The other day I got a question on Ask.fm that went on like this:
“Is Anime Christmas superior or inferior to Traditional Christmas?”
Now, as I explored in last year’s series of Christmas posts, anime Christmases are full of variety. In an anime Christmas, magical girls can appear out of nowhere, friends can die and cities can get destroyed. I wouldn’t want to be in an anime Christmas, but they’re certainly entertaining to watch.
The biggest difference between anime Christmases and traditional Christmases, though, is that Christmas in Japan is supposed to be more of a romantic holiday than a holiday celebrating the birth of Jesus. (Let’s pretend for now that Christmas in North America is also about celebrating the birth of Jesus and not about celebrating $$$.)
As an anime blogger, I’m all about perverting traditions. Why else would I start publishing “12 Days of Christmas” posts before Christmas Day instead of on the day itself, which is how the tradition actually goes? Nevertheless, there are some traditions which I do believe are worth observing, like the time-honoured fandom tradition: shipping.
If anime Christmases are all about shipping, then it makes sense to dedicate my Christmas-themed posts to shipping in all of its glory. As a person who has never been in a serious relationship, I feel incredibly entitled to comment on how “well-written” and “realistic” anime couples are. You should definitely pay attention to my philosophical ramblings about the nature of love as well as my anguished poetry and fanfiction.
Looking back, 2015 was like any year for shipping. There were some good ships and some bad ships, and wars were waged in their name. I believe it is my duty to separate the good ships from the bad ships for the betterment of all humankind. In this series of posts, I will look at some of the prominent ships in the fandom this year and present my expert analysis on them. You’re welcome to contribute your thoughts, but just remember that your OTP is shit unless it’s the same as mine.
So pull up a seat and enjoy the ride. See you on the other end!
Frog-kun's Blog 
I look forward to being super angry about your ships :D
He says with a smile
Oh boy, my body is not ready for this ride.
Yokes aside. Great idea froggy! Just wanted to add, Christmas in Japanese culture is indeed about romance more that anything else. But it is also about melancholy and loneliness. Especially when you are not with a “significant other”. This trope is very heavily used in anime and manga to sometimes make contrast with the sheer liveliness and bright warmth of the environment. Also, its a good device to reflect the depth of a character. I personally like the later.
Looking forward to your posts.
Hope you enjoy them~
As an American myself, I agree with your statement about the holidays being about $$$ in the US. Seriously in September all the shops have Christmas stuff!
It’s pretty much the same in Australia as well. But it’s probably even more blatant in America because everything seems to be much more over-the-top over there. The worst thing about Christmas has to be the crappy Christmas songs they play in the shopping centers. Laying it on just a teensy bit thick.
On the topic of the true spirit of Christmas, that is to say the commercial spirit:
“Hark the Herald Tribune Sings, Advertising Wondrous Things!
“God rest ye merry merchants, may you make the yuletide PAY” Tom Lehrer.
On the topic of anime Christmas being occasionally… destructive:
“Everywhere the atom bombs are dropping, it’s the end of all humanity
No time for last minute shopping, it’s time to face your final destiny
It’s Christmas at Ground Zero” Weird Al Yankovic, complete with anime AMV.
Both videos here since I got… irritated at seeing Christmas decorations up in OCTOBER. :)
https://piratesobg.wordpress.com/2015/10/22/bah-humbug-oh-and-tom-lehrer-weird-al-yankovic/
Looking forward to the series of posts.
On the plus side you could say that Christmas has come early!
There is no plus side to Christmas coming early. I’m not THAT big a fan of fruit mince pies.
Easter is slightly more forgive able since I quite like hot cross buns. Even so January (which is when we’ll see them in Woolworths) is way too early for that.
Oh I’m not disagreeing with you, just playing devil’s advocate. Although I have never been a big fan of hot cross buns. Oh well.
Also Easter is SwanCon so that’s usually one of my favourite times of the year. :) https://2016.swancon.com.au/