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Comedy anime recommendations.


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Redbeard 101
Oscar the Grouch
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Joined: 14 Aug 2006
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PostPosted: Mon Sep 10, 2007 2:13 pm Reply with quote
Quote:
comedy (funny)
The use of humor with the intent to provoke laughter.


This thread will be for Comedy recommendations, and is the 4th genre used so far from Dan's list being used for the encyclopedia. As Tony said in his original thread no one-liners or lists please. Please also try and read the posts already made to avoid mentioning series or movies that have already been mentioned. I'll throw 3 shows out to get the ball rolling.

Azumanga Daioh--- This show is more of your slice of life style of comedy. It follows the day to day adventures of a group of girls in high school. Azumanga Daioh was just light and utterly fun to watch. All of the girls have such unique and different personalities from each others it adds a nice element to the show in how they interact with each other. Not to mention some of the teachers are just as crazy or weird as the students themselves. The show is light and fun and never gets too serious. The show is also more episodic in nature. If you want a nice light and fun show with good animation and a great soundtrack this would work. One other advantage of this show is because it's more light and very kid friendly you can show it to your kids as well.

Nerima Daikon Brothers--- Created by the same crazy man who brought us Excel Saga and Puny Puny Poemi we have Nerima Daikon Brothers. This show is just screwed up and off the wall. I mean the main characters have a Daikon Radish farm but dream of building a stadium to hold concerts as they rock it out to the masses. There's parodies afoot in here and the comedy is just insane. The one aspect I enjoyed about this show was the singing. Whether or not you thought the VA's singing was good or not it was a more original aspect and I thought it was funny. Think of the Blue's Brother's, just animated and on crack.

Ai Yori Aoshi--- This was just a very sweet and charming romantic comedy. The premise of the show is Kaoru and Aoi were betrothed as kids. He left his family and now she has come in search of him to marry him. The show's strong point is the relationship between Aoi and Kaoru and how it develops over the 2 seasons. Most often with romantic comedies the show is about how the two main characters come to admit their feelings for each other. In this one they start off being together and it's more about them keeping it secret and how their relationship blossoms. The show has gorgeous scenery and it pays very close attention to traditional Japanese honorifics. It has plenty of more zany comedy but the strong points are the more softer moments. How the characters help each in the show is also very endearing.

--------------------------------------------
[Zalis-edit]Reference list of titles included in this thread, to make it easier for people to add new titles without accidental duplicates.

Ai yori Aoshi
Azumanga Daioh

A Cheeky Angel
City Hunter
Comic Party/Revolution
Cromartie High School

Desert Punk
Dokuro-chan
Dragon Half

Excel Saga

FMP Fumoffu
Fushigi Yuugi

Gakuen Alice
Galaxy Angel
Genshiken
Ghost Stories (English dub version)
Gintama
Girl's High
Gokusen
Golden Boy
Great Teacher Onizuka
Grrl Power

Hale-Guu
Hanaukyo Maid Team
Happy Lesson
Hayate the Combat Butler
Hidamari Sketch
Honey & Clover

I My Me Strawberry Eggs

King of Bandit Jing
Kodocha

Love Hina
Lucky Star

Magical Shopping Arcade Abenobashi
Manabi Straight
The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya
Midori Days

NieA_7
Ninja Nonsense
Nodame Cantabile

Ouran High School Host Club

Please Teacher

Rizelmine
Rune Soldier

School Rumble
Seto no Hanayome
Sgt. Frog
The Story of Saiunkoku
Super Gals

Urusei Yatsura

The Wallflower
Welcome to the NHK!

Yakitate!! Japan
You're Under Arrest

[/Zalis-edit]
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Key
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Joined: 03 Nov 2003
Posts: 18135
Location: Indianapolis, IN (formerly Mimiho Valley)
PostPosted: Mon Sep 10, 2007 2:42 pm Reply with quote
Excel Saga - A girl named Excel Excel (who frequently gets killed and brought back to life) and her partner Hyatt (who regularly falls sick and dies) work toward world domination one step at a time as the chief stooges of Lord Il Palazzo, while Excel keeps the cute dog Menchi as an "emergency food source." Perhaps the ultimate anime example of insanely energetic, wacky, parody-laden comedy, it takes cracks at such a broad sampling of anime and elements of Japanese culture that even the most seasoned of anime fans and Japanophiles may require ADV's legendary pop-up notes to catch everything. Widely-regarded as one of the most purely funny anime series ever made, its jokes even carry into its credits and on-DVD Extras.

Full Metal Panic! Fumoffu? Composed purely of the more light-hearted side stories taken from the source material that produced the original FMP and the recent follow-up Full Metal Panic! The Second Raid, this 12-episode series comprised mostly of half-episode gags offers up side-splittingly funny takes on the culture clash between Sousuke's diehard military mindset and the normal life the Kaname, the girl he is supposed to be protecting, so desparately wants.

Ghost Stories (dubbed version) - What you get when you allow English VAs to write their own topical humor for a parody of a pedestrian series about a group of kids confronting popular Japanese ghosts Scooby-Doo-style. The jokes are hit-or-miss, often dirty-minded, and some of the references are obscure enough that even those well-versed in American culture will not get all of them, but they are also usually quite funny as long as you don't get uptight about the irreverent treatment of the source material.
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Woodskull



Joined: 22 May 2007
Posts: 2
Location: Stockholm, Sweden
PostPosted: Mon Sep 10, 2007 4:48 pm Reply with quote
Yakitate!! Japan! - The tale about young bread baking prodigy Azuma Kazuma and his friends in arms, and his rise to power (flour?). It's a rather silly comedy show, filled to the brim with puns and references to other animes and bits of modern culture. It's made up of a bunch of storylines, stretching through this rather long anime (almost 70 episodes), but it's a fun ride all the way through it. The show never takes itself very seriously, and the characters are all fun and memorable.

Lucky Star - Kyoto Animations latest series, Lucky Star, feels like kind of a mix between the art of Haruhi Suzumiya and the pacing and feel of Azumanga Daioh. Just like in Azumanga, it follows the daily lives of a couple of girls as they make their way through highschool. It's a really light show, and doesn't really have any story that you have to follow. Instead it's entirely episodic and focuses more on short bursts of energetic interaction (even if the characters aren't always filled with energy) between the lead characters!


Bokusatsu Tenshii Dokuro-Chan - The best way to describe this show is "violent retribution for accidental infringement", because that's what it's all about. The cute angel Dokuro Mitsukai comes to earth and messes up the life of main protagonist Sakura Kusakabe. From the very first scene up until the last one, it's filled with blood and comedy, each of them filling in the gaps left by the other. Extremely short, but filled to the brim with content!
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jetz



Joined: 31 Jan 2007
Posts: 2148
Location: Manila, Philippines
PostPosted: Mon Sep 10, 2007 9:47 pm Reply with quote
Ouran High School Host Club - Centers on how Haruhi Fujioka, a poor student aspiring to be a lawyer, stumbles upon the Host Club of Ouran High School and how she they mistake her for a guy. Throughout the series, Haruhi along with the Host Club try to hide her true identity from other schoolmates. Such situations are always very funny and entertaining.

School Rumble - A romantic comedy about Harima Kenji and his relationship (or the lack thereof) with the love of his life, Tenma Tsukamoto. In School Rumble, Harima tries his best to prove his love to Tenma Tsukamoto, in the process he is able to captivate hearts, except Tenma's. Harima's methods are absolutely ridiculous.

Midori Days - The protagonist of the story, Seiji Sawamura can't stop getting himself into fights. Despite being known for his rough ways, Seiji is desperate to find himself a girlfriend but he after many rejections, he is afraid that he'll end up having his right hand as his girlfriend. One day, he finds that his right hand has changed into Midori (a girl who has a crush on Seiji). Seiji tries to keep his secret from everyone, but he keeps on getting into circumstances that will reveal the truth to his friends and family. A lot of the comedy is ecchi-based, but if you're not bothered by that then it's a good watch.
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Viga_of_stars



Joined: 17 Aug 2006
Posts: 1240
Location: Washington D.C. in the Anime Atelier
PostPosted: Tue Sep 11, 2007 5:00 pm Reply with quote
Grrl Power - Although it's a one shot OVA it has rewatchability. (thats not a word but whatever!) It's about these three sisters that have a do it all business. They don't go to school but are really smart, strong ad self reliable. It's hyperness and fast paced telling make it interesting and of course it has comedic value as a boy tries to join them.
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d.yaro



Joined: 08 Feb 2006
Posts: 528
PostPosted: Wed Sep 12, 2007 1:39 am Reply with quote
NHK ni Yokoso! aka Welcome to the NHK - The series "celebrates" the twists and turns in the life of the neurotic university drop-out and hikikomori (self imposed shut-in) Sato Tatsuhiro. He finds himself the subject of a project to cure him of his hikikomori ways proposed to him by the mysterious Misato who he first met when he answered the door to be met by her and her JW aunt. Sato's propensity to try and fib his way out of the prickly situations in life, coupled with his over active imagination, obsessive focus (on the wrong goals in life - the man can be so easily sidetracked) and the need to sustain his hikikomori ways whilst trying to cure himself results in a steady stream of comic personal disasters. Who would've thought cognitive dissonance could be so entertaining. "Non-stop hikikomori action".
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ahtin



Joined: 12 Sep 2007
Posts: 1
PostPosted: Wed Sep 12, 2007 5:53 am Reply with quote
(hmm not much people are posting in this thread?)

Seto no Hanayome
"A young boy gets saved from drowning by a mermaid but, according to mermaid law, if a human sees a mermaid's true form, both have to be killed. The only solution to the problem is for him to marry her. But can they keep her secret from being found out. " - taken from ANN's plot summary.

You really have to give this a shot if you're looking for comedy anime. It's really hilarious! This is the second anime that cracks me up after School Rumble! =)
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Redbeard 101
Oscar the Grouch
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Joined: 14 Aug 2006
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PostPosted: Wed Sep 12, 2007 9:50 pm Reply with quote
Quote:
(hmm not much people are posting in this thread?)
Give it time. I think many people aren't because they think it will be locked because it is a recommendation thread and that's what happens to them. Except for the "official genre threads" that are being allowed. Once people see they can post here I think more will. Plus we do require more then a one liner "I love "blank" kawaii type post. I say give it time. I also say we all thank the mods (and Tony for getting the ball rolling) for allowing this. Anyways, on to the topic.

I'm going to go a bit old school and mention one I love. I got this on random and it just made me laugh til my sides hurt. You're Under Arreat is your buddy cop comedy show. Think of Rush hour kind of, but with two hot chicks and no Chris Tucker. Natsumi & Miyuki work for the Bokuto Police Station. They handle all sorts of strange cases and strange people. There's nothing really outstanding about this show. The animation is alright, and the dub is not great but not that bad. So if it's so average why is it so good? Delivery. I thought the jokes and situations were delivered and handled superbly. It's a good buddy cop anime with good humor. Plus Natsumi and Miyuki are also easy on the eyes as well. Wink
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DClark



Joined: 11 Aug 2007
Posts: 110
PostPosted: Thu Sep 13, 2007 12:18 am Reply with quote
This thread got me looking at my anime collection, and I realized I have a dearth of good comedic anime. I've got the above-mentioned Excel Saga and Azumanga Daioh, so I'll add my other two comedic animes:

Genshiken isn't a normal 'laugh-laugh' type comedy, it's more of a humourous look at the otaku lifestyle through the eyes of a college freshmen who decides to get more interested in anime and manga, turning himself from a fan into a true otaku. It has some truly funny moments and you can't help but feel for the characters' situations.

A series that I found myself laughing out loud at is Gokusen. It's about an heir to a powerful Yakuza clan's decision to become a teacher while keeping her Yakuza background secret. The plot of the series itself is basic and not terribly imaginitive, but it does set the groundwork for some funny comedy.

Finally, while it's more an adventure with comedic aspects, I think Rune Soldier deserves to be recognized for its comedic efforts. It's about Louie, a wizard who uses his fists more than actual magic, and his team of female adventurers. This very easily could have turned into a harem style show, but the three main female characters are all intelligent and all have their own motivations. I was pleasantly surprised by this series and its willingness to offer a fun adventure along with some humour without veering off into the gutter to get some laughs.

It's funny to watch Melissa follow Louie "completely against her will" as she puts it, because although Louie appears to be as far away from a knight in shining armour as a man can be, her god Mylee gave her a sign that Louie was her champion so she must follow him.
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Zalis116
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PostPosted: Thu Sep 13, 2007 2:30 am Reply with quote
Psycho, is there any place where these rec threads are being linked and indexed? I didn't find them in the stickies that I checked.

Anyway:

Cromartie High School: Random, off-the-wall comedy about high school (male) delinquents. Half-length episodes, can be hit-or-miss. Has a feeling similar to Aqua Teen Hunger Force. Some episodes are quite focused, others are outright absurd or focus on one-joke routines that get old within the half-length episode. Funny in either language, but ADV's profanity-laced English dub is a treat. And where else can you find a sagely robot named Mechazawa and a character that strangely resemebles Freddy Mercury of Queen?

Comic Party: Another "otaku life" comedy in the vein of Genshiken, Comic Party features Kazuki Sendou's attempt to enter the world of doujinshi at the urging of his megalomaniac friend Taishi Kuhonbutsu, but against the advice of his childhood friend Mizuki Takase. While this is based on a romance-themed visual novel, it's more about the doujinshi world and subtle parody of other anime/manga (mainly though sight gags explained in Rightstuf's reference notes) that about any romance between Kazuki and the girls he meets. If comedy is what you seek, I will advise you to skip the sequel, Comic Party Revolution unless you really liked the Comic Party characters and want to see more.of them.

2x2=Shinobuden AKA Ninja Nonsense: A very ecchi comedy series that also delves into in-jokes and parody. Ninja Nonsense first introduces normal high school girl Kaede, whose room is not-so-stealthily infiltrated by Shinobu, a female ninja trainee assigned to steal high school girl panties. From there, Kaede gets sucked into the bizarre ninja world and meets Onsokumaru, a thoroughly-perverted shapeshifting yellow sphere...thing. Misadventures and hilarity ensue. Make sure to check out the English dub Righstuf put together -- it's absolutely hilarious, yet still reasonably faithful.

Super Gals! -- shoujo genre comedy with some action and drama thrown in for good measure. Centers on Ran Kotobuki, #1 Gal of the trendy Shibuya district of Tokyo, and her friends Miyu and Aya. Basically, Ran is fiercely independent in conformist Japan, leading her to clash with her father (who wants her to follow family tradition and join the police force) and her teacher (who just wants her to show up on time and do her homework. But outside of home and school, Ran immerses herself in the Shibuya world of fashion, fun, boys, battles with crosstown rivals, righting wrongs in her territory, and sticking to her "ironclad rules for Gals." The concept may sound trite and girly, but it's strangely addicting once you get into it. ADV put together a good-quality "Valley Girl" type dub for the the first 26 episodes, but sadly the second half was only released sub-only.

Girl's High (High School Girls) : A school life comedy that goes to places other school life comedies don't dare to go. It purports to show the "hidden side of girls" that emerges when boys aren't around, I don't know how true to life it is, but I do know I've enjoyed this anime and manga about a sextet of oddball girls and their many crazy adventures. Some fanservice, including shoujo-ai overtones, can be found here.

Because somebody had to mention it...
The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya: One of the most talked-about series to come out of Japan in recent years, MoHS is a school sci-fi romance comedy that centers on a Haruhi Suzumiya, a not-so-ordinary girl, and her search for excitement in life that attracts her to strange phenomena and aliens, time travelers, and psychics. Also along for the ride is our trusty narrator Kyon, who seasons the proceedings with his dry wit. From the hilariously bad home movie to the main story about these strange phenomena to the side adventures that sneak in references to (among other things) Higurashi no Naku Koro ni, Full Metal Panic, Phoenix Wright, Gundam, and Legend of the Galactic Heroes, MoHS will have you scratching your head in confusion and catching your breath with laughter at the same time. I know my local anime club erupted in laughter, applause, and tears of awesomeness at episode 11, "Day of Sagittarius."

The Galaxy Angel franchise: This spans several different series, but all focus around a quasi-futuristic world where space travel to all ends of the galaxy is common, and the five girls of the Angel Brigade search for "Lost Technology." There's endless potential for random adventure and humor, and from what I've seen, these series exploit them to the fullest. It''s completely episodic and random, and while you don't have to check your brain at the door Wink, there's no need to remember complex plotlines or even what happened in the previous episode.

*enough for now, I think*
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Redbeard 101
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PostPosted: Thu Sep 13, 2007 11:12 pm Reply with quote
Happy Lesson--- Imagine being an orphan living on your own. Imagine having 5 overbearing female teachers who want to take care of you. Now imagine they all start living with you. You won't be able to claim the dog ate my homework anymore. Chitose has his world turned upside down when 5 of his teachers start living with him to help take care of them. They all have different personalities and are all complete out of their minds. They smother him and generally beat him up and make him the result of science projects as well. Poor Chitose. Throw in 2 "sisters" as well and you have yourselves one "lucky" man. Despite the constant crazy hijinks there are some soft moments that make you appreciate the 5 teachers and they all get their moment to shine. My only complaint is at times it can feel rushed where as if it had been a full 26 episode series the teachers themselves might have gotten a bit more time to explore their pasts more. Overall though a very fun show with a pretty decent dub as well.

Last edited by Redbeard 101 on Sat Sep 15, 2007 11:36 pm; edited 1 time in total
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NGE1113



Joined: 12 Oct 2005
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Location: Alexandria, VA.
PostPosted: Sat Sep 15, 2007 5:22 am Reply with quote
Just one for now:

Dragon Half
The story revolves around Mink (who's half-human, half-dragon, hence the title) and her journeys to see the newest pop idol of the day (and her biggest crush), Dick Saucer. Upon hearing that the pop star is holding a concert in the city, she and her friends decide to go see it in person. However, absurd troubles abound for Mink. First off, Dick Saucer also moonlights as a dragon slayer, which doesn't bode well for Mink's imagined future. In addition, the royal family has it in for her, and hires -guess who- Dick Saucer to hunt her down. And on top of that, the gang has no money, so Mink ends up competing in a fighting tournament to earn it.

Oh, and not to mention that the plot the king has for Mink's mother; the constant usage of SD animation; Damaramu, the knight with the self-claimed extremely small brain; and an ending theme set to Beethoven's 9th Symphony that centers completely around foodstuffs. Kotono Mitsuishi singing about eggs... Wacky.

Overall, the show's of the hyperactive, never-stop-for-a-moment type of comedy, and consists of a two episode OVA, which suits it just fine. In addition, give the dub a shot, as the show was dubbed quite a while after ADV licensed it, and the wait was worth it.
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banas



Joined: 16 Mar 2007
Posts: 116
Location: In a house in a country in Southeast Asia..
PostPosted: Sat Sep 15, 2007 8:14 am Reply with quote
I don't know if it passes as "comedy" but since it really makes me laugh:

Love Hina
- a story about Urashima Keitarou, a guy who wanted badly to enter Tokyo U (university) but can't. His aunt made him the manager of Hinata Inn, which is an all-girls dormitory. And then there are the girls. Narusegawa, Shinobu, Kaolla, Mitsune, Aoyama.. I know the true story of the series is about Keitarou's promise to some girl in his distant past.. but I really find it funny, so..
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Borvis



Joined: 10 Sep 2007
Posts: 3
PostPosted: Tue Sep 18, 2007 4:11 pm Reply with quote
I think GTO ( Great Teacher Onizuka) is a great comedy anime. The animation is not the best, compared to the newest anime, but you get used to it. The story is kind of touching too. Taken from ANN :

"Onizuka is an ex-biker and gang leader who has one goal, to become the greatest teacher. He must handle a different sort of trouble when the trouble makers include some of the smartest kids in Japan who prefer a more cerebral approach to torturing their teacher. Onizuka must slowly win his students over and deal with their mistrust of teachers while handling the distrust of his fellow teachers. "
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kizzmequik_74



Joined: 06 May 2007
Posts: 302
Location: QC, Philippines
PostPosted: Wed Sep 19, 2007 2:28 am Reply with quote
Hayate no Gotoku: After his parents rack up astronomical gambling debts, they decide to sell high school student Hayate into slavery and for his body parts. Through some strange circumstances, he eventually ends up in the service of the hikkikomori multimillionaire heiress Nagi Sanzenin as a butler. Witty, weird, and chock-full of references to other shows, this anime is consistently funny.

Yamato Nadeshiko Shichi Henge: Also known as The Wallflower, and yet another Nabeshin series. Essentially, a reverse harem series in the vein of Ouran High School Host Club, with Sunako, a goth, placed in the company of four incredibly bishounen men. Some rough spots, but the real humor comes in the interaction between the boys, and Sunako's gothic tendencies.

Honey and Clover: The uber slice-of-life series. Equal parts romance, drama, and madcap comedy, accomplishing the mix without becoming an unrecognizable soup. Highly recommended for fans of either of the three genres. Be prepared for bad instances of mood whiplash, as the show moves between plain weirdness and wistful sentimentality within the span of mere minutes.
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