Product description

Tokyo Godfathers [2003]

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Average customer rating: 4.5

Binding : DVD
EAN : 5035822565937
Label : Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
Manufacturer : Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
Publisher : Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
Release date : 2004-09-13
Title : Tokyo Godfathers [2003]
Audience rating : Suitable for 12 years and over
Format : Array
Languages : Array
Number of items : 1
Original release date : 2003-01-01
Region code : 2
Running time : 88
Studio : Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
Theatrical releaseDate : 2003

Editorial reviews

Amazon.com
Satoshi Kon's third feature (following Perfect Blue and Millennium Actress) confirms his status as one of the most interesting directors working in anime. Tokyo Godfathers centres on three homeless people: Hana, a flamboyant ex-drag entertainer; Gin, an alcoholic former bicycle racer; and Miyuki, a sullen teenage runaway. Their tenuous existence becomes more chaotic when they set out to find the parents of an abandoned baby on Christmas Eve. They scream insults as they confront the lies they've told each other--and themselves--about the past. Yet they remain curiously endearing and even noble. All three care passionately about the abandoned infant, and they love each other, although they're loath to admit it. Kon skillfully uses colour to suggest the bitter winter cold and the characters' alienation. Tokyo Godfathers shows that battling the inner demons that led these three characters to skid row can be a more daunting challenge than fighting aliens and cyborgs. (Rated PG-13: profanity, violence, tobacco and alcohol use) --Charles Solomon, Amazon.com

Customer reviews

review by: date: 2008-08-30 rating:

Surprisingly good
I wasn't expecting much, but it offers the best human story in any animations I've seen. The animation is not great, I think it added the touch of realism to the film. Do see it if you are looking for a good touching story about human relations.

review by: date: 2008-07-31 rating:

one of the best anime titles around
I purchased this title when I was looking for something different from the normal robot/creature anime that is so abbundant. This film is superb.It is so "real" in its themes of true to life story telling that you soon forget that its animation.The feature is funny,sad,thought provoking,and a delight to watch.If you like your manga high adreniline none stop action then go elsewhere,but you would be missing a gem of a movie.This version of the film has no english/usa dubbing,but the emotions
brought out by the original japanese voice actors are superb...

review by: date: 2007-10-21 rating:

"This is a once-in-a-lifetime chance"
The phrase in the title came from one of the three homeless characters when they found a baby in the trash, but it also applies to anime fans and this film. There are not many cases in this genre in which you can watch a story that has the effect this one has on the feelings of the viewer. I do not pretend to be an expert on anime, far from it, but the only anime production that had a similar effect on me was "Grave of the Fireflies". Just the mere fact that "Tokyo Godfathers" can be put in the same echelon as that masterpiece should be telling.

When an unlikely trio of homeless people finds a very special Christmas present, their world is shook in ways in they do not think possible. Thus, a bitter old man, an ex-drag queen and a teenager with a grudge towards her family embark in a quest to find the parents of the beautiful baby girl they found in the trash. The story starts out slow, but it gradually draws you into it, until you are hopelessly hooked. Little by little we come to understand the facts that led the three characters to their current situation and we are mesmerized by their search, which leads them to interact with an array of characters that range from desperate to happy to be alive.

I particularly enjoyed the graphics of this movie, but you need to understand that these differ from the common benchmark for the genre. In the film we get drawings with a good amount of detail in the main characters and in the background when it is close-up. But the general background and people that are not as relevant to the story are drawn with a lot less details. I interpreted this as a way to highlight what is important, but different people will have different interpretations for its purpose. Another aspect that surprised me is how good the tone of the voice of the different characters blended with the mood. I have seen many anime films in which the voices of the characters are a monotonous high-strung dialogue, and this one is not like that at all.

This is a movie that portrays the worst and best in human nature, and many layers in between. Therefore, there are portions that are heart-wrenching and others that are uplifting. It definitely has all the components of a great dramatic story. There is even humor sprinkled throughout the story, helping alleviate the mood at times, but not detracting from the seriousness of the plot. Simply put, this is a masterpiece that you cannot miss.

review by: date: 2006-04-17 rating:

Beautiful, heart-warming anime
This absolutely outstanding piece of animation follows three homeless people in Tokyo who find an abandoned baby on Christmas Eve. The twists and turns of the story rely far too much on unlikely coincidences to be plausible, and although this is kind of part of the point of the story, you really have to just sit back and accept it for the film to work. Its great strengths are in the sheer visual beauty of the film, the quality of the animation and the wonderful characterisation. The three main characters are so full of personality and vitality, demonstrating the advantages that really first -rate animated characters combined with good voice acting can have over live-action actors in terms of the breadth and range of emotions and moods that can be conveyed. This is a wonderful, heart-warming piece of anime.

review by: dorian date: 2005-08-11 rating:

really entertaining
I really found this Anime to be very entertaining but at the same time very serious. the move tackles with serious issues such as attempted murder, attempted suicide, abandonment, homlessness and a number of other things. it is because of one little baby found in the rubbish on christmas eve that the characters are forced to reconsider their lives as being homeless and is this still how they want to live their lives. The baby manages to bring each of the characters closer to their loved ones who they have not spoken to in a long time. i also like the twist near the end when they handed the baby back to its mother, and the car chase aswell. i throughly enjoyed that. overall this is a very good movie, like some of the past reviews have said its not for young children but it is worth a watch.

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