Sometimes it makes things funnier.
“Breaking the fourth wall” refers to characters being aware of the fact they’re in a work of fiction — and commenting on it.
While many series have a couple of scenes where characters joke about being inside an anime or a manga, some take it to the next level — and make the characters aware of things that should only be known to viewers.
If you enjoy this style of comedy, here are some recommendations!
Of course, the anime that is most famous for this is Gintama. Even in serious arcs, it sometimes brings up the fact that the characters are in the anime — and in comedic episodes, they go as far as to comment on things happening in the opening.
The comedy in Gintama is wild and takes some time to get used to, but the anime is definitely worth it.
The Disastrous Life of Saiki K.
The main character of The Disastrous Life of Saiki K. (Saiki Kusuo no Ψ-nan) is an immensely powerful high schooler with esper abilities. He just wants to live a normal life, though — but people around him don’t let him.
The anime is a gag comedy, and Saiki narrates it himself very often. When the point of the events in the anime not aligning with the timeline is brought up, he casually explains to the viewer how he restarted the world. As if this wasn’t enough, the series had a crossover episode with Gintama.
Hayate the Combat Butler
Fun fact: both the manga and the anime for Hayate the Combat Butler (Hayate no Gotoku!) slowly shifted genres from parody to romance. The first season of the anime, however, is pretty special: it’s not exactly faithful to the manga.
Despite being mostly anime-original, it is liked by many fans. That’s because the first anime takes the parody elements and makes them even more prominent, resulting in a unique experience — one that requires you to have seen quite a few anime prior to watching this one.
Ouran High School Host Club
While most of the time, the cast of Ouran High School Host Club (Ouran Koukou Host Club) simply hints at the fact that they know they’re in a romance anime, one of the main male characters, Tamaki, takes this behavior to an extreme.
He constantly refers to himself as the sole protagonist of the anime, with others being less important characters. To be fair, he’s not that far from the truth.
Laid-Back Camp
While Laid-Back Camp (Yuru Camp△) isn’t fully a comedy, it has enough comedic scenes to definitely count for the purpose of the list. It doesn’t actually do anything crazy — no direct communication to the viewer or characters being aware they’re in an anime.
However, the girls in Laid-Back Camp are clearly aware of the narrator in the series — and hear his words. These gags might be short, but they add to the comedy of the anime.
Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei
Kouji Kumeta’s iconic manga, Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei, was already breaking the fourth wall by itself. The series was a satire, commentating on social issues through the protagonist — a depressed teacher Nozomu Itoshiki — and his class of oddball students. As such, it talked about real-life problems very often.
The adaptation ups the trope to eleven. It’s understandable when you look at who produced it: Studio Shaft is notable for experimenting with direction and visuals.
Nyaruko: Crawling With Love!
Nyaruko: Crawling With Love! (Haiyore! Nyaruko-san) takes the world of H.P. Lovecraft and incorporates it into an insane high school romantic comedy.
While that premise is insane enough, the anime gained notoriety for its amount of references and characters commenting on them pretty often — which actually made fans write guides explaining them.
Hyperdimension Neptunia
The premise of Hyperdimension Neptunia (Choujigen Game Neptune The Animation) is breaking the fourth wall by itself. The anime is essentially about the goddesses that represent game console companies fighting over Shares.
In other words, this is an anime about console wars. Of course, this gets the characters to comment on their situation — and the industry — quite often.
Excel Saga
One of the earliest examples of this trope in anime that gained some amount of mainstream attention was Excel Saga (Heppoko Jikken Animation Excel♥Saga). This anime is… weird.
The characters work for an evil mastermind trying to take over the world, but pretty much every episode turns into bizarre self-aware 90s comedy. It requires a certain sense of humor to appreciate, but it’s certainly unique.
Bobobo-bo Bo-bobo
If there’s one anime consistent at breaking the fourth wall in every single episode, it’s Bobobo-bo Bo-bobo.
The anime is clearly a parody of the battle shounen genre, featuring an absolutely absurd plot of the government trying to make everyone bald and the protagonist fighting them with nose hair. And it only gets stranger from there.