This is an original B2 Japanese poster, printed in 1994, for the release of “Pom Poko” (平成狸合戦ぽんぽこ).

As civilisation draws ever nearer to their idyllic forest home, a group of mischievous Japanese tanuki (raccoon dogs – Nyctereutes procyonoides) try to scare humans away. But they soon discover that humans are not their only rivals in the struggle for their age-old territory.

Released in 1994 as the Japanese economy slumped, but looking back to the sixties construction boom in Tokyo’s Tama Hills, Pom Poko questions the money-grabbing ethics of yuppie Japan, and mourns the loss of the countryside. Drawing on Japanese myths and legends, writer and director Isao Takahata presents a satirical view of woodland spirits using every available magical ruse to take on modern developers: including transformations, sabotage and trickery.

Pom Poko is a unique window into Japanese folklore, a comedy of modern failings, and an elegiac tale of unlikely heroes fighting insurmountable odds.

Essentially, the life of the raccoons dogs is revealed to us in two distinct ways: either through their realistic representation as animals or through the use of humour and fantasy. The first two poster design’s (Style A and B) illustrate that two-sided nature of the movie.

This poster shows more cartoonish tanuki talking  together in front of an animal mandala, giving a stronger sense of the world of the film and its humorous feel.

The image used on this poster was designed by Kazuo Oga, a member of the art staff.

Its catchphrase is “Even raccoon dogs are doing their best” (タヌキだってがんばってるんだよォ), which was coined by Shigesato Itoi.