Tokyo Godfathers

Director
Satoshi Kon
Production
Madhouse, Sony
Country of origin
Japan
Format
Film
Year
2003

Tokyo Godfathers

By Adam Cook
3rd Jun 04

Being a big fan of Satoshi Kon's previous feature films I approached Tokyo Godfathers with excitement and a lingering sense of trepidation as eventually every film maker is liable to slip up and release an inferior movie. The question is Tokyo Godfathers the blemish on Kon's record or another film that can sit proudly alongside his other features Perfect Blue and Millennium Actress?

Tokyo Godfathers follows the lives of three disparate homeless people during the Christmas period until their lives are forever altered by the appearance of an abandoned baby that ends up in their care. The story follows their quest to search for the child's parents and to discover the reasons for its abandonment whilst they also discover more about themselves and each other.
When the story is written down on paper it sounds like a rather standard Christmas movie with a predictable outcome, and whilst this is partly true the characterisation and the twists in the story elevate this above the dross of festive movies that populate cinemas and video racks around December.

There are a number of elements that make the film stand out from the crowd, not least the protagonists. Homelessness is not an issue that you see very much in anime, what makes it even more different is that these homeless people could be deemed social pariahs by many and their existence on the street justified. The three consist of a gambling addict that lost his family due to his debts, a young girl that stabbed her father and a homosexual drag queen. The differences between the three are obvious, but along with the outside worlds disdain for them they form a unique and strong bond that provides an interesting group dynamic and the anchor for the film. The three characters act as interesting individuals within their group and as a unified whole when the world begins to come down on them. In this instance the group take on the role of a fifth character (the baby being the fourth) that acts differently to the individuals that comprise it. The characters continually evolve throughout the film and share more intimate information with one another. The audience has to continually question whether or not the information that the protagonists give each other is real or not as they perpetually give half truths and white lies in order to evade the real truth that they themselves have tried to block out. This provides real substance to the characters in which they no longer act out their stereotypes (such as the incredibly camp drag queen) but actually begin taking on believable (yet still interesting) characters. This is so often neglected in anime and it is a welcome addition to this film.

The narrative moves on at a brisk pace and is built on coincidence. As the film is set around Christmas the film makers use the 'magical' time to full effect, and coupled with the introduction of the baby (perhaps a metaphor for Jesus), events that would seem out of place fit in perfectly with the story and their circumstances. In fact it proves how interesting the story and characters are that the film can get away with using deus ex machina's frequently yet still retain an air of integrity. The coincidences in the film move the narrative on at the stories major junctures, and these coincidences take on many forms from the amusing to the bizarre.
At its heart Tokyo Godfathers is a comedy and whilst the film has less laughs than most comedies the interesting characters and exciting set pieces mean that the comedy does not have to be as domineering in order for the film to be successful. That said there are some very amusing moments in the film that normally arises from the banter between the drag queen and gambler and their love hate relationship.

As I have come to expect from Satoshi Kon the animation is beautiful with a muted palette being used throughout. The animation of the characters is lovingly realised with each one being unique and full of character. The animation steps up a gear during the action packed set pieces and especially the finale and it really is a joy to watch such craftsmanship.

Aurally the film is good without being particularly memorable. The musical score never seems to jar but never stays with you past the credits unlike the score in his earlier films such as Millennium Actress. The Japanese voice actors are very good though and are ideal for each character.

So has Satoshi Kon delivered another classic? I would say so. Whilst it is vastly different from his previous movies (for a start it maintains a linear and chronological time frame) it still has those special Kon touches and he has created interesting and well rounded characters and a charming and amusing Christmas tale. This would make a welcome addition to anyone's anime collection whilst also providing something different from the large robots and big eyed characters that dominate the anime scene.

-- Adam Cook 3rd Jun 04

Tokyo Godfathers Images