Top 10 Comedy Anime Series

Anime has always fascinated us with their crazy story lines and breathtaking visuals. While most of them are based for a younger audience, some are made specifically targeting young adults. You can count this as being one of the reasons for the large number of Otaku clubs.

While some still watch anime as a way to reconnect with their inner child, others look at it as a form of entertainment. A comedy anime is usually built upon multiple characters and the situations or events surrounding them, often resulting in hilarious results. Comedy anime are extremely popular since the debut of Kochikame and Shin-chan.

But now, many popular anime have adapted the same format, as physical comedy works better than verbal. Basically, these anime center more around gags or short skits, than they do on complex story lines. This is extremely useful for people short on time, and looking for a good laugh.

We give you a list of the best comedy anime series, in no particular order.

First Run: 1992

Unlike the other anime in this genre, you'll find the animation a little childish. But give it time, and it will grow on you. As the hero of our story, Shin-chan is not your typical five-year old.

He's rude, loud, and he just doesn't care. And the best part about it is that he can get away with it most of the time. He lives with parents and his dog Shiro, and later on with his sister Himawari. Watch this anime for the wacky adventures in his day-to-day life.

First Run: 2006

Set in the Edo period, where swords are banned in public and the government is a puppet to the Amanto, aliens have taken over the planet. Follow the adventures of Shinpachi, a samurai trying to keep his honor, and a part-time Otaku, Kagura,

a teenage alien girl, who has a voracious appetite for food and giant dogs, and Gin, the leader who's more interested in reading than paying his rent. Add to this the Shinsengumi, the local police force always in their way, and the landlady always on their rear. Watch the trio toe the silver lining in a bunch of gags, and survive in the post-Edo world.

First Run: 2011

It focuses on the support club in the campus of Kaimei High School. The group consists of Switch, the brain of the team, who talks with a laptop; Himeko, the hockey-wielding delinquent; and their leader Bossun, who has a superpower to concentrate very hard.

Follow their misadventures, as they treat all problems with the same seriousness, from loose pet monkeys to people with serious illnesses. SKET is an acronym for Support, Kindness, Encouragement, and Troubleshoot. Watch this comedy anime for their hilarious antics, as they try to survive high school. A must-see for comedy anime fans.

First Run: 2011

Meet Oga Tatsumi - Student, Delinquent, and Babysitter? You heard it right. Oga Tatsumi wants to lead a normal high school life, when he encounters a baby on the riverside. He finds out later on that the baby he holds in his hands is the future demon king.

He has to battle various monsters from the demon world who deem Beel, as he's lovingly called, unworthy of being the king. As if the pressure isn't enough, he has to take care of the baby while ignoring the glaring looks of his family and the baby's maid Hilda.

First Run: 2006

Enter Tsuna Sawada, a no-good student with no natural talent at sports or studies. Until he meets Reborn, a tutor hired to change his life, who looks like an infant. And he's also the best hitman of the Vongola Family. 

Filled with fantasy and comedy, watch as Reborn teaches the meaning of friendship and goodwill, as he overcomes his insecurities to make new friends, and get in line to become the 10th boss of the Vongola Family.

First Run: 2004

A romantic comedy anime which centers on the female protagonist, Tenma, who has a crush on her classmate Oji Karasuma, an eccentric, nice guy who can't confess his feelings. 

This situation is complicated, when Kenji Harima, a delinquent, also falls for Tenma, but faces the same problem. Watch the series for its goof-ups and embarrassing situations, which lets you relive your high school life all over again.

First Run: 2006

The show centers around Haruhi, who enters the elite academy of Ouran High School. Finding a place to study, she enters a room to find 6 boys playing hosts to their 'clients', and accidentally breaks a vase. 

To recover their loss, she becomes a host to cover her tuition fees, and hiding the fact that she's a girl. Can she last long? Watch to find out.

First Run: 1989

Ranma is a young martial artist with a curse over his head. He transforms into a girl when splashed with cold water, and back into a boy when splashed with hot water. This often results in hilarious situations, when his rivals can't seem to find him and he escapes using the confusion. 

The story is also complicated by the fact that he's engaged, and has to struggle to maintain his relationship. Add to the fact, that his perverted grandfather keeps stealing girls' underwear, which lands him in even more soup.

First Run: 2010

The story centers around Akihisa, the hero and idiot (baka) of class F, who studies at Fumizuki Academy where students are divided into different divisions according to their grades. While class A has all facilities like an AC, laptops, and a snack bar, class F has floor mats and wooden tables. 

The school system is special, in the sense that students can summon their respective beasts for retaining the best facilities in a battle which is supervised by a teacher. Watch for the hilarious antics of our hero, as he finds a way to beat the system.

First Run: 2002

The story centers around six schoolgirls and two teachers in an unnamed high school and their everyday lives. The characters include Chiyo, a child prodigy struggling to fit with her peers; Sakaki, with an obsession for cute animals who hate her; Kasuga, with a skewed perspective;

Kagura, with her one-sided rivalry with Chiyo; Yomi's exasperation at her best friend; and Tomo, whose energy is rivaled with her lack of sense. Watch it for its realistic tone, with outbursts of absurdity and surrealism.