Anime Column] 100 Anime to Watch by Keyword! 100 Anime to Watch No.17 "Utsukoten Kazoku 2" etc.

Drinking parties among anime fans tend to be a game of association. When someone says, "XXX has XXX scene," someone else replies, "Speaking of XXX scene, don't forget XXX. Anime and animation are connected by invisible threads like this. Let's trace the "anime to watch" using keywords as clues.

In 2013, "Yujoten Kazoku", an anime adaptation of the novel of the same title by Tomihiko Morimi, was broadcast. Its sequel, "Arikoten Kazoku: Nidaime no Kicho" is currently airing as "Arikoten Kazoku 2.

The story of "Arikoten Kazoku" is a tale of raccoon dogs, humans, and tengu set in Kyoto. The main character is a raccoon dog, Shimogamo Yazaburo. Yazaburo, who inherited "only the blood of a fool" from his father Soichiro, who is now deceased, follows his "fool's blood" and gets involved in all sorts of commotion.

In the previous work, Yazaburo was involved in a great uproar over the position of "Nigemon," the chieftain of the raccoon dogs. Through the turmoil, "2" of the four brothers and their mother in the Shimogamo family begins with the return of the second generation of Akatama, a disciple of the tengu master Akatama, from England after a hundred years. Akatama-sensei had another disciple. Benten, a beautiful woman who was kidnapped after the absence of the second generation. Benten is now more like a tengu than the aging Akatama-sensei, and has come to wield great influence in the raccoon dog and human worlds. The unsettled atmosphere between the second generation and Benten will be the driving force of the story.

Then there is another new character, Tenmaya. What role will Tenmanya, a human who is also a conjurer of raccoon dogs, play in the story?

Unlike the previous work, in which the turmoil involving raccoon dogs, humans, and tengu beautifully converges with the raccoon dogs' love for their family, "2" is a quiet story on the surface, although it is filled with a sense of turmoil. When will this tension break? How will the situation of the humans, raccoon dogs, and tengu change in the future?

The raccoon dogs in "The Family of the Raccoon" often disguise themselves as humans and mingle among the humans with a nonchalant look on their faces. Such scenes make me feel as if raccoon dogs and tengu are really roaming around behind the scenes in Kyoto.

This is why this month's article focuses on "animal animation. However, there are many "animations in which animals appear. Therefore, I have excluded "works in which animals appear as pets or mascots" (for example, "Rascal the Raccoon") and "works in which animals are anthropomorphized and live a life almost the same as humans" (for example, "Maple Town Story").

First, I would like to introduce "Heisei Raccoon Battle Ponpoko" in connection with raccoon dogs.
This work depicts raccoon dogs living in the Tama Hills, who make full use of the ancient art of chemistry (bakegaku) in order to resist development. One of the key points of the film was that it was produced as a kind of "documentary" that followed the changes in the Tama Hills while featuring anthropomorphic raccoon dogs as characters.

Another feature of this film is that it depicts the raccoon dog in folklore, which bewitches people, and the raccoon dog as an animal that lives in satoyama and other areas as a single entity. Therefore, raccoon dogs are depicted in three types in this film: one is a "realistic raccoon dog figure" and the other is the most main one, an anthropomorphic raccoon dog figure similar to Shigaraki ware, etc. Then there is the "cartoonish Sugiura Danuki" when the raccoon dog goes "tohoho.

This is the only work that pursues the theme of the raccoon dog.

Speaking of fighting animals - one should not forget "Gamba no Bouken" (The Adventures of Gamba ). This TV animation based on a children's book is one of the greatest works in the history of animation. Like the development of the Tama Hills in "Pon Poko," the original story was inspired by a real-life event on Hachijojima Island, where weasels were introduced to exterminate rats.

Gamba, a town rat, meets Chuta, who comes to him for help at a warehouse in the port. The rats on Yumemi Island, Chuta's hometown, are in danger of extinction because of a giant white weasel called Noroi. Gamba and his friends set off for Yumemi Island to save Chuta's hometown.

Although the characters are cartoonish, the story gets harder and harder toward its climax. That is because the Noroi are by far the most terrifying. The divine white fur, the reddish-purple eyes. And a big mouth. He is a weasel, but he is a charismatic character, and is one of the best antagonists in the history of anime.

He is one of the masterpieces that should be seen by all those who have not yet seen him.

Last but not least is "Bonobono. Based on the manga of the same name, a total of four animations have been produced so far. The first was the theater version, followed by the first TV animation, the 3DCG "The Spider Tree," and the second TV animation. All of them depict the world of animals, centering on three friends, a sea otter Bonobono, a chipmunk, and a raccoon.

Each film has its own charm, but we will focus on the movie version here.

The story is quite simple. One day, there is a rumor that a huge, never-before-seen creature is coming to the forest where Bonobono and his friends live, and the whole forest is in an uproar. Bonobono and his friends try to meet the "big creature," but the story is .......

The interesting characters and philosophical elements of the original story are beautifully visualized in this film. Many people have not seen this film, but it is a hidden masterpiece and should be seen by all.

(Text by Ryota Fujitsu)

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