Satoshi Kon is popular for his mind-boggling, complicated and emotional movies like Paprika, Perfect blue and Paranoia Agent but Godfathers is one of his best work and can be said that it is actually the greatest Christmas movies we have ever watched sue to its eccentric cast and unique way of storytelling. However, that’s up to the viewer’s way of thinking and how they judge it. This article is about how Christmas is depicted in Tokyo Godfathers and the way it is associated to the Japanese society. So, let’s get started
The characters of Tokyo godfathers is one element that makes it unique from other Christmas movies. The characters include three people who are homeless and have disturbed pasts. They come across a new born baby while digging into the garbage. These three people include Miyuki, a rude young girl separated from her family, Gin, a bad-tempered middle aged man and Hana who is a trans woman with health problems. They name the baby Kiyoko which means ‘pure child’ .These three main characters are equivalent to the three kings, Mary and Joseph from the story of Christ. They team up to look for the mother of the baby and somewhat become a family to each other.
There are many counterparts but the most evident is that three people encounters a miracle and embarks on a journey to look for an answer, temporary homeless ‘parents’ tries to guard a baby, the new born baby is the representation of purity, optimism and redemption. It is associated to the basic element and the theory of Christianity which is the faith in redemption which mainly give importance to the destitute and oppressed. Satoshi has shown the same concept through the complex nature of these characters who develop positively as the story progresses because there was the baby they had to protect.
The way Christmas is celebrated in Japan is quite different from other countries like America and the most prominent difference is that it is rather a romantic event than a family occasion in Japan. However, Tokyo Godfathers is not a romantic movies but it is one of the many important part of the story especially for Hana as her lover is dead but she has not forgot him as she has his photo with her.
Tokyo Godfather stands out for not being the materialistic, love story that Christmas is all about in japan. It rather mainly focuses on untapped ‘families’ and disregarded groups who have hardly been a focus on the commercialized media. The movie is more of an analysis of customary families although the climax show the main characters getting back to theirs.
Tokyo Godfathers is the movie that shows that focuses on the astounding occurrences that are called miracles that pave a path to redemption for some people. The faith in these astounding occurrences is what connect this movie to the Christmas as it relates to everyone. Overall, Tokyo Godfathers is an inspirational Christmas movie that taps a distinctive topic of miracle, society and the analysis of Christmas in Japanese culture. It also shows the kindness and bravery of the destitute and understated groups that are mostly ignored.
Tokyo Godfather is a good watch if you are looking for something unique and thought provoking Christmas movie.
