Interest

New Year's Greetings — Anime Style

For generations, people in Japan have celebrated New Year's Day by sending specially designed cards — nengajō — to each other. As part of the tradition, postal workers store all the nengajō that are mailed in the final weeks of the old year, and then deliver every single one on New Year's Day. Many nengajō mark the Chinese Zodiac by depicting the animal of the year. (In 2011, that animal is the rabbit.) Here are some New Year's (and Christmas) greetings from the folks that will be bringing you anime and manga in the new year.

Age

Animedia

Illustated by Tadashi Hiramatsu

Caramel Box

Doraemon Channel

Flash animation
© Fujiko Production, Shogakukan, TV Asahi, Shinei, ADK 2011

Studio Ghibli

Illustrated by Hayao Miyazaki

Megumi Hayashibara

Video

Idea Factory

© 2010 Idea Factory/Design Factory

Production I.G (Drawer Hobs)

© 2011 Kazuchika Kise/Production I.G/Japan's Agency for Cultural Affairs
© 1996-2010 Production I.G

Yukito Kishiro (GUNNM/Battle Angel Alita)

Flash animation

Kyoto Animation

Illustrated by Shoko Ikeda
© Kyoto Animation

Kazuya Minekura (Saiyūki)

Shoko Nakagawa

Ore no Imouto ga Konnani Kawaii Wake ga Nai (Oreimo)

© Tsukasa Fushimi/ASCII Media Works

Ai Ota (Inuyasha, Turn A Gundam, Viper's Creed)

Sanrio (Hello Kitty)

San-X

© 2011 San-X Co., Ltd.

Sunrise (SD Gundam Sangokuden Brave Battle Warriors)

CG Works: Ryūta Itō (Deerfield)
Special Effects: Akiko Yamakawa
© Sotsu, Sunrise

Yana Toboso (Kuroshitsuji)

Jun Tsukasa

Type-Moon

Momiji image © 2004 Natsuki Takaya/HAKUSENSHA • TV TOKYO • NAS • Fruba Project. Licensed by FUNimation® Productions, Ltd.

Update: Kazuya Minekura (Saiyūki), Shoko Nakagawa, Ai Ota (Inuyasha, Turn A Gundam, Viper's Creed), Sanrio (Hello Kitty), San-X, Sunrise (SD Gundam Sangokuden Brave Battle Warriors), Yana Toboso (Kuroshitsuji), Jun Tsukasa, Type-Moon added.