There are anime series that we watch just because they are funny. And they were designed that way! Sure, the humor may be a little bit crude and over-the-top, but that's the point: to elicit this primal reaction, that barely contained huff from you, the viewer, to help you move these facial muscles in a grin and maybe, just maybe, make you relax a little bit. These types of shows are called gag anime, and Japan produced plenty of these. Most of them follow an episodic structure without much overarching plot, but all of them are filled with fun and things that would definitely make people smile, either outwardly or just deep in their souls. We decided to compile a list of ten shows of this genre.
Osomatsu-san
Depicting a daily life of disastrous sextuplets, Osomatsu-san is filled with adult humor and endless parodies, with characters trying to best each other in wreaking havoc in a very immature way. Sometimes it even borders on being disgusting, but the delivery and the situations are so stupidly reckless that you can't help but laugh. The quality depends on the season, the first one being considered a classic, but the second still holds a lot of funny moments.
There are two main types of jokes in Gintama. The first one is simple crude humor, the one that makes you cover your face with your palm (lovingly). The second one is the meta type of jokes that forces you to have knowledge of other media or some historical events, because the fourth wall has never been actually erected in Gintama, so the characters are unaware of its existence and play with other franchises and cultures as they please. These jokes are so masterfully mixed together and interspersed with serious moments and nicely staged action that some people still view Gintama as a gag show despite it being much more than that. But hey, it's still funny — we even did a list with some of the out-of-context episodes that are utterly hilarious.
Lucky Star was a product of its time. It had jokes that were so deeply referencing contemporary pop culture that the translators had to leave notes spanning a few pages to explain a gag. But even now it's still funny, and the jokes that were relevant back then still hold some merit in our times. Though the jokes are not the only thing that makes Lucky Star funny — it's the combination of art style, voice direction, and general vibe.
When you're a shy boy who wants to sing sappy love songs, but you end up being a king of death metal, you're bound to end up in a lot of hilarious situations. That's the premise of Detroit Metal City. The humor is offensive, even cringe-worthy at times, but beyond all that it portrays a struggle between an image that brings you success and the real you. It's a show about trying to find the balance between your inner peace and society's expectations of you, and this introspective journey is filled with hilarity. Sure, some jokes may feel repetitive, but they serve their purpose: you'll snort at them, we're sure.
Pop Team Epic is a show based on skits and parodies, one that often features a lot of guest voice actors donning the roles of Popuko and Pipimi. The fourth wall here is constantly under attack, the audience is surprised more often than not at how the events unravel, the humor is unexpected, and the topics that are covered are often referencing the state of the animation industry and pop culture, and not in a good way. The animation itself is one of the huge sources of laughter.
You think it's just another show with cute girls doing cute things, but you were tricked into a false sense of security with the designs and the intro. Add a bit of horror, or, rather, humor bordering on horror. Even the simplest game played by the members of the Pastimers Club at school can end up shocking, filled with meta jokes and pure gags, delivered in an amazing way thanks to tasteful animation and very energetic voice actresses. It can make you laugh in less than five minutes. We checked.
Monthly Girls' Nozaki-kun
When you start watching Monthly Girls' Nozaki-kun, you may think that its main focus will be romance, but that's wrong. Romance is just a source of humor here, just like everything else. This show parodies other shoujo tropes and through that creates a cast that is relatable and believable. Even the frustrating romantic developments (or, rather, lack thereof) make you smile, but the everyday life of these high schoolers is filled with funny moments even without the romantic subtext.
It's hard to explain what Nichijou is and what it isn't. The town where the events of the series take place seems ordinary, but in reality, it's always on the verge of another disaster thanks to its inhabitants. Even the simplest daily situations like petting a dog are morphed into something uniquely bizarre and surreal. The series' skit nature allows it to explore multiple things in one episode, and the amount of mind-boggling content may leave you questioning your own sanity — but in a good way.
Some deeper things are distilled into pure fun.
There are anime series that we watch just because they are funny. And they were designed that way! Sure, the humor may be a little bit crude and over-the-top, but that's the point: to elicit this primal reaction, that barely contained huff from you, the viewer, to help you move these facial muscles in a grin and maybe, just maybe, make you relax a little bit. These types of shows are called gag anime, and Japan produced plenty of these. Most of them follow an episodic structure without much overarching plot, but all of them are filled with fun and things that would definitely make people smile, either outwardly or just deep in their souls. We decided to compile a list of ten shows of this genre.
Osomatsu-san
Depicting a daily life of disastrous sextuplets, Osomatsu-san is filled with adult humor and endless parodies, with characters trying to best each other in wreaking havoc in a very immature way. Sometimes it even borders on being disgusting, but the delivery and the situations are so stupidly reckless that you can't help but laugh. The quality depends on the season, the first one being considered a classic, but the second still holds a lot of funny moments.
There are two main types of jokes in Gintama. The first one is simple crude humor, the one that makes you cover your face with your palm (lovingly). The second one is the meta type of jokes that forces you to have knowledge of other media or some historical events, because the fourth wall has never been actually erected in Gintama, so the characters are unaware of its existence and play with other franchises and cultures as they please. These jokes are so masterfully mixed together and interspersed with serious moments and nicely staged action that some people still view Gintama as a gag show despite it being much more than that. But hey, it's still funny — we even did a list with some of the out-of-context episodes that are utterly hilarious.
Lucky Star was a product of its time. It had jokes that were so deeply referencing contemporary pop culture that the translators had to leave notes spanning a few pages to explain a gag. But even now it's still funny, and the jokes that were relevant back then still hold some merit in our times. Though the jokes are not the only thing that makes Lucky Star funny — it's the combination of art style, voice direction, and general vibe.
When you're a shy boy who wants to sing sappy love songs, but you end up being a king of death metal, you're bound to end up in a lot of hilarious situations. That's the premise of Detroit Metal City. The humor is offensive, even cringe-worthy at times, but beyond all that it portrays a struggle between an image that brings you success and the real you. It's a show about trying to find the balance between your inner peace and society's expectations of you, and this introspective journey is filled with hilarity. Sure, some jokes may feel repetitive, but they serve their purpose: you'll snort at them, we're sure.
Pop Team Epic is a show based on skits and parodies, one that often features a lot of guest voice actors donning the roles of Popuko and Pipimi. The fourth wall here is constantly under attack, the audience is surprised more often than not at how the events unravel, the humor is unexpected, and the topics that are covered are often referencing the state of the animation industry and pop culture, and not in a good way. The animation itself is one of the huge sources of laughter.
You think it's just another show with cute girls doing cute things, but you were tricked into a false sense of security with the designs and the intro. Add a bit of horror, or, rather, humor bordering on horror. Even the simplest game played by the members of the Pastimers Club at school can end up shocking, filled with meta jokes and pure gags, delivered in an amazing way thanks to tasteful animation and very energetic voice actresses. It can make you laugh in less than five minutes. We checked.
Monthly Girls' Nozaki-kun
When you start watching Monthly Girls' Nozaki-kun, you may think that its main focus will be romance, but that's wrong. Romance is just a source of humor here, just like everything else. This show parodies other shoujo tropes and through that creates a cast that is relatable and believable. Even the frustrating romantic developments (or, rather, lack thereof) make you smile, but the everyday life of these high schoolers is filled with funny moments even without the romantic subtext.
It's hard to explain what Nichijou is and what it isn't. The town where the events of the series take place seems ordinary, but in reality, it's always on the verge of another disaster thanks to its inhabitants. Even the simplest daily situations like petting a dog are morphed into something uniquely bizarre and surreal. The series' skit nature allows it to explore multiple things in one episode, and the amount of mind-boggling content may leave you questioning your own sanity — but in a good way.
