I love this time of year! Well, except for "Simply Having a Wonderful Christmastime," that's awful. But the rest of the things about the holiday season are fantastic. The gift-giving, the food-eating, the singing of dumb songs, the visits with rarely-seen friends and family... it's all awesome. I'm coming up on Christmas number thirty-four, and I'm still not tired of them yet. Some of the things I like best about Christmas, however, are the magical Christmas TV specials. You know the ones, with all of your favorite cartoon characters. Some of them aired on CBS, which had this awesome rum-tum-tum intro that alerted children all over the US that a cool Christmas cartoon was starting.
Who can we blame this amazing tradition on? Part of it must go to Charles Schultz, who created the iconic Peanuts and oversaw the still-popular Charlie Brown Christmas special. Part of the blame can also be shared by the Rankin-Bass Company, who spent decades ripping out durably enchanting stop-motion specials like Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer and Here Comes Santa Claus. There's the Grinch, and the Mister Magoo Christmas Carol (lots of people think this was the first one), and more modern classics like Olive, the Other Reindeer. Most Christmas specials like these are animated, so it begs the question: where are all the Christmas anime? Well, Christmas isn't quite the same holiday in Japan as it is in the west - but it is celebrated! So Christmas anime are out there, and we're going to look at twelve of the best ones. On the first day of Christmas, my loopy otaku roommate showed to me.
cThe Macross Christmas episode! Actually the penultimate chapter of the TV series, this episode takes place on Christmas Eve and is therefore awash in Yuletide symbols. Minmay, who's been doggedly pursuing Hikaru but slips into depression as he inevitably succumbs to the charms of Misa, tries to lure him back with a Christmas cake. Because come on man, it's Christmas, and if you're feeling romantic, you have to have a Christmas cake! This is an aspect of the holiday that is uniquely Japanese - Christmas is strictly secular there (it's not a government-recognized holiday, like New Year's Day), and while the ideas of gift-giving and miracles are present, it's largely a romantic day for couples. One of the romantic things that is supposed to happen involves sharing a special cake - a cake which must be consumed on Christmas Eve. This has led to a really terrible, hateful joke where older Japanese girls are referred to as "Christmas cakes," because they're not wanted after their 25th. I don't know about you guys, but if I lived in Japan, I'd be wildly celebrating Discount Cake Day on the 25th, just like I celebrate Cheap Halloween Candy Day on November 1st. Anyway, the episode, which can be easily watched on Hulu for you US viewers, climaxes with a rendition of "Silent Night." On the second day of Christmas, the fat guy who sits in the back row of the anime club and never, ever says anything gave to me...
R.O.D. the TV episode 10, "Christmas Carol!" Not strictly a Christmas episode beyond the title and setting, this one's a subdued affair about Nenene taking the Paper sisters to a horrible, awkward company Christmas party (we've all been to those, right?). After an old boss of Nenene's says a whole bunch of horrible shit to her face (ah, another staple of Christmas parties!), the quartet escape, and the sisters recount that day two Christmases ago where the three of them decided to become a family-- because hey, Christmas is about family. On the third day of Christmas, the hipster working at the anime store with the really improbable beard handed me...
Azumanga Daioh episode 13.5, "Yule!" Like most of Azumanga Daioh, this one takes place in the classroom, and like most of Azumanga Daioh, it's essentially a manzai comedy routine in which two parties have an increasingly ludicrous argument. In this case, Tomo and Kagura are worried that child-prodigy Chiyo might still believe in Santa, and agonize over how to explain things if the subject comes up. Kagura asserts that Santa can afford to pass out presents to children because the government pays him, and when Tomo angrily refutes the idea that any human could possibly visit every household in the world in one day, Kagura just as hotly responds that Santa isn't human, obviously. While Christmas in Japan is largely a date holiday for couples, it's also an indulgence for kids and families - Santa is just too awesome to keep out of the spotlight, obviously. On the fourth day of Christmas, some completely random person on IRC sent to me...