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 quite a lot of anime specials which are price testing. Let’s take a gander at a couple of of probably 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 brink of write this function, I used to be warped again to the early 2000s. This episode has every part you’d need from a holiday-oriented Hamtaro episode, from considerably awkwardly dubbed songs to bizarre and humorous dub strains. The hamsters are all making 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 a wide range of well-known sequence like Death Note and Dragon Ball Z, in addition to a ton of iconic Canadian cartoons. You’ll probably hear a couple of acquainted voices all through the episode, additional including to this nostalgic Christmas romp.
Sword Art Online – “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer”
This one is so melancholic that it virtually 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 varied adventures and finally save up sufficient to purchase a home. As 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 battle Nicholas the Renegade on Christmas Eve — a Santa-esque boss who drops an merchandise that may revive gamers.
Though he wins, Kirito learns that the merchandise can solely revive somebody inside 10 seconds of their loss of life and goes again to his condominium. He finds a message from Sachi through which she hums a Christmas carol for him. It’s undoubtedly probably the most somber Christmas episode I can bear in mind, nevertheless it’s one of many higher and extra self-contained tales in Sword Art Online and a good decide for those who favor a bittersweet Christmas particular.
My Hero Academia – “Have a Merry Christmas!”
Sure, half of this episode is extra concerning the comical means that the scholars of Class 1-A cope with PR, however the Christmas half is a cheerful and cute celebration of the vacation. The college students are all dressed as Santa (barring Bakugo, naturally,) and are consuming, ingesting, 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 extraordinary 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 – “Holiday Hi-Jynx”
There are quite a few Pokémon Christmas episodes, however as a 90s-born megafan, “Holiday Hi-Jynx” stands proud in my thoughts because the go-to particular. The episode is all about Ash and associates assembly Santa Claus after Team Rocket causes hassle for him. Jessie believes that Santa’s Jynx stole her toy when she was a baby, 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.
Interestingly, 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’ll be able to see within the image above. If that wasn’t sufficient, this episode got here proper after “Electric 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”
Though 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 stuffed with 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 every part from The Little Match Girl to shoujo romance anime. It’s the funniest particular on this listing by far, nevertheless it nonetheless has loads of coronary heart to depart you feeling good afterwards. If you need some actual laughs and real sentiment, Gintama has received you lined.
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