In essence, the industry's blind adherence to what they think is a winning formula has resulted in the dilution of just about every single joke that could be told in a school setting, so much so in fact that these days studios have fallen to relying on fanservice based comedies in order to make ends meet (pardon the pun).Ĭomedy anime isn't dead though, as there are some rays of light shining down on the wreckage of red noses, bladders on sticks and giant shoes.

There are plenty of shows around that could invariably class themselves as sit-coms, but the penchant for studios to base their stories in some sort of school setting severely limits the quality of the humour. The area where anime is weakest is where situational comedy is concerned. Some shows manage to get away with it purely by throwing out an almost constant stream of gags in the hope that people will understand enough of them to be entertained, while others like Seto no Hanayome and Jungle wa Itsumo Hale Nochi Guu have a slightly more careful approach. The problem with this is that quite often the viewer is left without a frame of reference, so the humour simply goes over their heads. West, but mainly because the majority of anime comedies rely more on parody than anything else. It's strange to say this, but humour has never been a strong department for the medium, partly because of the cultural differences between East and There are numerous notable series that have taken their rightful places in our DVD collections, and in an age where comedians are treated like rock stars, maybe it's fate that comedy anime would also come of age.

Over the years there have been a multitude of comedy shows that have graced our TV screens, from the surreal stylings of Monty Python and sarcastic wit of Blackadder, to the sci-fi tomfoolery of Red Dwarf and the strange antics of The Fast Show. As the founder of Yorozuya, a small business for odd jobs, Gintoki often embarks on endeavors to help other people-though usually in rather strange and unforeseen ways.Īssisted by Shinpachi Shimura, a boy with glasses supposedly learning the way of the samurai Kagura, a tomboyish girl with superhuman strength and an endless appetite and Sadaharu, their giant pet dog who loves biting on people's heads, the Yorozuya encounter anything from alien royalty to scuffles with local gangs in the ever-changing world of Edo. With the once-influential shogunate rebuilt as a puppet government, a new law is passed that promptly prohibits all swords in public.Įnter Gintoki Sakata, an eccentric silver-haired man who always carries around a wooden sword and maintains his stature as a samurai despite the ban. However, following feudal Japan's surrender to powerful aliens known as the 'Amanto,' those aspirations now seem unachievable. Edo is a city that was home to the vigor and ambition of samurai across the country.

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