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Arthur Monteclar

Arthur is an anime veteran and a professional writer who has worked in the industry for years. His first exposure to anime was when he watched Azumanga Das ioh as a child. He always finds anime to be interesting as it has captivating stories. If the anime is not completely released, he would do more research and read the manga to finish it. Aside from watching anime, he enjoys being the Dungeon Master in DND.

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Now and then we all deserve a good laugh to relieve the stress away. Have you received some bad news? Are you not feeling well? Are you going through a rough time? A healthy dose of distraction from the current situation can be good for people. Many find solace in things that make them laugh, and comedy anime is one of them.

If you are not familiar with anime, it is a collective term for Japanese animations with a distinct style. While the art style differs from each other, one common trait is evident and that is the feature of large eyes full of emotion. It has gotten a lot of traction over time, and anime has become a widely-known form of entertainment. A lot of anime series focus on humor and comedy as their driving force.

These comedy anime series can be an effective medium to get a few laughs out of their audience. However, there are too many comedy anime series out there and sometimes choosing one to watch can get extremely hard. Thus, here is a guide for you to follow talking about the best anime comedy series out there.

Why Are These the Best Comedy Anime Series?

Admittingly, the term “best” is very subjective; everyone has different criteria in mind when they are looking for the best comedy anime series. Still, the recommendations listed here are anime series that are ranked highly in various leaderboards and discussions in terms of popularity, fan base, and/or score. The sources for these come from various sites such as Reddit, MyAnimeList, and more. This guide compiles all of the recommendations from those sites and summarizes the best the internet has to suggest.

Furthermore, these recommendations are divided into subcategories so that those who are looking for a specific kind of anime series to make them laugh can satisfy their search with ease. The subcategories listed below either have a large community and a wide variety or have the potential to become a top genre one day.

• Romantic Comedy/Romcom
• Slice of Life Comedy
• Fantasy Comedy
• Ecchi Comedy
• Parody Comedy
• Action Comedy
• Absurdist Comedy

Romantic Comedy/Romcom Anime

Kaguya-Sama: Love is War

• Genres: Comedy, Psychological, Romance, School
• Other Titles: Kaguya-sama wa Kokurasetai: Tensai-tachi no Renai Zunousen; Kaguya Wants to be Confessed To: The Geniuses’ War of Love and Brains
• Studio: A-1 Pictures

“Kaguya-Sama: Love is War” is known for being an exceptionally balanced anime in terms of comedy and romance. Its first season aired from January 12, 2019, to March 30, 2019, which was followed by a sequel that aired from April 11, 2020, to June 27, 2020. A third season has been officially announced although there has been no news about the date of its release yet.

The story centers around two genius students, Miyuki Shirogane and Kaguya Shinomiya, from a prestigious school called Shuchiin Academy. They are the president and vice-president respectively of the school’s student council, and they both love the other person. However, they are too prideful to confess their love. According to them, love is a war where the first one to confess loses that war and is considered the lesser.

And so, the war rages on as the both of them deploy their strategies to make the other person fall in love with them. The antics and the situations these two end up along with their trusty secretary Chika Fujiwara and their gloomy treasurer Yuu Ishigami will surely make you laugh.

Other Notable Anime

• Monthly Girls’ Nozaki-kun: Female protagonist confesses to a boy she likes. However, the boy, who is a mangaka, is oblivious and confuses her confession as an application to be his assistant. The series relies on satire and heavy comedy.
• Love is Hard for Otaku: The female protagonist who is a complete closet nerd over Yaoi material accidentally reveals her hobby to his coworker who is also a complete nerd for manga and video games. Over time, they start dating. This is a rom-com that does not have a school setting.
• Nisekoi: The son of a Yakuza is forced to pretend that he is in a relationship with the daughter of a rival American gang. However, he already likes someone else. This is a harem-focused romcom.

Slice of Life + Comedy Anime

Asobi Asobase

• Genres: Comedy, School, Slice of Life
• Other Titles: Asobi Asobase: Workshop of Fun
• Studio: Lerche

Asobi Asobase is a hidden gem of a comedic genius that aired from July 8, 2018, to September 23, 2018. Although there is only one season available and that there is no season two announced yet, there is plenty of material to laugh at in those 12 episodes.

A foreign transfer student, Olivia, makes friends with a girl named Hanako Honda in the pretense that Olivia needs her to translate Japanese. However, it turns out to be a ruse to play with Honda since Olivia can actually understand Japanese! Kasumi Nomura, another classmate of theirs, becomes irritated by the pair’s antics but gets dragged into their games anyway.

A peculiar friendship is formed between the three of them, and so they formed a club, the “Pastime Club”, where they can play games with each other every day. However, the games they play lead them into bizarre and funny circumstances as the club faces strange challenges and meets new people. It is completely mindless fun of schoolgirls doing shenanigans.

Other Notable Anime

• Daily Lives of High School Boys: Just like Asobi Asobase, but with high school boys instead. They rely on their imagination to pass the time and often find themselves in hilarious situations.
• Nichijou: Three high school girls’ lives intertwine with three other quirky characters and their daily life becomes full of laughter and insanity. This series benefits from a large cast and insanely impressive animations.
• Grand Blue: Male protagonist moves to a coastal town above his uncle’s scuba diving shop. However, his ideal college experience gets crushed as he is dragged into the antics of the carefree members of the Diving Club.
• Sakamoto Desu ga: The male protagonist is perfect, handsome, intelligent, and sophisticated. Watch as his peers attempt to make him look bad but fail to do so every time.

Fantasy Comedy Anime

KonoSuba: God’s Blessing on This Wonderful World!

• Genres: Comedy, Adventure, Parody, Fantasy
• Other Titles: Kono Subarashii Sekai ni Shukufuku wo!
• Studio: Studio Deen

If you are looking for a comedic twist to the “isekai anime” formula where someone dies and gets teleported into a fantasy world, then KonoSuba is the perfect comedy anime for you. It is incredibly popular to those in the anime fandom and it shows; it has 2 seasons, 2 OVAs, and a feature-length movie. Its first season aired from January 14, 2016, to Mar 17, 2016, followed by its second season that aired on Jan 12, 2017, to Mar 16, 2017. The movie, meanwhile, aired on August 30, 2019.

Kazuma Satou, a high school student who is a shut-in NEET, suddenly dies in a laughable and pathetic death on his way home from buying a game. He wakes up to find a blue-haired goddess named Aqua who gives him two options: either ascend to the heavens or reincarnate in a fantasy world. Kazuma picks the latter and is tasked to defeat the Demon King that has been terrorizing the land. The goddess gives him the option to pick one item to bring with him to aid his quest.

In a sudden turn of events, he picks Aqua, who has been making fun of him during their conversation. Yet when they arrive in the fantasy world, Kazuma realizes that Aqua is completely useless! Plus, they realize that it is actually hard to stay alive in the world they live in; they work day and night on odd jobs and risking their lives on quests to put food on the table. Eventually, they form a party with two weirdos. Watch Kazuma’s journey to stay alive while carrying his useless teammates with him.

Other Notable Anime

• Miss Kobayashi’s Dragon Maid: Female protagonist finds herself housing a dragon that can transform into a young girl after a drunken event in the mountains. This series relies on the cute dragon girls and the stupid antics they get themselves into as they blend into society.

Ecchi Comedy Anime

Prison School

• Genres: Comedy, Ecchi, Romance, School
• Other Titles: Kangoku Gakuen
• Studio: J.C.Staff

If you want to crank up the lewdness of your anime but still have comedy as its focus, look no further than Prison School. However, it sits on the same boat as Asobi Asobase wherein there is yet to be an announcement for a second season, and the chances of that are getting slimmer as the days pass. Still, the first season is absolutely hilarious. The anime series aired from Jul 11, 2015, to Sep 26, 2015.

Hachimitsu Private Academy is known for being a prestigious all-girls boarding school, until one day the school decided to open its doors for boys to enroll as well. In its first semester after this decision, only five boys were able to enroll: Kiyoshi, Gakuto, Shingo, Andre, and Jo. Because they are outnumbered by the massive population of females, they are instantly outcast and fail to make a good first impression.

Seeing that there is no chance for them to get close to the females, the five of them decide to peep into the girl’s bath. However, they are quickly found out by the infamous Underground Student Council who hates males in general. For their punishment, their freedom is stripped away and they are sent to the school’s prison for an entire month.

During their stay in prison, their friendship is put to the test as they collectively struggle in accomplishing their needs. Their antics during prison lead to hilarious situations with each other and with the Underground Student Council. Again, this anime series is very lewd so it is best to stay away from watching this with your family.

Other Notable Anime

• Monster Musume no Iru Nichijou: Japan has integrated non-human species into society, and after a blunder of events, the male protagonist finds himself surrounded by various monster girls. This series is not safe for work.

Parody Comedy Anime

Gintama

• Genres: Comedy, Action, Historical, Parody, Samurai
• Other Titles: Kangoku Gakuen
• Studio: Sunrise

Gintama is the master of parody comedy. In fact, it is widely regarded as one of the best anime overall among the anime fandom. It has a lot of episodes; its first season alone has 201 episodes and it spanned from April 4, 2006, to March 25, 2010. There are multiple movies for it and more series that follow. Indeed, it is a successful hit among anime fans.

Before diving into this series, it is recommended that you should watch more anime or at least be knowledgeable about other anime series as Gintama has a lot of references to others such as One Piece, Dragonball, Berserk, etc. Gintama has references to not just anime but video games, cultural phenomena, and historical events as well.

The story is weird at the very start; aliens have invaded Earth and taken over feudal Japan. They have prohibited the use of swords and as a result, the samurai of Japan are regarded as useless. One man, Gintoki Sakata, still possesses the heart of a samurai and must accomplish odd jobs to get by. Tagging along with him is a boy with a strong heart named Shinpachi Shimura, a girl with a bottomless stomach named Kagura, and their oversized pet dog Sadaharu.

Action Comedy Anime

One Punch Man

• Genres: Action, Comedy, Parody, Super Power
• Other Titles: N/A
• Studio: Madhouse

There is nothing like a good combination of awe and laughter; there are moments where you leave your mouth open by the amazing fight scenes and there are moments where you are laughing out loud because of the jokes and gags. That is what One Punch Man delivers. It is one of the most popular anime series out there. Its first season aired from October 5, 2015, to December 21, 2015, while its second season aired from April 10, 2019, to July 3, 2019.

In a world full of dangerous threats, heroes arise to save the day. One man in particular, Saitama, has a hobby of being a hero. He trained rigorously for three years that the training made him go bald. Because of his rigorous training, he has become extremely strong that he can defeat any opponent with just one punch. However, beating up his opponents with just one punch has made him no longer able to enjoy the thrill of the fight.

Eventually, he meets a 19-year-old cyborg named Genos who became Saitama’s disciple. Genos convinces him to join the Hero’s Association. In a hilarious turn of events, Genos becomes part of the S class, the ranking for the strongest heroes, while Saitama becomes part of the C class, the lowest rank. Watch as Saitama defeats strange yet powerful enemies that could obliterate an entire city without them knowing.

Other Notable Anime

• Assassination Classroom: A mysterious creature becomes the teacher of a class of students after threatening to destroy Earth. The class is tasked to assassinate this creature, but it is extremely fast and powerful.
• Mob Psycho 100: This series has the same author as One Punch Man. The main protagonist is burdened with immense power and seeks the advice of a self-proclaimed psychic who is actually a con artist.

Absurdist Comedy Anime

Pop Team Epic

• Genres: Comedy, Parody
• Other Titles: Poputepipikku
• Studio: Kamikaze Douga

If you are not familiar with absurdist comedy or surreal humor, it is a genre of comedy that does not rely on reasoning or logic to make the audience laugh. It highlights how ridiculous life can be and that sometimes, you can find joy and laughter out of something without any logic to it. That is what Pop Team Epic is about. This series aired from January 7, 2018, to March 25, 2018. It is a relatively uncommon series yet it has gathered a ton of audience over time.

Story? There is no story. That is what absurdist humor is about. The anime series instead just follows two (questionable) high school girls: Pipimi, the tall and calm one, and Popuko, the one quick to anger. Pop Team Epic relies on visual gags, comedic timing, and cultural references seemingly out of the blue. When you try to question the motive or reasoning behind what the characters do, you will only receive silence.

The duo finds themselves in bizarre scenarios that either they create themselves or the situation creates for them. Yet, the scenarios jump from one to another in a snap sometimes. Pop Team Epic is a blur, but if you are a fan of absurdist humor (which is popular among the youth) then it is the anime for you.

Final Recommendation

Comedy is subjective, yet according to the internet, the one comedy anime that has turned the most heads with interest and curiosity is Kaguya-sama: Love is War. There are many discussions and guides on the internet that will tell you Kaguya-sama: Love is War is, in their personal opinion, one of the best out there. It is highly lauded as a good balance for comedy and romance. What makes this anime series good is that it also covers the other subgenres listed here as well.

T hey occasionally parody romcom tropes so it can fall under the category for “parody comedy” without having an intimidating aura to it. The story revolves around the everyday antics of these two protagonists trying to make the other fall for them, so it can also fall under the category for “slice of life comedy”. While they are not set in a fantasy setting nor they do not have thrilling action scenes, you will still get your heart pumped as you get thrilled by the next events that are about to happen every episode.

If you are more into the fantasy setting and less of the school setting, then the other recommendation would be Konosuba. Similar to Kaguya-sama: Love is War, it covers the other subgenres really well; they are classified as a “parody” anime because of its diversion from the typical isekai genre, they feature action scenes that result in hysterical situations, and it can get pretty ecchi at times. In a way, Konosuba fills the void that Kaguya-sama: Love is War has.

FAQ

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