CGMagazine has curated a list of some anime that are a bit more family-friendly to enjoy this Christmas season.
From other worlds to the comedy we call life, anime has a topic for almost any occasion. With everyone home for Christmas this year, why not bundle up and enjoy some nice anime series to binge-watch with the whole family? Whether you have a couple days off from work or a couple of weeks off from school, you will need some shows to entertain the whole family while cooking up some meals or eating the meals. Here is a special list of anime series to binge on Christmas Day with your family.
Pokémon probably needs no introduction since it has been airing since the 1990s and quickly began to spread from Japan to the rest of the world! To this day, it continues to prove that it will withstand the test of time because of the company and its fan base. The trading cards, plush, video games, board games and all the merchandise continue to sell like crazy.
Ash and his friends have been a staple in family homes for decades now, along with Pikachu and the antagonist, Team Rocket. It is a great anime to watch during the Christmas holidays because it always has adventure and the mark of true friendship at its core.
While the Western world knew a lot about Pokémon and Hello Kitty for the general children's audience, Doraemon has been a household staple in Japan since the 1970s. The blue robotic cat (with the titular name) from the future has been an easy way to teach kids a lot of life lessons with his adventures with young Nobita Nobi. And even though Doraemon's intentions to help Nobita are questionable, the robot always tries its best to help and add more excitement to Nobita's life. This one is definitely a wholesome one to enjoy with family and young children during Christmastime.
Little Witch Academia caught me by surprise when I began watching it because I did not really treat this one as a children's anime series. It is classified as one, but it has a certain charm that I think adult audiences can appreciate, with its lore and world-building.
It follows Atsuko "Akko" Kagari and her journey to study magic and become a fully-fledged witch. It touches on themes of believing in oneself, friendship, and overcoming adversity and has some pretty decent action mixed in. This is why I genuinely believe this is the perfect family anime series to watch on Christmas this year; it is also not too long!
In the 21st century, anxiety and depression have been on a jolting rise. Komi Can't Communicate is a great depiction of how our newer generation of children and teens are becoming increasingly disconnected on a social level (sometimes, it is very justified!). It follows a young female student named Komi who struggles socially so much that she can barely talk despite being the most popular person in school!
This one is also very wholesome because a young, ordinary student, Hitohito Tadano, tries to help Komi break out of her social anxiety bubble and become her close friend. Komi Can't Communicate can honestly be a great way to communicate to parents how certain social interactions can be nerve-wracking to kids of this generation. Again, this is definitely one of my favourites for its ability to explore the mental health of students, and it has an interesting premise concerning mental health. This is a great series to watch with the family this holiday season, but it might be for a bit of a tween audience and parents.
Sports anime shows are notorious for their inclusion of diverse issues, from being too short, too old or being called washed up/a has-been. But it is series like Haikyuu!, Aoashi, Ace in the Diamond, Free! - Iwatobi Swim Club and many more that inspire so many of its audiences to pursue their dreams.
Some of the trash-talking could make these shows a little intense for younger audiences, but I enjoy them a lot for their ability to tell deeper stories of repairing broken friendships, following one's dreams regardless of the circumstances, having fun in sports, and learning to work together to accomplish a shared goal. This genre of anime will always hold a dear place in my heart, and that is why it is a perfect genre to get into for the Christmas break.
Action and, espionage and adventure bundled with some family life, what could be more interesting than this?! The infamous Agent Twilight becomes Loid Forger, adopting a fake family that comes together through strange fate. This may be his biggest mission as a spy yet, as he uses his fake family to foil an evil villain's plans. Loid must save the world, all while ensuring his psudo-daughter Anya from flunking in school and keeping his fake wife Yor happy to prevent his cover from getting blown.
Little does Loid know, his fake family each have secrets of their own. He will stop at nothing to thwart Donovan Desmond's evil schemes. Spy x Family is a great watch for family who could handle some dangerous scenes with gunfire and explosions. The language is never crude or explicit. This anime is perfect to watch for Christmastime for its heartwarming dialogue and character bonds, along with its thrilling action moments.
Blue Box is perfect for families who love badminton! The series follows Taiki Inomata, a student at Eimei Junior and Senior High, an athletics-focused school. Taiki is a member of the boys' badminton team and is considered simply average. He trains early in the gym to improve, often at the same time and place as his upperclasswoman Chinatsu Kano, the star of the girls' basketball team. Taiki has a crush on Chinatsu but is too shy to admit it.
His fortune changes when Chinatsu moves in with Taiki's family after the rest of his family leaves Japan to work abroad. This living arrangement allows the two to bond. The series combines romance, camaraderie, and comedy in a heartwarming way. While the focus may be on sports, there's another game being played off the court.
Dr. Stone is one of my personal favourite shows because of how science-y it gets, and it is fairly detailed. Accuracy may be a bit off, but the show does a great job making it entertaining. In 2019, a mysterious flash suddenly petrifies ostensibly all humans. The human race is frozen in stone for 3,700 years until in April 5738, when 16-year-old prodigy Senku Ishigami is suddenly revived to find himself in a world where all traces of human civilization have been eroded by time.
This series gets a little bonkers with how much Senku learned before getting petrified, even if he is classified as a genius. But his explanation for every invention in the second Stone Age for humanity is always detailed enough with some plausible reality to ground the rationale. The art style can be stunning, and the characters make some zany faces that add to the comedic beats. Overall, this is a great family Christmas for those trying to show their children some loosely fact-based outdoor/scientific skills.
While Mashle has some bloody moments, its concept and comedic beats provide great laughs for the whole family. In a world filled with magic, Mash Burnedead is the only human who can't use magic; he is enrolled in Magic School with the goal of joining the elites. It is basically a spin on Harry Potter, if Harry had no magic but still wanted to attend Hogwarts. The ways Mash traverses this magic world is beyond absurd, and his friends and enemies are even more ridiculous. But, the story has a lot of heart. The heartfelt moments is what makes it a perfect family watch this Christmas season.
With Japan's national soccer team finishing 16th at the 2018 FIFA World Cup, the Japan Football Union hires football enigma Jinpachi Ego. His master plan to lead Japan to stardom is Blue Lock, a training regimen designed to create the world's greatest egotistical striker. It's a Hunger Games-like scenario for soccer players, as those who fail Blue Lock are kicked out of the program. The series follows Yoichi Isagi, an unknown high school football player conflicted about his playing style, who decides to join the program to become the best striker in the world.
This series has a lot of heart but also delivers thrilling drama. What makes it special is how Yoichi, while a decent soccer player, lacks any standout skills. He isn't a flashy dribbler and has no unique gimmicks. However, the Blue Lock program forces everyone to think beyond conventional soccer tactics. Each episode builds tension and offers lessons for Yoichi to become a better player. This is the series' strongest point.
We at CGMagazine wish you a Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays and a Happy New Year! And as a bonus gift, here are a little more suggestions that may require some parental guidance and for the tweens/teens and anyone in-between. Be sure to catch these anime shows on select streaming sites, from Crunchyroll, HiDive, Disney+, Prime Video to Netflix.