History Anime / PomPoko

* GenderRestrictedAbility: Only male tanuki can use their...testicles to fly and as weapons, as befitting Japanese mythology. Justified for obvious reasons.

* WomenAreWiser: Oroku, the oldest female tanuki, is frequently the voice of reason among the characters, and she's also the one responsible for teaching the younger tanuki how to transform.

** To ''Anime/OceanWaves'' of all things, especially considering its status as a BlackSheep in the Ghibli catalog: in a scene where the disguised Tanuki are doing a field test of their transformation, there's a poster for the film in the window of a convenience store, prominently displaying Rikako.

* NightParadeOfOneHundredDemons: Operation: Specter is a display of illusory magic practiced by the Tanuki elders of Shikoku that simulates a ghostly parade of youkai and demons as part of a last ditch attempt to protect Tama Hills from human development. Since the humans of New Tama are not as superstitious as those in Shinkoku, it winds up being confused for a festive piece of advertisement for a local theme-park company, made all the more insulting since one of the Elders wound up dying from the strain of it.

** During the "Ghost Parade" there is a brief foxes' wedding scene which is very similar to that seen in the "Sunshine through Rain" episode of Film/AkiraKurosawasDreams.

* WhatTheRomansHaveDoneForUs: When Gonta states his intentions to kill every human in Tama Hills, in addition to Shoukichi pointing out he doesn't think humans are bad, several over Tanuki point out they wouldn't be able to access human food and the tools needed to makes it. Gonta begrudgingly relents at this observation.

** Part of Disney's contract with Studio Ghibli was that they wouldn't edit any of the studio's films. This after the terrible fate of ''Manga/NausicaaOfTheValleyOfTheWind'' at the hands of New World Video. So, Disney released ''Anime/PomPoko'' unedited and hoped that nobody would notice.[[note]]That being said, Disney neglected to release Isao Takahata's ''Anime/OnlyYesterday'' and Goro Miyazaki's ''Anime/FromUpOnPoppyHill'' in the US (though they have been released by GKIDS) because of "unacceptable" content - a discussion about menstruation in ''Only Yesterday'' and implied incest in ''Poppy Hill''.[[/note]]

* SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome: An overarching theme, the tanuki's short-sightedness and the overall harshness of the world around them end up being the biggest sources of conflict.
** [[spoiler:The death of a few people in such a major project is not going to automatically stop it.]]
** [[spoiler:The breeding ban was there for a reason, when there are now more mouths to feed all the tanuki feel the ramifications.]]
** [[spoiler:Project Specter goes off wonderfully but ultimately fails due to most of the city's population not being as superstitious as the surrounding islands, as a result it is easy for someone to step in and claim it was a publicity stunt and even those who didn't buy that explanation inevitably forget the ghostly parade even happened.]]
** [[spoiler:Tanuki are tough, but are not warriors given most of their flabbly builds and their magic focusing on trickery rather than harm. To say nothing on how their immensely lazy and easygoing personalities prevents them from taking battling seriously. Human technology has also advanced a lot and Gonta finds this out the hard way when [[CurbStompBattle he and his troops are mortally wounded without taking out a single human.]]]]
** [[spoiler:A much more positive example involves the tanuki making themselves heard. Seeing a talking shapeshifting animal on live television is quite convincing, plus the amount of people who already wanted to protect the environment would further help bring change.]]

* {{Kitsune}}: Though they aren't as prominent as the tanuki, several kitsune do show up. Unlike the tanuki, they've all gone into hiding and are living as humans.

* TanukiKitsuneContrast: While the tanuki suffer from human encroachment on their habitat the kitsune have assimilated into the city.

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/pom_poko.png]]
[[caption-width-right:350:Enjoy this rare view of the tanuki with their magic scrotums covered. It will not last.]]

* DubSpeciesChange: As noted above, the English dub refers to the main characters as raccoons.

** The Tanuki-as-Samurai battle that begins the film is loaded with references to numerous samurai films of both the famous classics and lesser known examples.

* RealityEnsues: An overarching theme, the tanuki's short-sightedness and the overall harshness of the world around them end up being the biggest sources of conflict.
** [[spoiler:The death of a few people in such a major project is not going to automatically stop it.]]
** [[spoiler:The breeding ban was there for a reason, when there are now more mouths to feed all the tanuki feel the ramifications.]]
** [[spoiler:Project Specter goes off wonderfully but ultimately fails due to most of the city's population not being as superstitious as the surrounding islands, as a result it is easy for someone to step in and claim it was a publicity stunt and even those who didn't buy that explanation inevitably forget the ghostly parade even happened.]]
** [[spoiler:Tanuki are tough, but are not warriors given most of their flabbly builds and their magic focusing on trickery rather than harm. To say nothing on how their immensely lazy and easygoing personalities prevents them from taking battling seriously. Human technology has also advanced a lot and Gonta finds this out the hard way when [[CurbStompBattle he and his troops are mortally wounded without taking out a single human.]]]]
** [[spoiler:A much more positive example involves the tanuki making themselves heard. Seeing a talking shapeshifting animal on live television is quite convincing, plus the amount of people who already wanted to protect the environment would further help bring change.]]

Directed by Creator/IsaoTakahata, ''Pom Poko'' deftly fulfills Ghibli's dual missions of advocating for the environment and preserving traditional Japanese culture by presenting a cautionary environmental story ''and'' a raucous exploration of Japanese folklore all wrapped up a bittersweet tale of the costs of urban sprawl told from perspective of the displaced animals.