Audience reviews
20 · Sample from the first available page, separate from the total number of ratings.
Karunya123
I went into this expecting a simple Christmas story, but it turned out to be one of the most heartfelt anime movies I've watched.
The story follows three homeless people who find an abandoned baby on Christmas Eve and decide to find the baby's parents. What I loved most was how different the three main characters are, but they slowly become like a little family themselves.
The characters feel genuinely human, with their own mistakes, regrets and problems. The animation has a warm, realistic style that fits the story perfectly, and there are plenty of funny moments without taking away from the emotional side.
It's funny, touching and sometimes surprisingly intense. By the end, I really cared about these characters.
Read at the sourcechumchummaru
Hold me, hold me. Finally, finally, a movie that doesn’t follow the typical anime movie formula—the one that bothers me so much I can’t even watch their movies. FINALLY. From start to finish, it was a ride I won’t soon forget. A proper comedy about three homeless people and a baby. A great adventure filled with way too many coincidences. I laughed so hard, even though I was expecting that aforementioned tragedy—which actually never even happened. I’m glad I saw it, since there aren’t many comedy films like this—and I’m not counting movies that are part of a series; I’m talking purely about standalone films. I liked the artwork and animation, and the soundtrack was a pleasure to listen to. I plan to watch it again at Christmas, when it will have that authentic holiday atmosphere.
Read at the sourceAtsushiPilchzuki
I absolutely did not expect this movie to be so much phenomenal.
I come from Poland, where we have something of a positive obsession with Christmas movies (I’ve probably watched "Home Alone" ten times in my life), but I didn’t expect to find films with similar themes in atheist-Shintoist Japan.
Plot: The plot is truly engaging, and the twists, at least to a simple person like me are unpredictable.
Characters: Homeless people are usually not associated with family values, yet here it works fantastically. The protagonists form a crazy family of their own, and with nothing else going on in their lives, they truly appreciate "the Christmas gift" of a child.
Events transform them from homeless mindset, and it is very satisfying to watch each storyline conclude with a sort of happy ending.
A…
Read at the sourceZawllerAC
Introducción
Tokyo Godfathers es, sin dar muchas vueltas, una obra maestra y de mis películas animadas favoritas de todos los tiempos. Es una historia navideña diferente a cualquier otra cosa que hayas visto, cargada de corazón, líos en la calle y un ritmo que no te suelta en ningún momento.
Historia
La premisa suena absurda de entrada: tres indigentes encuentran a un bebé en la basura en plena Nochebuena. Pero el desarrollo es una genialidad absoluta. Te van explicando el pasado de cada uno de los tres de una forma que te quita el sombrero. La película es una montaña rusa completa: te cagas de la risa, sientes el miedo de los personajes y hay momentos donde te aprieta el pecho de verdad. La escena de la ambulancia te deja pensando "dios mío, ¿cómo van a salir de esta?", y la forma en que…
Read at the sourceGOODBOYMODZZ
Oh my God, I absolutely fucking loved this. I wasn't expecting to like it even more than Paprika. It's now my second favorite Satoshi Kon after Perfect Blue. Every single element is just absolutely phenomenal. Like always, the animation and visuals are fantastic. I really love how much it captures this specific feel of being homeless and on the streets in Tokyo during Christmas time. It has such a fucking good and involving atmosphere. This also has my favorite characters of any Satoshi Kon movie. The main three characters are all so likable. I love their dynamic, and I love how much we get to see of each of them and their backstories throughout. We get to see exactly how they each became homeless, and parts of their past come back all throughout the movie, always in really great ways. I t…
Read at the sourcexXDAGGERHEARTXx
Tokyo Godfathers is a fantastic movie that is so expertly woven together, its use of serendipity never feeling like a cheap Deus ex Machina. Things always work out in the end but in a way so carefully laid and foreshadowed that it doesn’t feel like a cop out, just things falling neatly into place.
All the characters are great but I particularly enjoy the depiction of a non-passing trans woman as a sympathetic and heroic figure. So often are women like Hana treated exclusively as gross and hateful caricatures that it’s nice to see one be the one who is a major protagonist who saves the day.
While it can be brutal at times, it is ultimately a hopeful story. It’s a perfect Christmas movie for people who don’t like Christmas movies. I try to watch it every year with my friends, if I can.
Read at the sourceMewMew99
This is a heartfelt movie that takes place in Tokyo during the Christmas season and follows three homeless people as they try to reunite an abandoned baby with her parents. While this seems like it would be a simple movie, there is actually a lot of depth to the characters, while also exploring themes of family and forgiveness.
Each of the main trio has depth, but they are flawed, which makes them feel human, and each of their backstories are slowly reviled as the movie progresses. The way the characters interact with each other is both hilarious and emotional, which also make the characters feel grounded and human. This movie is also visually stunning. Even at the pace the movie moves, there's something beautiful about the chaos and setting that was engaging.
It's also worth nothing th…
Read at the sourceProx1mately
A film filled with care and love for its cast and being a broken and real human being.
Me and my friend were watching this film, and had a fantastic time. There were times when we were caught off-guard, and even as tempo or events changed in theme and the movie progressed towards its crescendo it was an absolute thrill to watch.
Expect some nudity, that as far as I'm concerned was just a love-letter to breastfeeding, not an affront to those who can't or a claim that those who can't aren't good. There was SO MUCH LOVE in this film, for all the people represented within it. The voice acting was on point, the music helped lull us into a mood that fit the movie's trajectory.
The animation was beautiful, full of grounded coloring and affectionate people, body language and facial expressions…
Read at the sourceHERMIT_PAIMON
You just have to see it. Satoshi Kon continues his directorial success with Tokyo Godfathers. Like Perfect Blue and Millennium actress, TG wows the watcher immediately with the attention to detail. The scenes are exquisitely painted - when it is snowing you can almost smell it and feel the stillness. And the characters expressions convey emotions expertly by subtlety or caricature as occasion demands. Leave behind your Hollywood or Bollywood ideas of what a movie or worse, a anime should be should be. And then go see his previous two films as well. Satoshi Kon's films are true works of art.
No forced comedy , no forced dialouges and a ear soothing bgm make tokyo godfathers a masterpiece among masterpieces .
Read at the sourcesupremeleadrcora
Approximately 80% of this movie boils down to "trans women are ugly" or "trans women are delusional men". This is particularly difficult to ignore for the first half of the movie where transphobic jokes are pretty much the only thing that gets screen time, but even after they decided to lay off a bit, I still couldn't get over the bad taste in my mouth.
The movie is not without redeeming qualities--the themes of parenthood, remorse, forgiveness, and complicated familial relationships are all well-portrayed throughout the film--but even if it wasn't for the aforementioned transphobic caricature being the designated comic relief throughout the film, it would still be mediocre by Satoshi Kon standards. I'm not saying that everything Satoshi Kon makes has to be psychological, but if this is…
Read at the sourceBaconReviews
Satoshi Kon gifts the world with his beautiful form of storytelling. There are more car crashes in this movie than in most isekai and that is a compliment to the highest degree.
But seriously, this movie manages to develop its leads so quickly and thoroughly that it makes you adore every one of them by the time the credits roll. If you're anything like me and love character animation then strap in because this movie is filled to the brim with beautiful character animation and expert voice acting.
I could spout on and on about what I love about this movie, but it's only fair that I address the elephant in the room. Haru is one of the earliest forms of a trans person in anime, and while this is great and super progressive for the time it has since become a bit dated. Haru comes off as a co…
Read at the sourceNoahboy
Incredibly heartwarming film, I highly recommend it.
I love how this film manages to balance simultaneously funny, heartwarming, and dark. This balance makes each individual aspect hit harder than it otherwise would and just makes for a wild ride that's really fun to follow. The characters each have their own story that share similar themes that make the overall story feel tightly wound, I really loved the characters.
The film did take a little while for me to get on board with it though, but once I did I fell in love with it.
Please, give this movie a try, as I found it to be amazing.
Read at the sourcejoemaamah
Satoshi Kon's magnum opus. Here it is, Christmas Eve once again, and I have trotted out my DVD to watch it, along with Miracle on 34th Street and It's a Wonderful Life. It's never gotten old in the maybe 20 times I've watched it now.
Like Kon's other productions, the art work and animation is superb, especially taking into account when this was produced. It still looks great today. The characters are grand. What can go wrong when you mix up a drunk, a drag queen, a runaway teen girl and newborn infant?? Nothing, I tell you. Nothing. The journey from where they start, to where they arrive, is one hell of a wild ride. It will leave you with as much of a warm fuzzy as that hot toddy you've been sipping on.
I've watched both sub and dub over the years, and I easily prefer the sub. While th…
Read at the sourcellukass
Watched in film club
Usually I revisit this movie only around Christmas day, but whatever, doesn't hurt for me to watch it twice in a year.
As much as I love everything that Satoshi Kon did, (after all I consider him my favorite anime director) I really wish he would've done more down to earth human dramas or comedies in his lifetime. Because honestly, by this point I'm starting to feel like Tokyo Godfathers might just be my favorite work he's done. It manages to pull nearly every strong emotion out of me when it wants to, and the more I've now watched it the more I keep realising just how well this movie is put together with it's narrative and writing. Every line of dialogue and action that the characters take or deliver leads them to somewhere in a way in which it feels purposeful for…
Read at the sourceCiaran_Zagami
I really wanna rate this film higher but to put it simply it starts overplaying its hand.
Feels like it really should not have been as long as it is and at some point the script just starts running out of material. Which is weird cause there's at least two whole plot lines that just get completely dropped by the end. Meanwhile for smaller scenes too many set ups are reused which leads to an overall feeling of exhaustion that brings down the end of the film significantly.
If I was rating just the first half or so I'd say it's a 9/10. But with how much it drags on it looses a lot of its energy.
Still a good film that I'd give a solid recommendation to if you don't mind a little Christmas shlock.
Read at the sourceyanoharuhito
Tokyo Godfathers has become one of my favorite movies of all time, and my very favorite Christmas film.
As someone who was introduced to Satoshi Kon through Perfect Blue and therein figured his forte was horror, I was blown away by his work on this film. The comedy, sentiment, and action are all perfectly balanced and do not at all feel out of place. The dynamic characters feel very much like real people you could meet, while still being incredibly entertaining to watch (which is heavily due to the incredible animation!)
I think my very favorite thing about it was the exploration of family dynamics, and how one can find family in unexpected places. The main trio, by the end of the movie, have come to appreciate and love one another like kin, which I found to be incredibly heartwarming. W…
Read at the sourceAlc-Mai_Sunny
I'm honestly pleasantly surprised by this movie. The animation is consistently well made, the characters are all well rounded and is overall touching and magical. Everything is connected and has moments of deep self reflection for each of the characters. Its a great Christmas-y anime that gives a humorous experience despite the struggles the main cast deal with throughout the show. I love the way this movie portrays homelessness. It feels realistic, you struggle with the cast as they journey. Each of the characters truly do feel alive and human with the way they interact with eachother and their surroundings, as well of each of their wishes and dreams. Overall its a beautiful anime that pays tribute to the Christmas spirit while also combating the difficulties of being homeless.
(About the…
Read at the sourceAdnash
"Tokyo Godfathers" directed by Satoshi Kon is a beautiful and heartwarming spectacle. It doesn't pretend to reinvent the wheel when it comes to a traditional Christmas-stylized movies. Instead, it perfects the already well-known existing elements, and enriches it with other ones. They are implemented in a subtle, yet visible way, making the whole movie not only extremely solid in its own genre, but also original in its own way. All of that, mixed with its brilliant direction (as expected from Satoshi Kon), solid scenario, beautiful art and animation, variety of themes and balance between comedy and drama, makes "Tokyo Godfathers" even more entertaining to watch.
Its cast is full of likeable characters differing from each other in many ways, but who happened to find themselves together in…
Read at the sourceBa-Cii10
If someone is bored with Kevin for Christmas, I recommend Tokyo Godfathers.
During Christmas, three homeless people in Tokyo discover a baby in a garbage can. The friends decide to find the child's parents.
-Great animation full of details.
-Cool characters, the main trio has great dynamics.
-A lot of funny and touching moments.
I'm just warning you that there are a lot of unrealistic coincidences that push the action forward, the finale especially requires a lot of suspension of disbelief, this is supposedly explained by the fact that Kyoko brings happiness and simply the magic of Christmas xD It doesn't bother me because the atmosphere and characters do the job, but I know it may annoy some people.
8/10 imo
Read at the sourceNerdodivergent
Probably one of the greatest Japanese films of all time.
A lot of anime/manga romanticizes Japan. And coming from an American viewpoint, we in the US also tend to romanticize it quite a bit. Always talking about how advanced the technology, how beautiful the scenery is, and how according to what we watch there's practically nothing wrong with Japan.
But that's just not the case. Like any other country, it has it's darker side. And this movie shows it. Discussing what it's like to be homeless, the treatment of gender queer people in mainstream society, the pressures many young people face, the unrelenting heartbreak of life after pregnancy, especially when things don't end as well as you hoped they would.
This movie is gritty, a punch to the stomach, and will leave you in tears. It's the…
Read at the source
