Black humor is a form of humor that underlines with cruelty, bitterness, and sometimes despair the absurdity of the world, in the face of which it sometimes constitutes a form of defense. Generally appealing to the most violent irony and sarcasm, it must be mastered perfectly so as not to be confused with simple rudeness or gratuitous nastiness, since it often appeals to the different degrees of language that the general public is seldom able to understand.
Although not very common, black humor is present in anime as well and in this article, we are going to bring you a list of the 20 best black comedy anime series and movies for you to enjoy. The titles are not going to be ranked in any specific order, but rather just listed for your overall pleasure, so do not think that the list reflects any evaluation of the series’ quality. Simply enjoy the list and get ready to watch these great shows!
1. Angel Beats!
Original Run: April 3, 2010 – June 26, 2010
Number of Episodes: 13
The characters are teenagers who have died – often in a tragic way – who have not had an easy life or who have not been able to achieve their dreams, their ambitions. They are all in a world that is life after death, a place where they have to try to live normally again to fulfill their dreams in order to disappear or admit that they had a good time together.
But a young girl, Yuri, wants revenge on God, for the evil he has done to them in the real world. The day Otonashi arrives in this new world, he is forced to integrate. But who is this girl with white hair? An angel, the servant of that famous God the group is looking for? Yuri, along with his whole group, will try to unravel these mysteries during the 13 episodes.
2. Welcome to the N.H.K.
Original Run: July 9, 2006 – December 17, 2006
Number of Episodes: 24
A young man, Tatsuhiro Satō, painfully emerges from several years of self-inflicted imprisonment: he is a hikikomori. He meets, after these years of isolation, a very cute young girl (Misaki Nakahara) who, to his great surprise, does not despise him for his condition. On the contrary, she is interested in him and offers him her help through a project that she would have developed.
But Tatsuhiro senses the trap of the N.H.K., the Nihon Hikikomori Kyōkai (Japanese hikikomori company), hidden face of the famous N.H.K., and is wary. He also discovers that his next-door neighbor – a great otaku – is none other than a former classmate, and he decides to make a galge, an erotic video game, with him. There follows a poorly controlled dive into the moé, the lolicon, or the collective suicides, with the only buoy the presence of Misaki.
3. Oruchuban Ebichu
Original Run: August 1, 1999 – October 1, 1999
Number of Episodes: 12
The main character of the story is a female hamster named Ebichu, who was bought by her “mistress” (erroneously called “Goshujin-chama” by Ebichu) for a cheap price of 1000 yen plus 3% VAT (5% in the anime). The true name of Ebichu’s “mistress” is not given throughout the series, nor is that of her lover, who is referred to by Ebichu simply as “Will” (Kaishō-nashi pronounced Kaisho-nachi). Later in the series, the couple moves in together. The common life of these three characters forms the basis of the plot, while sporadic secondary characters and a characteristically satirical (and quite daring) humor make up the further attraction of the series.
4. Joshiraku
Original Run: July 5, 2012 – September 28, 2012
Number of Episodes: 13 + OVA
Rakugo is a form of Japanese literary performance in which the storyteller tells a humorous story with puns. Behind the scenes of the yose, five young girls come together every day with innocuous conversations filled with cultural references and puns resulting in totally absurd situations.
5. Sayonara, Zetsubou-Sensei
Original Run: April 3, 2010 – June 26, 2010
Number of Episodes: 13
Nozomu Itoshiki wishes to die. From the first rays of the sun to the arrival of night, all the efforts of this young professor are dedicated to ending his life, however, it does not matter if it is a poor quality rope, a chair that does not move, from a broken revolver or a dull knife, it seems that fate amuses itself by keeping Itoshiki in this world.
But life goes on, and this spare individual has to attend the first day of classes at his new school: a high school, which would not be much of a surprise were it not for the fact that all the girls, and some boys, in his class are severe cases. of mental pathologies, from a terrifying hikikomori, an illegal immigrant, a stalker, a boy who sells everything he has, another that everyone ignores, an obsessive-compulsive, and even a girl who only communicates through her phone cell phone.
Thus, inspired by the situation, Itoshiki will give everything to achieve his ultimate goal: to die in the shortest time possible. The episodes vary a lot, but normally these do not have a continuous story, in fact, the strangest thing about the series is that it can change the plot at any time, making it confusing for the viewer.
6. Excel Saga
Original Run: October 7, 1999 – March 30, 2000
Number of Episodes: 26
Right after graduating from college, an exuberant and energetic young girl, Hanako Dosukoi, nicknamed Excel, finds work in the secret organization Across, whose goal of the only member (Il Palazzo, a parody dictator) is to enslave the world. Excel, madly in love with her master, works hard but ineffectually to help him take over the world (starting with F City, whose sewers house Across’ base).
It causes the accidental death of a worker from Colombia, Pedro, whose misfortunes will be told to us over the episodes. Excel is soon joined on her mission by Hayatt, an anemic princess from Mars, and Menchi, a little dog meant to serve as an emergency ration. With Hayatt also landed the Puchu, extraterrestrials as endearing as they are dangerous.
Their invasion of Earth fails, but many Puchus remain infiltrated into human society (and sewers). Note also the presence of Nabeshin, a mysterious man wearing an Afro haircut who always intervenes at the least expected moment, for no apparent reason.
7. No Matter How I Look at It, It’s You Guys’ Fault I’m Not Popular!
Original Run: July 8, 2013 – September 23, 2013
Number of Episodes: 12 + OVA
In dating simulation games for girls (Otome Game), Kuroki Tomoko is the best with her 100 dating experiences. But in reality, the 15-year-old high school girl is asocial with an unattractive physique. One day, she realizes this and decides to do everything to become less gloomy, make friends, and one day hopes to go out with a boy. Unfortunately, between the dream and the reality, the gap is big… very big…
8. You’re Being Summoned, Azazel
Original Run: April 8, 2011 – June 30, 2013
Number of Episodes: 26 + 4 OVA
Rinko Sakuma works part-time as an assistant in Akutabe’s detective agency, a detective who can summon demons and use them to solve cases.
9. BLACK LAGOON
Original Run: April 9, 2006 – December 19, 2006
Number of Episodes: 24
Rokuro Okajima, a young Japanese employee of a large company, is tasked with traveling the seas of Southeast Asia to deliver a disc containing secret and vital data on the company for which he works. Unfortunately, his boat is attacked by a band of freelance pirates wanting to recover his property and he himself will be taken hostage on their boat, the Black Lagoon, an old torpedo boat. Thinking that his company will do everything to help him, he is not overly worried.
What he does not know is that his superiors hired mercenaries to silence him and destroy all evidence of the record’s existence. At the end of this incredible first episode, he decides to give up his life in Japan to join the adventure of these modern-day pirates.
10. Dorohedoro
Original Run: January 12, 2020 – March 29, 2020
Number of Episodes: 12 + 6 OVA
The story takes place in a post-apocalyptic world divided into two hermetic dimensions: Hole, the city-dump of the Humans, and the world of the mages. Magi can travel the human world through magical doors. The story revolves around Caiman, a character who has lost his memory. Transmuted by a mage, he possesses a reptile head and impressive strength. He is accompanied by a young woman, Nikaido, with whom he tracks down the mages to find his original identity.
11. Hozuki’s Coolheadedness
Original Run: January 10, 2014 – July 1, 2018
Number of Episodes: 39 + 7 OVAs
The plot of the series revolves around the everyday life of Hōzuki, the first secretary of Enma, the king of Japanese hell. Hōzuki is correct and dutiful – unlike his very easy-going and somewhat clumsy boss. He has worked his way up over the millennia from a humble demon, skilled in the craft of soul torment, and eventually became the chief bureaucrat. As the latter, he oversees the numerous circles of Japanese hell and all its demons. These include the young demon workers Karauri and Nasubi, whom he keeps encountering.
The dog Shiro, the monkey Kakisuke and the pheasant Rurio are also often part of events in hell since they are no longer the companions of the deceased Momotarō due to Hōzuki. The stories show how Hōzuki deals with the daily problems of working in hell and his subordinates in a mostly cruel-demonic, but also cool and clever way while being respected and admired by many.
12. +Tic Elder Sister
Original Run: May 16, 2011 – July 31, 2012
Number of Episodes: 12 (ONA)
The story of +Tic Elder Sister centers around three students: Iroe Genma, Makina Sakamaki, and Okamoto Hazuki. Each episode begins with a simple scene, then one thing leading to another the scene degenerates until it becomes surreal. The different episodes of the anime have little or no storyline connection.
13. Sankarea: Undying Love
Original Run: April 5, 2012 – June 28, 2012
Number of Episodes: 12 + 3 OVAs
Son of a priest, the Japanese high school student Chihiro Furuya likes zombies. He avidly collects everything related to these, whether video games, movies, or manga, he entertains the dream of zombies declaring his love for him. Faced with the death of his cat Babu, he decides to bring him back to life with the help of an old manuscript describing the process of creating a “resurrection” potion. Around this time, he meets a young girl named Rea Sanka, who has run away from her home.
After the tragedy, she drinks a sample of the “resurrection” potion which is created from a poisonous herb known as Hydrangea macrophylla, but this fails to kill her. After an argument with her father, she falls off a cliff, but thanks to the potion, she returns as a zombie. Even though she has become an undead, she chooses not to give in to her new-found nature and survives by consuming hydrangea leaves frequently.
14. Gin Tama
Original Run: April 4, 2006 – March 25, 2010
Number of Episodes: 201
Gintama is set in the Edo era when Japan was invaded by aliens called Amanto, creatures of various shapes, but all more or less humanoid. These manage to defeat the samurai after long fights. From then on, a radical futurition cut with the classic decoration of Japan is set up and the Amanto forbid the wearing of the saber in public. Despite everything, there are still some who prefer to keep their bushido. In this completely anachronistic Japan, there are still people who refuse to give up their saber.
Among them is Gintoki Sakata, an eccentric former samurai who helps a teenager named Shinpachi Shimura, save his sister Tae from a group of aliens who want her to join a brothel. Impressed by Gintoki, Shinpachi becomes his apprentice and works with him as a handyman with the goal of paying Gintoki’s rent.
15. Prison School
Original Run: July 11, 2015 – September 26, 2015
Number of Episodes: 12 + OVA
Hachimitsu Academy is an elite high school for girls in Tokyo characterized by strict rules of conduct including a ban on dating boys. At the beginning of the series, however, the school decides to open its doors also to the boys keeping the same rules, but to their amazement, the new male students turn out to be only five: Kiyoshi Fujino, Takehito “Gakuto” Morokuzu, Shingo Wakamoto, Jōji “Joe” Nezu, and Reiji “André” Andō.
The boys quickly become friends but things turn bad when the group is discovered spying on the women’s toilets: the punishment is established in a month of imprisonment and hard labor by the strict secret student association of the school led by President Mari, daughter of the principal, vice president Meiko and secretary Hana.
16. Life Lessons with Uramichi Oniisan
Original Run: July 6, 2021 – September 28, 2021
Number of Episodes: 13
In his early 30s, Uramichi Omota hosts a TV show for preschoolers, where he joins the kids in gymnastics in the gym and teaches them lessons about fitness and life in general. But behind his smile is a cynical, depressive personality that breaks through again and again in front of the camera. Having previously been successful as an athlete, he has now given up this career. Privately, he is anything but a role model: smoker, drinker, and a nuisance for some of his colleagues who appear with him on the show.
Tobikichi Usahara and Mitsuo Kumatan impersonate the show’s two mascots in disguise as rabbits and bears. You know Uramichi from university and he bullies you. Also, singer Iketeru Daga and singer Utano Tadano, who often appear on the show alongside Uramichi, have already completed the best part of their careers and have now landed on the children’s show. For all the adults on set, the groups of young children they shoot with are as interchangeable and impersonal as their sets.
17. Bludgeoning Angel Dokuro-chan
Original Run: March 12, 2005 – November 10, 2007
Number of Episodes: 6 (OVA)
Female angel Dokuro Mitsukai is sent back from the future to present-day Japan to kill high school student Sakura Kusakabe. In the future, Sakura will discover the secret of immortality, which makes all women stop aging when they reach the physical age of twelve. He will therefore be accused in the future of having created a pedophile world, which is now to be prevented in advance.
However, Dokuro chooses not to kill him, instead keeping him so busy and distracted that he doesn’t have an opportunity to develop any technologies. She therefore follows him everywhere, suddenly appears in the most unlikely of situations and causes all sorts of chaos through carelessness or clumsiness. Sakura keeps insisting that he would never invent such a technology.
However, Dokuro often embarrasses him at school. Although she constantly teases Sakura and makes his life miserable, Dokuro feels great affection for him. Despite this, she regularly slays him when she gets upset with him, in a very bloody manner, with her magical club Excalibolg, a Japanese kanabō with large iron spikes. Then, with a guilty conscience, she brings him back to life with a magic spell.
However, Sakura is in love with his classmate Shizuki Minakami. This is the only person in his class who always has his back and accepts the strange things that happen from time to time as a given. Over time, Dokuro learns to find his way in this world. At times other angels enter the scene and also try to kill Sakura or to prevent it. Eventually, Dokuro’s younger sister, Zakuro Mitsukai, appears to bring her back to her world as punishment for not completing the assignment. A little later, however, Dokuro comes back to Sakura from the future.
18. Humanity Has Declined
Original Run: July 2, 2012 – September 17, 2012
Number of Episodes: 12
Jinrui wa Suitai Shimashita is a post-apocalyptic work, in which humanity has given up its dominant position on earth, having lost its technology and having significantly reduced its population, being replaced by 10 cm fairies. tall, weak, and tender-looking, hiding a psychotic side, where the mistakes of men are reflected. The work makes a great criticism of current life, the way of life of humans, the waste of natural resources, and the possible lack of basic elements for subsistence in the future, among other things.
19. Mr. Osomatsu
Original Run: October 6, 2015 – March 30, 2021
Number of Episodes: 75 (+ 1 Special)
The six boys of the Matsuno family, sextuplets who spent their childhood doing mischief, have grown up and are now NEET young adults. Osomatsu is the “eldest”, surrounded by his five brothers: Karamatsu, Choromatsu, Ichimatsu, Jūshimatsu, and Todomatsu. They are often nicknamed “parasites” because they live off their parents. Now adults, will they have become wiser? The anime is a comical slice of life: it follows the life not only of the Matsuno family but also of other characters such as Iyami or Hatabō.
20. Detroit Metal City
Original Run: August 8, 2008
Number of Episodes: 12
Soichi Negishi is a shy and gentle young man who dreams of a career as a Swedish pop musician. However, his dreams did not come true as they should, so he ended up becoming the lead singer and guitarist of a Death Metal band called “Detroit Metal City”. In stage costume, he is Johannes Krauser II.
Negishi despises DMC and everything it represents, but he cannot get away from it because with him he knows the glory, unlike when he tries to demonstrate his talent for pop.
