Pom Poko (Heisei tanuki gassen pompoko) has received a pretty harsh review on this site – which is fair enough, I’m not arguing – I just feel that those poor Raccoons need to be defended. So if you were debating whether or not to make a purchase on this wonderful Ghibli title, or if it had escaped your radar completely, then now’s a good time to remember it – and why you should consider it at least in the same breath as the more high brow Ghibli fare.
Read the review: http://www.animeuknews.net/viewreview.php?showreview=283
I was inspired by a comment by kupoartist, one which I’m still in two minds about…
Anyway, onto why its not really all that bad a Ghibli film:
Drawing on the Japanese folklore of the tanuki (the fat, happy Raccoon that welcomes you outside Japanese restaurants) Pom Poko raises some prominent issues and addresses them from a rather unorthodox perspective, choosing not to focus its narrative primarily on a stereotypical saving the forest plot, but rather, the dichotomy that arises when such a plan is put into action.
There is no denying that this is a text for the more adventurous, and dare I say, strongly committed Ghibli-fans, as Jo Sarsam points out, but if you’re willing to research a little, it’s a text every type of otaku really can take a lot away from.
I don’t pretend to be the oracle of animation, but some of the main problems that would face a more casual viewer (which I guess it could be said I am too), are as follows:
Constant references to Japanese culture and history alienate a western audience:
The cultural references of Pom Poko, including the mythology behind the tanuki, can leave more than a little lost in translation, but surely part of the Otaku way/trend is discovering more about Japanese culture… There is an abundance of symbols and tableau’s with which to explore – shouldn’t it be something like a kid in a sweet shop? I didn’t have a clue what the young Samurai who shot the fan was all about, and so I looked it up – learning something new about Japan. This is something I never felt compelled to do with Spirited Away, Howl’s Moving Castle or Mononoke (Symbolism which although offering more with, could be understood without a good knowledge of Japanese myths and deities).
The means by which the animation and narrative characterises the tanuki:
This is an interesting point of debate; yes, they come across as lazy and apathetic, but that is explained, upon which it adds to the comedy and, to a point, pathos. Although they may at first bring to mind “care bearsâ€
Read the review: http://www.animeuknews.net/viewreview.php?showreview=283
I was inspired by a comment by kupoartist, one which I’m still in two minds about…
Anyway, onto why its not really all that bad a Ghibli film:
Drawing on the Japanese folklore of the tanuki (the fat, happy Raccoon that welcomes you outside Japanese restaurants) Pom Poko raises some prominent issues and addresses them from a rather unorthodox perspective, choosing not to focus its narrative primarily on a stereotypical saving the forest plot, but rather, the dichotomy that arises when such a plan is put into action.
There is no denying that this is a text for the more adventurous, and dare I say, strongly committed Ghibli-fans, as Jo Sarsam points out, but if you’re willing to research a little, it’s a text every type of otaku really can take a lot away from.
I don’t pretend to be the oracle of animation, but some of the main problems that would face a more casual viewer (which I guess it could be said I am too), are as follows:
Constant references to Japanese culture and history alienate a western audience:
The cultural references of Pom Poko, including the mythology behind the tanuki, can leave more than a little lost in translation, but surely part of the Otaku way/trend is discovering more about Japanese culture… There is an abundance of symbols and tableau’s with which to explore – shouldn’t it be something like a kid in a sweet shop? I didn’t have a clue what the young Samurai who shot the fan was all about, and so I looked it up – learning something new about Japan. This is something I never felt compelled to do with Spirited Away, Howl’s Moving Castle or Mononoke (Symbolism which although offering more with, could be understood without a good knowledge of Japanese myths and deities).
The means by which the animation and narrative characterises the tanuki:
This is an interesting point of debate; yes, they come across as lazy and apathetic, but that is explained, upon which it adds to the comedy and, to a point, pathos. Although they may at first bring to mind “care bearsâ€
