Now that the nights are drawing in and the weather is getting colder, everyone is looking for a good Christmas movie to snuggle up with. Alas, there are very few anime Christmas movies... However, even in this small field, Itsudatte My Santa! stands out because of how just weird it is. This two-episode OVA was released in 2005 but it is based on a single-chapter manga that was released in 1997.
The series was written by the legendary Ken Akamatsu, the creator of Love Hina. However, this manga predates Love Hina, being serialized in Weekly Shōnen Magazine in December 1997, while Love Hina didn't start being serialized until October 1998.
The two episodes that make up the Itsudatte My Santa! OVA are very different. The first episode is an adaptation of the manga, while the second episode is a new story that introduces new characters and expands the world. Episode 1, entitled "My Santa," Itsudatte My Santa! introduces viewers to Santa. But not the jolly old man in red. Santa is instead a young man who was born on Christmas eve. His parents, in a supreme display of terrible sense, decided to name him Santa, instantly souring him on the season. But it isn't just his name that upsets him. Santa's parents are awful and prefer to spend Christmas with orphans rather than with their kid, meaning he spends every Christmas alone.
On Christmas Eve, a strange girl called Mai appears in front of Santa. Mai tells Santa that she is a Santa Claus in training and she wants to spend the night with Santa to bring him some Christmas joy. Mai also reveals that she has magical powers. However, due to people not believing in Santa anymore, she is limited to only being able to summon things that start with "San."
What follows is chaos and confusion as Mai tries to help Santa learn about the joys of the season. She also ends up falling in love with him in classic Ken Akamatsu style, despite knowing the boy for less than two hours. However, everything ends well when Santa believes in Mai, allowing her to undergo a magical girl transformation. This transformation involves her breasts and butt inflating like balloons and transforms her outfit, making it into a revealing Santa outfit that leaves little to the imagination. The pair then go and deliver some presents, and Mai gives Santa a chance to reconcile with his parents.
In the second episode, "Merry Christmas Once More," the story is expanded, introducing several new characters to the mix. Mai and Santa go to the beach, only for Mai and Sharry to arrive from Santa Country. Turns out that the board of directors of Santa Country has decided that Mai needs to return to school by the end of Christmas eve and that Sharry is going to take over Mai's duties in the area. Sharry then tries to get Mai and Santa alone so that Mai can break the bad news. But she is comically stopped at every turn. Eventually, Mai gets the chance to confess her feelings for Santa and tells him the bad news before, thanks to another dramatically lewd magical girl transformation sequence, the pair go on one last date. Mai returns to school but promises Santa she'll be back one day.
Funimation released the OVA on DVD in 2007. However, it was recalled within days of release. A printing error meant that all of the cases featured a TV-PG rating when, due to several moments of frontal nudity, "panty shots" and wall-to-wall innuendo the cases should have featured a TV-MA stamp. Funimation re-released the DVD in 2008, this time making sure it had the correct age rating on the cover.
Itsudatte My Santa! is a strange holiday oddity. It never stops its breakneck pace, constantly throwing jokes and fan service at the viewer. While other shows handle fan service-laden romance better, this OVA's off-kilter look at Christmas mythology and iconography is pretty amusing. Though, if you want some Ken Akamatsu-penned holiday cheer, the Love Hina Christmas special is a much superior and much more enjoyable viewing experience.