Christmas is coming, so it’s time to observe all types of vacation specials to get into the festive spirit. Alongside Rankin/Bass classics and the plethora of live-action Christmas movies, there are various anime specials which can be value testing. Let’s take a gander at a number of of essentially the most enjoyable Christmas-focused anime episodes.
Hamtaro – “Merry Christmas!”
This one’s nice for those who simply need some mild, early 2000s nostalgia blended in with foolish Christmas hijinks. The second I turned this episode on whereas on the point of write this function, I used to be warped again to the early 2000s. This episode has all the pieces you’d need from a holiday-oriented Hamtaro episode, from considerably awkwardly dubbed songs to bizarre and humorous dub strains. The hamsters are all getting ready for Christmas and hoping that Santa visits them, whereas Laura hopes to get a dollhouse. There are basically no stakes, making this a foolish and breezy Christmas episode that revolves round goofy hamsters.
I additionally didn’t know that this sequence was dubbed by the Canada-based Ocean Productions, who dubbed quite a lot of well-known sequence like Loss of life Notice and Dragon Ball Z, in addition to a ton of iconic Canadian cartoons. You’ll probably hear a number of acquainted voices all through the episode, additional including to this nostalgic Christmas romp.
Sword Artwork On-line – “Rudolph the Pink-Nosed Reindeer”
This one is so melancholic that it nearly comes again round to being humorous. Shortly after changing into trapped in Aincrad, Kirito joins a guild and makes some new associates. They go on numerous adventures and finally save up sufficient to purchase a home. Because the chief leaves to buy the residence, everybody else goes right into a dungeon to earn cash for furnishings. They fall for a entice, and everybody however Kirito dies horribly — together with the sort and nervous Sachi — main the guild chief to kill himself. Kirito decides to struggle Nicholas the Renegade on Christmas Eve — a Santa-esque boss who drops an merchandise that may revive gamers.
Although he wins, Kirito learns that the merchandise can solely revive somebody inside 10 seconds of their demise and goes again to his house. He finds a message from Sachi by which she hums a Christmas carol for him. It’s undoubtedly essentially the most somber Christmas episode I can bear in mind, nevertheless it’s one of many higher and extra self-contained tales in Sword Artwork On-line and a good choose for those who choose a bittersweet Christmas particular.
My Hero Academia – “Have a Merry Christmas!”
Positive, half of this episode is extra concerning the comical manner that the scholars of Class 1-A cope with PR, however the Christmas half is a contented and cute celebration of the vacation. The scholars are all dressed as Santa (barring Bakugo, naturally,) and are consuming, consuming, and usually being merry. Eri attends the celebration and retains complicated Christmas for different holidays, making for a delightfully enjoyable vacation particular.
This episode serves as a nice break from the extreme ongoing story that’s taking place earlier than and after the festive celebration. Seeing because the sequence has gotten slightly intense, there’s by no means been a greater time for a little bit of a Christmas break.
Pokémon – “Vacation Hello-Jynx”
There are quite a few Pokémon Christmas episodes, however as a 90s-born megafan, “Vacation Hello-Jynx” stands out in my thoughts because the go-to particular. The episode is all about Ash and associates assembly Santa Claus after Workforce Rocket causes bother for him. Jessie believes that Santa’s Jynx stole her toy when she was a toddler, main her to by no means forgive him. It seems the Jynx took the toy to repair it, however couldn’t return it after Jessie stopped believing in Santa. It ends on a snowy be aware that may get any old-school Pokémon fan nostalgic.
Curiously, this episode was pulled from rotation not lengthy after airing as a result of accusations of the titular Pokémon Jynx being primarily based on a racial stereotype. Since then, Jynx has been recolored to be purple slightly than black each within the video games and the anime — as you possibly can see within the image above. If that wasn’t sufficient, this episode got here proper after “Electrical Soldier Porygon” — the episode that gave quite a few youngsters in Japan seizures. It was actually a tough couple of episodes for the unique sequence.
Gintama – “The Santa Arc”
Although it’s known as an arc, “The Santa Arc” is just two episodes lengthy. It follows Kagura’s father and Gintoki, in addition to quite a few different ne’er-do-wells, as they compete to show themselves to Kagura as the actual Santa Claus. It turns into a wild contest full of wacky hijinks and crude jokes, which get funnier and funnier because the episodes go on.
This arc makes enjoyable of anime tropes and vacation tropes alike, with Kagura and associates parodying all the pieces from The Little Match Lady to shoujo romance anime. It’s the funniest particular on this checklist by far, nevertheless it nonetheless has loads of coronary heart to depart you feeling good afterwards. If you’d like some actual laughs and real sentiment, Gintama has bought you lined.
