Christmas Archives | 100 Word Anime

Top 5: Christmas Episodes in Anime

Posted on December 24, 2021December 24, 2021 by Karandi

I will admit, I am not the biggest fan of Christmas episodes whether they be in anime or anything else. They all kind of feel the same after awhile.

When narrowing down the list I decided to stick with shows where I just enjoyed the Christmas episode rather than found it a bit of a tag on annoyance. That said, Christmas isn’t as pervasive in anime as Valentines or New Years so trying to remember which shows actually focussed on Christmas proved a bit of a challenge.

As always, I’d love to know your favourite episodes below.

Favourite Christmas Episodes in Anime

Honourable mentions to Haruhi Suzumiya (not an episode but the movie focussed on Christmas), Clannad After Story, and the Sailor Moon second movie (again not an episode).

Number 5: Karin Chibi Vampire

Episode 19 gives us a Christmas Eve episode where both Karin and her friend Maki are trying to make gifts for the objects of their affections. It isn’t all happy news for the pair but there’s enough sweetness in this episode to make it an uplifting experience for the most part. That and it seems like another logical step in Karin and Usui’s relationship rather than an added in episode for the sake of having a Christmas episode.

Number 4: Hayate Combat Butler

Alright, this one probably isn’t really capturing the spirit of Christmas given his parents leave him their debt and run away and then Hayate tries to kidnap someone (fairly unsuccessfully) but Santa’s dream response to Hayate asking why he didn’t get a present is pretty amusing.

Again, the Christmas element doesn’t feel like an add in because it is used to make you feel genuinely sorry for Hayate and the end result is reasonably positive (unless you truly feel that Hayate got a bad deal having to work for Nagisa) so go Christmas.

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Number 3: Sword Art Online

Definitely not capturing the spirit of Christmas, I liked this episode because it tapped in to a few different ideas.

Firstly this Christmas episode consolidates the fact that death is going to be final in the game world. Sachi is dead and all of Kirito’s actions won’t bring her back. Secondly, it presents Santa in a way you never wanted to see him and visually this is one of the more interesting boss’ that show up in the series. And finally, I like this episode because there are events in games and they do tie in to holidays so this just worked.

Plus it kind of broke my heart as they gave us a promise of resurrection, we watched Kirito fight to even get to the location of the event, Klein first trying to stop Kirito and then assisting him to get to where he needed to be, watched Kirito succeed at defeating the boss, and then the realisation that it won’t help him anyway because of the time limit. Everything about this episode was perfect (though perhaps not really within the spirit of Christmas).

Number 2: Kobato

A near love triangle resolved when one of the suitors bows out realising the girl he likes only has eyes for one guy. Using the Christmas episode as a chance to get the two together is just the great kind of excuse everyone needs. Except that the guy in question (Fujimoto) has genuine issues about being abandoned on Christmas Eve so his surly tone for the earlier parts of this episode are completely understandable even if he is misdirecting some of that angst at Kobato.

And Kobato doesn’t really get Christmas anyway and is just fluttering along as always. Still, this episode marks a change in the tone of the show and the central relationship being built and so is pretty important from a plot point of view.

Number 1: Kimi ni Todoke

The class Christmas party that Sawako couldn’t go to because… she never got up the nerve to ask her parents? This episode was a really important one as we saw Sawako actually want something more than just Kazahaya to speak with her and we saw her genuinely struggle as she didn’t want to let her parents down. More importantly, she finally comes to the realisation that perhaps she’s been too considerate and it is okay to want things.

Good thing her parents are both alive (a novelty in anime) and actually pretty supportive and understanding. She might not get to see much of the class party but it’s enough that she did actually develop another step as a character.

So that’s my top 5 but I’ve probably missed a bunch so feel free to tell us about your favourite Christmas episodes in anime.

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Merry Christmas

Posted on December 25, 2018December 22, 2018 by Karandi

Run With The Wind Episode 10 Prince toss

Just a quick post to wish everyone a great day and holiday. I hope you got to be with the people you wanted to see and had a great time and some great food.

The 12 Days of Anime are now completed and I’m really glad I participated this year as it meant I got to revisit some really great characters that otherwise wouldn’t be getting much of my attention on the blog because they didn’t make my top 5 list which will come out in the new year.

Reminder: the poll is now open for you to vote on the best and worst anime of the 2018 Autumn Anime Season. Be sure to jump in and have your say. Voting closes on the 29th of December.

Tuesday’s Top 5: Anime Characters I’d Like To Invite To Christmas Lunch

Posted on December 19, 2017December 8, 2017 by Karandi

Alright, so this is a pretty silly list but I was just thinking about the family lunch for Christmas and who I’d like to invite from the anime world to spice things up a bit (or to make them more sane, depending on your viewpoint really). My top 5 picks and reasons are below but I’d love to know who you would invite to your Christmas lunch.

Please Note: Probably no spoilers this week.

Honourable mention this week goes to the cast of My Hero Academia. I don’t think my house of anyone’s house could survive actually hosting these characters for a Christmas lunch but I bet it would be fun.

Number 5: Yato from Noragami

Okay, this one might be sympathy, but I really don’t like the idea of Yato being on his own for Christmas and I think he’d be a lot of fun to have at lunch. Sure, he might be a bit silly and he’ll probably try to sneak some of the food out with him when he leaves, but while he is there he’ll make small talk with the family (he’s actually quite good at small talk as we see when he is greeting his neighbours in season 2 of Noragami) and generally lighten the mood.

Number 4: Hikaru and Kaoru from Ouran High School Host Club

Alright, this is a cheat, picking two characters (and it isn’t the only time I’m going to cheat) but when you are looking for someone to create an atmosphere and get the lunch moving along, these two are the first two that came to my mind. Okay, it may end up a bit awkward, but I definitely think these two could brighten up an otherwise fairly ordinary lunch.

Number 3: Kirito from Sword Art Online

In all likelihood, after lunch will stretch into the afternoon with chatter and small talk and Kirito would be handy to have around to get into a series gaming discussion. As someone who loves playing games and could enjoy discussion strategies for defeating certain bosses and getting through tricky levels, he is definitely someone I want sitting at that lunch table.

Number 2: Victor and Yuri from Yuri on Ice

Do I actually need to explain this?

Alright, I have an absolute fascination with ice skating and would love for a detailed discussion by two world champion level skaters about the scoring system. Let’s leave it at that and pretend that’s why I’m inviting them.

Number 1: Maka from Soul Eater

While writing this list it occurred to me that I wasn’t inviting many (any) female characters. I could probably then use this as an argument for the lack of variety in female characters or how annoying a lot of female protagonists are, but rather than that I decided to look again, and I found the perfect person to have at Christmas lunch. Maka. The one character I have actually cosplayed as and who I really admire and like as a character. Much like with Kirito, we could probably have a great chat after lunch about our favourite books and the like. I think we’d get on great. And yeah, she can bring Soul along so another two for one invite.

So yes, a silly list for the silly season, but feel free to add your list below and your reasons.

Thanks for reading.

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