History Main / Tanuki

* In ''Manga/GekkanShoujoNozakikun'', Maeno is obsessed with tanuki and is constantly badgering the manga authors working under him to include them in all their works. Since they're very obvious InUniverse {{Creators Pet}}s, most of the other characters hate them, to the point that the anime's opening show Sakura and Hori violently destroying one.

* In ''Manga/GekkanShoujoNozakikun'', Maeno is obsessed with tanuki and is constantly badgering the manga authors working under him to include them in all their works. Since they're very obvious InUniverse {{Creators Pet}}s, most of the other characters hate them.

* In ''Manga/GekkanShoujoNozakikun'', Maeno is obsessed with tanuki and is constantly badgering the manga authors working on them to include them in all their works. Since they're very obvious InUniverse {{Creators Pet}}s, most of the other characters hate them.

* In ''Manga/GekkanShoujoNozakikun'', Maeno is obsessed with tanuki and is constantly badgering the manga authors working on them to include them in all their works. Since they're very obvious InUniverse {{CreatorsPet}}s, most of the other characters hate them.

* In ''ShamanKing'', Ponchi is a Tanuki that makes a pair with Conchi, a fox (or ''Kitsune''), which is another animal regarded with mystical powers of deception in Japanese mythology. The less said about his testicles, the better. Suffice it to say that he inverts the GroinAttack.

* [[PunnyName Tom Nook]] from ''AnimalCrossing'' is a Tanuki. Tanuki statues also appear. Of note is the fact that all furniture items in Animal Crossing (such as those that Tom Nook sells) are transformed into leaves when put in one's inventory.

** Mamizou Futatsuiwa, the BonusBoss of ''Ten Desires'', whose character is based on the tanuki FolkHero [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Danzaburou-danuki Danzaburou-danuki]]. Initially hailing from Sado, she decides to stay in Gensokyo after being called to defeat the FinalBoss only to discover that the player character already took care of things.

* Early unnamed example in the ''YuYuHakusho'' manga.

* Ibuki of ''VideoGame/StreetFighterIII'' and ''[[VideoGame/StreetFighterIV Super Street Fighter IV]]'' has a pet tanuki.

** ''Ten Desires'' introduced a tanuki named Mamizou Futatsuiwa. Notably a female tanuki.

* A clan of them feature in the StudioGhibli film ''PomPoko''. The American dub [[GettingCrapPastTheRadar refers to their testicles as "pouches"]].

* [[TokugawaIeyasu Ieyasu Tokugawa]] in ''SamuraiWarriors'' is associated with the tanuki, in contrast to his rival Mitsunari Ishida, who is associated with the {{Kitsune}}.
** In SengokuRance, Ieyasu ''is'' a tanuki.

* TheBigBangTheory: Kripke alledgedly draws a picture of "a 'raccoon' with an engorged scrotum" on Sheldon's survey. It was quite probably intended to be a tanuki.

[[folder:Tabletop RPG]]
* ''DungeonsAndDragons'' 1st Edition supplement ''Oriental Adventures''. The raccoon dog is a subtype of hengeyokai (basically an Asian animal-based ShapeShifter). They are always evil. They have enhanced strength but lower than normal wisdom.
* In ''{{Pathfinder}}'', tanuki are [[PettingZooPeople monstrous humanoids]] with the [[VoluntaryShapeshifting shapeshifter]] subtype, tend to be ChaoticNeutral, and [[BoozeBasedBuff get more powerful when]] [[DrunkenMaster they're drunk]]. Also, they have a [[GettingCrapPastTheRadar slam attack that they don't need to have their paws free to use]].

Tanuki are a type of canid that lives in Asia (and now Europe), commonly referred to as 'raccoon dogs'. In Japanese mythology, tanuki are said to have magic powers such as {{shapeshifting}} (usually performed with a [[TransformationTrinket leaf on their forehead]]). Pranksters and tricksters, Tanuki spirits are generally fat and jolly, like to drum on their bellies (a sound which has the Japanese onomatopoeia "ponpoko"), and are often associated with good luck.

* A one-episode character in 090-EkoToIssho, which, not having ever mastered the transformation business, would hide by possessing people. LastOfHisKind. Is used to cause a ShipTease and maybe, just maybe, advance the plot.

* ''VideoGame/{{Touhou}}'' introduced a tanuki in ''Ten Desires'' named Mamizou Futatsuiwa. Notably a female tanuki.
** Prior to that, the ExpandedUniverse manga "Oriental Sacred Place" chapter 11 featured an unnamed tanuki who almost successfully impersonated [[CuteWitch Marisa Kirisame]].

* Of ''{{Pokemon}}'', Zigzagoon is one in Japan. Though insignificant in battle, with below average statistical abilities and a small pool of moves to learn from, it can be useful as a party member. It is one of the few Pokémon that can have the "Pickup" ability, which will sometimes give you very rare items such as Rare Candy and PP Up, and its evolution, Linoone, can learn most HM moves, which are used to progress through otherwise [[InsurmountableWaistHeightFence insurmountable obstacles]].

* [[PunnyName Tom Nook]] from ''AnimalCrossing'' is a Tanuki. Tanuki statues also appear.

* A clan of them feature in the StudioGhibli film ''PomPoko''.
** When exported to America, [[GettingCrapPastTheRadar their testicles were referred to as "pouches"]].

They can also cause ... certain problems during localization outside of Japan due to them being characterized with ''enormous'' testicles, called kintama in Japanese. Another issue is their tendency to be erroneously localized as "raccoons" or "badgers," as they are close to unknown in America. These errors are less common in Europe, which has a large feral population of tanuki, and there aren't many problems localizing raccoons and badgers into Japanese media, as actual raccoons and badgers are present in Japan.

* Oversized testicles, symbolizing financial luck; this is an exaggeration of the real-life raccoon dog's already-large testicles

They can also cause ... certain problems during localization outside of Japan due to them being characterized with ''enormous'' testicles. Another issue is their tendency to be erroneously localized as "raccoons" or "badgers," as they are close to unknown in America. These errors are less common in Europe, which has a large feral population of tanuki, and there aren't many problems localizing raccoons and badgers into Japanese media, as actual raccoons and badgers are present in Japan.

* The boss of the alternate fourth stage in ''Sexy VideoGame/{{Parodius}}'' is a tanuki. You can [[GroinAttack shoot it in the testicles]], though the game tells you not to do that. The music for the BossBattle is a medley of Beethoven's Fifth Symphony and the Japanese children's song "Genkotsu-yama no Tanuki-san."

Many of the tropes that Americans associate with [[RascallyRaccoon raccoons]] also apply to [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raccoon_dog raccoon dogs]] or (in Japanese) ''tanuki''. Though raccoon dogs are canids and not true raccoons[[note]]Thus making them more closely related to the domesticated dog and their wild relatives, wolves, which are also members of the same family[[/note]], they enjoy the same reputation in {{Japan}}ese folklore that true raccoons share in the Western Hemisphere -- both this and their superficial resemblance to raccoons are the reasons this animal is called "raccoon dog" in English.

* ''VideoGame/{{Sonic Rush|Series}} Adventure'': Marine the Raccoon is actually a tanuki.

** Prior to that, the ExtendedUniverse manga "Oriental Sacred Place" chapter 11 featured an unnamed tanuki who almost successfully impersonated [[CuteWitch Marisa Kirisame]].

** Prior to that, the ExtendedUniverse manga "Oriental Sacred Place" chapter 11 featured an unnamed tanuki who [[YouMeddlingKids almost successfully]] [[MasterOfIllusion impersonated]] [[CuteWitch Marisa Kirisame]].