My Review of "Tokyo Godfathers"

Tokyo Godfathers is an anime movie that came out back in 2003. At the time it was praised but I never really had any interest in watching such a movie. I still have to be pushed to watched anime sometimes and I am kicking myself for not watching this any sooner. This is a very worthwhile tale to watch.

The movie starts off with a homeless trans woman, Hana, a homeless man, Gin and a homeless girl, Miyuki. The three of them somehow hang out with each other in Tokyo. It just so happens to be the Christmas holidays. Hana is surprisingly a very optimistic person. She wishes she could have a baby and low and behold a baby shows up.

All of a sudden they start hearing a baby crying in the dumpster. Someone had abandoned their baby and Hana immediately wants to take care of it as her own. The other two want to immediately give it to the authorities but Hana is obsessed with being a mother. This mother obsession is kind of a foreshadow in the story. I liked how they kind of linked these little tidbits throughout the story to build some sort of flow.

When Miyuki and Gin finally convince Hana to bring the baby back they hatch a plan to bring the baby back to her parents themselves. Throughout the movie they would piece clues they know about the baby in order to lead her to her parents.

Throughout their journey we learn more about our three godfathers as they continuously get into some crazy hijinks. It is hilarious and tragic at the same time. There is an air of believability with each of their stories. At least I could see how these three could have been based of real people. It's also crazy to see how simple their problems could be resolved but yet our human condition prevents them from achieving their own happiness. There's so much to relate to with all of their stories.

There is also some very impressive visuals throughout this movie. Everything is hand drawn so you have to appreciate the detail and intricacies of the animation in this movie. The wild and exaggerated movements flow so well. At times the movement of the movie can be a bit hypnotizing. There are bright and colorful colors everywhere which contrasts to the dark undertones of being homeless in the desolate areas of Tokyo.

This is basically a movie about outcast misfits coming together for a common cause. I love the fact that they all love each other but can't really show it to each other. As the viewer, it's very apparent that they care about each other very much. They're such lovable characters that you want to see them succeed but in some ways you know it's not supposed to work out for them.

It's also a short movie it's only clocked in at an hour and thirty minutes long. The wild antics and chaos they get themselves into will have you thinking that time went by really fast. I could possibly see myself watching this one again if friends wanted to see this with me.

Overall, I really liked this movie. It's a rotten shame that my own personal preferences had denied me from watching this sooner. You'll love the characters, the comedy and especially the animation. This movie will really surprise you because it did for me. I'm not really into these animated movies but once in a while they give me a shock. I highly recommend this movie and that's why I give it an 8 out of 10.