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There are a lot of Christmas movies out there, so it's only natural that many would go underappreciated. But these films deserve to be put in the spotlight once in a while and get the acclaim they deserve. One such film is Tokyo Godfathers, a 2003 animated film from Japan directed by Satoshi Kon. The film follows the story of three homeless people, Hana (Yoshiaki Umegaki), Miyuki (Aya Okamoto), and Gin (Tōru Emori), after they discover an abandoned baby and embark to track down its parents. It’s a film characterized by dichotomies: the kindness of these people and the cruelty they face, their selfless quest and their selfish pasts, the magic of Christmas and the harsh realities of the winter season. Tokyo Godfathers offers us an uplifting story about the importance of helping each other no matter the reward and how humans are often much kinder than we give ourselves credit for.

Despite the fact that this year we have seen several openly Lgbtq+ films made in Japan, the issue is still taboo in the country. “Athlete” by Takamasa Oe is now available for streaming, by Echelon Studios. Let’s have a closer look.

The story is quite simple. One day, former competitive swimmer, nowadays children trainer of swimming Kohei (Joe Nakamura) comes home. As a welcome, his wife tells him she wants a divorce. Even their daughter seems to see the sense in this decision. Thus, Kohei does what every sensible man would do. Gets drunk and ends in an Lgbtq+ bar run by transwoman Priscilla. He wakes up in an apartment that belongs to Yuki (Yoshiaki Umegaki), gay, polyamorous, making his living as a chat boy while aspiring to become an animator.

Despite the immediate moment of distrust when Kohei checks for traces of rape, the two men stay living together.

Directed by: Satoshi Kon, Shôgo Furuya

Written by: Satoshi Kon, Keiko Nobumoto

Cast: Toru Emori, Aya Okamoto, Yoshiaki Umegaki, Shôzô Îzuka, Seizô Katô, Hiroya Ishimaru, Ryûji Saikachi

Just about everybody loves to sit down and watch a nice Christmas story; any story that either shows the true meaning of Christmas (the presents, yo), or how one must save Christmas for whatever reason.

Either way, stories of Christmas miracles seem to have a way of warming our hearts, no matter how ridiculously unlikely or serendipitous the story may be. And now for my stunningly smooth transition to the real review: Tokyo Godfathers. Satoshi Kon’s third film is a great example of a Christmas story, but unlike most Christmas stories, this movie is about a group of unlikely heroes. Well, most stories are about unlikely heroes - but Tokyo Godfathers has some really unlikely heroes, which I think brings a lot...