Anime Songs to Enjoy at Christmas: A Special Feature on Winter Classics

Santa is coming♪Shiori Mikami

YuruYuri Santa is Coming♪

It’s a Christmas song that appears in episode 8 of the anime YuruYuri♪♪.

It’s sung in a cute voice by the character Akari Akaza, played by voice actress Shiori Mikami! With a jingly, Christmas-like rhythm, it’s a very cheerful tune.

It has an excited feeling like you’re waiting for Santa Claus’s presents, and it really makes you look forward to Christmas!

Ominous yet sacredCreeping-up-from-behind Squad

Ominous yet sacred

Haiyore! Nyaruko-san is an anime inspired by the Cthulhu Mythos, featuring eldritch gods appearing in adorable forms.

Its ending theme, “Magamagashiku mo Seinaru Kana” (“Fearsome Yet Holy”), is a medium-tempo ballad that, in terms of sound, is a classic winter song through and through—but isn’t that title something? It’s a grand, unexpectedly beautiful piece, with a chorus by the ominous gods that surpasses all expectations.

Tokyo Winter SessionHONEY WORKS

HoneyWorks 'Tokyo Winter Session feat. Yu Setoguchi, Natsuki Enomoto, Sota Mochizuki, Akari Hayasaka, Haruki Serizawa, Mio Gouda (CV: Hiroshi Kamiya, Haruka Tomatsu, Yuki Kaji, Kana Asumi, Kenichi Suzumura, Aki Toyosaki)'}

“Tokyo Winter Session,” used as the ending theme for the anime Our Love Has Always Been 10 Centimeters Apart., is a track featuring dazzling choral work by the cast members who voiced the characters in the series.

The song unfolds as a dialogue-style story between a male-female pair, and in the soaring chorus, their vocals split into separate parts.

Its rhythmic band performance, brimming with a pop sensibility, perfectly matches the sparkling, exciting scenes of Christmas.

A romantic anime song, it portrays the fluttering emotions of a boy and girl on the cusp of winter events like Christmas and the first shrine visit of the New Year.

Merry Christmas without YouMay'n Megumi Nakajima

Macross F - “Merry Christmas without You” (with lyrics)

As a commemorative work for the 25th anniversary of the Macross series, Macross Frontier aired in 2008.

The series produced several hit songs, and this particular track is included on the Christmas song album cosmic cuune, released to celebrate the premiere of the film Macross Frontier the Movie: The Wings of Goodbye.

Remarkably, not only May’n as Sheryl Nome and Megumi Nakajima as Ranka Lee, but many other characters who appear in the story also take part in this song.

It’s fun to listen while guessing whose voice is whose.

snow tearsShoko Nakagawa

Shoko Nakagawa “snow tears”

A heartrending winter ballad, “snow tears.” It was Shoko Nakagawa’s first ballad—she is also active as a TV personality—and it was released in 2008.

She wrote the lyrics herself, with composition by Daisuke Suzuki, the keyboardist formerly of day after tomorrow and GIRL NEXT DOOR.

The song was used as the ending theme for the anime Hakaba Kitaro, based on Shigeru Mizuki’s manga.

For fans, it’s also a memorable track because Nakagawa voiced the singer character “Neko” in the show.

Shokotan’s clear, transparent vocals and the lyrics that capture the anime’s worldview are beautiful, overlapping perfectly with a bittersweet Christmas.

Galactic ChristmasYumi Matsuzawa, Tomoko Kawakami, Emi Motoi, Akiko Yajima, Rei Nakagawa, Miyuki Ichijō

Martian Successor Nadesico - Galaxy Christmas

Martian Successor Nadesico is a 1996 sci-fi romantic comedy anime! The song is included on the 1997 album Martian Successor Nadesico ~You’re the Captain of Tomorrow! As the title Galaxy Christmas suggests, it’s a bright, catchy tune you can enjoy on any planet.

It’s a recommended Christmas song for anyone who just wants to have an absolutely cheerful holiday!

Snow WingsRedballoon

redballoon – Snow Wings

From Gintama, an anime adaptation of a popular Weekly Shonen Jump series, many opening and ending themes became hits.

This is one of those songs—the debut single by redbaloon, a band formed by a brother duo on guitar/vocals and bass.

Set in winter, it’s a rock tune that rides on a driving, exhilarating melody while singing of the bittersweet feelings between a man and a woman.