Welcome to the Fantasy Zone
This Zone is dedicated to the lesser known elements of anime hosted by the cast of Victory Script.
What weapon is the best?
Who will win in this Death Battle?
Is this costume practical?
You name it, it's all covered here in the Fantasy Zone!
Anyone who remembers watching Pom Poko got some giggles out of the fact they have enormous testicles and scrotums, well there's a more in depth reason why Tanukis in Japanese mythology are depicted in that way.
Anyone who is familiar with Kitsune knows that it's a trickster yokai with many tails who can trick people by different transformations; the tanuki share similar abilities only they do so with their enormous testicles, kneading it like dough to form the shape they desire impersonating humans as well as making it into raincoats, using them for drumming and even weaponizing them. They are referred to as pranksters but most comes down to just attempting to buy alcohol, in fact if you've ever seen a chubby tanuki statue it comes with several traits that all have meaning.
A hat to protect against bad weather
Big eyes to perceive the environment and make good decisions
A Sake bottle to represent virtue
A big tail for steadiness and strength
An enormous scrotum for financial luck
A promissory note that represents trust and confidence
A big belly for bold and calm decisiveness
And finally a friendly smile.
All these traits are said to bring fortune.
The real tanuki isn't as well endowed as it's yokai suggests, they actually look kinda cute.
The Japanese even have love for the normal raccoon, they were introduced to Japan in the 70s following the success of Rascal the Raccoon, an anime character who at the time was more popular than Mickey Mouse. It didn't last as raccoons didn't make good pets so they ended up joining Japan's eco system with a major agriculture bill.
So that's a little history on Tanukis, the animals with literally the biggest balls.
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