12 Heartwarming Christmas songs by Male Seiyuu

With Christmas just around the corner many of us start listening to Christmas songs to get into the festive mood and male seiyuu do have some pretty good ones to warm up this season.

Christmas is almost here and with it comes those images of cozy fireplaces, drinking cocoa while snuggling on a warm blanket, rain or snow – depending on where you live – falling and holiday-themed music to jiggle your way until Christmas.

This is a magical season for many and there are some of you that can’t avoid listening to Christmas-themed music to put you into the mood for this holiday season.

But it’s not only the big foreign artists that do have Christmas songs. If you look closely, you’ll find that the seiyuu industry has a couple of those gems ready to warm up your Christmas.

A note that these songs are in no specific order.

Thinking about all of you that love Christmas and male seiyuu, here’s a list of “12 Heartwarming Christmas songs by male seiyuu”.

Re:vale “TO MY DEAREST”

Re:vale are usually known for their energetic, EDM-centric music, at least this was their greeting card up until 2019, when they started to change their sound into a mature, classier jazz-pop sound that instead of lighting up the dancefloor, heats up the jazz lounge.

Aside from Re:vale’s high-tension pop songs or classy Jazz-pop tunes, Re:vale do have their own Christmas-themed song.

I am talking about TO MY DEAREST, a song that you can find in their 1^st full-length album, Re:al Axis released in 2018.

Personally, TO MY DEAREST isn’t a song that ranks high on my favorite Re:vale’s songs chart but it really is a good effort by the talented duo to showcase a gentler, warmer vibe that contrasts with their usual regal, unapproachable demeanor.

TO MY DEAREST is a slow-paced, holiday-inspired ballad that brings Christmas bells as percussion, dreamy piano, and synths melodies as the backdrop for the duo’s heartwarming harmonies.

QUELL “ありがとう”

Although not necessarily a Christmas song, QUELL’s “Arigato”, released in 2017, is a sweet, heartwarming song that has a beautiful and simple message of thanks to your loved ones.

Christmas is all about this, that’s why this song gets an instant feature on this list.

But if this is not a good enough argument to inspire you to check this song, I’ll throw some extra bait: the vocals are gentle, almost lullabyish yet carrying a lot of emotion on them.

This results in the listener – you – feeling like the recipient of those feelings, being snuggled by the talented quartet.

Tetsuya Kakihara “Hikari-Winter ver.”

Tetsuya Kakihara is usually known for his intense pop sound but in Circle of LIFE in 2016, he decided to give the Christmas treatment to one of his earliest songs, Hikari.

Hikari-Winter ver. Introduced quite a lot of changes, namely the church choir that enriches the background of this track, part of the performance being made in acapella fashion, and the fact that this is softer, stripped-down version of the original.

To top it all off, Tetsuya Kakihara vastly grew as a singer since the release of the original, therefore, in Hikari-Winter ver., his performance has R&B tones and a sweetness underneath that you couldn’t tell before.

When this song starts playing, it’s chills all over me. This is a beautiful rendition of the original track.

As far as cozy, warm Christmas songs go, this one is a must-listen.

Yuma Uchida “Merry Christmas”

Yuma Uchida has made most of his solo career – so far – as an R&B/pop singer. He does have plenty of high-tension dance tunes and the occasional edgy rock track or warm R&B tune.

However, to change a bit the dynamics, Yuma Uchida released in 2019, part of his single “Rainbow”, the funky blend of jazz and R&B in “Merry Christmas”.

Now, as far as Christmas songs go, I am not a purist.

A Christmas song that has an R&B sonority is as good as the traditional pop take on Christmas songs.

Uchida didn’t spare anyone with this enticing, romantic take on what is… remember? A Christmas song?

I’ll openly say that I am a big fan of Yuma Uchida’s rich, R&B-ish vocals.

He’s also got himself a smooth, gentle tone that, from the very moment I heard, I was enthralled. So, I am biased when I say that, in this song, Uchida’s vocals are dashing.

The sweet legato, the suggestive whispers, and the smooth mid-tones? Yeah, instant Christmas favorite for me.

Yuki Ono “Mission “CLAUS””

Yuki Ono has been doing quite the awesome work as an indie solo artist since his departure from Lantis in 2019.

In 2020, the talented voice actor and singer delivered a unique, Christmas-themed mini-album titled “WINTER VOICE FRIENDS”.

Aside from the fact that this was a sort of concept album, he also enlisted the help of his close friends Tomokazu Sugita, Hosoya Yoshimasa, Soma Saito, and more to write lyrics or compose music for the songs he would be performing in this release.

However, the song that features on this list is a self-penned track. “Mission “CLAUS”” embraced the spirit of Christmas with a beautiful, inspiring instrumental, a gentle performance by Yuki Ono, and the holiday visuals we all crave in a music video for a Christmas song.

SHINING STARS “Shining Star Xmas”

In 2013, SHINING STARS, an all-star group consisting of STARISH and QUARTET NIGHT, delivered a beautiful, heartwarming Christmas-themed song for their fans.

Shining Star Xmas is the kind of song that will melt even the coldest of hearts with the warm harmonies by the members and sweet instrumentalization.

This song has a certain nostalgic tone for me, something that I can only attribute to being exposed to a lot of 90s Christmas songs and this one having such an old-school instrumental that makes all those memories come to me once again.

Mamoru Miyano “Xmas to you”

When you mention the name “Mamoru Miyano” and the word “songs” in the same sentence, people will instantly say “Shine”, “Orpheus”, “NEW ORDER”, “Tempest”, “identity” and many more of his hit songs.

Miyano does have a lot of songs – a repertoire of almost 200 – and he continues to add more with each passing year. But with the wide variety of songs he releases, there are some that end up being forgotten.

“Xmas to you” is one of those tracks.

Included in his 2010 single, Hikaru, Hikari, “Xmas to you” is a sweet, unusual, and highly underrated song in Miyano’s repertoire, as well as a befitting entry in this list.

[rêve parfait] “Christmas Carol”

This is one of the less conventional entries in this list. [rêve parfait] is far from being known as a pop group – they are actually a rock band – and are even farther from being called gentle in their performances.

Christmas Carol has a different take on the Christmas / Holidays theme, exploring it from a nutcracker’s point of view.

As a result, you have a song with marching, riveting percussion, Christmas bells, glockenspiel melodies, and intense brass complemented by the band’s own brand of rock.

This is not the type of song that will give you warm, gentle vibes but still a refreshing take on what is considered a “holiday” type of song.

MEZZO “甘さひかえめ”

MEZZO, a sub-unit part of the IDOLiSH7 franchise, are best known for their ballads and emotional performances. They still have their occasional bright pop and rock tune in the mix but those are rare occasions.

In 2018, the duo released the astounding single, “Ame”, easily one of my favorite ballads ever released by a 2D unit and, like myself, many of you were mesmerized and chilled by the duo’s performance in that song.

But did you know that the single comes with 2 tracks?

I found myself squinting my eyes when I came across MEZZO’s 甘さひかえめ (Amasa hikaeme) because I honestly didn’t even recall having listened to that song – and I reviewed this release back when it was released.

So, I went back and pressed play.

“Certainly, this is going to be another ballad.”

This is actually a pretty underrated and gentle Holiday-themed song with an old-school R&B undertone.

And, as always, MEZZO (Atsushi Abe and KENN) delivers a warm performance to go with it. Perfect song to cozy up in front of the fireplace with that hot cocoa.

Shouta Aoi “Powder Snow”

Shouta Aoi is yet another name that you wouldn’t normally add to a list about Christmas or Holiday themed songs.

I know, I know.

He’s best known for the powerful pop sound with hints of EDM.

But as talented and versatile as Aoi is, he’s also had his own take on a holiday-themed song.

“Powder Snow”, a song from Aoi’s full-length album, 0, released in 2017, fits right in the “Holiday song with a different twist” category.

The song has a gentle side but never forgetting a bit of Aoi’s trademark sound, bringing electric guitar solos channeling the season and simple synths that drive the song forward.

As far as Christmas elements go, this song has the mandatory bells, acoustic guitars and delicate piano melodies to give you a pleasant experience throughout.

This is not the type of song to cuddle to but still, a beautiful and unique take on a Holiday-themed song.

Ai Mikaze “Winter Blossom”

Ai Mikaze counts with one of the most beautiful ballads in the Utapri franchise with “Winter Blossom”.

Not only this is a holiday-themed song but it is also a romantic ballad that has a unique gentleness to it.

Acoustic guitars, dreamy piano melodies, minimalistic drums, and Shouta Aoi’s delicate vocals, tenderly wrap you around and lullaby you.

It’s a really good song with a powerful yet simplistic message underneath. I am particularly fond of the piano melody in this song but I won’t stray away from the topic at hand.

Check Winter Blossom if you can. Sweet to its core and with the right measures of romance on top.

ELEKITER ROUND 0 “Summer Snow”

While the title is contradictory, its theme and tone fit this season to a T.

ELEKITER ROUND 0 released Summer Snow in 2012 and it was an instant favorite among their fans.

This is a romantic song with a tragic story going but let’s focus on the melancholy that Christmas always brings to the table.

Either the memories you have from your childhood, memories of loved ones that are long gone – but never forgotten – of places you visited, of things you’ve done.

Summer Snow carries that weight in itself.

It’s about longing for someone, longing while the cold of winter strikes and the snow slowly falls on you. It’s gentle, it’s sweet, it’s nostalgic.

Its base R&B sound with sax, minimalistic beat, acoustic guitars, and strings set the tone perfectly and wrap up the day – or night – for you.

This is actually one of the very first songs performed by seiyuu that I fell in love with.

I’ve not always associated this song with this season but, as years have gone by and I make sure to revisit this song yearly, I’ve started to read more into it and this actually is a holiday-themed song.

Sweet to its core with a lot of melancholy on top to deal an emotional blow. That was the way of ELEKITER ROUND 0.

BONUS 1: UMake “Merry.”

This month, UMake is going to release their Christmas/holiday-themed single, Merry.. The title track promises to channel romantic vibes in a Christmas-y ballad way.

I haven’t listened to the previews – as I intend to review the single when it’s released – so I can’t be more specific about the sound that this song has or the vibe it channels.

Still, look forward to this fresh new addition to any Seiyuu Christmas song list out there.

BONUS 2: Miyu Irino 涙の水面 (Namida no minamo)

Miyu Irino is one of those singers among seiyuu that has insane talent as a solo artist yet he doesn’t get the recognition he deserves.

His discography is filled with a wide variety of music genres, ideas, concepts, and fancy performances.

In 2016, in DARE TO DREAM, Irino included a song that is almost perfect for this list, hence the bonus mention.

涙の水面 (Namida no minamo) is a sweet, gentle ballad much in the style that Irino has used us to over the years. There’s an R&B touch to this song, making it a more approachable, more dynamic take on a Christmas / Holiday-themed song.

I enjoy the pizzicato strings that are, in a way, setting the tempo for this song. Then you have the warm acoustic guitar melodies, emotional piano, and sweet vocals by Miyu Irino.

A great song that sure does have a touch of the Holidays in it.

These are just some of the suggestions I have for this Christmas. I leave all of these in a playlist for you on Spotify.

Attention as some songs may not play for you – because those are my local files, however, if you have those songs with correct tags on your PC/smartphone, the unplayable songs will be playable to you.

There will be yearly updates to this playlist, so I welcome you to follow it!

There are many more songs that I have not added to this list, and quite possibly a lot of songs I am not even aware of or never heard of before.

Christmas is a time for family, friends, and loved ones. It is a time to rest and bask in the sweet cold – and the warmth that comes along from snuggling on a blanket, drinking warm milk, or just sitting close by a fireplace.

It is a time of togetherness. It is also a time in which we miss people and locations. This is a time in which memories come afloat.

Make sure to make the best of this season but remember, be responsible about it.

Any male seiyuu or 2D groups’ Christmas / Holiday-themed songs that I missed?

Hop in the comments and leave your suggestions so that those are added to the playlist.