On Christmas Day was born a savior. On Christmas Day, a newborn is found by three homeless friends. They in turn go through a wild adventure to try and find the baby’s family, and in turn find their own.

This was one of the first anime I was ever exposed to, and it got me from the start. The three are a band of misfits, who’ve had their lives destroyed in some way and feel that they can’t go back to before. They are eachother’s family- they may fight, but they care for eachother. Each is a distinct person, from the happy and determined Hana, who loves being the ‘mother’ of the group, to Gin who’s very much a cynical man with a soft spot for the other two and still hold hope of being able to do something for his daughter, and then Miyuki who feels an incredible amount of guilt and shame over what she did that caused her to leave home- and makes her feel that she can never go back again.

The baby throws all of this in sharp relief as they try to find out why the baby was left to die. Miyuki covertly is a tad jealous since the baby obviously had a family at some point, a happy one by the looks of it. Gin gets wrapped up in his feelings for Miyuki, and through her, his daughter that was her age when he last saw her. And Hana showers the baby with the love that she can’t give her lover since he died.

But the baby seems to be a Christmas miracle- as they travel around Tokyo, strange coincidences and bouts of luck happen to keep them going on their quest. Even when things seem to be at their worst- deception and danger are the special of the day as the baby is cast into a catalyst for one woman’s grief and loss- there is always hope, and people are brought together by the small miracles that happen.

Overall, this was a heartwarming Christmas story about family and friends.

Violence/Gore- The worst is when a homeless old man is beaten up and left for dead. He doesn't survive for much longer, but it's probably a mix of the beating, age, and malnutrition. The three mains do occasionally fight, but it's never very serious or causes bad injuries. One of them is threatened at gunpoint, but escapes unscathed.

Nudity/Sexual content- There's a brief glimpse of a breast as a woman lifts her top up to feed the baby.

Theological Themes- There is discussion of Christianity, they do go to a church and discuss miracles (and consider the baby one of them), and a few Christmas miracles do happen. Homosexuality is present, with one of the men having had a lover and worked at a gay bar.

Other Themes- The English word for cigarette is thrown about as a slur for homosexuals. Various other light swears are thrown about occasionally.