Merry Christmas, my wonderful readers!

It’s that wonderful time of year again, where we hope that “Peace on Earth and Goodwill Towards Men” becomes more than a platitude. We give gifts; we annoy relatives; we harass retail men and women for last minute gifts,  all while listening to some cheery Christmas songs…. until ad nauseum.

All I want for Christmas is you, and not to hear twenty covers of this song

Thanks to the thirty or so hours I’ve worked at my day job this week, I’m fed up with the usual line-up of Christmas fodder. I’m so fed up with the same songs, in fact, that I went searching to see if my favorite hobby could churn me up something interesting. As always, Google never fails.

These are four new Christmas Songs to add to your holiday playlists. Most of them are new takes on some old favorites, but the little twists they pull are enough to put them in leagues of their own.

• Last Christmas – Michie Tomizawa, aka Sailor Mars

Unbeknownst to many, the Japanese voice actresses of the original Inner Senshi were actually decent singers. Going under the name Peach Hips, they produced a good chunk of songs for the movie, including a Christmas Album called “Sailor Moon Stars: Merry Christmas!” Most of the songs are in Japanese, except for one track at the end: Last Christmas, sung by Mars’ VA, Michie Tomizawa

Alas, most English fans won’t be privy to the wonder of Peach Hips thanks to the awful dub of the show back in the day. Furthermore, the album came out during the one season of Sailor Moon that didn’t make it overseas, so fans like me just get to rediscover it this season. Still, this song is worth the investment, if only for how sweet it manages to sound.

• Pokemon Christmas Bash!

Continuing the theme of “gee, I didn’t know that existed,” we have another Christmas album. This time the cd made it overseas, and sold fairly well, but faded into obscurity… until the internet.

Pokemon’s biggest strength in the Americas came from the strong musical catalog it boasted, as exemplified by Pikachu’s Jukebox at the end of every episode. They decided to put those songwriting talents to good use and produced a Christmas Album called The Pokemon Christmas Bash. Here, the characters in the show (Team Rocket included) throw a little party and sing some songs.

Most of the songs are silly kid songs, and sadly most of the cast lack the vocal chops for a real song, but one track is worth the peek. Track 9 has the main cast read out The Night Before Christmas, with some Pokemon-themed changes. It’s worth a listen, if only for the nostalgic fumes and sweet, sweet cheese.

• “One Piece Utae! Jingle Bells!” – One Piece VA Cast

One Piece is no stranger to weird. Sporting a baseball OVA, and a special dedicated to a dancing Django, it shouldn’t really surprise me that One Piece has a Christmas song to add to its novelty list.

The song premiered at the end of the Baroque Works Arc, and all the crew members up to that point lend their voices. The song follows the traditional tune of Jingle Bells but sports lyrics specific to the show.

Besides being a catchy ear-worm, hearing the Going Merry get their Merry Christmas on just makes me smile. I wouldn’t expect anything less to come out of such a fun, wacky anime, and I think this was just one of many ways Oda-Sensei sends his love to his fans.

• Santa Claus is Coming to Town – Hetalia Axis Powers Cast

So, confession time, kiddies: I am not really a fan of Hetalia.

I’m not sure why, but I think the concept of personified countries just didn’t grab me as it did for others. But, despite my ignorance of the show, I know enough to get the gist of the characters, and was also not too surprised to learn that they had some Christmas songs. I gave this one a listen, and I can safely say I’ll return to it next year.

The song basically features the VA cast of the show singing a redone version of the song with some new fancy lyrics and a lot of funny banter that should make more die-hard fans happy. If, like me, you don’t watch the show all that much, the actual song is pretty catchy.

 

And that’s it my wonderful readers. See ya next time, I’m off to make merry on my own end. Happy Holidays and Merry Christmas to all of you, as always, feel free to comment below, and don’t forget to like for more content like this.