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Comedic Anime....why IS it so funny?


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Haruhi Suzumiya



Joined: 27 Apr 2006
Posts: 39
Location: Webster, NY; basically hell on earth
PostPosted: Fri Apr 28, 2006 11:02 pm Reply with quote
i was recently thinking...why is it that i find comedic animes funny? they are completly off the wall from the comedy i have grown on, like Family Guy and Aqua Teen Hunger Force...yet in the end i find myself enjoying comedic anime series more than i do with american animated comedies.

and im cant figure out why? could it be the unique blendings of plot and characterization, mixed into the zany comedy that makes it more enjoyable? I also think it might just be the fact that i was always intrigued by the way anime was drawn..the big eyes and such, i always loved it, even before i liked anime.

why do you guys find yourself enjoying comedic anime series so much? What i mean is, i cant really say why i find the humor in shows like Azumanga Daioh and The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya to be so much more enjoyable than that of series like family guy and robot chicken?
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Keonyn
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Joined: 25 May 2005
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Location: Coon Rapids, MN
PostPosted: Fri Apr 28, 2006 11:28 pm Reply with quote
Honestly? I don't. I've found comedic comedy funny, yes, but I've also found a great deal of comedic anime completely unfunny. In the end though I've yet to see a comedic anime that I felt compared to many domestic cartoons. One of the funniest I've seen in awhile is actually the Ghost Stories dub which, as many know, wasn't meant to be funny in the way it was made to be.
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Haruhi Suzumiya



Joined: 27 Apr 2006
Posts: 39
Location: Webster, NY; basically hell on earth
PostPosted: Fri Apr 28, 2006 11:58 pm Reply with quote
Keonyn wrote:
Honestly? I don't. I've found comedic comedy funny, yes, but I've also found a great deal of comedic anime completely unfunny. In the end though I've yet to see a comedic anime that I felt compared to many domestic cartoons. One of the funniest I've seen in awhile is actually the Ghost Stories dub which, as many know, wasn't meant to be funny in the way it was made to be.


yes i do have to agree, that was the king of all dubs; but you have to wonder, if it's possible that that accident wasnt an accident, but the accident was done on purpose so it was a planned accident?

tounge twister. yikes.

and yes in general, and especially with the harem genre, comedic anime as a whole, isnt funny...however shows like Azumanga Daioh, Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumayi, Excel Saga, and on most occasions Comic Party, to be unusually funny; thats moreso why i wonder, because the humor is just so offbeat that i cant put it to words why the stuff makes me laugh so much...

only one i can put sense to is Azumanga, simply because i know people like that in my high school, so when the characters i relate them to do something i can see them doing, it makes me laugh.
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PantsGoblin
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Joined: 27 Jun 2005
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Location: L.A.
PostPosted: Sat Apr 29, 2006 2:07 am Reply with quote
I can completely understand why people would find comedic American cartoons to be much funnier then comedic Japanese cartoons. It's all due to the cultural barrier. Although, even understanding most of the references and cultural things in Excel Saga and the like, I still find Family Guy to be funnier. In general, I actually find American cartoons to be funnier, even though comedy is one of my favorite anime genres. I don't really like extremely crude humor though, I've never really liked South Park...
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greatdevourer



Joined: 13 Apr 2006
Posts: 39
PostPosted: Sat Apr 29, 2006 2:24 am Reply with quote
I tend to find certain scenes in Anime a lot funnier than Western animation, but over the entire show/series, I get the Western humour a lot more (no suprises there)
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joel_s95387



Joined: 29 Jun 2005
Posts: 1804
Location: California... The Village Hidden In The Porn
PostPosted: Sat Apr 29, 2006 4:08 am Reply with quote
I don't really find comedic anime that funny. I'm not a huge fan of stupid faces, stupid anticts, and just stupid comedy in general. By stupid I mean the chracters themselves doing over the top things. Most anime that is supposed to be comedic, I just find myself yawning.

The only one I've seen so far that I like is Irresponsible Captain Tylor, and that was because it had a good plot and just weird situation he was placed in. I didn't laugh out loud, but I was always wondering what the next situation would be.

Oh and then there is Colorful. It wasn't like other anime comedies. Of course I was a really immature high school senior at the time, so the sexual jokes were really funny to me and my friends. But stuff like Excel and Puni Puni just don't interest me.

I prefer shows where comedy is snuck in. Kino's Journey and Hermes always saying the wrong word was really funny to me. Subtle instances in FMA when Ed's height would be made fun of. Samurai Champloo is probably the funniest anime I've ever seen; Mugen running out on the restauraunt bill, Fuu being fat all of a sudden, and other instances I can't remember right now.
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Haruhi Suzumiya



Joined: 27 Apr 2006
Posts: 39
Location: Webster, NY; basically hell on earth
PostPosted: Sat Apr 29, 2006 6:23 am Reply with quote
PantsGoblin wrote:
I can completely understand why people would find comedic American cartoons to be much funnier then comedic Japanese cartoons. It's all due to the cultural barrier. Although, even understanding most of the references and cultural things in Excel Saga and the like, I still find Family Guy to be funnier. In general, I actually find American cartoons to be funnier, even though comedy is one of my favorite anime genres. I don't really like extremely crude humor though, I've never really liked South Park...


well south park nevr really was that funny...i never got much of it, besides the massive amounts of swearing, and kenny always dieing...why and how did they manage to use that much vulgar language, in one cartoon?
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-gecko-



Joined: 26 Apr 2005
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Location: Near Seattle, WA
PostPosted: Sat Apr 29, 2006 8:47 am Reply with quote
For me it comes down to cultural norms. I don't find the toilet humor in South Park or the Family Guy as funny as the same type of humor in an anime. It comes down to whether it is commonplace to a person's culture.

I enjoy comedy anime more than any other genre. The key being that the comedy has bits of drama thrown in to remind us all that we are human (excepting maybe Excel Saga Shocked ).

I also appreciate the comedic effects that are unique to anime, such as sweat drops, chibi body shapes, and wavy arms and legs.
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Benjemoon



Joined: 06 May 2006
Posts: 6
PostPosted: Sat May 06, 2006 9:43 pm Reply with quote
for me perssonally it is probably the over-reaction that many anime characters have. things like hammerspace are also kinda funny to me.
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omnistry



Joined: 03 Mar 2005
Posts: 1047
PostPosted: Sat May 06, 2006 10:18 pm Reply with quote
When it comes to comedic anime, Pani Poni Dash! tops my list. There's no real plot; but every punchline and gag is dead-on hilarious. I showed the "bus on a cliff" episode to one of my friends; and he laughed thoughout the whole thing. He especially loved the Cliff Burton reference, since he's a fan of Metallica.
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Vampire_hunter



Joined: 25 May 2005
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Location: Quezon City, Philippines
PostPosted: Sun May 21, 2006 5:51 am Reply with quote
It's funny when their faces changes and their reactions like on Slamdunk, when Sakuragi get angry his face turns to red and he punches his opponents. It makes enjoying when watching it. Very Happy
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LydiaDianne



Joined: 28 Jan 2006
Posts: 5634
Location: Southern California
PostPosted: Sun May 21, 2006 10:22 am Reply with quote
joel_s95387 wrote:
Quote:
I don't really find comedic anime that funny. I'm not a huge fan of stupid faces, stupid anticts, and just stupid comedy in general. By stupid I mean the chracters themselves doing over the top things. Most anime that is supposed to be comedic, I just find myself yawning.


-gecko- wrote
Quote:
I don't find the toilet humor in South Park or the Family Guy as funny as the same type of humor in an anime. It comes down to whether it is commonplace to a person's culture.


I have to agree with both joel and -gecko-. Constant over the top and/or toilet humor just rubs me the wrong way. If it is written into the story such as Yurika's obssession with Akito in Martian Successor Nadesico or the way Tamahome, Nuriko and Tasuke from Fushigi Yugi behave with each other, that's fine. But constant tripping over objects, running into walls, snot running out of one's nose constantly (Super Milk-chan) bathroom jokes, fart & bodily function jokes...ewww. **shudders**

Could this be one reason as well: I'm female. Do women actually like toilet humor, bodily function jokes, The Three Stooges? Could it be like that? Do men think that sort of stuff is funnier than we women do?
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Mylene



Joined: 07 Feb 2006
Posts: 2792
Location: Indiana
PostPosted: Sun May 21, 2006 10:48 am Reply with quote
LydiaDianne wrote:
Could this be one reason as well: I'm female. Do women actually like toilet humor, bodily function jokes, The Three Stooges? Could it be like that? Do men think that sort of stuff is funnier than we women do?


It's possible that gender might have a little to do with it. I'm a woman, and I also dislike toilet humor, while my older brothers both love it (one's first experience with Fullmetal Alchemist was the April Fool's Day gag this year...he thought it was great.)

Of course, that's not to say gender has everything to do with it either. My husband also dislikes toilet humor. It's all a matter of taste, although I do think that men and boys are probably at least a bit more likely to be amused by toilet humor than girls and women. Why? Who knows. But they can have it if they want. :p As for the more slapstick, less toilet, humor....that's a bit harder. Some of it I like, some I don't. And I don't really think about what kind of humor I'm watching unless I feel it's disgusting/too immature or in bad taste.

(...what I always wonder is why it's assumed as a woman I should be gaga over yaoi? Give me shoujo-ai anyday.)

Personally, I still find much of the anime humour funnier than American cartoon humor, to an extent. I'm not a big fan of Family Guy or the newer Simpsons episodes. It seems everything has been dumbed down (particularly the fathers in the respective families). Some of the anime humour I enjoy is very much hit-you-in-the-face with it styles of humor, but the simplicity of it is great, as are the more subtle pieces of humour.

I consider Azumanga Daioh as my gauge for humour these days. The Simpsons, Family Guy, South Park...none make me laugh as hard as that show ever did. I currently can't watch AzuDai for fear I might pop my stitches (oral surgery) from laughing too hard (episode 8 of Bubblegum Crisis got way too close in that regard.) On the other hand, if I look back to when I was a 'tween' or teen, I remember shows that perhaps could be considered at least close to that level of comedy for me: Tiny Toon Adventures and Animaniacs. Sure, there was the occasional bit of crude humour in each show, but for the most part, there was a slight hint of, dare I say, sophistication. Many jokes had multiple levels, a lot of which would have gone over the heads of the "target audience." Those were shows that people of pretty much any age could enjoy (or at least as I remember them.) AzuDai has that same feeling, as older people receive amusement from the nostalgia-factor, teenagers receive enjoyment from the 'that's like me now'-factor, and younger audiences often like to read/see about teenagers (look at the Babysitters Club books--they're written for kids around 8, but focus on 13 and 14-year-olds.)

That being said, there are plenty of anime comedies that I found amusing but nothing more than that. Excel Saga is so frequently mentioned as the end-all be-all comedic anime. Personally, I found it funny...sometimes. Parody can only go on for so long before it gets too flat and overdone. With Excel Saga, I can only watch 2 episodes in a row, tops. Then I have to wait a couple of days to watch anymore. Why is this? In part, because it felt more like a 'cartoon' than an anime to me. I really can't explain why that was. Maybe it was the very episodic nature, or the way the parody was played out. I don't really know. But it didn't appeal to me as an anime, so I treated it like a cartoon--which I can't usually watch more than one or two of in a row before I grow weary of the comedic styling.

Don't get me wrong, I found the show to be funny overall, but it was a style of comedy that I can only handle in small doses--slapstick and toilet humour.

Anyway, I think I've rambled on long enough. My favorite comedy animations happen to be anime, but I enjoy any good comedic animation as long as it has a good mix of subtle, straightforward, and multi-age level humour. (I'm even pickier about live action comedy than I am of animated comedy.)
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Dargonxtc



Joined: 13 Apr 2006
Posts: 4463
Location: Nc5xd7+ スターダストの海洋
PostPosted: Sun May 21, 2006 10:59 am Reply with quote
LydiaDianne wrote:
Do men think that sort of stuff is funnier than we women do?

Yes
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W3b3r



Joined: 28 Apr 2006
Posts: 59
Location: Australia
PostPosted: Sun May 21, 2006 7:41 pm Reply with quote
I find that the simplicity and mixups in anime are what makes me laugh hardest. One of my favourite comedy scenes ever is Souske Sagara burying a landmine in the school grounds while a girl watches him starry eyed because she has a crush on him. So very simple yet zany. We can all relate to having a crush and we can all relate to being in school so the landmines in the school grounds strike me as funny.
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