10 Must-Watch Christmas Picks For Anime Fans
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The best thing to do during the Christmas holidays isn’t eating food or putting up a tree, but rather, watching Christmas movies and shows. While it’s fun and traditional to dig into classics like Home Alone, It’s a Wonderful Life, or even Die Hard, plenty of other artful Christmas movies are waiting to be explored—especially when it comes to anime.
Much like our Christmas movies in the States, the umbrella of a Christmas anime is expansive, from something that explicitly deals with the holidays or around the winter season. Viewers will find no shortage of vividly animated falling snow, tasty treats, jolly red Santa suits, and more. Anime is a way to explore all kinds of topics relevant to the season, whether it’s the big man himself, riffing on the tale of the three wise men, providing an excuse for people to confess their romantic feelings, and more. It’s a wide tapestry that’s just waiting for you.
So whether it’s a movie, a whole series, or an individual episode, plenty of Christmas anime is under this metaphorical tree, wrapped and ready to provide you with all kinds of surprises.
Here are ten we recommend checking out right now in between looking at holiday lights, trips to the mall, or even pours of egg nog.
Tokyo Godfathers (2003)
Seeing how art can influence and define works for decades is always striking. To wit: the 2003 film Tokyo Godfathers (written and directed by Perfect Blue’s Satoshi Kon) is inspired by John Ford’s 1948 film, 3 Godfathers, inspired by The Three Wise Men. The film follows a trio of unhoused—a middle-aged booze-lover named Gin, a trans woman with the chosen name Hana, and a runaway teen called Miyuki—who come across a forsaken baby. From there, the trio begins a quest to find the child’s parents. Full of heart-warming moments and leaning into the idea of found family, Tokyo Godfathers is a somewhat unconventional holiday classic—but a defining work nonetheless.
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Itsudatte My Santa! (2005)
Anyone with a birthday in December likely feels slightly overshadowed by the season, but what if your actual namesake came from one of the most prolific figures of the holidays? That’s the case with Itsudatte My Santa!, where the lead is literally named Santa and, therefore, isn’t the biggest fan of everything merry and bright. But things begin to change when he meets a girl named Mai who says she’s the real Santa. Itsudatte My Santa! is a wacky, weird, and delightfully creative romp tailor-made for the holidays.
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5 Centimeters per Second (2007)
While the holiday often brings a lot of joy, it’s a decidedly melancholic time of year for some. For those looking to watch an anime that digs into something a little sadder, 5 Centimeters per Second is worth seeking out. Broken into three segments, the first of which takes place during the winter, Second charts the life of a boy, Tohno, and his childhood friend Akari. The two end up separated due to Akari’s parents needing to move for work. What unfolds sort of mimics the story in the early parts of Past Lives, with the two growing up wondering what may have transpired. Written and directed by Makoto Shinkai, Second is a good starting point for his work before venturing into his recent output, like Your Name, Weathering with You, and Suzume.
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Yuri on Ice (2016)
Another anime that’s not technically a holiday-related show, but still has plenty of holiday-related vibes in its chilly setting. Sports anime is a stalwart part of the art form, and this one follows the titular Yuri Katsuki, who appears to be on thin ice after a huge setback at a major competition—until his idol decides to become his new coach. Full of lush animation and a surprising story, ensure you have a hot cup of coffee or tea nearby to keep you toasty.
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Toradora! (2008 - 2009)
The series Toradora! focuses on the friendship between Ryuuji and Taiga, two high schoolers coming of age where the former has a crush on a girl named Minori and seeks out her friend Tagia to help him get her attention. The series features a three-part holiday story around the show's midpoint and some critical plot developments between Ryuuji and Minori. It is a great example of how sweet and hilarious the rest of the episodes are. While we recommend the whole series, these three episodes do a pretty excellent job of spotlighting what works so great about Toradora! and the holiday season.
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Love Hina Christmas Special: Silent Eve (2000)
Love Hina shares many thematic and narrative overlaps with other entries on this list. It’s another series about a young boy reconnecting with a girl from his past as they both come of age—but with a few wrinkles. The lead, Keitarō Urashima, finds himself gifted the title to a women-only apartment building, where he must balance running the building with trying to get into college. The holiday special focuses on Keitarō wondering about whether or not he should reveal his feelings to his love interest around the holidays, leading into a comedic series of events once he does. Naturally, it’s a micro exploration of what works so well about Love Hina in the macro, so if you’re looking to test out the tone and vibes of a show before diving into it, this is a great way to do so.
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The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya (2010)
As evidenced in its title, The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya is, well, a mystery. The series kicks off around Christmas, as a group of friends called the SOS Brigade plan their holiday party. But when one of the members named Haruhi Suzumiya aptly disappears, and people begin to lose their memories of her, it’s up to Kyon (the series lead) to find out what happened, as he’s the only one with any relocation of her presence. While the anime makes for a compelling conundrum, there are still plenty of light-hearted moments alongside its atmosphere approach.
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Winter Sonota (2009)
Adapted from a Korean drama of the same name, Winter Sonata uses animation to tell a lushly-rendered winter tale about Yoo Jin, who loses her lover, Joo Sang, in an accident. After she moves on and gets engaged, she stumbles across someone who looks just like Joo Sang. What unfolds is better explored by watching it, but it’s another grand love story well worth watching during these happy seasonal times. Its impact on Asian culture is tremendous, winning all kinds of awards. Hell, it’s even made it to the States, ending up as none other than a Family Guy reference.
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Santa Company (2014)
The 2019 film Santa Company details the story of a young girl named Noel, who finds the holidays to be a somber time, as her mother left the family years ago and her father’s work keeps him busy during the season. As she’s returning to her apartment one day, the elevator doors open up not to her floor but to Santa’s workshop, where she discovers her father is working as the head of the present department of the titular Santa Company. Noel then undergoes a quest to join as a present wrapper and to discover the true meaning of Christmas.
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K-On! (2011)
The premise of K-On! is low-stakes but is a perfect example of how you can mine a lot from a little if your execution is great. The story follows four Japanese high school girls who unite to save their school’s music club from being disbanded (no pun intended). The seventh episode is all about Christmas and how the girls prepare for the holiday, down to getting gifts for one another and preparing a dinner. It’s a great look into the characters' dynamics, and you don’t need to know much about the show other than that premise to enjoy it.
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