They say that laughter is the best medicine. Well, it might not cure cancer but a good laugh can lift your mood and make you feel good for the whole day. There is no shortage of comedy anime to choose from, but humor is one of the hardest things to translate between cultures and languages.
Also, every person has a very individual sense of humor. So even within the broad tradition of comedy you’ll find that no two people will find the same things funny, or funny to the same degree. This makes it very hard to recommend to Western audiences the anime that’s likely to make them laugh.
Low hanging fruit would include slapstick comedy or those shows that leverage situational comedy. The ten anime on this list are ones that have made me laugh out loud personally. For you they might only elicit a giggle or perhaps just confusion.
That being said, I’ve tried to include a variety of shows that don’t all use the same approach to making their audiences laugh. I’d like to think among these ten titles there will be at least one that any person can use to light up their day.
The Devil is a Part-Timer
In a brilliant flip of the usual “isekai” yarn where someone from Earth is transported to a new world, The Devil is a Part-Timer brings the king of demons to our world. Here his magic is limited and he wants to get back to his own realm quickly, but the challenges of mundane life (like rent and food) get in the way of his ambitions. So what happens when a supernatural leader of a demonic nation applies his skills to the fast-food business? How high can he rise in the ranks? These and more questions are brought to the fore in a show that’s equal parts funny and ridiculous.
Like most good comedy shows, The Devil is a Part-Timer shines thanks to a cast of funny supporting characters. Lord Satan’s right-hand devil in particular is responsible for some of the best gags as he tries to serve his master under the limitations imposed by an Earthbound existence. His slow transformation into a housekeeper is particularly hilarious.
Stories such as these are also a great way to get a new perspective on the way our modern society is strange to outsiders. It’s lighthearted fun with some genuinely cool moments.
Great Teacher Onizuka
Great Teacher Onizuka, or GTO as it’s affectionately known, is not only one of the best comedy anime of all time, it’s one of the best anime full stop. The eponymous Mr. Onizuka is a former bike gang member with a black belt who decides that he needs to turn his life around. So he gets his teaching degree and applies to be a high school teacher, with the ulterior motive of perving on those almost-legal high school girls.
Unfortunately, no one will have him, but he gets a job as a teacher overseeing a problem class that no other teacher is willing to take. Onizuka isn’t the smartest guy around, but he has a heart of gold and an immovable moral compass. His approach to helping his troubled students and the trouble his unfiltered mouth gets him into is the main source of comedy in this show – just over 40 episodes of epic school-based anime like you’ve never seen it before.
I also adore GTO’s animation style. The show first aired in 1999 and is one of the last titles to have that authentic hand-drawn 90s anime look. The show can also be genuinely touching at times and still has one of my favorite romance arcs of all time in it. If you get the chance to give GTO a try, then take it with both hands.
One Punch Man
Ah, One Punch Man. This show has a pretty interesting history. It started out not as a manga, but as a free webcomic. In almost no time the webcomic became a massive hit and the rights were optioned for both a “proper” manga remake and an anime. Thus we got One Punch Man, and thank the gods for that!
OPM is mainly a satire that riffs off shows like Dragon Ball Z and other shounen anime where ridiculously powerful heroes spend all their time becoming even more powerful. In One Punch Man our hero Saitama starts off already at the very top of the power food chain. He’s so powerful that there is literally no enemy he can’t defeat in one punch. He’s bored – he has nothing to strive for and has to think of ways to draw battles out.
The world Saitama lives in is pretty crazy. It’s basically one giant continent filled with monsters, cities, and everything else you’d want in a playground for super-powered mayhem. There are many superheroes and villains in this world, but only now are they starting to take notice of Saitama. How did he get so powerful? According to the man himself he simply did an inhuman amount of training. So far the truth of these powers have not been revealed. Hilariously, after achieving his godlike state, all his hair fell out. This is clearly a jab at DBZ, where powered-up fighters get bigger and bigger hairdos.
One Punch Man is both a viral phenomenon and a landmark comedy anime. If you haven’t seen it you’re missing out on a pivotal title.
Konosuba: God’s Blessing on this World
Konosuba is yet another isekai show that starts off with our hero dying in a pretty embarrassing way. He gets sent to the afterlife where the goddess Aqua offers to respawn him in a fantasy world that’s sort of like an RPG. You can go on quests and make your way in the world. In order to give him a head start, she offers an item or power of his choice to take with him. But in a very Ah! My Goddess move, Mr. Kazama asks that Aqua herself come with him.
The main quest in this world is the defeat of the devil king, and until Kazama can defeat him Aqua is stuck. So they have to form a party and start questing to work their way up to such an impossible feat. The problem is that Kazama and everyone in his party are a bunch of misfits. Aqua herself, despite being incredibly powerful, is an airheaded bimbo. Their spellcaster is a girl who only cares about explosion magic, and their tank is a masochist who gets sexual pleasure from being beaten up.
To make matters worse, there’s little glory in this world of adventurers, so Kazama starts of doing menial work and sleeping in a barn. The good news is that from here the only direction is up. Well, you’d think so.
Konosuba has become a very popular show thanks to a unique vibe, really great characters, and some entertaining skits. Will Kazama ever actually defeat the devil king? Well, we don’t know yet, but here’s hoping for more seasons.
Is It Wrong to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon?
Based on the title of this show alone you might be a little skeptical about its worthiness as entertainment, but skipping an anime thanks to a dodgy title is a rookie mistake! In this fantasy world, gods and goddesses are real people who walk among humans. You can swear allegiance to a god and become part of their “familia”.
The hero of this story is one Bell Cranel, a young lad who adventures alone as he learns the sword and quests for treasure and adventure. He’s part of a familia too, under the goddess Hestia. In fact, he’s the ONLY member of her familia. Hestia and Bell live together, but Bell is in love with a familia member of the powerful god Loki. Her name is Ais Wallenstein, and after she saves Bell he’s head over heels for her! Because Bell only has eyes for Ais (ha!) he doesn’t notice the amorous attention of other women; not even the affections of his very own goddess.
In many ways this show is almost typical harem-anime fare. However, it’s got gorgeous visuals and really funny situational comedy, and is a great way to just chillax a little. It’s aimed at young adults and so the jokes are a little more mature than usual but, if you give it a chance, Is It Wrong to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon might just grow on you.
Excel Saga
Oh boy. I really thought hard over including Excel Saga on a list of comedy recommendations. Excel Saga is certainly a comedy and it’s arguably a masterpiece, but you have to be part of a pretty genre-savvy audience to get it. It’s based on a manga by weirdo mangaka Koshi Rikudo; a manga, I might add, that ran from 1995 to 2011. The anime aired from 1999 to 2000 and never got a second season, so it only covers the first five or so volumes of the anime. Excel Saga is many things. It’s surreal, satirical, and absurd.
The basic plot is that there’s an organization known as ACROSS that believes the world is corrupt. The only way to heal that corruption is world domination. The group is led by their leader Il Pallazzo; he’s the typical evil emperor archetype and sends our heroine Excel out on missions to help with world domination. She and her partner Hyatt try their best, but their efforts usually fail.
Excel Saga is entirely watchable if you aren’t that much into anime that you can pick up all the references, but for those of us who have been watching for a long time there are plenty of anime-related in-jokes to be had. The show can be more than a little disturbing, but there are few anime comedies as unique as Excel Saga.
Hozuki’s Coolheadedness
I’ve always loved shows that depict places like hell as these efficient bureaucracies where souls are tortured under careful management and the demons are basically only doing their job. Think of Western shows like You’re Pretty Face is Going to Hell or Ugly Americans for reference.
Hozuki’s Coolheadedness doesn’t have their tone, but it is set within the Japanese hell governed by King Enma. Japanese hell is a lot like Japan. Demons go about their business, ride trains, watch movies, have idols, and so on. Enma judges souls to figure out which division of hell they should be sentenced to. Mr. Hozuki is his second-in-command and actually makes sure that the day-to-day operations of hell run smoothly. Hozuki really is a cool customer, facing every problem with the confidence only thousands of years on the job can bring.
This anime is a dark comedy and not laugh-out-loud funny. Instead, it’s a more intellectual brand of humor relying on deadpan delivery and ironic situations. The show has plenty of great characters in the supporting cast and teaches the viewer a lot about Japanese mythology when it comes to the afterlife. In fact, they get a few visits from Satan and Beelzebub themselves from “European” hell, where those characters take pains to point out how their operations differ.
Hozuki’s Coolheadedness is a quirky show that won’t have the widest appeal, but if you want something funny in a different way and with a good deal of free cultural education included, you’d be a fool to pass this show by.
Dragon Half
I have to put Dragon Half on this list, even though it’s a sad addition. You see, although they planned to make and air four episodes of the show, only two were ever made. So if you do watch this anime you’ll only see half the story arc. To get the full narrative you’ll have to go with the manga, which has seven volumes and ran from 1988 to 1994. Amazon has some nice omnibus volumes for a good price.
So is the anime still worth watching? You better believe it. Dragon Half is a cult-classic that puts more humor into two episodes than many anime manage in a whole season. The story tells the tale of Mink, who is a “dragon half”, which means that her dad got down and dirty with a dragon (in human form). As such, Mink has superhuman powers, including incredible physical strength and the ability to breathe fire. Like many fifteen-year old girls she’s smitten with a popular musician, in this case a man inexplicably named “Dick Saucer”. The problem is that Dick is also a dragonslayer on the side, so Mink decides to quest for a potion that will turn her into a full human so that Mr. Saucer will fall in love with her. Hey, it’s not a great plan, I’ll admit.
While the manga is great, and essential if you want the whole story, there is something special about the anime that’s not possible to convey with just the manga. Comedy is after all about timing, and watching the anime gives you a great sense of what the comedic timing of the manga should be. Either way, both are great and maybe one day we’ll get a modern remake of the entire Dragon Half. Until then this will have to do.
Golden Boy
The first thing that you need to know about Golden Boy is that this is not a show for younger viewers. The show is raunchy as heck and was released as an OVA (original video animation) in 1995.
Golden Boy is a pretty formulaic show, but even today that formula feels fresh, and no one else has really played against the trope in quite the same way. Our hero is Kintaro. He’s what’s known in Japan as a “freeter”, which is not the same as a “NEET”. Freeters do not in fact work and earn an income, but they basically drift from one odd job to the next.
Kintaro wants to learn as much about the world as he can. He scribbles down all the lessons he learns into his little notebook. Every episode has Kintaro obsessing over a new female interest, who he then genuinely tries to help out as best he can. Despite his apparent incompetence, Kintaro is actually very smart. He completed all the credits for a law degree, but then chose to drop out anyway. A lot of the humor in Golden Boy comes from Kintaro’s unorthodox problem solving. If you have the stomach for some pretty pervy visuals and themes, then Golden Boy will have you rolling in the aisles.
Monster Musume
Monster Musume (literally Monster “Daughters”) turns the harem anime subgenre on its head. The lucky guy in this show isn’t shacking up with a bevy of human babes. No, in this world mythical creatures like lamias and harpies are coming out of hiding and integrating with human society.
The government is running a volunteer hosting program where citizens can take in one of these creatures and help them learn to live as humans do. Kimihiti is not one of these volunteers, but one day a lamia named Miia is dropped at his door by mistake and one thing leads to another. Before you know it this harem of strange and creepy girls begins to grow; the show chronicles what it’s like to live with these weird and wonderful women every day. It’s a lighthearted show with lovable characters and does something different with the rather tired harem anime trope. Look, it’s not Shakespeare, but it’s a cute show that’s good for plenty of laughter.