Best Gag Anime To Watch In 2023

As we all know, anime has many genres that focus on different things or themes. If we talk about mainstream anime, it is mostly filled with Shounen. Even though Shounen’s side genre occasionally features comedy, it is not a gag anime.

What Is The Difference Between Gag Anime and Comedy Anime?

Gag anime doesn’t focus or put much emphasis on the storyline or the drama surrounding the characters. Instead, it intends to make audiences crack up by putting them in over-the-top but mostly super funny scenarios. Often, the episodes are completely unrelated to each other.

A comedy anime might have a plot. Take Mob Psycho 100 for example, Mob Psycho has stunning animation, amazing characters, and great character development.

Arataka Reigen, Shigeo Kageyama, and other characters make the anime funny. Since every episode is connected with an antagonist, an intense fight between them makes it action-based rather than gag anime.

Similarly, we have One Punch Man. Although Saitama is considered a running gag anime character, One Punch Man can’t be considered a gag anime.

As we said, not every comedy anime can be classified as a gag anime. So we are compiling a list of the best gag anime.

Comedy is subjective, as we all know, and some of the anime on this list might not make you laugh, but that doesn’t mean they are boring or unfunny as for most people, they are funny.

List of 15 Best Gag Anime Ever Made

15. Poputepipikku (Pop Team Epic)

• Genre: Comedy
• Episodes: 12

Poputepipikku is filled with pop culture references. There is no actual plot in Pop Team Epic; each episode is filled with random events. This show is full of parody and gallows humor.

As we mentioned, it is filled with pop culture references. The Shawshank Redemption is one of them. We have anime references too: Pokemon and Your Name.

Each episode has its own skit. The skit is based on genres such as haunted house horror, live-action, documentary, and memes.

It successfully turns them into satire that is hilarious to watch.

The animation and character design are weird, but not in a way that would make the audience uncomfortable, but rather in a way that makes it fun to watch.

14. Gekkan Shoujo Nozaki-kun (Monthly Girls’ Nozaki Kun)

• Genres: Comedy, Romance
• Episodes: 12

Next, we have one of the funniest romantic comedies. While Monthly Girls’ Nozaki Kun is a romance anime, it is also a parody of most Shoujo manga or anime.

Chiyo Sakura is a joyful high school student who seems completely smitten with the naïve Umetarou Nozaki. As Chiyo continues to express her emotions to Nozaki, he surprises her by handing her an unknown autograph.

The stern teen is revealed to be Sakiko Yumeno, a well-known Shoujo mangaka. After a string of blunders, Chiyo becomes one of Nozaki’s manga assistants.

Through the fun events, she encounters a handful of her unusual classmates, notably Yuu Kashima, the “Prince of the School,” and Mikoto Mikoshiba, a somewhat daring fellow assistant.

Now, what makes this a gag series is the events. Although it is a standard Shoujo anime at its heart, how it is handled is completely different. The author takes an ironic approach to many instances.

Monthly girls’ Nozaki Kun takes a different approach, which is hilarious.

We have the iconic fireworks at the end of the episode troupe where the characters confess and start dating. We don’t want to spoil the ending, so give it a watch. You won’t be disappointed.

13. Sakamoto Desu ga? (Haven’t You Heard? I’m Sakamoto)

• Genre: Comedy
• Episodes: 12

Sakamoto, the main character, embodies the word “perfection.” He performs all his tasks in such a way that they are completely flawless.

Some people seem to hate him because of this, but it’s a joy to see him handle these bullies flawlessly.

The story centers around Sakamoto, the series’ main protagonist, and his experiences with everyday life and the people around him.

In a circuitous comic way, Sakamoto motivates his fellow classmates to aspire to be better.

Sakamoto has a solution for everything his bullies pull up. For example, he carries an umbrella while he is using the toilet.

He predicted his classmates might throw water at him from above, so he was well prepared.

Throughout the entire series, we see his encounters with daily life problems in a hilarious way that makes the audience laugh.

12. Azumanga Daioh

• Genres: Comedy, Slice of Life
• Episodes: 12

“Hello, everyone! How are you? Fine, Thank you.

Oh My Gah! “

Does this ring a bell? You might have come across this one clip in particular on social media as a meme or as a funny anime recommendation.

Chiyo Mihama is a 10-year-old prodigy in the academic world and a high school girl who likes cute things like plush dolls.

With Chiyo, the main characters are all girls. We have Tomo Takino, an energetic tomboy with greater zeal over intelligence, and Koyomi Mizuhara, Tomo’s close friend, with a temper as short as Chiyo’s.

Sakaki is a tall, athletic beauty with a soft personality and a severe fascination with cats beneath her formidable exterior.

Furthermore, new student Ayumu Kasuga, a girl with her nose in the air, blends in seamlessly with the other girls—and she’s got several intriguing ideas regarding Chiyo’s pigtails!

This lovely bunch of girls go through the good and bad times of high school together, with nonstop laughter, bizarre silliness, and often even touching comments on high school’s bittersweet, temporary nature.

The simple slice-of-life story with good animation and sporadic sound effects adds to the overall enjoyment of the encounter. Overall, an enjoyable gag series.

11. Full Metal Panic? Fumoffu

• Genres: Action, Comedy
• Episode: 12

To safeguard Kaname Chidori, a valuable war resource, Sergeant Sagara attends Jindai High School.

Unfortunately, his lack of social skills and real-world knowledge leads to amusing yet perilous events, jeopardizing Kaname’s serene school life.

Full Metal Panic? Fumoffu is a story that follows Kaname and Sousuke, the main characters, as they try to keep their everyday school life afloat despite the chaos they accidentally cause.

10. Sket Dance

• Genres: Comedy
• Episodes: 77

Some people refer to Sket Dance as “School Life Gintama,” which isn’t surprising given that Sket Dance’s author previously worked as an assistant mangaka for Gintama’s author.

Now, the story for this anime is simple. We have 3 main characters, Usui, Hime, and Yuusuke, who are members of Sket Dan—a club that focuses on helping others and providing their services.

Since they don’t get any requests, they are pretty much lazing around. But when they get to work, they complete it most hilariously.

The series is full of witty parodies of well-known shows and personalities and gag humor.

Sket Dance, like Gintama, incorporates references from various manga and anime.

The writing of the characters and jokes is pretty similar to Gintama. So, if you plan on watching anime similar to Gintama or just plain gag anime, Sket Dance is the one for you.

09. Joshikousei no Mudazukai (Wasteful Days of High School Girls)

• Genre: Comedy
• Episodes: 12

Once again, we have another gag anime about high school girls. “Wasteful Days of High School Girls” is the story of three friends. Akane, Tanaka, and Shiori. They attend the same high school and even in the same classroom.

At one point in their daily life, Tanaka chooses silly names for her friends: “Ota” for Akane because she is a bookworm; and “Robo” for Shiori because she is lifeless.

They’ve given her the nickname “Baka” since she’s a numbskull.

When making a comedy anime, it is difficult to write jokes that aren’t repetitive, but that’s not the case with Joshimuda.

The episodes start with the same question: “Hey, wanna hear something amazing?” Even though the start is the same, the jokes are never the same.

What makes Joshikousei no Mudazukai great is its cast. The characters have a personality of their own, making way for gags.

08. Asobi Asobase (Workshop Of Fun)

• Genre: Comedy
• Episodes: 12

A funny anime that is a slice-of-life with a lovable cast and a twist that will make you laugh every time. The premise revolves around three girls: Hanako, Olivia, and Kasumi.

They come together and form the Pastimers Club, where they play games together and come up with ways to kill time.

Every character only serves one role, and that is to make the viewers laugh. The writing of supporting characters is excellent. They create a fun atmosphere, and every joke is funny.

The facial expressions of the characters are hilarious. The humor is mostly gag humor, among other types of humor.

07. Lucky☆Star

• Genres: Comedy, Slice of Life
• Episodes: 24

Lucky Star is a gag anime packed with parodies and references related to anime. This anime has no plot; it is a collection of random events patched together. Although the anime is compromised by the Chibi art style, it’s still entertaining to watch.

The anime’s plot revolves around the four main characters’ daily lives: Konata, an Otaku; Kagami, her hardworking friend; Tsukasa, who’s carefree and always goes with the flow without thinking much; and lastly, Miyuki, who treasures her status more than anything.

Since this is a slice-of-life anime, we follow these girls closely as they do the most basic chores and their conversations, which are either funny or interesting to witness.

06. Grand Blue

• Genre: Comedy, Seinen
• Episodes: 12

Iori Kithara, who is about to begin his college career, is the story’s protagonist. He lives in a dive shop called Grand Blue on the Izu Peninsula.

Unlike other anime on this list that focuses on high school, Grand Blue takes a Seinen approach since it focuses on college life.

The story is actually plotless. On the other hand, the story flows quite well, with one episode seamlessly transitioning into the next.

As we get introduced to the main cast, the first episode instantly sets the tone for the gag with nude and mature jokes.

Grand Blue’s true brilliance lies in its gag-driven, slapstick style of comedy, which has some unexpected morality teachings sprinkled throughout.

Grand Blue is a show that tackles anime tropes and stereotypes with gag humor.

05. Daily Lives Of High School Boys

• Genre: Comedy, Slice of Life, School
• Episode: 12

As you’ve noticed, most anime on the list are about high school girls, and we barely have any gag anime that focuses on high school boys. As the name suggests, this anime focuses on high school boys.

The anime is about a group of schoolboys doing what they do best, including lazing off at a friend’s house, playing jokes on people, talking about females, telling strange stories, making fun of each other, and doing anything in an exaggerated style.

Each episode places the boys and their classmates in unusual scenarios that you might or might not have encountered during high school.

Because most segments are short, the humorous tone is light, unpredictable, and fast-paced, making it quite enjoyable.

Just like Joshikousei no Mudazukai, Daily lives of high school boys is a gag anime with just genders reverse.

04. Nichijou (My Ordinary Life)

• Genre: Comedy
• Episodes: 26

Nichijou follows three high school friends, Mio Naganohara, Yuuko Aioi, and Mai Minakami, as they go about their daily lives.

However, their stories get entangled with that of their talking cat Sakamoto and Nano, her robot caretaker, and Hakase Shinonome.

On the other hand, their lives are anything from typical: mysterious explosions raining down random objects on their heads, lunchtime turning into an intense fight between a girl and wiener, and pupils riding goats to school.

Every episode is filled with different skits. Every character gets their own act. Simple everyday actions are shown over dramatically. Nichijou is peak gag anime and slapstick comedy.

03. KonoSuba: God’s Blessing on This Wonderful World

• Genres: Adventure, Comedy, Fantasy
• Episodes: 10

Some of you will think KonoSuba is an Isekai anime and isn’t gag anime. So to make things clear, KonoSuba is a parody of the iskeai genre.

KonoSuba presents a relatable idiot for the main character in a genre renowned for overpowering protagonists and glorified love relationships.

KonoSuba, unlike other gag series, has an actual plot. Every episode tries to mock RPG and isekai cliches without adding anything meaningful to the main plot or further evolving the characters.

The second season of KonoSuba doesn’t quite lose track of its gag plot and mocking nature.

02. The Disastrous Life Of Saiki K

• Genres: Comedy, Supernatural
• Episodes: 120

To make things clear for 120 episodes: From Monday to Friday, till November 4, 2016, Saiki Kusuo no Ψ-nan aired brief 5-minute episodes in the morning slot. A complete episode followed the morning block every Sunday night, although it eventually became the major broadcast slot.

The Disastrous Life Of Saiki K is a comedy anime with a dash of a slice of life. The story is about a boy named Saiki who has ridiculously strong powers.

He has a wide range of power sets, ranging from telepathy, x-ray vision, invisibility, mind control, memory alteration, and whatnot.

He can do anything, and he is probably the most overpowered slice of life protagonist. We can only hope that someone in the world can defeat him.

Saiki K, our main character, hates the spotlight, and he would do anything to keep himself away from it. But somehow, he does the opposite of that. He attracts the attention of people around him.

His interactions with Riki Nendou and Shun Kaidou make the anime fun to watch. It’s not just these two characters.

In the second season, more characters are introduced, and the plot becomes more fun to watch. The dialogues or the jokes earn a laugh or two from the audience.

01. Gintama

• Genres: Action, Comedy, Sci-Fi
• Episodes: 201

And in the first place, to no one’s surprise, we have the best gag anime, Gintama! Gintama stands at the top of anime gag list.

When we made the list of funny anime quotes, you saw Gintama quotes appear on the list. It’s no surprise that Gintama not only parodies other anime but also has a plot of its own.

For entertainment, this series has spoofed several other anime, Japanese personalities, and a few internationally famous figures such as Jackie Chan and Arnold.

What makes Gintama shines the most is its skill to make an ordinary act into something so much funnier.