Best Comedy Anime

Humor is an underrated component of storytelling in

anime

, often overshadowed by action-packed fight scenes and colorful romances. Still, almost every anime has at least a few

comic

moments, even when the show itself revolves around a serious subject.

Comedy anime are wide-ranging in terms of style and story. Some are satires of overused anime clichés, while others blend wittiness with action-

adventure

. No two comedic anime are exactly alike and each show brings something unique to the table. It only takes a few episodes to fall in love with the

best comedy anime

.

Updated October 20th, 2023: There are a lot of

fantastic comedy anime

floating around the web. Viewers have so much variety to choose from, with hilarious anime adventures that span across multiple genres. There are so many great Comedy anime out there that it can actually be difficult at times to decide what to watch. To better help viewers pick what anime they want to see next, the following list has been updated to include a companion

video

that outlines some of the

best comedy anime

ever.

Exciting Comedy Anime Of Fall 2023

The Fall 2023 anime season has the potential for greatness thanks to shows like

Goblin Slayer 2

,

Dr. Stone New World

,

Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End

,

The Ancient Magus’ Bride

, and

Our Dating Story

. Summer 2023’s

Jujutsu Kaisen

,

Rurouni Kenshin

,

Helck

, and

Dark Gathering

will also continue to air episodes in the upcoming quarter, and they are likely to be among Fall’s better releases.

Like always, the lineup has a healthy mix of genres, and comedy is no exception. In fact, Fall has a surprisingly robust selection of comedies.

The Eminence in Shadow Season 2

,

I’m in Love with the Villainess

, and

Girlfriend, Girlfriend Season 2

will likely produce their share of hilarious moments, although it remains to be seen if they manage to top the two most exciting comedy anime of Fall 2023.

Spy x Family Season 2

The Forgers are making their comeback, and if season 2 is anywhere near as amusing as 2022’s cours, it will be among the current year’s

funniest comedy anime

. Set in a world defined by a conflict between two countries, Loid Forger is a super spy who must infiltrate an academy to get close to a target. In order to accomplish this goal, he finds himself a family in the form of Yor, a woman who is secretly an assassin, and Anya, a girl who can read minds. Loid’s plan hinges on Anya as she must join Eden Academy’s school body and befriend Damian Desmond, a boy who cannot decide if he hates or has a crush on his classmate.

Although not devoid of action,

Spy x Family

has prioritized humor so far. The three main characters are all funny in their own right, even if Anya tends to steal the spotlight with her facial expressions and bouts of unexpected innocence.

The 100 Girlfriends Who Really, Really, Really, Really, Really Love You

Rikko Nakamura’s unapologetically bizarre harem parody manga is finally receiving an adaptation. While the source material is far from done,

The 100 Girlfriends Who Really, Really, Really, Really, Really Love You

does genuinely seek to deliver on its title. Rentarou has faced constant rejection, but that changes when a god decides to bless him with too many girlfriends, and he must keep them all happy.

This sort of story hinges entirely on the likability of its protagonist, and Rentarou is absolutely the perfect lead for

100 Girlfriends

. Except for

The Quintessential Quintuplets 2

, Bibury Animation has an uneven resume, but the studio will hopefully be able to capture the manga’s charm and humor.

Now, on to the greatest non-airing comedy anime.

33


Kill La Kill

Kill la Kill

is notable for its genre-blending action-comedy, over-the-top silliness, and ridiculous fight scenes. The show revolves around Ryuko Matoi, a rebellious schoolgirl on a quest for vengeance in a world where clothes give superpowers to the wearer.

Somewhat of a

social

commentary on school life and social status, the show is a wild ride from start to finish and makes stellar use of the character’s quick wit for some of the best comedy of any action anime series ever.

32


KamiKatsu: Working For God In A Godless World

Like every season of the last few years, Spring 2023 had its share of isekai tales. While perhaps not the theme’s “best” offering,

KamiKatsu

is certainly among the most unhinged and hilarious isekai of all time. The son of a cult leader, Yukito is sacrificed by his father and, in his dying moment, wishes to awaken in a world that does not believe in gods. Surprisingly, Yukito gets his wish, and he finds himself in a society with no religion, deities, or fear of death. Long story short, the protagonist ends up summoning a god (Mitama), and they set out to revitalize the latter’s power by acquiring followers.

KamiKatsu

‘s premise might not scream “comedy,” but it is all in the execution. The

writing

has an irreverent and dark sense of humor that pays no mind to common decency. Naturally, this style of comedy is an acquired taste, but

KamiKatsu

goes for broke and deserves praise for embracing its ridiculousness. Studio Palette also incorporates many visual gags that presumably reflect the anime’s limited budget.

31


Hozuki’s Coolheadedness

Hell does not run itself. That’s

Hozuki’s Coolheadedness

‘ entire premise, as the anime turns the afterlife into a workplace comedy. Although second in the totem pole, the eponymous demon effectively keeps hell ticking, a job that is not only very important but also rather difficult. Calm, collected, and armed with a massive club, Hozuki takes himself very seriously, and he expects the same from his subordinates. If they do not meet his expectations, the demon will not hesitate to set them straight, and their education will be painful.

Although not packed with laugh-out-loud moments,

Hozuki’s Coolheadedness

combines a likable roster of characters with a fresh setting to craft an easy-to-watch series. Along with producing its share of laughs, the anime provides an accessible and charming look into Japanese mythology.

30


Shimoneta: A Boring World Where The Concept Of Dirty Jokes Doesn’t Exist

After the dystopian government outlaws lewd content and language, society seems to move away from immoral behaviors. That is, until a mysterious foul-mouthed terrorist begins disturbing pornographic material around the city.

In this wacky take on the high school sex comedy genre,

Shimoneta

balances the social commentary with laughs for a hilariously good time in what could be one of the most memorable comedy anime in recent memory. This show is perfect for anime fans who love a good dirty joke.

29


One-Punch Man

The perfect blend of awesome superhero action and gut-busting comedy series,

One-Punch Man

is one of the coolest anime shows ever. Saitama is the titular hero of the show, an unlikely hero with the ability to destroy any opponent with a single punch.

The comedic moments round out the show’s intense fighting sequences nicely, especially when supervillains and superheroes gawk at the improbable power of the unsuspecting Saitama. A clever parody of superhero culture and over-the-top action anime,

One-Punch Man

continues to be ranked among the best anime series of all time.

28


From Today, It’s My Turn!!

An obscure OVA series from the ’90s,

From Today, It’s My Turn!!

is a pain to find in this day and age, but the anime is good enough to warrant the effort. Takashi and Shinji are two high schoolers who want to get a fresh start, so they decide to revamp their looks and embrace the delinquent lifestyle. Unsurprisingly, they initially butt heads over their similar goals, especially since Shinji’s straight-laced and stoic demeanor clashes with Takashi’s

Looney Tunes

-style energy. However, after they realize they cannot seem to escape each other, they reluctantly become allies.

From Today, It’s My Turn!!

is an absolute blast. Even if laughs are not always its primary drive, each (long) episode is stuffed with humor, and most of the jokes land. The final episode is particularly hilarious since it introduces the two wannabe tough guys to the Yakuza, a clash of legitimacy that most delinquent anime try to avoid.

27


YuruYuri

As its name suggests,

YuruYuri

is almost exclusively about yuri love, although that does not mean romance is in the air. Doga Kobo’s anime revolves around a Middle School Amusement Club, which is just an excuse for a few friends to spend some time together. Akari, Kyoko, Yui, and Chinatsu serve as the show’s heart, but they are accompanied and occasionally eclipsed by a slew of fantastic secondary characters.

YuruYuri

plays out like a conventional slice of life comedy, albeit one filled with characters who all seem to have crushes on their schoolmates. On the surface, this might sound repetitive, but the show does a great job of differentiating the girls’ relationships, infatuations, and personalities.

26


Silver Spoon

Following years of pressure to live up to his family’s expectations, the exhausted Yugo Hachiken decides to enroll at an agricultural school. As a city kid with no experience working on a farm nor much interest in the field, he is entirely ill-prepared for the challenge and quickly finds himself struggling to complete even the most basic of tasks. Fortunately, he is surrounded by generally helpful teachers and classmates.

Silver Spoon

‘s premise might be unusual, but the anime takes a fairly grounded approach to its characters and situations. Rather than an idiot who cannot do anything right, Hachiken is simply out of his depth, and the laughs come from watching him earnestly try to adapt to his new circumstances. The rest of the characters are awesome too. While often hilarious,

Silver Spoon

gets very real at times, and the show handles these dramatic moments well.

25


Hinamatsuri

Hinamatsuri

tells the timeless tale of a Yakuza member who suddenly finds himself as the guardian of a powerful esper from another dimension. Whether he likes it or not, Nitta’s life is turned upside down thanks to the arrival of Hina, a girl who ran away from her realm where she was used as a weapon. While the two do not always get along, Nitt and Hina eventually develop an adorable and wholesome father-daughter dynamic.

Packed to the brim with great characters,

Hinamatsuri

takes viewers on an incredible roller coaster ride. The show can go from a painfully hilarious skit fueled by Hina’s stoic demeanor or Hitomi’s odd maturity to a surprisingly emotional storyline that deals with homelessness.

24


Haven’t You Heard? I’m Sakamoto

The “perfect” character trope can be tedious at times, as they often start to border on annoying after a certain point. But that’s not the case with Sakamoto: he literally is perfect.

The show follows the titular character, the coolest kid in school who is liked by everyone, and for good reason: everything he does, no matter how mundane, is awesome. The characters are a lot of fun, as are the subplots. While short, this

funny anime

is very rewatchable.

23


Ghost Stories (English Dub)

Ghost Stories

is an anomaly in the world of anime series. The original Japanese show follows a group of kids trying to protect their town from a group of malicious ghosts. The English dub, however, changes things juristically. The team in charge of the dub had very few rules and used that to their advantage, completely changing the dialogue and story to their liking and making it a knee-slapping comedy instead of a serious ghost-hunting show.

The dubbed dialogue is downright hilarious, featuring dark humor, pop culture references, and brilliant inside jokes. By no means a typical

comedy anime

series,

Ghost Stories

is a wicked fun ride for anyone looking for a “different” kind of animated humor.

22


Monthly Girls’ Nozaki-kun

Chiyo Sakura is head over heels for her schoolmate, the likable but dense Nozaki. One day, she finally gets the courage to ask out her crush; unfortunately, Nozaki misconstrues Sakura’s affection as admiration for his shojo manga. Before she knows it, the girl has earned a job as a mangaka’s assistant, which naturally leads to many more misunderstandings.

Monthly Girls’ Nozaki-kun

is a charming romantic comedy that leans heavily into the latter side of things. Nozaki and Sakura are not only endearing characters in isolation, but they also bounce off each other beautifully. The leads do not have the carry the show on their backs either, as Doga Kobo’s anime has a plethora of great secondary characters.

21


Daily Lives Of High School Boys

If someone’s imagination is free enough, even the mundane can be hilarious.

Daily Lives of High School Boys

is a gag comedy about a trio of perfectly ordinary boys doing perfectly ordinary things that just happen to often devolve into cringe territory.

Divided into skits, Sunrise’s anime is expertly paced to ensure nearly none of the jokes overstay their welcome. More importantly, the series knows when to revisit a storyline or situation to produce a couple more laughs.

20


Spy X Family

Spy x Family

was among 2022’s shining beacons, airing two fun cours during Spring and Fall. The anime has already confirmed that a sequel is on the horizon, so the Forgers’ time in the sun is far from done. Set in a world defined by a fragile peace between two powerful states, Twilight is a superspy tasked with infiltrating an academy to get close to a politician. To accomplish this task, he becomes Loid Forger and adopts Anya, a charming girl who can secretly read minds. Loid also marries Yor, a quiet woman who moonlights as an assassin.

Spy x Family

has exceptional characters who all inject a unique brand of comedy into the story. Anya tends to steal the spotlight due to her weird mix of innocence and insightfulness; while she can read the minds of adults, she does not always understand what she hears. Loid works well as Anya’s straight man, while Yor is a surprisingly great source for slapstick humor.

19


Ouran High School Host Club

A parody of other popular anime,

Ouran High School Host Club

is a silly high school comedy series at heart. The central character, Haruhi Fujioka, ends up in debt to a posh club of boys who “host” female clients.

While that sounds suspicious, the show is actually laid back and funny in more than one way. Plot twists are this show’s bread and butter, and it does them better than most other anime series.

18


The Devil Is A Part-Timer!

One of the best zany


premises ever conjured up,

The Devil is a Part-Timer!

is the story of Satan, who after getting stuck in the mortal realm, must take up a job at a local fast-food restaurant.

As expected, the resulting madness yields hilarious outcomes for Satan and his hungry customers. The anime series originally ended its 13-episode run in 2013, but a sequel aired during the Summer 2022 season. Unfortunately, the latter fell short of expectations.

17


Space Dandy

Space Dandy

does a lot of things well, humor perhaps being the best one. Shinichirō Watanabe might be more known for anime series that balance comedy with other genres, but

Space Dandy

is much more comfortable making low-brow jokes and going for the silliest route possible.

There is still plenty of high-flying space action to soak in, but the comedic moments are the real showcase. Comedy fans should get their fill on all the absurd jokes the series throws their way.

16


Azumanga Daioh: The Animation

Azumanga Daioh

‘s influence and importance cannot be understated. Both the manga and its anime adaptation helped set the standard for “cute girls doing cute things” type stories, paving the way for releases like

Lucky Star

and

School Rumble

. Those two series are pretty funny in their own right, but they fall short of the standard set by

Azumanga Daioh

.

The most amazing thing about this anime is that the humor flows naturally from characters who are fully grounded in reality. The comedy very rarely takes on surreal or outlandish elements, instead opting to focus on the cast’s charming and hilarious banter. Despite being more than two decades old,

Azumanga Daioh

is still as awesome as ever.

15


Asobi Asobase – Workshop Of Fun –

Hanako, Olivia, and Kasumi, three wholesome middle school girls, form a Pastimers Club as a way to hang out, study, and enjoy each other’s company. They play schoolyard games, babysit, talk about love, and occasionally stage an intense witch trial that threatens to reduce their numbers by one.

Asobi Asobase

is one of those very rare “cute girls doing awful things” shows, and it is a devilish delight.

Jumping back and forth between warm visuals and grotesque facial expressions, Lerche’s anime is unpredictable, unapologetically silly, and periodically mean-spirited.

Aosbi Asobase

might not be for everyone, but there is no other

comedy anime

quite like it.

14


KonoSuba

Isekai is rampant, and the genre’s popularity has spawned a fair few comedies or outright parodies. While there are many hilarious isekai anime,

KonoSuba

is undoubtedly the most famous and, arguably, the funniest. Kazuma dies in an act of attempted heroism, only to find himself standing in front of Aqua, a goddess who offers to send him to another world with one gift. Annoyed by her mockery, Kazuma picks Aqua, an act of revenge that proves to be also self-sabotage.

Forming the definition of a dysfunctional party, Kazuma and Aqua partner up with a magician who loves to blow things up and a tank who

really

loves her role. Together, they fight, lose, cry, and occasionally save the day.