Takeo Gouda may be a high school freshman, but he certainly isn’t the typical one with his intimidating appearance. However, even though he looms over his peers, Takeo is more like the “gentle giant”, and has earned the respect of his peers through his chivalry. Despite his great qualities, they aren’t enough to help him with girls, and it doesn’t help matters that his best friend, Makoto Sunakawa, is who all the girls seem to fall for. It’s up to Takeo to figure out a way to win over Rinko Yamato, the latest girl he is interested in, before she falls for his best friend like all the others.

Since this anime is already focused on romance, the Christmas episode that occurs seems to fall right into place with the ongoing plot. Takeo and Yamato play matchmaker for Osamu Kurihara, one of Takeo’s friends who is very sociable until he gets around Nanako and makes things awkward. However, Kurihara is able to makes things right when he obtains a star from the top of a giant Christmas tree, allowing him and Nanako to confess their feelings for each other. Even though Christmas seems to be mainly a backdrop to the events going on, it gives a realistic feel to how Christmas can be celebrated in Japan as well as the togetherness of friends.

Sergeant Keroro is the captain of the advance team sent to Earth to collect information for the ensuing invasion. Bear in mind that he also happens to be a frog. When his ship crash-lands on Earth, Sergeant Keroro tries to take refuge in the Hinata household. Unfortunately, he is discovered, loses his weapons, and is ultimately abandoned by his people for being discovered. However, there are other agents in similar positions to his also on Earth, and as Sergeant Frog is left to fend for himself, he will have to figure out how a new way to take over the planet.

As Christmas approaches, Sergeant Frog decides that Christmas is the perfect time to attempt to take over the world. Unfortunately, his comrades are caught up in celebrating the spirit of the season, and to make matters worse, Sergeant Frog believes that it may be a race against Santa Claus as to who can take over the world first. However, Sergeant Frog is eventually won over by Santa and even sets out doing good deeds to earn Santa’s approval, resulting in him being rewarded Christmas morning. This interpretation of Christmas seems really appropriate for all ages, especially kids. We see how everyone is so happy celebrating the holiday and how someone that doesn’t want to celebrate it can eventually be won over. Definitely your classic feel-good Christmas special.

Tsuda Takatoshi is a 1st year student at Ousai Academy, which has recently become a gender-integrated school. Takatoshi learns just how true this is as he realizes on the way to the school as well as once he gets there that he is completely surrounded by girls as well as outnumbered. Somehow, amongst the chaos, Takatoshi finds himself the vice-president of the student council, and must uphold those responsibilities while surviving the candid conversation being used around him.

This anime is all about verbal adult humor with some visual gags thrown in as well, and the Christmas special is no different. Takatoshi and his friends decide to spend their Christmas at a vacation house of Aria’s, and they have a wonderful time having Christmas dinner and exchanging gifts. However, the adult humor comes in when Takatoshi repeatedly gets the same type of gift from his new friends. Even Santa makes an appearance to give everyone a gift, only to leave Takatoshi with the same gift. Even though this Christmas special is much more adult oriented, the themes of celebrating it with friends and the spirit of giving can still be applied.

Ryuuji Takasu and Taiga Aisaka are opposites: Ryuuji is a kind person with a scary face, and Taiga is a scary person with a doll-like demeanor. As fate would have it, their paths end up being intertwinded as each are interested in the other’s best friend, leading them to try to help each other winning the hearts of the other’s best friend. As they spend more and more time together in order to help each other, both Ryuuji and Taiga must figure out who it is they actually care for.

Another Christmas special with the romantic comedy element, this one is different in the sense that some major plot development goes in this episode, most specifically Taiga breaking down and realizing that its Ryuuji that she actually has feelings for. In classic romantic anime fashion, neither of the characters realize what they really want until it’s too late, resulting in more drama. That being said, the Christmas party that takes place is full of Christmas spirit, and Ryuuji noticing that Taiga has isolated herself from it despite loving Christmas parties is crucial to setting up one of the most important scenes in the show. If you’re a fan of the romantic stories that place in anime Christmas specials, this is one to check out.

Keitaro is faced with a dilemma. On the one hand, he has to retake the prelimary tests that he desperately needs to pass. On the other hand, the test are on Christmas Eve, and with it being the first Christmas of the millennium, rumor has it that confessing your love on this day will result in it coming true. Keitaro must decide if he has enough time to pass his tests and declare his love to Naru or whether he has to choose between them, and it looks like there are others looking to confess their love as well…

One thing that makes this romantic Christmas movie stand out is that this came out on the first Christmas Day of the new millennium, making the movie stand out that much more in terms of Christmas spirit as well as the perception it currently has in Japan. Otherwise, the story has the usual clichés of characters misunderstanding certain situations, chasing after each other, and finally ending up with the right person at the end. A classic feel-good romantic Christmas movie for fans of the genre.

Virtual reality has finally reached the point where a massive online role-playing game called Sword Art Online can be instituted. Using nothing but your thoughts with the aid of “NerveGear”, Kazuto Kirigaya aka “Kirito” is among the first to get the game, only to find himself trapped in it along with select others by the game’s creator. It’s up to Kirito to adapt, survive, and ultimately win if he wants to escape this new virtual world.

This Christmas special is unorthodox to say the least; not only is it happening early in the series as opposed to later, it’s also not one with a happy ending. Kirito befriends a member of the Moonlit Black Cats Guild named Sachi only to lose her and the guild to a trap that ultimately takes their lives. Kirito believes that he can bring Sachi back if he can defeat the Christmas event boss and obtain the necessary item, only to find upon defeating said boss that the item is useless. However, Kirito receives a message from Sachi on Christmas Eve telling him not to blame himself and to fulfill his dreams as well as a farewell hummed tune to the melody of “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer”. A sad ending that emphasizes why people feel it’s important to spend time together on the holidays.

Haruhi Suzumiya specials are known to be mysterious and complicated, and this one is no different. On December 18th, Kyon makes his way to school to the SOS Brigade's holiday celebration, only to find that nobody seems to remember Haruhi Suzumiya whatsoever and that Itsuki Koizumi has gone missing. It’s up to Kyon to not only makes things right again, but somehow go back to the past in order to ensure that things stay right, resulting in the complexities of time travel. However, it makes the Christmas celebration on the 24th that much more meaningful at the end for Kyon, as he alone knows what’s it like to have lost someone and to be able to reunite with them under these types of circumstances.

40 years ago, something happened to Paradigm City that caused everyone to lose their memories, resulting in starting again from scratch with whatever remained. One clue of the past that remains, however, is the presence of the MegaDeuses, or giant robots, and their threat to Paradigm City. It’s up to Roger Smith and his robot, Big O, to not only stop them but somehow keep order in the city.

Even on Christmas Day Paradigm City is under attack; luckily, Roger and Big O are able to stop the threat and restore peace once again. Afterwards, Roger and Dorothy are able to exchange gifts with each other. But the true spirit of Christmas comes forth in the relationship between Oliver, a poor saxophone player, and Laura, his blind girlfriend. At the end of the episode, Oliver confesses to Laura that he’s not able to give her a gift to her for Christmas, only for Laura to say that her gift is just being able to be with him. Even in tough times, both financially and in terms of danger, Oliver and Laura’s love for each other reflects the true meaning of Christmas.

Aliens from outer space have taken ahold of planet Earth; as a result, a prohibition exists on swords, leading to many samurai being disregarded. However, one man stays true to the path of the samurai despite his rash personality, his fondness for sweets, and the fact that he has to take odd jobs in order to survive. That man is Gintoki Sakata, and with a little help from his friends, they just might be able to make things a change for the better.

Without a doubt, this Christmas special is amazing. Running into Santa and his reindeer due to an accident, Gin’s rational reasoning with them eventually breaks down into a fight. Things eventually calm down and Gin treats them, deciding to help Santa and Ben leave toys for children in order to discover the meaning of Christmas. This results in a disaster due to them dressing up in black “to improve Santa’s image” only to be mistaken as thieves as well as only leaving kendamas for the poor children since they can’t afford expensive things for the rich kids. They finally decide to leave a gift for Kagura but end up trying to prank her instead, resulting in Kagura beating them up due to her weird dreams. Kagura wakes up in the morning to find her gift as well as the message “Merry Christmas” written out from the dried blood of Gin, Santa, and Ben. Completely different from the usual Christmas specials, this one deserves to stand out for the absurd comedy used yet still conveying a good Christmas message overall.

It’s another Christmas Eve for 3 homeless people scavenging the trash until they stumble upon a sight they don’t see every day: a newborn baby. Hana, a transwoman, Miyuki, a runaway teenager, and Gin, a quarrelsome alcoholic, come together to try to find “Kiyoko’s” mom and dad, resulting in events that involve a mysterious envelope, kidnapping, and even death. But as the trio search for the newborn’s parents, they will also find out who they truly are as well by confronting their individual pasts.

Doesn’t get much better than this. Directed by Paprika director Satoshi Kon and co-written by Cowboy Bebop, Trigun, and Samuria Champloo creator Keiko Nobumoto, Tokyo Godfathers shows how the spirit of Christmas can reach the people that can really benefit from celebrating such a holiday as well as give those people hope. A lot of the events and relationships that we see happen are a reality that not many want to think about, but it’s important to acknowledge in order to learn from it as well as how to hopefully avoid those kinds of situations. Fortunately this story ends in a positive way; not many stories in this type of environment do.