From Left to Right: Covers of A Condition Called Love, Kimi ni Todoke, and Ao Haru Ride. Viz Media & Kodansha.
Shoujo Christmas Tropes
Christmas in Japan is typically not a religious celebration—instead, it is a time when friends or couples get together and party. It is also considered a rather romantic holiday, which is probably why many romance shoujos tend to include some fun Christmas chapters in their stories.
These chapters can range widely, from casual to incredibly dramatic. I’m personally a fan of the more dramatic Christmas chapters, haha.
Oftentimes the shoujo Christmas trope involves couples planning each other’s gifts, planning parties, going on trips, or even getting separated dramatically during this important holiday.
There’s a lot of shoujos out there with different Christmas arcs, but I figured I’d talk about some romance shoujos that I personally think have the best Christmas chapters.
However, talking about these chapters means to include spoilers, so if you haven’t read these mangas yet, check them out before reading this post. Christmas chapters often hold special events or developments in romance mangas, which I would hate to ruin for you.
But if you’ve read these already or you just don’t mind spoilers, jump right in! So, let’s get started:
1. Kimi ni Todoke
Warning: This discussion is much longer than the others, lol.
First place goes to Kimi ni Todoke, which has an iconic Christmas arc—two of them, actually. I want to talk about each separately, as they are both very big milestones for the series. The first Christmas arc begins with chapter 24, where Sawako’s class decides to have a gathering for those who are free on Christmas Eve.
Sawako, still trying to deepen her relationship with her classmates at this time, is ecstatic—especially with Kazehaya’s insistence that she go. However, as she returns home, her parents are showing excitement for this year’s Christmas, making Sawako hesitant to gain permission for the party.
She ends up not asking them, and gives her friends their gifts early—except for Kazehaya’s hat, which later mistakenly ends up in the possession of her father. As Christmas Eve continues, their household receives a call from her friends who are missing Sawako at the class party.
This releases the floodgate of all the disappointment poor Sawako had been holding back for the sake of her family. Luckily, her parents are super understanding. So, after receiving a cell phone from her parents as her Christmas gift, Sawako runs to try and make it to the end of the party.
Once she arrives, the party is unfortunately already over, and everyone is gone—except Kazehaya, who was waiting for her in the snow. He is excited to see her, and gifts her a cute phone charm; which was perfect for her new phone. They exchange contacts, and she gives Kazehaya was what supposed to be her father’s gift—a tummy warmer.
This Christmas arc is iconic because there are just so many suspenseful emotions on the line. Kazehaya desperately wanting to include his crush in the fun, Sawako wanting to be a part of a social event with her friends, her disappointment being held back to not hurt her beloved parents’ feelings, and her desperation to get there in time—it all just leads up to what would’ve been a disappointing and sad ending if not for Kazehaya.
In the end, he is appreciative of the belly warmer she made, and helps make her Christmas special by giving her a gift and becoming her first phone contact. Ugh, too cute! I love that the author made this arc pretty realistic—not everything will go smoothly, even in a shoujo manga—but was also still able to give us a satisfactory ending!
Then there’s the second Christmas, which to be honest had me a little angry while reading it. This arc occurs from chapter 65 to 73.
A Christmas party has once again been arranged by the class. At this time, Sawako and Kazehaya are dating—so you would expect the lovey-dovey interactions and all that. But there is a tension between the two at this point of the story, and Sawako is worried it may be her fault.
Therefore, she tries to talk it out with Kazehaya, but he lies and says there’s nothing wrong. This is when Sawako realizes Kazehaya is causing a rift in their relationship.
In reality, Kazehaya is have an internal crisis. He doesn’t think he is this magical, perfect being that Sawako and the others pictures him as. He also wants to cherish Sawako as their relationship becomes more serious, and is terrified of making the wrong move—even though he wants to give in to his own intimate desires.
He is stuck between his cool-guy image, doing what’s “right” for his girlfriend, and his possessiveness for Sawako.
As the Christmas party starts, the friend group sits together, but Kazehaya is being a huge busybody running the show. He barely makes a single moment for Sawako, making her isolated and lonely on Christmas (lonely Christmas round two… Agh!).
Later on, Sawako surprisingly gets some great advice from Pin (their teacher): Don’t bottle up all your emotions and needs. The teacher soon ends the party, and we finally see the main couple meet to walk home together.
Desperate to see a change in his demeanor and to re-solidify that the two are actually a couple, Sawako closes her eyes and waits for a kiss—only to be rejected. She bursts into tears, and finally lets her frustrations out to Kazehaya… who finally decides to kiss her in response. In fact, they kiss a bunch of times, lol.
The two finally reconcile, and have a heart-to-heart. This Christmas arc was frustrating, but also so well done. It allowed Sawako to grow as an individual by making her needs and emotions known. It also gave some important character development for Kazehaya, which isn’t something us romance shoujo enjoyers always get for male leads.
It was nice to see Kazehaya have a meaningful character arc, and see the main couple’s relationship grow even stronger.
For this second Christmas arc we also get to see some nice developments for the other girls, Ayane and Chizu, which were both really great—but I won’t blab any more for this series, haha. Overall, Kimi ni Todoke has a great execution of the shoujo Christmas trope.
2. Ao Haru Ride
Ao Haru Ride is a heartfelt romance series, where THE most important romantic development occurs during Christmas! It begins on chapter 45, where Futaba has just dumped Kikuchi, admitting that no matter what she does, she can’t seem to truly erase Kou from her heart.
She leaves, and talks to her friends about feeling like she can’t make a move on Kou after just breaking up with Kikuchi. She worries as though she looks desperate to be with Kou.
However, her friends (particularly Yuri) leave and tell her to figure things out on her own—upset that Futaba suddenly cares what others think of her, rather than doing what she wants like she usually would. Unsurprisingly, in the usual Futaba fashion, that doesn’t last long.
She answers a call from Kou, who says he wants to see her. She tells him to meet her at their special meeting place—the spot they were supposed to meet years ago before Kou transferred schools.
Next, chapter 46 starts with Kou being worried about how he’ll make it in time after work, getting ready, and grabbing a last-second gift for Futaba. Unfortunately, his boss asks him to stay late, too. As the clock gets closer to their meet-up time, Futaba arrives early, and begins the wait.
Kou frantically runs to meet her, grabbing a bouquet of flowers in a very dramatic, very un-Kou-like fashion (so stinkin’ cute). But he ends up leaving her waiting…
While standing in the cold, Futaba receives a call that Kou is in the hospital due to an accident! Typical shoujo move. She runs into the hospital, expecting much worse than what awaited her—Kou was mostly unscathed. After Futaba cries from relief, the two have a wholesome moment of long-awaited confessions. Hooray!
Afterwards, they agree to once again try and meet at the designated spot. Third time’s a charm, haha. Kou is able to present a new bouquet of flowers to Futaba properly this time, ending this shoujo Christmas event on a happy, warm note!
3. A Condition Called Love
A Condition Called Love technically has two Christmas chapters, one earlier in chapter 4, and one later in chapter 49. And they are very different!
In chapter 4, Hotaru and Hananoi are still in their “trial period” of dating. Hananoi makes it clear that he wants to be more than friends with Hotaru, and nothing less. His feelings for her are very strong, and his possessiveness shows often, too.
Hotaru, on the other hand, is still very unfamiliar with love and doesn’t know if she truly likes Hananoi enough to date him properly.
They promised to meet for Christmas Eve, but those plans were partially postponed due to an incident that occurred in their recent meet-up (which was caused by their lack of understanding for each other).
However, Hananoi becomes determined to make Christmas Eve a special, memorable day for Hotaru (because it is also her birthday—another common shoujo trope). He takes her out, makes her feel like a princess, and they both experience a lovely date on their last day of trial dating.
Obviously, they begin actually dating by the next Christmas, which as mentioned earlier begins on chapter 49. Things are very different at this point. The two are very comfortable with each other: Hananoi has calmed down his possessive tendencies a bit with Hotaru’s training (lol) and Hotaru is actually showing true interest and affection for Hananoi.
They decorate a tree, make dinner, and share some intimate kisses. Then they meet with Hotaru’s family for the family tradition of watching her sister’s ice skating performance, and the chapter ends by suggesting that the happy couple will only become closer.
The difference between these two Christmas chapters is nice to see, as the characters have not only grown as a couple within that time frame, but also grown individually as people. Those who have actually read A Condition Called Love will know—this shoujo manga is filled with character growth!
4. Skip Beat!
Of course this list has to include my favorite manga, Skip Beat! For this series, the Christmas arc happens in chapter 119, titled “Lucky Number 24,” and chapter 120, titled “Lucky Number 25.” On Christmas Eve, the LME crew is holding a “Grateful Party,” which Kyoko is busy helping out with.
Of course, as per usual with shoujo tropes, Kyoko’s birthday is on Christmas day, which will only add to the fun of the party—at Kyoko’s surprise.
While this chapter does involve an interaction between Kyoko and her love interest, the best part of this Christmas arc is seeing Kyoko receive all the love and attention she deserves, especially having gone so long without any form of affection or appreciation from her own family, and her unfortunate long-term lack of friends.
In this chapter, Kyoko receives a beautiful rose from Ren, a massive cake from the director of LME, and a lovely make-up kit hand-picked by her bestie, Moko (Kanae). How sweet!
I’d also recommend you reread chapter 118 in addition to the two mentioned above, as it adds a very special shoujo Christmas moment for another beloved character: Maria!
5. Hitting Rewind With You
I actually reviewed Hitting Rewind With You (Okuremashite Seishun) recently, but the Christmas chapter is really, really cute. It happens pretty early on with chapter 10, where the female lead Wakaba plans to do a confession!
But before she could, the male lead Fumito beats her to the romance with a nice dinner, a cute little surprise dessert, and a walk through some pretty Christmas lights. This Christmas chapter isn’t as built-up or dramatic as the others on this list, but it still feels really special.
This couple quickly wins your heart with how cute, natural, and sweet their relationship is. Even though their feelings are mutual and the relationship is pretty much a given, this is a manga about reliving youth! Therefore, a proper confession follows in the next chapter.
This manga may focus on two university students, but the romance is totally sweet and perfectly fits the shoujo Christmas theme.
Final Thoughts
There you have it—some of my personal favorite romantic shoujo Christmas scenes. I think these scenes hold the perfect amount of dramatic romance and sweetness.
Many of these scenes are also major milestones or moments of growth for the characters, making them really important and extra enjoyable.
So after seeing this short list, do you agree? Or do you have another mangas that you personally think have even better Christmas chapters? Feel free to share your thoughts below. Happy holidays!
Images Credit: Megumi Morino, A Condition Called Love. Kodansha, 2020. Shiina, Karuho. Kimi ni Todoke: From Me to You, Viz Media, 2009. Margaret Comics, Shueisha, 2006. Io Sakisaka. Ao Haru Ride, Viz Media, 2018.
