I'm still infuriated that Kon died so young. I honestly believe if he'd lived to have a full career, he'd been the next true Great of animation. Someone who'd be mentioned alongside Disney and Miyazaki, respected for making genuinely mature anime for adults. Instead, between his untimely death and his films varying in availability, he's starting to be forgotten. It's just not fair.
Having had been homeless for 5 years, off and on (mostly on, for long stretches) watching this after getting off of the streets was deeply painful, but cathartic. A very beautiful movie though. Wouldn't wish homelessness on my worst enemy, regardless of their circumstances that might cause it. Stay safe, stay happy, enjoy the holidays and eat lots of great food. Happy Holidays and Merry Christmas!
Your Comic Book Guy reading of that pretentious reviewer guy who hated the movie is so spot on. I f'n loved this movie so hard when I first saw it like 10 years ago.
Boy, having just finished rewatching Noaki Urasawa's 'Monster', hearing that "no reason they couldn't have done this as live action" critic tangent hits huge for me.
And it's just such a fatuous argument. Along the same lines, imagine someone saying that nobody should bother painting a landscape, because they can just take pictures. Shift the art's medium just slightly, and the sentiment becomes self-evidently dumb.
Satoshi Kon's legacy is as a true visionary who left us entirely too early but gave us genuine treasures before he did. Amid Amidi's legacy is as the guy who drove off the actual animation historians from his site and defended animation's skeeviest edgelord.
5:36 Also worth noting the Movie available for Free on UA-cam, and not the typical "Free on UA-cam" that most older anime are where it's one guy uploading a low quality rip with the voice pitched and a border to get past the copyright bots. Just available for Free from UA-cam, so there's no reason not to watch it tonight.
This movie means a lot to me. I watch it every Christmas. 20 years ago I took my 8 year old daughter to one of those EIGHT theaters that was showing this film and loved it ever since. However I didn't k ow it had a new Dub!
Saying something shouldn't be animated because it doesn't do anything special is a lot like saying portraits shouldn't be painted because photographs exist.
One of the wholsomest full-lenght animated movies (or even movies overal) I've seen in my life. I remember watching someones video about Satoshi Kon's works on YoutTube, naturally "Tokyo Godfathers" was mentioned in it and after I've seen that angel joke ("- What will you choose? My magic or the ambulance?") I've quickly paused the video and just run to watch the movie itself 'cause I just couldn't stop laughing from that moment and wanted to watch it in full BEFORE I've got any serious spoilers from that video)) And I wasn't disappointed 'cause it delivered. And the next week I was advicing my mother to watch it too.
Tokyo Godfathers is right at the top of my list of animes that I recommend to newbies. It's grounded enough not to scare off the "animation is for children" crowd and doesn't need you to be that familiar with Japanese culture. Satoshi Kon was a true artist and sadly left this world far too early.
One of my fav Christmas movies and animes It's become a tradition to see this every Christmas and it really captures the spirit of the season The characters are treated with such realism and endearing It may get fantastical, but, it is the time of miracles
This is a beautiful movie from beginning to end. It's my favourite animated film. I've watched it in both Japanese and Spanish, and the Latam Spanish dub is AMAZING and captures everything perfectly.
This is one of my favorite movies of all time. I'm so glad you covered it on its 20th anniversary. I actually didn't know it had been re-released with an English dub. I'm going to check out that version since I've only watched the subbed version. I own the original DVD run and didn't realize it was rare too.
Feels so weird seeing this film dubbed in the clips, watched this subbed for many years. I always try to recommend this film when people are looking for different Christmas films along with anyone looking to see what animation can truely offer as an experience. One of my favorite Christmas films of all time
Tokyo Godfathers is just such a beautiful, heartwarming tale, Satoshi Kon man this man was a genius and I always going to be beyond sad that mot only we loss him so young but he never got to make a movie that become a HIT while in theaters, all his movies are consider classics, but pretty much all of them bomb hard, such a misappreciated genius, almost the Van Goth in a way of the anime world, this film is another masterpiece in a career full of only master pieces.
Seeing this film for the first time last Christmas was a highlight, and getting to watch your review for this Christmas is also a highlight! Happy Holidays, Kaiserbeamz!
Another great episode. Would it be too much to ask that you use the snow overlay for all "Winter" films. I looked great and helps set the tone. Plus, the Santa hat at the end was a cute touch. LOVED the Comic Book Guy/"akschully" voice for Amid, and agree that he and (I reluctantly say Ray Harryhuasen) can indeed Get Bent! I feel animation is still a much misunderstood and unnecessarily maligned medium (preaching to the choir, I know) medium. I LOVE that they added the real Tokyo, because when I go to make my visit there (along with the dozen or so other destinations I have on my bucket list), I want to, in the words of Anthony Bourdain, "...be a traveler, not a tourist."
Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to you KB This one is definitely going down in my list of favorite episodes from Kyoto Video, thank you for giving folks a wonderfully crafted video that gives the spotlight to a film that deserves to be seen. I hope 2024 brings you good fortune, stay gold Bang!
Heh. Got this from the Columbia Movie Club in college. Didn''t appreciate it at the time cause I was expecting something more like Ninja Scroll (titties and violence). Found it a couple of years later when I was cleaning up my dorm prior to graduation. Hit differently as an actual adult. Watch it every year now.
This was my first Kon film. I thought it was as great holiday movie and when I heard how surreal his other films were, I hesitated on watching those. Been a long time since I've seen it. Need to do a rewatch.
Funnily enough in terms of Christmas movie classics, I hold both Tokyo Godfathers and Elf in High Regard as representations of two styles of Christmas movies.
Thanks So Much for this one … excellently covered, as usual. The very thought of ANYONE thinking this could be done with ‘Actors’ in a Live Action is absurd. It made me really mad. I Ask, WHY? Why would it NEED to be? Live Action is NOT the prime form of Storytelling. Animation Is. 🧘 It’s film work doesn’t need the Sun to be perfect, or the Crowds to be Managed, or Celebrities to stay young & fit forever … it doesn’t need ReCasting! 😤 Animation Is My Prime Story Teller! *just thinking about Watership Down as a live action makes me sick. The CGI version is bad enough.
This will be my 3rd year in a row watching this on Christmas/Eve. Always such a joy and never fails to bring the Christmas spirit. Merry Christmas KaiserBeamz!
My favorite Christmas movie, I watch it every year. Sometimes I get to show it to other people, too. I usually say it's a story of miracles presented as coincidences.
39:59 Its been a while since I experience sudden large emotional from these few moments again...and then tried to push them back down like how the comedian Bill Burr once said, lol.
Oh gods…. as much as I love Tokyo Godfathers and everything about it, I don’t think I can get through dub dialogue to do so. 😝 The seiyuu’s voices are just so thoroughly embedded at this point.
8:39 i mean...considering how godawful that film was (gorgeous animation direction aside), i can't really blame miyazaki for taking back control afterwards lmfao
For Hana being Christian, I dunno. I never got the impression she was Christian so much as seriously respecting the people about to give her a meal. Based on the crowd, the meal was clearly predicated on attending a sermon, and Hana was just the only one to enjoy herself and appreciate the entertainment, whereas everyone else saw it as a time waster they were forced to endure for food. Given Hana's small stage background, I'm of the mind she was enjoying it as a nice little show. (This is separate from my belief that it is time wasting nonsense and that I find it very hard to be both trans and Christian, part of why I'm atheist now)
It’s a travesty that your videos don’t get more views and I think it’s going to help that you’re writing more sub-headers. But I think they should be more clickbaity and maybe on the actual cover image. Eg. “Pet shop of horrors: high camp, low budget” or “animatrix: America STILL wasn’t ready” (I’m not great at this but the point remains).
Because it's Christmas, and when it comes to Christmas anime it's generally either Tokyo Godfathers or Itsudatte My Santa. Well, unless you want to start counting random other anime where the plot gets real around Christmas, such as Nanoha A's, School Days, Toradora, or most Precure seasons, but the rest of the series outside of those arcs are not about Christmas.
@@SecretIdentityStudio Thanks for the lengthy response. This film really seems to dive into the whole Christmas motif especially with the baby being found by 3 people , allegory with Jesus and the 3 wisemen
Very odd that critics overlooked the sheer amount of warmth and humanity that animation allowed in this story. The majority of Kon's films had a basis in reality and that is why I loved them. You just dont see anime that deal with grounded social struggles anymore. I watch this film and Millennium Actress every couple years and even though Im mostly a dub viewer, the purely specific Japanese cultural aspects in the films make me cringe at hearing the English dub. His films are so much more like watching an independent live action foreign drama that it feels bizarre in english. Kon passed far too young, but made pinnacle anime films in my eyes.
I'd add (as if the dancing building in the credits weren't obvious enough), Tokyo as a character is animated, which you are not going to be able to do with any grace live action. Complaining that this didn't need to be animated misses the point. It was and is, and certainly takes nothing away from the story
I have the film on DVD and a digital rip, so yeah, I'm a fan of the movie, especially after seeing the superb "Millennium Actress". Nonetheless, I was never fan of the transvestite character, but he is still good. I just didn't see the point of the role being trans oriented instead of a actual female character. It came across more pandering IMO.
I've only ever seen this subbed and wow, it's so weird hearing the dub voices. Hana's dub voice is just bad though and I always thought he was more an otokonoko than actually trans. But I'm glad I saw this subbed, I like Hana more than Gin because of it, the dub would have made me like Gin more. Miyuki sounds good in both versions. I think the term unhoused implies more like the homeless want to live on the street while homeless sounds like they don't want to be on the street. Homeless implies they have nowhere to go, and they don't, not really.
I'm still infuriated that Kon died so young. I honestly believe if he'd lived to have a full career, he'd been the next true Great of animation. Someone who'd be mentioned alongside Disney and Miyazaki, respected for making genuinely mature anime for adults. Instead, between his untimely death and his films varying in availability, he's starting to be forgotten. It's just not fair.
He’ll always be a legend
Having had been homeless for 5 years, off and on (mostly on, for long stretches) watching this after getting off of the streets was deeply painful, but cathartic. A very beautiful movie though. Wouldn't wish homelessness on my worst enemy, regardless of their circumstances that might cause it. Stay safe, stay happy, enjoy the holidays and eat lots of great food. Happy Holidays and Merry Christmas!
Merry Christmas!
I’m a month off the streets myself …
🥂 Keep Going …
Merry Christmas my guy. ❤️🩹
@@StephenRansom47You too! I hope things keep getting better for ya.
@@poepoe5311same too you! And thank you!
Your Comic Book Guy reading of that pretentious reviewer guy who hated the movie is so spot on. I f'n loved this movie so hard when I first saw it like 10 years ago.
On the flipside, it made me respect Ray Harryhausen a bit less.
@@JessicaRainey970 lol. If only that story was actually true. Dude saw Harryhausen in a restaurant one time and fan fic'd his moment.
@@KingofCrusher Well then, I guess my faith is restored!
Maybe it's the APM music playing, but I heard Bubble Bass there (who... pretty much is Comic Book Guy in fish form so yeah).
I feel like I keep rating it higher each time I rewatch. So I guess at least 17/10 at this point.
Boy, having just finished rewatching Noaki Urasawa's 'Monster', hearing that "no reason they couldn't have done this as live action" critic tangent hits huge for me.
And it's just such a fatuous argument. Along the same lines, imagine someone saying that nobody should bother painting a landscape, because they can just take pictures. Shift the art's medium just slightly, and the sentiment becomes self-evidently dumb.
Satoshi Kon's legacy is as a true visionary who left us entirely too early but gave us genuine treasures before he did.
Amid Amidi's legacy is as the guy who drove off the actual animation historians from his site and defended animation's skeeviest edgelord.
5:36 Also worth noting the Movie available for Free on UA-cam, and not the typical "Free on UA-cam" that most older anime are where it's one guy uploading a low quality rip with the voice pitched and a border to get past the copyright bots. Just available for Free from UA-cam, so there's no reason not to watch it tonight.
Yup, this should be pinned honestly.
Just did, and the "must see" tag is absolutely apt. Wonderful movie.
Ah Keiko Nobumoto, the master behind KH1, Cowboy Bebop and Wolf's rain. Truly a visionary. May you rest well, Queen.
This movie means a lot to me. I watch it every Christmas. 20 years ago I took my 8 year old daughter to one of those EIGHT theaters that was showing this film and loved it ever since. However I didn't k ow it had a new Dub!
I didn't even notice Hana's face taking on the form of the cab driver on my first watch. This movie is incredible.
Same, love that part XD Hana's definitely my favourite part
Saying something shouldn't be animated because it doesn't do anything special is a lot like saying portraits shouldn't be painted because photographs exist.
One of the wholsomest full-lenght animated movies (or even movies overal) I've seen in my life.
I remember watching someones video about Satoshi Kon's works on YoutTube, naturally "Tokyo Godfathers" was mentioned in it and after I've seen that angel joke ("- What will you choose? My magic or the ambulance?") I've quickly paused the video and just run to watch the movie itself 'cause I just couldn't stop laughing from that moment and wanted to watch it in full BEFORE I've got any serious spoilers from that video)) And I wasn't disappointed 'cause it delivered. And the next week I was advicing my mother to watch it too.
It's not just one of my favorite Anime or Christmas movies of all time. It's one of my favorite movies of all time. Thank you for this analysis 💖
I had no idea that the original DVD release was so hard to find. I guess I somehow managed to get lucky while rummaging secondhand bookstores.
Same. That along with Millenium Actress. But so glad they got rereleased for more people to obtain them
Tokyo Godfathers is right at the top of my list of animes that I recommend to newbies. It's grounded enough not to scare off the "animation is for children" crowd and doesn't need you to be that familiar with Japanese culture.
Satoshi Kon was a true artist and sadly left this world far too early.
Can’t believe I’m just now seeing this, one of my fav UA-camrs talking about one of my fav movies
Your channel is absolutely underrated. I'll definitely be sharing this amongst my friends this holiday season. Keep up the great content! 🇯🇵
One of my fav Christmas movies and animes
It's become a tradition to see this every Christmas and it really captures the spirit of the season
The characters are treated with such realism and endearing
It may get fantastical, but, it is the time of miracles
animation is such a great medium that it always suck how people try to limit its potential to tell amazing stories
This is a beautiful movie from beginning to end. It's my favourite animated film. I've watched it in both Japanese and Spanish, and the Latam Spanish dub is AMAZING and captures everything perfectly.
This video essay didn’t spoil the film in the slightest. It just convinced me to watch the film. Thank you
This is one of my favorite movies of all time. I'm so glad you covered it on its 20th anniversary. I actually didn't know it had been re-released with an English dub. I'm going to check out that version since I've only watched the subbed version. I own the original DVD run and didn't realize it was rare too.
Feels so weird seeing this film dubbed in the clips, watched this subbed for many years. I always try to recommend this film when people are looking for different Christmas films along with anyone looking to see what animation can truely offer as an experience. One of my favorite Christmas films of all time
Tokyo Godfathers is just such a beautiful, heartwarming tale, Satoshi Kon man this man was a genius and I always going to be beyond sad that mot only we loss him so young but he never got to make a movie that become a HIT while in theaters, all his movies are consider classics, but pretty much all of them bomb hard, such a misappreciated genius, almost the Van Goth in a way of the anime world, this film is another masterpiece in a career full of only master pieces.
Excellent review!
I still get tight in the chest during the chase scene and the gust of wind.
Seeing this film for the first time last Christmas was a highlight, and getting to watch your review for this Christmas is also a highlight!
Happy Holidays, Kaiserbeamz!
The snow and Santa hat during the intro were lovely and not unnoticed.
Thanks for talking about this movie. I've seen it pretty regularly since Christmas 2017 and always thought it didn't get the appreciation it deserved.
Another great episode.
Would it be too much to ask that you use the snow overlay for all "Winter" films. I looked great and helps set the tone. Plus, the Santa hat at the end was a cute touch.
LOVED the Comic Book Guy/"akschully" voice for Amid, and agree that he and (I reluctantly say Ray Harryhuasen) can indeed Get Bent! I feel animation is still a much misunderstood and unnecessarily maligned medium (preaching to the choir, I know) medium. I LOVE that they added the real Tokyo, because when I go to make my visit there (along with the dozen or so other destinations I have on my bucket list), I want to, in the words of Anthony Bourdain, "...be a traveler, not a tourist."
I’m a sucker for Christmas Movies and Anime so it’s a treat.
Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to you KB
This one is definitely going down in my list of favorite episodes from Kyoto Video, thank you for giving folks a wonderfully crafted video that gives the spotlight to a film that deserves to be seen.
I hope 2024 brings you good fortune, stay gold
Bang!
Happy Christmas, KaiserBeamz, ya wonderful ‘Ol possum!
Happened upon the Blu-ray of this at Walmart last Christmas season. Snatched it up right on the spot. My favorite Satoshi Kon film.
I've just watched "We're No Angels" staring Bogart and Ustinov, so this movie will be the perfect follow up.
This movie is one of the best Christmas movies of all time regardless of genre. Tells such a great story.
Heh. Got this from the Columbia Movie Club in college. Didn''t appreciate it at the time cause I was expecting something more like Ninja Scroll (titties and violence). Found it a couple of years later when I was cleaning up my dorm prior to graduation. Hit differently as an actual adult. Watch it every year now.
This was my first Kon film. I thought it was as great holiday movie and when I heard how surreal his other films were, I hesitated on watching those. Been a long time since I've seen it. Need to do a rewatch.
Feel bad I slept on this. Thanks for the great review and Happy Holidays!
Funnily enough in terms of Christmas movie classics, I hold both Tokyo Godfathers and Elf in High Regard as representations of two styles of Christmas movies.
Thanks So Much for this one … excellently covered, as usual.
The very thought of ANYONE thinking this could be done with ‘Actors’ in a Live Action is absurd. It made me really mad.
I Ask, WHY?
Why would it NEED to be?
Live Action is NOT the prime form of Storytelling.
Animation Is. 🧘
It’s film work doesn’t need the Sun to be perfect, or the Crowds to be Managed, or Celebrities to stay young & fit forever … it doesn’t need ReCasting! 😤
Animation Is My Prime Story Teller!
*just thinking about Watership Down as a live action makes me sick. The CGI version is bad enough.
why does this goes so well in my head with Max Payne 1 ?
Your video convinced me to watch it, great movie
This will be my 3rd year in a row watching this on Christmas/Eve. Always such a joy and never fails to bring the Christmas spirit. Merry Christmas KaiserBeamz!
Great movie and great review!👏🏽👏🏽🙌🏽
My favorite Christmas movie, I watch it every year. Sometimes I get to show it to other people, too. I usually say it's a story of miracles presented as coincidences.
good choice, fun analysis. merry xmas kbz
39:59 Its been a while since I experience sudden large emotional from these few moments again...and then tried to push them back down like how the comedian Bill Burr once said, lol.
Really good movie. Have to rewatch Millennium Actress.
I remember catching this movie on a DirecTV channel back in the late 2000s i forgot the name but not this movie.
The perfect ugly cry movie for the perfect ugly cry season.
MERRY CHRISTMAS to everyone and may the Spirit of Hana bless you all .
Interesting review 🎄
Yes ❤❤❤
It's a good movie
So this is a big question since you talk about black jack the movie are you going to do jungle empore leo or the 2003 astro boy anime
Oh gods…. as much as I love Tokyo Godfathers and everything about it, I don’t think I can get through dub dialogue to do so. 😝
The seiyuu’s voices are just so thoroughly embedded at this point.
8:39 i mean...considering how godawful that film was (gorgeous animation direction aside), i can't really blame miyazaki for taking back control afterwards lmfao
You should analyze Kurokami anime.
What is your intro song?
You can say all you want that the other characters are ugly but how can you say Miyuki is???
13:27 I disagree with that statement. A movie doesn't need a reason to be animated. The point of art is to tell a story.
Hey what's the name of this channel's intro song?
I Miss You (feat. Roman) Macross 82-99
@@cthellis thank you
For Hana being Christian, I dunno. I never got the impression she was Christian so much as seriously respecting the people about to give her a meal. Based on the crowd, the meal was clearly predicated on attending a sermon, and Hana was just the only one to enjoy herself and appreciate the entertainment, whereas everyone else saw it as a time waster they were forced to endure for food. Given Hana's small stage background, I'm of the mind she was enjoying it as a nice little show.
(This is separate from my belief that it is time wasting nonsense and that I find it very hard to be both trans and Christian, part of why I'm atheist now)
I’m building the hype for the next Looney Tunes video….
It’s a travesty that your videos don’t get more views and I think it’s going to help that you’re writing more sub-headers. But I think they should be more clickbaity and maybe on the actual cover image. Eg. “Pet shop of horrors: high camp, low budget” or “animatrix: America STILL wasn’t ready” (I’m not great at this but the point remains).
Why is everyone doing essays on this all of a sudden?
20th anniversary of the film's release
Because it's Christmas, and when it comes to Christmas anime it's generally either Tokyo Godfathers or Itsudatte My Santa. Well, unless you want to start counting random other anime where the plot gets real around Christmas, such as Nanoha A's, School Days, Toradora, or most Precure seasons, but the rest of the series outside of those arcs are not about Christmas.
@@erichfiedler1481 Thank you, I had not even know about the anniversary
@@SecretIdentityStudio Thanks for the lengthy response. This film really seems to dive into the whole Christmas motif especially with the baby being found by 3 people , allegory with Jesus and the 3 wisemen
‘tis the season.
Perhaps Breadsword made some enemies.
God I hate Amid, that's all.
Good review but I had to dislike for the disrespect towards the great Ray Harryhausen
Very odd that critics overlooked the sheer amount of warmth and humanity that animation allowed in this story. The majority of Kon's films had a basis in reality and that is why I loved them. You just dont see anime that deal with grounded social struggles anymore. I watch this film and Millennium Actress every couple years and even though Im mostly a dub viewer, the purely specific Japanese cultural aspects in the films make me cringe at hearing the English dub. His films are so much more like watching an independent live action foreign drama that it feels bizarre in english. Kon passed far too young, but made pinnacle anime films in my eyes.
I'd add (as if the dancing building in the credits weren't obvious enough), Tokyo as a character is animated, which you are not going to be able to do with any grace live action.
Complaining that this didn't need to be animated misses the point. It was and is, and certainly takes nothing away from the story
Who the fuck doesn’t like Elf?
Fell asleep translated.
He got drunk or high and only became a reviewer to clout chase celebrities.
Die Hard is mid, this and Gundam 0080 iare my favorite Xmas movies (OVA)
I love this film but omg this English dub is rough to me
There's also a lost animax English dub as well
The Japanese dub isn't very good either imo. I used to love this movie but now it's kinda mehh
@@kevinfromsales9445 no way. The Japanese dub is fantastic. Great performances.
I have the film on DVD and a digital rip, so yeah, I'm a fan of the movie, especially after seeing the superb "Millennium Actress". Nonetheless, I was never fan of the transvestite character, but he is still good. I just didn't see the point of the role being trans oriented instead of a actual female character. It came across more pandering IMO.
The whole point is that they're all outcasts in some way, how would a trans drag queen be pandering in that era not the former
24:00
I've only ever seen this subbed and wow, it's so weird hearing the dub voices. Hana's dub voice is just bad though and I always thought he was more an otokonoko than actually trans. But I'm glad I saw this subbed, I like Hana more than Gin because of it, the dub would have made me like Gin more. Miyuki sounds good in both versions.
I think the term unhoused implies more like the homeless want to live on the street while homeless sounds like they don't want to be on the street. Homeless implies they have nowhere to go, and they don't, not really.