Many have films that are part of the festive must-see program every year, be it The Miracle of Manhattan, The Muppet Christmas Story or Beautiful Presents. A Christmas movie gem from 2003 has been discovered by some as an insider tip in the last 20 years and has rightly been included in this holy list: the absolute Anime masterpiece Tokyo Godfathers by exceptional director Satoshi Kon, who unfortunately left us far too soon.
Currently you can use the Japanese one Stream X-Mas fairy tales for freebut you have to hurry up!
That’s what the anime and Christmas film masterpiece Tokyo Godfathers is all about
The short-tempered alcoholic Gin (original voice: Tooru Emori), the clever trans woman Hana (Yoshiaki Umegaki) and the young teen runaway Miyuki (Aya Okamoto). homeless. One cold day, the unlikely trio finds a baby in the trash – on Christmas Eve of all days. The snowy, nighttime Tokyo then provides the backdrop for one complex Christmas storywhile the homeless replacement family tries to return the foundling to its parents.
During the 92-minute running time, we learn a lot about the tragic backstories of the three unholy ones from the Land of the Rising Sun, who face gangsters, false angels, assassins, illustrious figures and lots of things on their X-Mas mission miraculous coincidences get to do.
Tokyo Godfathers is the third of four films that Satoshi Kon, who died in 2010 at the age of just 46, was able to deliver in his almost flawless career as a director. In addition to his other masterpieces, the psychological thriller Perfect Blue, the actress drama Millennium Actress and the sci-fi dream dance Paprika, his Christmas film doesn’t have to hide. It’s dripping with humanity, humor, creativity and is also a master class in editing. A little miracle in anime form, perfect for the holidays.
Where to stream Tokyo Godfathers for free?
The ZDF media library Tokyo Godfathers still has it until Sunday, December 15, 2024 free to stream. However, there is a catch: the Christmas anime film is only available in the German dubbed version. If you want to enjoy the Japanese original with subtitles, you will have to turn to MagentaTV, Apple TV or one of the home theater versions.