While they won't let it get in the way of the plot too much, they will give a nod to it in some anime episode plots.
The Surprise Santa Encounter goes like this. The characters are running around doing whatever...and then suddenly, Santa Claus! Right there!
...no, actually, it was someone else (often one of the main characters) wearing a Santa disguise for no particular reason. We now return to the plot.
Examples:
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Anime & Manga
- Doraemon: Nobita and the Tin Labyrinth have the gang getting stranded in Planet Chamocha, a world where robots have taken over humans, and unexpectedly encountering robot Santa (apparently robots from another planet celebrates Christmas?). Robo-Santa turns out to be one of the few benign, non-hostile robots in the story, who's Desperately Looking for a Purpose in Life because he could no longer find human children after the robot uprising as robots never have any interest in having children of their own; as soon as he found Nobita and gang Robo-Santa is more than willing to give them his entire sack of toys.
- In Sailor Moon S: The Movie, Tuxedo Mask arrives disguised as Santa to rescue Sailor Moon during her battle with the Snow Dancers.
- One of the Gennai clones in Digimon Adventure 02 shows up on a sunny beach in Australia. He was dressed as Santa.
- The arc did take place around Christmas, though. Keep in mind that it's summer in Australia when it's winter in the northern hemisphere.
- The characters of Pokémon: The Series actually did meet Santa in one episode and helped save Christmas from Team Rocket.
- Because this special was made during Generation I, Stantler (a reindeer Pokemon) hadn't been introduced yet, so Santa's sleigh was pulled by a lone Ponyta (a horse Pokemon). Later specials saw him using Stantler instead.
- Ai Yori Aoshi: Kaoru spent Christmas with a real Santa (who, aside from being one of — apparently — several Santas, inexplicably looks like Aoi) in the prequel first episode of its second season, Ai Yori Aoshi: Enishi.
- And then there's the overload of Itsudatte My Santa!, where a character named Santa, born on the 24th and hating Christmas, meets Santa Mai, a Santa-in-training. Of course, in this version, the magic of Christmas apparently includes a Magical Girl transformation to a blonde with a rack and a caboose not found on any train set...
- In School Rumble, Harima, dressed as a Santa for a part-time job, appears out of nowhere to help some of the cast when they get stuck in the floor (and goes unrecognized).
- An imaginary Santa appears from time to time to Hayate the Combat Butler, representing his morals and work ethic. When Hayate decides to stop being such a nice guy, though. Of course, Santa's an absolute jackass to Hayate, and it says something about your lot in life when even your conscience mocks you...
- The Strawberry Marshmallow girls dress up as Santa and his reindeer (with Miu as Santa, naturally), to deliver a copy of Harry Potter to Matsuri...who still believes in Santa.
- In the OAV of Kashimashi: Girl Meets Girl, Yasuna dresses up as Santa, complete with flying reindeer magic supplied by Jan-puu, to give Hazumu and Tomari a Christmas-themed "wedding."
- In Kaitou Saint Tail, the Santa is Saint Tail in disguise.
- A brief cartoon at the end of the first volume of Death Note has a costumed Light ask Ryuk what he wants for Christmas. Apparently, a 39,800 yen television for one of his plans is worth the price, but an Advance SP for Ryuk is too expensive.
Light: Since when do shinigami celebrate the birth of Christ?
Ryuk: Winter in the human world sure is cold...
Light: You bet it is...- This naturally led to fan edits where Light kills Santa with the Death Note.
- Or parodies where he takes over the role of Santa, with Ryuk saying "I wanna be a reindeer."
- During one episode of Azumanga Daioh, the girls discuss whether or not Chiyo (a ten-year-old) still believes in Santa. Her answer is that she already knows "Santa" is her dad. Cut to Sakaki's imagination, as Chiyo-Dad (a giant, flat orange cat) pops up in a Santa hat: "Merry Chrismasu!"
- Finland dresses up as Santa in Hetalia: Axis Powers for the Christmas Episode.
- In the opening sequence of Baccano! Miria Harvent is robbing a candy store disguised as Santa.
- Gintama has five characters become all dress up as Santa and visit the same house at the same time. Hilarity Ensues.
- You're Under Arrest! has an episode where a burglar goes around dressed as Santa.
- In the final episode of the Magician's Academy anime, the absent principal of the school is revealed to be Santa Claus.
- The Big O had a Christmas episode of sorts, in which a mad scientist dressed as Santa Claus genetically engineers a giant Christmas tree with attack tentacles... because of reasons.
- Taken literally in Sword Art Online, where in Kirito goes to fight a field boss called Nicholas the Renegade, which looks like an extremely tall, axe-wielding Santa Claus, he even spawns by jumping off a reindeer sleigh.
Film — Animation
- Teen Titans Go! vs. Teen Titans: While Santa Claus is a recurring character in Teen Titans Go! and appears in this movie as well during a Fighting Across Time and Space chase scene (with the 2003 incarnation of the Titans involved for good measure), at one point their chase leads them to the reality from Justice League vs. Teen Titans and briefly meeting the 2016 Titans, a verse which presumably doesn't have it's own Santa.
2016!Robin: Is that... Santa Claus?
Film — Live-Action
- In Hot Fuzz, a mall Santa has about a second of screen time, stabbing Nicholas through the hand.
Live-Action TV
- In GoGo Sentai Boukenger, Akashi/Bouken Red randomly runs into Santa Claus...who happens to be a ditzy teenage girl in a miniskirt who provides the monster of the week, the Golem.
- Subverted in the recent series, Kaizoku Sentai Gokaiger; the Gokaigers meet a seemingly ordinary street Santa while doing their shopping, right before the episode's plot kicks off. While this Santa isn't actually the real deal, he does provide a special present to the Gokaigers at the end of the episode: the Battle Fever J Ultimate Power (since "Santa" is actually Battle Kenya).
- In the Christmas Episode of Kamen Rider Wizard, Santa inexplicably appears in the Victim of the Week's Mental World and gives Wizard a gift. Wizard then takes it back to the real world and finds it's a Ring of Power (much like the ones he uses on a regular basis) which basically creates a Christmas Miracle before vanishing. He wonders if he perhaps ran into the real Santa, as all of this is incredibly fantastic even by his standards.
Manhua
- Old Master Q has a spin-off, Old Master Q's Fantasy Zone Battle where Master Q, Big Potato and Chin travels to various story-book worlds to save their father and prevent the "Lord of Evil Realm" from destroying the fairytale universes. It ends with the gang discovering the "Lord of Evil Realm" to be none other than Santa Claus himself, possessed by an ancient spirit orb and becoming the series' main villain. The final episode, where they managed to save Santa Claus and restore the fairytale worlds even ends with the gang wishing audiences "Merry Christmas", despite zero indication that the story supposedly takes place anywhere near Christmas.
Video Games
- The initial antagonist of Advance Wars dressed up like Santa in the Japanese version of the game, but they never made a joke about it. In the English version, however, he dresses like a general should but everyone calls him Santa Claus.
- In ANNO: Mutationem, while at the Flores residence, Sigrid gets a surprise visit from "Santa" popping in from the roof to give her a teddy. Immediately, Holtz Flores pulls out a shotgun and takes the guy for a thief before chasing him out. In the epilogue, "Santa" makes another visit, much to the confusion of Ann and her siblings, and this time, Holtz makes sure he doesn't get out of it so easily.
- Not quite an encounter, but in the game .hack//Quarantine there is a field on the Omega Server where you can see Santa flying through the air in his sleigh.
- Occasionally, you can see Santa flying in the background in Mortal Kombat 9. If you get a double flawless victory then, you get a secret battle. No, not with Santa Claus, with Classic Reptile.
- Rabbids Go Home: One of the recurring humans is a guy in a Santa suit, he drops hamburgers when scared. He also eventually drops his clothes but unlike most NPCs, he requires several hits for that. "Santa Joe" can be found somewhere on most standard ride levels.
- Santa appears twice in Serious Sam: The Second Encounter as a secret encounter in the snowy mountain village level. Shooting him causes him to drop power-ups. He also appears a third time in the same level, stuck in a chimney. Shooting him with a rocket launcher frees him and triggers another secret.
- In Secret of Mana, the Frost Gigas, a major boss in the game, is revealed after you defeat him to be Santa Claus, who turned into a monster because little children stopped believing in him. Seriously...well, that and he was being affected by tainted magic.
- In Shenmue, once it gets around Christmas somebody in a Santa outfit starts wandering the streets. They're usually drunk off their ass at night.
- Santa appears as a pedestrian on Twisted Metal 2's Antarctica stage.
Visual Novels
- In case 4 of Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney, Phoenix and Maya run into a man in a Santa costume at Gourd Lake Park, who turns out to be Wright's friend Larry Butz (introduced in case 1).
- In the Hideo Kojima video game Snatcher, the main character runs into a police informant disguised as Santa.
- At one point in Sakura Santa, (a game by the creators of Sakura Dungeon), you run into a busty girl dressed in a revealing Santa outfit. Turns out, that's actually the real Santa Claus.
Western Animation
- Western Ur-Example: In Tex Avery MGM Cartoons short Who Killed Who?, the detective sees a door marked "Do Not Open Until Xmas". Scoffing, he opens it and runs smack into a very irritated Santa.
Santa: Listen, doc, can't you read? [bops detective on head]
- OK K.O.! Let's Be Heroes: There's a "Mr. Claus" who strongly resembles Santa and serves as the principal at K.O. and Dendy's school. Principal Claus first appears in "The So-Bad-ical" and also shows up in the Thanksgiving Episode "Super Black Friday".
- In Phineas and Ferb, one of the secret entrances to Perry's lair in the Flynn-Fletcher household was using a hidden elevator in the chimney; when Perry enters this way, Santa Claus steps inside and rides with him. Later in the episode, he ends up helping Perry thwart Doofenshmirtz's plan with a quick flyby with his sleigh.
Dr. Doofenshmirtz: That...that doesn't make sense! It's the middle of July!Santa: I'm on a summer run!
- Space Ghost Coast to Coast: In "Girl Hair", Space Ghost is trying to cover up killing Hanson after they witnessed him running over the Tooth Fairy, when Santa suddenly appears. But it's not the Santa you know. It's actually the Bizarro Santa from the Electroid Dimension.
- In the Halloween special of The Venture Bros., The Master arrives in the guise of Santa (complaining about a lack of suitable Halloween mascots) to scold his pupils for irresponsibly raising the dead.
