TOKYO GODFATHERS
Directed by: Satoshi Kon.
Produced by: Shinichi Kobayashi, Masao Takiyama & Taro Maki.
Written by: Keiko Nobutomo & Satoshi Kon.
Animation Director: Kenichi Konishi.
Director of Photography: Katsutoshi Sugai.
Edited by: Takeshi Seyama.
Music by: Keiko Suzuki.
Released by: Columbia Tristar DVD/Home Video.
Language: Japanese & Spanish.
Country of Origin: Japan. 92 min. Rated: PG-13.

DVD Features: Making-of featurette. Trailers. English, French, Spanish & Portuguese subtitles. Character illustration card.

Megapolis Tokyo - with its overcrowded streets, high-tech gadgets and bright dazzling neon signs as one would spot in Lost in Translation - unveils its grittier side in the animated film Tokyo Godfathers. The story centers on three homeless people, who live together in cardboard tents and scrimmage for food and commodities. On a snowy Christmas Eve, they accidentally find an abandoned baby girl in a garbage dump. Hana, a transvestite with an excessive maternal instinct, insists on keeping the baby, at least until they find her parents - against the will of her two partners. In the course of their search, fate brings upon them strange coincidences, and each one winds up also finding what they have deep down longed for.

Fast-paced and humorous throughout, Tokyo Godfathers has many unbelievable plot twists and is yet oddly realistic. The three main well-written characters are what make the film worth watching: Gin, a no-good gambler abandoned by his family; Miyuki, a run-away teenager; and Hana, the exuberant transvestite widowed by her boyfriend. They have nothing in common except for one thing: a warm, loving, and big heart. These strong and humane characters are surprisingly convincing. In the midst of murky back streets and the jaded urbanites, these three humble souls shine like a diamond ring found in the film’s thrift shop. Not an action film or science fiction like many animated films, it is rather a rare type in its genre: a hearty film about humanity, determination, and love, appealing to both teenagers and adults. Hazuki Aikawa, journalist, director of the documentary Yancha
June 9, 2004