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Rascal the Raccoon

{{Short description|Japanese anime series by Nippon Animation}}

{{Expand Japanese|topic=anime|あらいぐまラスカル|date=June 2021}}

{{Infobox television

| image = Rascal, el mapache.JPG

| caption = Screenshot

| native_name = あらいぐまラスカル

| genre = Drama

| based_on = {{Based on|Rascal|Sterling North}}

| director = Masaharu Endō
Hiroshi Saitō (1-33)
Shigeo Koshi (34-52)

| producer = Junzō Nakajima
Yoshio Katō

| writer = Akira Miyazaki
Shōgo Ōta
Kasuke Satō

| executive_producer = Koichi Motohashi

| editor = Takeshi Seyama

| music = Takeo Watanabe

| company = Nippon Animation
Fuji Television

| network = FNS (Fuji TV)

| country = Japan

| language = Japanese

| first_aired = {{Start date|1977|01|02|df=y}}

| last_aired = {{End date|1977|12|25|df=y}}

| num_episodes = 52

}}

{{nihongo|Rascal the Raccoon|あらいぐまラスカル|Araiguma Rasukaru|literally Raccoon Rascal, with the Japanese word for raccoon meaning "washing bear"}} is a 1977 Japanese animated series by Nippon Animation.[https://us.imdb.com/title/tt0168293/ "Araiguma rasukaru" (1977)] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040617024400/http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0168293/ |date=2004-06-17}} Internet Movie Database (Retrieved 3 October 2009) This anime

is based on the 1963 autobiographical novel Rascal, A Memoir of a Better Era by Sterling North.

As a result of the anime's popularity, many pet raccoons were imported to Japan, which caused them to become an invasive species in the country.

Plot

The anime revolves around a young boy who decided to provide shelter to a raccoon that was discovered by a hunter. As the boy attempted to domesticate the wild animal as part of his family, he soon realized through trials and tribulations that his efforts were futile and decided to release Rascal back into the wild.{{Cite web|last=Macewan|first=Matthew|date=2014-11-21|title=Rascal's Secret Plan: the Raccoon Invasion of Japan|url=https://www.tofugu.com/japan/raccoons-in-japan/|access-date=2020-10-16|website=Tofugu|language=en|archive-date=2020-10-17|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201017190222/https://www.tofugu.com/japan/raccoons-in-japan/|url-status=live}}

Cast

Episodes

  • Episode 1: Cute Fella with the Black Mask
  • Episode 2: My New Friend
  • Episode 3: Friendship
  • Episode 4: Milwaukee Moon
  • Episode 5: A Gift for Oscar
  • Episode 6: Good Bye Skunks
  • Episode 7: Which Is Faster, House or Car?
  • Episode 8: Frog and Boxing
  • Episode 9: Mother's Return
  • Episode 10: Frist Exploration

Music

The series uses two pieces of music for the opening theme and the ending theme. The opening theme song is called {{nihongo|"Rock River e"|ロックリバーヘ|Rokku Ribâ e|lit. "To Rock River"}}, and the ending theme is {{nihongo|"Oide Rascal"|おいでラスカル|Oide Rasukaru|lit. "Rascal Come"}}, both written by Eriko Kishida and sung by the Japanese vocalist by Kumiko Oosugi. The opening theme was later used as the main gameplay theme for the 1981 arcade game Frogger. The show's music was composed by Takeo Watanabe, who worked on many anime of the 1970s and 80s.

Impact

{{main|Raccoon#Distribution in Japan}}

File:Byōdō-in.jpg

Raccoons are an invasive species in Japan and there is evidence that Rascal the Raccoon has contributed enormously to the problem of invasive raccoons in Japan. Like other invasive species, raccoons in Japan have few natural predators.{{Cite web|author=ZankDigiTrash|date=January 12, 2013|title=Rascal the Raccoon Anime and effects on Japan|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oaYUxzUKV_M |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211217/oaYUxzUKV_M |archive-date=2021-12-17 |url-status=live|access-date=October 24, 2020|website=Youtube}}{{cbignore}}

Although the anime Rascal the Raccoon{{'}}s storyline revolves around the difficulties of taking in a raccoon as a pet, Japanese citizens became inspired to import raccoons in to the country as their pet, leading to unforeseen consequences. In Japan, up to 1,500 raccoons were imported as pets each year after the success of Rascal the Raccoon. In 2004, the descendants of discarded or escaped animals lived in 42 of 47 prefectures and then to all 47 prefectures by 2008.{{cite journal|author=山﨑晃司・佐伯緑・竹内正彦・及川ひろみ|year=2009|script-title=ja:茨城県でのアライグマの生息動向と今後の管理課題について|url=http://www.nat.pref.ibaraki.jp/publish/documents/study_report/kenkyu12_light.pdf|url-status=dead|journal=県自然博物館研究報告|language=ja|volume=12|pages=41–49|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110529201015/http://www.nat.pref.ibaraki.jp/publish/documents/study_report/kenkyu12_light.pdf|archive-date=May 29, 2011|access-date=July 3, 2011}} These raccoons are now a pest in Japan and imports of raccoons are now banned.

The importation of raccoons was banned because people in Japan started releasing their pet raccoons in to the wild—especially after the final episode of Rascal the Raccoon was released. Additionally, raccoons can become too violent and hard to handle once they grew up, which further encouraged people to release them.

This negatively affected Japan's natural ecosystem and man-made infrastructures and it was estimated that about 80% of the temples in Japan were damaged by raccoons including Byōdō-in in Kyoto which has more than 900 years of history.{{Citation|title=Rascal the Raccoon|url=https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Anime/RascalTheRaccoon|access-date=2020-10-16|archive-date=2020-08-05|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200805020332/https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Anime/RascalTheRaccoon|url-status=live}} Raccoons attributed to Rascal also caused the destruction of crops in the agricultural sector and Japan suffers an estimated of 30,000,000 yen annually from the effects in the agricultural sector alone.{{Cite journal|last1=Ikeda|first1=Tohru|last2=Asano|first2=Makoto|last3=Matoba|first3=Yohei|last4=Abe|first4=Go|date=December 31, 2004|title=Present Status of Invasive Alien Raccoon and its Impact in Japan|url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/228486361|journal=Global Environmental Research|pages=125–231|via=Google Scholar}}

Even with backlash from animal advocates, the Japanese government decided to adopt the 0% tolerance policy where the goal is to kill as many raccoons as possible. This includes killing thousands of raccoons each year. The government also placed a lot of tight sanctions to minimize the chances of being able to import any more raccoons into the country. In 2003, the Hokkaido government specifically implemented the 10-year plan to completely eradicate raccoons in Japan, but attempts proved to be mostly futile as there was not enough financial support.

Rascal appearances

Rascal appeared in commercials, games and anime:

  • The Adventures of Peter Pan (1989)
  • Pokapoka Mori no Rascal (2006, aired in Kids Station as the studio's first anime series for preschoolers)
  • Araiguma Rascal Special in Monster Strike game (game and CM)
  • Meitantei Rascal (2014, aired in NHK Educational TV)
  • Line, a South Korean communication application{{Cite web |title=RASCAL – LINE stickers |url=https://store.line.me/stickershop/product/706/en |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190403195532/https://store.line.me/stickershop/product/706/en |archive-date=2019-04-03 |access-date=2020-10-22 |website=LINE STORE |language=en}}

Video games

Spin-off

A spin-off series, titled Araiguma Calcal-dan, was announced on December 12, 2024 and is set to premiere in April 2025.{{cite web|last=Pineda|first=Rafael Antonio|url=https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2024-12-11/raccoon-rascal-anime-gets-new-araiguma-calcal-dan-tv-spinoff/.218906|title=Raccoon Rascal Anime Gets New Araiguma Calcal-dan TV Spinoff|publisher=Anime News Network|date=December 11, 2024|access-date=December 12, 2024}}

References

{{reflist}}

External links

  • [http://www.araiguma-rascal.com/ Official website]
  • {{anime News Network|anime|437}}
  • [http://www.gojefferson.com/rascal/index.html Rascal book and anime history site]

{{Nippon Animation}}

{{World Masterpiece Theater}}

Category:1977 anime television series debuts

Category:Adventure anime and manga

Category:Anime and manga set in the United States

Category:Children's manga

Category:Cultural depictions of Sterling North

Category:Drama anime and manga

Category:Fictional raccoons

Category:Fuji Television original programming

Category:Historical anime and manga

Category:Television series about raccoons

Category:Television shows based on American novels

Category:Television shows set in Wisconsin

Category:Television series set in the 1910s

Category:World Masterpiece Theater series