Anime’s Best Christmas Movie of All Time Finally Gets Free Streaming Home

Over 20 years ago, director Satoshi Kon’s heartwarming Christmas anime, Tokyo Godfathers, premiered in Japan. Next month, U.S.-based streaming service Tubi is adding the film to its content library, giving anime fans in the West an opportunity to experience this oft-overlooked holiday gem for free.

Tubi’s “Coming soon!” page has revealed that the Japanese-language version of Tokyo Godfathers will become available (with English subtitles) on the platform starting Nov. 1, 2025. The film’s director, Satoshi Kon, is perhaps best known for his iconic psychological thriller Perfect Blue, which debuted in 1997. In subsequent years, he has also achieved domestic and international recognition for works such as Millenium Actress (2001), Paranoia Agent (2004) and Paprika (2006). Based on an original script co-written by Cowboy Bebop writer Keiko Nobumoto, Tokyo Godfathers is Kon’s only film frequently marked as a “holiday” anime.

Tokyo Godfathers Comes to Tubi for Free Streaming Release in November

Tokyo Godfathers revolves around three homeless individuals living in the slums of Japan’s capital city. A rather unusual yet close-knit found family, the group consists of a middle-aged alcoholic named Gin, a drag queen named Hana and a runaway teenage girl named Miyuki. While picking through a garbage dump on Christmas Eve, the trio discover an abandoned baby girl along with a single key and a note asking whoever finds her to ‘take good care of her.’ While Hana initially wants to keep her, Gin and Miyuki argue that the best thing to do is to track down her real parents. With only a few scant clues to the parent’s whereabouts, the group sets out. Along the way, each of them is forced to confront their pasts — either in the form of difficult memories or people they’ve hurt.

Tubi is also adding the 2020 anime film Shirobako — a sequel to the series of the same name — to its anime library on the same date, Nov. 1. Produced by P.A. Works of Angel Beats fame, this film is perfect for those interested in the inner workings of the anime industry. Shirobako revolves around the fictional anime studio, Musashino Animation, which is in the middle of a financial crisis after the cancellation of its main production, Time Hippopotamus. After the departure of several staff members, a new president named Shun Watanabe takes over the failing studio. To protagonist Aoi Miyamori and the remaining staff, Watanabe presents the idea of creating a feature-length anime film based on a separate TV series. However, the team only has 10 months to complete the project.

Both the Shirobako film and TV series were directed by Tsutomu Mizushima, who is also known for his work on the xxxHolic and Crayon Shin-chan anime franchises. In addition to Tokyo Godfathers, Satoshi Kon’s critically-acclaimed 2001 drama film, Millenium Actress, is also currently streaming on Tubi.