In the anime series, there are many elements that are often repeated in a traditional way. Little by little, the chapters that are set in festivities scattered around the world, such as Valentine’s Day or Halloween, became typical and inevitable moments. Within these, Christmas also plays its part.
Christian celebration that has little to do with the religious beliefs of Japan, the birth of Jesus took its own shape in the archipelago. Sometimes a family encounter, other times a simple love date or meeting to drink until you are drunk with friends, Christmas has gained such popularity that it is not surprising that it is named or that it has its own special in our most beloved series. That is why at Honey’s we decided to honor the “Santas” that appear in those episodes, choosing the 10 best male cosplays of all time. Let’s get started!
10. Soun Tendo from Ranma ½ OVA
- Episodes: 6
- Issuance: October 1993 to August 1994
Soun Tendo and Genma Saotome have been sparring partners and friends for many, many years. Engaging their future children in marriage, the two meet again a long time later to carry out what they had agreed. However, Genma arrives at the door of the Tendou dojo with an exuberant redhead and not with the expected young man. Explanation by means of, everyone finds out that the beautiful girl is a boy, but that she becomes a woman when they wet her with cold water, returning to her original format when bathed in warm water. Between twists and turns, the youngest of the three sisters, Akane Tendou, is the “lucky ones” in whom the commitment to the strange boy falls.
In the string of OVAs that were released between ’93 and ’94, the Christmas special comes under the name La revoltosa Navidad de Los Tendo. Kazumi, Soun’s eldest daughter and in charge of household chores after her mother’s death, decides to hold a Christmas party for family and friends. All the characters from the anime are present, bringing to the celebration not only gifts but also their lack of common sense. Between fights and love matches, Soun and Genma plot to dress up as Santa Claus and a reindeer, publicly forcing Ranma and Akane to seal their engagement with a ring. Not to say that, with such a Santa, it is impossible for any plan to go well …
9. Satoshi Yabe from Mitsudomoe Zouryouchuu!
English: Three-Way Struggle, Second Season
- Episodes: 8
- Issuance: January 2011 to February 2011
Satoshi Yabe is a newly received elementary school teacher who begins his career with great enthusiasm until he falls into the little clutches of the triplets Hitoha, Futaba, and Mitsuba Marui. Sharing a house and grade level, these 11-year-old girls are very different from each other: Hitoha, the youngest, is the introverted and quiet one; Mitsuba, the oldest, has the most difficult character and is passionate about food; Futaba, the one in the middle, is hyperactive and fascinated by large, voluptuous breasts. Between the three of them, they will take charge of making Satoshi’s life miserable, resulting in a string of comical and, in a way, exasperating moments.
In this second installment of the adventures of the crazy triplets, episode 2 is the one that has Christmas as its central theme. Delayed by work, the girls’ father cannot arrive in time to dress up as Santa and deliver the gift to Futaba. When Hitoha and Mitsuba were figuring out who should wear the costume, an adorable Satoshi dressed for the occasion appears out of nowhere. As always happens with comedies, situations begin to get tangled up and the poor teacher ends up hidden under the Marui table, semi-naked, escaping the gaze of the girls’ father who has just returned home. Do not stop seeing it!
8. Keitaro Urashima from Love Hina, Christmas Special: Silent Eve
- Episodes: OVA
- Issue: December 2000
When Keitaro Urashima promised his childhood sweetheart to join the University of Tokyo together, he never imagined it could be so difficult to achieve. After taking the exam twice and failing, Keitarou looks for a suitable place to continue his studies. Our aspirant ends up moving to his grandmother’s hotel, not knowing that she has transformed it into a bedroom for women only. Having become the new administrator of the place, he will have the difficult mission of not losing the focus of his academic interest, while learning to live with many beautiful ladies.
In the special Christmas episode, Silent Eve, the festive atmosphere permeates the hallways of Hinata’s bedroom. However, not only Christmas Eve is approaching: a new date of entrance exams has Keitarou in suspense, studying to finally achieve his long-awaited assignment. To the stress of preparing to perform, Keitarou must add a strange Christmas custom that turns his head: whoever dares to confess his love on the eve of the 24th, will see how it materializes forever. Too bad the object of his affection, Naru, is the target of more than one this Christmas.
7. Shinobu Morita from Hachimitsu to Clover
English: Honey and Clover
- Episodes: 24
- Issuance: April 2005 to September 2005
Composed of situations of comedy, romance, a bit of drama, and very sentimental moments, the protagonists of Honey and Clover bring us a highly recommended story for fans of the Josei genre. Shinobu Morita, Yuuta Takemoto, and Takumi Mayama are three university students who live on the same floor of a cheap apartment, in order to cover their expenses with the little money they have. Each one with their respective careers and problems, show us what the day-to-day life of a poor higher education student is like, who must deal not only with lack of income but also with heart problems.
The Christmas season brings with it the possibility of whitening our deepest feelings and, in episode 4 of this anime, Takumi will look a little dark when having to decide between Rika and Ayumi. With this weight on his shoulders, our architecture student attends Shinobu’s Christmas Eve treat, where the host wears a very nice Santa Claus suit. Managing to deflect his friend a bit from his gloomy sentimental musings, Shinobu and his party manage to get Takumi to find some mental rest, while seriously deliberating about his future.
6. Io Otonashi by Acchi Kocchi
[English: Place to Place]
- Episodes: 12
- Issuance: April 2012 to June 2012
Comedy and romance are back on our list with Acchi Kocchi. On this occasion, we will accompany the short, introverted, and very – but very – kawaii Tsumiki Miniwa in her daily life. Madly in love with her classmate, Io Otonashi, our little heroine suffers from total indifference on his part. With a nice plot, this fun series will reach the hearts of more than one viewer.
Although it is not that he is deliberately looking for the recognition of the opposite sex or that he is a Don Juan, he is striking for being a handsome boy with a mature character. Anyway, Christmas is magical, and it turns even the most serious of gallants into a cute and huggable Santa. In chapter 10 of the strip, all the characters come together for the Christian celebration, changing their typical school uniforms for beautiful Christmas outfits. Needless to say, Io wears a little white and red outfit that makes it simply irresistible.
5. akihisa Yoshii from Baka no Test to Shoukanjuu: Christmas Special “English: The Idiot, the Tests, and the Summoned Creatures: Christmas Special”
- Episodes: 1
- Issue: December 2009
The academy Akihisa Yoshii attends has a habit of taking an annual exam that divides its students by their scores. From A to F — those who can barely read — these groups are as distant as heaven and hell. Due to his inability to study, Yuuji ends up in dusty old class F, along with his partner from the previous year, Minami Shimada, and the sweet and shy Mizuki Himeji. Without any intention of dying at the lowest level of the school, Yuuji and his classmates will try to improve their grades in order to leave the garbage can F and occupy the beautiful room A.
In this 4-minute ONA, we will see how the protagonists of the series are part of the birth of Christ. Short and very kawaii, each of the characters is answering what Christmas means to them. To be honest, they all appear in little Santa Claus dresses and they are all a god; Despite this, we decided to cast Akihisa simply because he had the most ridiculous costume and was, of course, the main actor in this hilarious anime.
4. Gintoki Sakata from Gintama
- Episodes: 201
- Issuance: April 2006 to March 2010
With an extensive history in the pages of Shonen Jump and on the screens, the Gintama anime is a classic in force that began in the middle of 2000 to be burned among comedy fans. Starring three beings who can be described as anything but good, Gintoki and his two companions of wanderings, Shinpachi and Kagura, will do what you tell them for a little money or a piece of bread. Accompanied by an infinite number of characters little more than unpresentable, these antiheroes have been created to mark a before and after in the mythology of comics anime.
Close to the end of the first stage of the series, in chapter 200, Kagura writes a letter to her father, Umibozu, who receives it and decides to visit her dressed like Santa to surprise him. Wanting to impress the others, Gintoki also dresses up as Santa and, in the middle of the celebration, Kagura discovers the two falling into doubt about which one will be the real one. From then on, the chapter becomes a competition to decide who of the two is the real Saint Nicholas.
3. America from Hetalia Axis Powers
- Episodes: 52
- Issuance: January 2009 to March 2010
What would happen if all the nations that were involved in the warlike conflict of World War II were turned into beings of flesh and blood? Well, you don’t need to spend your brains imagining as we have Hetalia Axis Powers to show us the result. Just by watching this anime, we will be able to witness the relationships between allies and enemies in an entertaining and original way, at the same time that we will learn a little bit of universal history.
Given the imminent approach of the end of the year, nations talk about what the holidays are like in every part of the planet. And if there is a country that enjoys Christmas, that country is the United States of America. Don’t believe us? Then go straight to Hetalia episode 31 and see how our precious little American dresses up as Santa Claus to inspire the Christmas spirit in his sister countries. Hilarious!
2. Ryuuji Takasu from Toradora!
“English: Tiger x Dragon”
- Episodes: 25
- Issuance: October 2008 to March 2009
Not everything is what it seems, and in the case of Ryuuji Takasu, this rule works perfectly. Because of his fight-seeking face, Ryuuji suffers from being taken for a bully by all of his classmates. They even offer you the wallets in order not to get beaten up! In reality, the poor little boy is not only not quarrelsome but also takes care of the cleaning and eating of his home. Angry at his father for having inherited those yakuza eyes, his life becomes more entertaining when he crosses paths with the tiny but dangerous Taiga Aisaka. Like a nemesis of Ryuuji, Taiga is purely sweet in appearance, when deep down she can’t stand the presence of the majority. Reaching an agreement, the two will have to befriend and cooperate in order to get closer to their respective crushes.
One of the most beautiful outfits on our list, ladies and gentlemen! Christmas dresses up as a teddy bear in Toradora! at the moment our male protagonist tries to cheer up his female counterpart, dressed as a “Santa Claus bear.” Yes, as you have read: a bear costume that, in turn, is dressed as Santa. Within the series it is one of the most beautiful and emotional scenes; in fact, all of chapter 19 is divine! Write it down to see it this next Christmas Eve!
1. Rin and Yukio Okumura from Ao no Exorcist
“English: Blue Exorcist”
- Episodes: 25
- Issuance: April 2011 to October 2011
Assiah, the world of humans, and Gehenna, that of demons, are separated by inviolable barriers. Tired of being in his own realm, Satan teams up with a human to conceive a child who will allow him to pass to the other side. From that encounter, Rin and Yukio Okumura were born, a pair of twins who, beyond sharing parents, are as different as the Sun and the Moon. Rin, a bit violent but with a good heart, is a very unruly being who cannot fit in anywhere. His younger brother, Yukio, is a genius in the studio and extremely responsible in all his chores. Despite this, the two boys will have to join forces to prevent their father from achieving his darkest task: to dominate Assiah and all its inhabitants.
This first position stands out for crowning two characters, and for being an episode that does not occur at Christmas. In chapter 19 of Ao no Exorcist, the boys from the exorcist course decide to throw a surprise birthday party for one of their classmates, entrusting Rin to bake the cake. To everyone’s surprise except Yukio, the cook appears with a beautiful cake decorated for Christmas. The confusion clears up when the siblings explain that since they were born on December 27, their birthdays were often adorned with Christmas elements. Funny and cute at the same time, the best part of this comment is when they both have a flashback, and we can see them as children, dressed up as Santa. Some chocolates!
Final Words
Thinking seriously about the matter, we could say that the Christmas celebration in Japan is more a consequence of the postwar American cultural invasion than a free choice. Be that as it may, the Japanese have known how to reinvent Christian holidays in such a way that, without delving much into religion, they managed to leave intact the feeling of love and brotherhood of Christmas.
Families, friends, lovers, school and work colleagues … anyone is invited to be part of this world event that invites us, at least for one night, to be better people and embrace our loved ones. That love and good vibes are not behind the screen, only to be enjoyed by our favorite characters! Let’s make this Christmas a precious meeting with those we love the most and who love us.
Raising a glass and wishing you a beautiful Christmas Eve, we say goodbye until next time. Merry Christmas to all!
