Rascal the Raccoon


Rascal the Raccoon is a Japanese animated series by Nippon Animation. It is based on the 1963 autobiographical novel Rascal, A Memoir of a Better Era by Sterling North.

Japanese cast

The series uses two pieces of theme music for the opening theme and the ending theme. The opening theme song is called "Rock River e", and the ending theme is "Oide Rascal", both 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

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. It has been claimed that Rascal was actually more popular than Mickey Mouse in Japan. These raccoons are now a pest in Japan and imports of raccoons are now banned. Over 80% of Japanese temples suffer from damages caused by raccoons.

Rascal appearances

Rascal appeared in commercials, games and anime.