Seraph’s Anime Recommendations Vol 2: COMEDY

In my quest to spread awareness of good anime, I have decided to do a series of thematical posts on my favourite anime series. I will select 5 anime related to the theme and very briefly explain why I think it’s good and you should watch it. I won’t post much on the way of synopsises as that info can be gleaned from the links I’ll include with each anime. I may revisit a theme at a later date if I feel I’ve not posted enough anime pertaining to it. I’ll try and mix it up as much as possible between recent, older, more famous and less famous shows. Do tell me if you have any request/suggestions for future themes. I keep a list of things I want to tackle but will bump/add things by request.

While the previous theme probably wasn’t for everyone (robots), this is a list I can proudly say can fit any tastes. Every one of the series on this list either stretched a constant shit-eating grin on my face or made me bust my sides 7 ways to Sunday. This time around I’ve selected mostly quite recent anime, but fear not! I will dive back into the past for further episodes in this series. Let’s get the ball rolling shall we?

Vol 1: ROBOTS http://imgur.com/gallery/HLrty

Other anime that didn’t quite make this list but are also very good: Yuyushiki, Yuruyuri , Silver Spoon, GJ-Bu, Servant x Service

Nichijou

The very epitome of slapstick humor, I don’t think there’s a single anime that’s made me laugh more than this one. The episode quality ranges from chuckle-every-few-minutes to unrelenting-torrent-of-piss (the latter of which is especially true of the later episodes). It’s odd, it’s wacky, but it’s never off-target. It has both subdued and insanely over-the-top gags and offers a really nice flow throughout the episodes. It changes the pace of the action between the individual bits and the recurring themes and gags really help strengthen the individuality of this show. Please go give this anime some love, I can’t give it enough praise.

My rating: 1̶0̶ 11/10
# of episodes: 26
Sequels/prequels/etc: A single 22min OVA
Year of release: 2011
MyAnimeList : http://myanimelist.net/anime/10165/
ANN : http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclopedia/anime.php?id=12142

Working!!

The everyday life of working in a typical(?) Japanese diner. I’m not gonna lie, this series is easily one of my favorites. Not that it’s exceptionally funny or has a particularly poignant story, but everything about it is just so… enjoyable. The opening themes of every season resound with the happy-go-lucky attitude of this anime and the characters all exude an extraordinary charm. It’s just a fun series through-and-through. The concluding arcs of the third season especially made me so grateful for staying fervently attached to the characters in the 4 years it took between the second and third season to air. I honestly cannot wait for the concluding chapter of this series to come and I really want to share to gem of a series to as much people as possible. It’s an easy watch and it’ll suck you in for sure.

My rating: 10/10
# of episodes: 13
Sequels/prequels/etc: 2 more seasons (13 ep each) and a soon-to-come feature-length episode
Year of release: 2010
MyAnimeList : http://myanimelist.net/anime/6956/
ANN : www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclopedia/anime.php?id=11017

Seitokai Yakuindomo

Dirty Jokes: The Anime. Without the fanservice! It’s honestly better that way. (I still wouldn’t recommend watching this in front of minors though.) If you like dirty jokes, this is the anime for you. It has a really strong manzai (straight man/funny man) element to it consistent throughout the series, which really helps the character interactions and flow of the jokes in my opinion. I found that the quality of humor also got better as the series progressed, and so the second season and up is even better than what comes at first. (Un)wholesome fun for the whole family!

My rating: 8.5/10
# of episodes: 13
Sequels/prequels/etc: Numerous OVAs, a second season (13 episodes)
Year of release: 2010
MyAnimeList : http://myanimelist.net/anime/8675/
ANN : www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclopedia/anime.php?id=11476

Gekkan Shoujo Nozaki-kun

The daily life of a male highschool student who looks like he should be in a basketball team, secretly a shoujo manga author. While it can be described as a romcom, it’s really more like 15% romance, 85% comedy. Every character is unique and interesting and the situations they’re thrust into make for some nice developments. Easily tops my best anime of 2014 list, even competing against such excellent anime as Fate/Stay Night Unlimited Blade Works, Barakamon, Death Parade, Amagi Brilliant Park, etc. I really hope this gears up for a second season because I don’t think I can live in a world without more Nozaki-kun.

My rating: 9/10
# of episodes: 12
Sequels/prequels/etc: A series of short (5min) OVAs
Year of release: 2014
MyAnimeList : http://myanimelist.net/anime/23289/
ANN : www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclopedia/anime.php?id=16036

Kyou no Asuka Show

One of the best short-format anime there is in my opinion. Short and sweet, you can easily watch the entirety of it in a sitting (total runtime: 100min). It combines what is good about Nichijou and Seitokai Yakuindomo and compresses it into 5min rapid-fire goodness. Honestly you might as well go watch this instead of a random movie on Netflix if you’re bored. Other good anime in the same category; Aiura, Plastic Nee-san.

My rating: 8.5/10
# of episodes: 20
Sequels/prequels/etc: none
Year of release: 2012
MyAnimeList : http://myanimelist.net/anime/15005/
ANN : www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclopedia/anime.php?id=15417