Pom Poko

Tokyo’s steady expansion comes at a cost: forests shrink, wildlife habitats vanish, and the balance between nature and the city begins to tilt. In Pom Poko, a community of tanuki—mystical, shape-shifting mammals—finds its home threatened as development pushes deeper into their beloved woodland.

With hiding places disappearing and tensions rising between rival groups, the elder Oroku urges the tanuki to act before it’s too late. Setting aside their divisions, they join forces to protect the forest and their descendants, using their transformation skills to disrupt construction and frighten humans away. Yet their early efforts reveal how difficult it is to stand against relentless urbanization—and how easily fear, anger, and loss can strain even a united community.