12 Days of Christmas Anime, Day 7: Kimi ni Todoke

The Christmas episode for Kimi ni Todoke is simple, but sweet. Unlike most anime Christmas episodes, it focuses more on family than romance or even friendship, which is not a common thing to see. This difference is largely because the main character, Sawako, is socially awkward, and hasn’t had very many friends in the past, so every year she’s celebrated Christmas with her family.

This year is different, though. She’s finally made friends, Ayane, Chizu, and Kazehaya, and they’re planning a Christmas party with their class. Sawako is filled with anticipation at the idea of belonging and being included for once,  and desperately wants to go. But even though her crush, Kazehaya, encourages her to come, she knows her family will want her to be with them and she dreads  disappointing them.

Later, as she tries to work up her courage to ask her family for permission to go to the party, her father tells the story of how she was supposed  to be born on Christmas day, but didn’t end up being born until New Year’s,  and how relieved they were that she was delivered safely, and that, in her father’s mind, had been a true Christmas gift. Overwhelmed by her parents’ love for her, Sawako decides not to go to the Christmas party for their sake. Her friends are disappointed,  but they try to console her.

When Christmas rolls around, there is a misunderstanding, as Sawako’s father mistakes the hat she had knitted for Kazehaya as his own Christmas present. This dampens her mood a little, but she attempts to forget about it, as she didn’t believe she would overcome her shyness and give it to him anyways, and tries to enjoy celebrating Christmas.

But then, as the class Christmas party draws to a close, Sawako’s friends call her and ask her to join them. Sawako’s father takes her aside,  presents her with a cell phone(a much better gift than the school supplies she had asked for) and tells her to go and see her friends.

Unfortunately,  Sawako misses the Christmas party along with all the fun and excitement it contained, but she was able to share a special moment with Kazehaya, as they exchanged gifts.  She ends up being able to work up her courage to give him the muffler she was going to give her father, and to her surprise, he likes it.

I feel like the selfless affection is a beautiful reflection of the love and affection God shows us, whether through the small joys that we experience throughout the year, the love we share with our family, or through the fact that he sent his son into the world to save