The holiday season is rolling in quickly all around the world. One of the best ways to get into the holiday spirit is through entertainment. Whether it’s by listening to the holiday classics on the local radio station or watching holiday films, entertainment is the easiest way to grow some holiday cheer.
A great way to get that anime kick while also feeding into the desire for holiday spirit is watching — or rewatching — anime holiday episodes. This could be anime episodes that are about Christmas, New Year’s or even just taking place in the winter with enough coverage of the snowy atmosphere that it radiates the holiday season. Here’s a selection of the best episodes to prepare any anime lover for the season.
Christmas Specials
The best way to start out a wonderful Christmas anime watch party is with an episode of Aggretsuko. The extremely timely 11th episode of the first season, “We Wish You A Metal Christmas,” follows Retsuko’s newfound obsession with social media validation. With Christmas Eve coming up, Retsuko tries to make plans that are worthy enough for her social media page to get her more likes. The characters in Wotakoi: Love Is Hard for Otaku are in the same boat as Retsuko, facing life difficulties in the office while also being impacted by the hardships of love. In Episode 6, titled “Bleak Christmas,” two couples are impacted by the holidays and what it means for their new relationships. This Christmas episode is a great one to see how love truly blossoms through the winter season.
For lovers of high school romance and the famous “opposites attract” trope, Toradora! offers three Christmas episodes in a row. While the anime only has one season consisting of 25 episodes, numbers 17-19 follow a plot-moving story centered around the holiday. The characters begin to realize how they all feel about each other through Christmas celebrations, and this feeds into the final episodes where these feelings come to light.
Another high school romance for the ages that features Christmas is Kimi ni Todoke. The 22nd episode of the anime series, simply titled “Christmas,” follows the characters who are figuring out their plans for Christmas Eve. A Christmas Eve party is planned by Shouta Kazehaya, the lead boy, for everyone to attend. Even though the protagonist, Sawako Kuronuma, doesn’t think she can make it, she is given the chance by her parents. New emotions spark as the two meet up after the party, and the show’s final episodes lead into the new year.
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Many series have at least one episode about the new year even if the anime doesn’t acknowledge other holidays. For example, viewers can find New Year’s celebrations occurring in Episode 9 of Haikyuu!!: To The Top that show how different members of the Karasuno Volleyball Club celebrate the new year before their arrival at the Spring Tournament. Meanwhile, both the original and the reboot of Fruits Basket contain episodes surrounding the new year as the story followers various members of the Chinese zodiac. Viewers get to learn of the Sohma family’s traditions as zodiac members, but they also get to see the traditions of Tohru’s friends. These can be found in the ninth episode of the original series, while the reboot has two episodes about the new year. In Season 1, the holiday shows up early and is covered during the eighth episode, and it makes another appearance in Episode 24 of the second season.
The anime that has the best New Year’s episodes by far is The Disastrous Life of Saiki K. The first season of the series has a three-part episode titled “Noisy New Year’s” as well as two other episodes about the holiday. The second season also has two episodes that cover the new year. For wonderful comedy and a fast watch to get anime lovers into the holiday spirit, Kusuo Saiki has everyone covered. The quick wit and idiotic humor of different characters set the mood for a wacky and wonderful new year. Even if the lives of the modern human aren’t to be like Saiki’s, it’s always great to prepare for the strangest New Year’s that one might have.
While holidays aren’t the main focus for most anime, it’s great to know which episodes to turn to for the spirit and joy of the season. Many different genres contain these types of episodes, and they are always impactful to the story and the viewers. Whether it’s a heavy plot-driven episode or a way to watch characters have fun and relax for once, the combination of anime and the holidays is one that fans rarely forget and can use as an excuse to rewatch some of their favorite anime.
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