Tokyo Godfathers

One Christmas Eve, Hana, Gin, and Miyuki are rummaging for presents through heaps of garbage when they chance upon an abandoned baby in the cold winter night. Appalled at the pitiful sight, Hana's maternal instincts kick in and she insists on finding the baby's biological mother to demand an explanation. Naming the baby Kiyoko—meaning pure child—they begin their search using the possible clues left alongside her: a mysterious key and a single note. However, their plans are soon thrown into disarray as they get caught up in a series of unprecedented events.

Tokyo Godfathers follows the journey of the trio as they stick together through thick and thin, hoping to deliver Kiyoko to her true home, and find their very own Christmas miracle.

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

Hana Main

Umegaki, Yoshiaki Japanese

Miyuki Main

Okamoto, Aya Japanese

Gin Main

Emori, Toru Japanese

Old Man Supporting

Saikachi, Ryuuji Japanese

Taxi Driver Supporting

Yamadera, Kouichi Japanese

Cat Lady Supporting

Shibata, Rie Japanese

Kiyoko Supporting

Koorogi, Satomi Japanese

Kiyoko Supporting

Noto, Mamiko Japanese

Yasuo Supporting

Ishimaru, Hiroya Japanese

Okasan Supporting

Katou, Seizou Japanese

Takiyama, Masao Producer

Toyoda, Satoki Producer

Kon, Satoshi Director, Original Creator, Character Design, Screenplay

Mima, Masafumi Sound Director

Reviews

Aug 7, 2025

HERMIT_PAIMON

Recommended

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 .

Reviewer’s Rating: 10

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Dec 25, 2023

Ciaran_Zagami

Mixed Feelings

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.

Reviewer’s Rating: 7

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Jun 26, 2025

supremeleadrcora

Not Recommended

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 what he has to offer in other fields, it's good that he mostly stuck to his niche.

Reviewer’s Rating: 5

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	Poll: Tokyo Godfathers Episode 1 Discussion ( 1 2 3 4 ) datsunvic - Nov 23, 2008	167 replies	by JackCompletes »» Oct 25, 11:05 PM
	Coincidence, or something more? Fear_the_Reefer - Dec 19, 2014	3 replies	by llcrazyacell »» Aug 2, 1:46 AM
	Quick Question about the Story S2VX - Jan 5, 2012	2 replies	by mangalicker94 »» Jul 18, 2024 10:57 AM
	Tokyo Godfathers Discussion ( 1 2 ) Chelle - Jan 4, 2007	51 replies	by mangalicker94 »» Jul 18, 2024 10:51 AM
	whats the difference between the remastered and the original? LilBoOfficial - Sep 3, 2021	6 replies	by peterross »» Oct 12, 2023 8:47 PM

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