful. LMAO
What about when the raccoons were sitting on the elder’s ‘ which was transformed into an oriental carpet!
its japanese so don't expect it to make sense
Thank you for your efforts in producing this. Very much enjoyed.
❤
Those characters are not supposed to be there😟
Sorry you had to repost this. I loved this breakdown man. Keep it up.
多摩ニュータウンは現在ゴーストタウンです
It’s one of the best I think
Best anime!! Save the nature, and the nature will save you!! Tanuki is real!!
It's the Lorax, but set in Japan, and no sign of a one-dimensional villain like Aloisus O'Hare.
Stopped watching when he mispronounced ghibli
This comes up a lot. I refer you to this video ruclips.net/video/pl9Q2yx7ppI/видео.htmlsi=EDOavQK4-L7wa_xX
I got a question. What is the name of the woman that pass before the woman finds shirime
I'm actually not sure although they appear on a few Yokai Scrolls. Let me look it up
I'm wondering since they look pretty goofy
@@LEAHPLAYSYT_MM2-YT I think the are called Shikome yokai.com/shikome
Finally after 2 misses I arrived on time before video disappears
Sorry. I just thought I noticed another copyright thing, but looks ok. Will make this public soon. Thank You!
Huh. I always thought the ending in the golf course was a grittily hopeful ending - after all the struggle and apparent defeat, tanuki adapt and survive and thrive and party down even in the new environment. [Maybe that's a North American resonance with our mega-resilient butt-kickin slouchin-thru-the-streetz racoon populations though...] and if you think about it, Whisper of the Heart is the sequel to Pom Poko, same part of Tokyo with the same development history, released the next year, theme song "Take Me Home, Country Roads" - tell me I'm wrong :)
You gotta do paprika
3/4th upload? What going man?
Very sorry, been having a time with copyright stuff, but this one looks good. I will make it public soon, just being extra careful with something.
You didn't talk at all about the socialist and radical politics embedded in the film. Especially the way they organize. I understand you may not see this as mythology, but revolutionary & insurrectionist rhetoric has its own iconography and tropes. From what I understand this studio has a legacy of radical leftist politics.
You say zoo
Wow. I just discovered your channel today. Your work is amazing and deserve way more views. Keep going!!
Thanks. Yes, I need to post more often, to get into that algorithm, haha.
@@StoryDive Just so you know, when I see the main forms that they have within the story, their character designs remind me more of the Tom and Jerry artstyle. As for their forms they take between the Ghibli form and Shigeru form, the forms they take when having a party reminds me of Disney's Winnie the Pooh, mostly because of their facial details, like their snouts with black dots for noses.
Here's something I want to mention, and that's with the character "Oroku". Since Oroku is actually a female, I feel she deserved the name "Oroku Saki" moreso than the Shredder himself, because Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird didn't realize that "Saki" is more feminine. If anything, if they were to retcon the Shredder's real name, they should go by what he was called in Japan: Oroku Sawaki; a name that the Shredder goes by when the Fred Wolf TMNT series was dubbed to Japanese (along with Hamato Yoshi being changed to the more formal name of "Yoshihama Takeshi").
One last thing to note: If people didn't like Illumination's Lorax film (specifically because of the B-Plot that contradicts with the Book's narrative of a desolate town), then this movie works as a substitute, because it's so crazy that this film also has some type of environmental message about protecting flora and fauna.
11:02 Faceless Yokai, inspiration for The Facelings of the Back Rooms
Pom Poko reminds me of the show Racoons
Oh yeah, I grew up with that
Mr raccoon, Mr raccoon, won’t you come play with me🎶🎶🎵🎵
Excellent video! Undoubtedly extremely complete, rich in information and cross-references that help us understand Takahata's mastery and the cultural reach of Pom Poko.
Please more reviews of these about anime masterpieces.
i love these deep dives on Ghibli gems my dude! Especially those that are about japanese mythology & yokais. Keep em coming!
it didnt involve little girls so Miyazaki didnt like this movie as much 😬
Thank you so much! One of my favorite Ghibli, but I hadn't understood a tenth of it, going to see it again just after tipping this!
I love this movie😁 my middle brother love too😊
Fantastic video! Would you consider doing a similar deep dive on the film A Letter to Momo?
I was thinking of that. I think another channel may have done it already but I'll keep that it in mind.
I’m not pretending to set the world on fire .
But my kids watch Ghibli instead of Disney .
Monster Parade was my favorite part of the movie