This rare Japanese Christmas anime movie from Satoshi Kon shows the theme of "coincidences". It's Christmas Eve in Tokyo, three homeless people just found an abandoned baby while searching in some trash. The three made it their quest to return the baby Kiyoko to her parents. On the way, all three meet coincidence people from their past. Gin is a middle-aged alcoholic gambler who abandoned his family when his gambling debts became too large. Hana is a transgender looking for love and good in people. He thinks he's a woman and that is why his desire that God would give him a child. Her dream in life was always to be a mother, and thus she is the most enthusiastic about taking care of Kiyoko, the baby she finds and names. Because of her upbringing, she is the kindest out of the three main characters, but is also severely ill, a fact which she hides from the others. It's barely noticeable in the movie. With all the action scenes that Hana go through, it doesn't look that way. Last is Miyuki is a teenager runaway with a trouble past. During a family dispute concerning her missing cat named Angel. Miyuki stabbed her father believing him to be responsible for the disappearance. Since then, her father had been on a search for her. The group encounters a number of odd characters on their way ranging from high-ranking yakuza man trapped under his car to drag queens. Not only that a series of miracles tend to happen to the three on their way, escaping car crashes and other hazardous. The biggest one is the ending. This movie also has one of the biggest 'twist' ending in a film that would not only surprise the characters, but also the audiences. There are key scenes that show the message of the kindness to others, such as Gin taking care of an old homeless man whom he finds dying in the street. One scene not needed was the Latino hit man and the Yakuza. It seem out of place. The art direction was lovely and the whole holy trinity/Christmas theme could have explained all of those coincidences and miracles that occurred during the movie. The late Satonshi Kon was a masterful command of satire, social commentary, and a balanced blend of reality and fantasy will live on as an immortal powerhouse. It's still a question for who this movie is made for. Most people in Japan are primarily either Shintoism or Buddhists. There only a very small populace that are Christians in Japan. The movie was probably made for US audiences. If watching, the subtitles are better to watch then dub lines. Original is better, the film is set in japan, so is more authentic if is in Japanese. One of the biggest strengths of the film is the humor. It's not the type of insular humor that only a Japanese person would understand but that everyone can identify with. The charm of the film is incalculable. You end up really feeling for the characters and near the verge of crying in touching scenes. Watch this movie during the Christmas time. Great family film, but note if watching with children understand this does have a little bit of harsh language, violence and a bit of nudity. A miracle movie.

Satoshi Kon was one of the most talented directors that ever worked on the medium of animation. Here we have another solid offering by the director. Perhaps not as great as Paprika, which was his film that impressed me the most, but still it was a stronger film than Perfect Blue for me.It is a very solid and well constructed drama/comedy that just happens to be animated. One of the main characteristics of this film is that it's pacing is much faster than most other films, perhaps the outcome of it being animated: since each second costs 12 frames of animation it makes sense to minimize the amount of "fat" in the film to reduce costs and thus make a less dragging film.Highly recommended.

Tokyo Godfathers, a 2003 Japanese anime from well known director Satoshi Kon (Paprika, Millennium Actress), is about an unlikely trio of homeless people that finds a baby abandoned on Christmas eve. Although the obvious inspiration for this story is John Ford's similarly titled 1948 Western Three Godfathers, the coincidence filled novels of Charles Dickens are an even greater influence. Like Dickens, Kon is interested in the lives of the poverty stricken. Also, Kon's film is just as full of incredulity straining coincidences and plot twists as well known Dickens novels such as Great Expectations. There are also some similarities to Dickens' Christmas Carol including numerous flashbacks and a character encountering what seems to be a future version of himself who offers him a second chance.Satoshi Kon's film is more than just a pastiche of his influences, however, he brings his own unique sensibilities to the table. For one thing, neither Dickens nor Ford would have dreamed of focusing a story on a transvestite who desperately wants to be a mother. The animation is always well done and it manages to draw just as much focus as the frenetically outlandish plot twists and turns. These narrative elements include chance encounters with figures from each of the three godfathers' pasts, an encounter with a yakuza boss and his would be assassin who only speaks Spanish, and a visit to a gender bending night club.Tokyo Godfathers does an excellent job of presenting its characters realistically and it even manages to be fair about some of their less savory actions. The film also comes close to working on an emotional level: there are some genuinely heart-warming moments but they are presented so quickly that their impact is lessened. Ultimately, this film has a few too many unlikely plot contrivances that go by a little too fast for it to be a great one but it works well enough often enough to make the film better than average.

Usually (maybe if it was another film) I'd say that all those coincidences how the people meet and how all turns good during the whole film (It just happens a hundered times!) are SO KITCHY but no way! **ck it! It's GREAT! It's a pleasure to watch! It's **cking hilarious! I didn't think for one second that I was going to rate this one lower then 10/10 pancakes here.It's a masterpiece! Kitchy? No way, it's an x-mess film AND it makes us feel happy!Somehow totally reminded my of Night on Earth by Jim Jarmusch...What beautiful anime!If you're out for some VERY positive, funny, crazy film that has still an excellent feeling for serious drama (elements and bits) and a titanium solid story then your choice must be Tokyo Grandfathers!Description in one word: ENJOY!