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ANNCast - Funny Ha Ha


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HyugaHinata



Joined: 25 Jun 2005
Posts: 3505
PostPosted: Fri Feb 04, 2011 7:55 am Reply with quote
Ah, a sound clip from The Simpsons.

Any chance of a show on anime flops (either in Japan, the West, or both)? Apologies if it's already been done.


Last edited by HyugaHinata on Fri Feb 04, 2011 8:38 am; edited 1 time in total
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Gewürtztraminer



Joined: 14 Nov 2007
Posts: 1028
Location: Texas - Its like whole other country.
PostPosted: Fri Feb 04, 2011 8:32 am Reply with quote
Great show this week.

On the English rewrite question, I really liked the rewrites of Shin Chan and especially Ghost Stories, did not have the same level of enthusiasm for Sgt. Frog. I also loved the effort put in on translating very unlocal scripts like Pani Poni Dash and Lucky Star into something I found funny.

I guess my point is, if you are going to translate it, make an effort to make it good and funny.

Overall I would say my two favorite anime comedies would be Ghost Stories and Pani Poni Dash. I probably need to revisit Excel Saga, but it really grates on me.

Also, my two biggest laughs from anime came from Toradora! and the 4th season of Maria Watches Over Us, so there may be truth in that the funniest moments come unexpectedly, kind of like life.
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Lord Geo



Joined: 18 Sep 2005
Posts: 2680
Location: North Brunswick, New Jersey
PostPosted: Fri Feb 04, 2011 9:41 am Reply with quote
Good show this week. And while my question wasn't exactly sent to you in a completely direct way (it was in response to Daryl's parody question), it was great to see you bring up how the idea of "parody" is seemingly now used by many now as an explanation for something being simply over-the-top. A parody makes fun of something. Simply being over-the-top does not equal parody, especially if the comedy is relatively minor in the show. You just can't call "Show A" a parody of "Show because/etc." simply because it's over-the-top, since that's not the definition of parody.

Now, yes, one of the definitions of "parody" is "a poor or feeble imitation or semblance", but I highly doubt people use this definition when they use the term to describe a show, and it still gives no excuse to call an over-the-top show a parody.

As for a comedy that I'm loving right now I do have to say Level E is amazing. I also find Beelzebub entertaining and funny, but Level E is something that really isn't done in anime right now.
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Melanchthon



Joined: 02 Oct 2010
Posts: 550
Location: Northwest from Here
PostPosted: Fri Feb 04, 2011 9:47 am Reply with quote
Oh! Lovely Complex! I love that show soooo much! But I love it for the romance more than the comedy. Erm, anyway

My Favorite Anime Comedies:
Galaxy Angel
Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei
PaniPoni Dash

My Favorite Western Comedies:
Futurama
Blackadder
Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead

So I guess from this you can tell that I love absurdism and parody, as well as clever puns and wordplay. And I only watch PaniPoni Dash when drunk (It all makes sense then!).

Concerning Nabeshin:
Puni Puni Poemy is better than Excel Saga. Discuss.

On Kuragehime:
Am I alone in not liking Princess Jellyfish? It was one third of a good show -- but still only a third. I demand at least a complete plot. It's not really even that funny. Just displaying various fujoshi tropes acting stereotypical isn't funny.

Humor in Sexual Dimorphism:
Its funny when girls can't cook because culturally Japan is stuck in 1950.

Irony in Comedy:
"It's not ironic it's just coincidental."

Romantic Comedies:
I hate shounen-style romantic comedies, but I love shoujo-style romantic comedies. It has to do with the fact humor in shoujo comedies is more character related while the humor in shounen is much more slapstick and nudity related.

Hating on Seitokai no Ichizon:
What. Seitokai is pretty funny. Okay, its not at a high level, but its not bad at all. There are some great comedic interactions there. I'm serious.

Defining Good/Bad Parodies:
Genshiken -- good parody
Kujibiki Unbalance -- bad parody

The problem I have with a lot of comedy in anime is it's repetitiveness. Often, they keep repeating the same unfunny joke, hoping that by the tenth time you see it, it will be funny. You know what? It never is.
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omoikane



Joined: 03 Oct 2005
Posts: 494
PostPosted: Fri Feb 04, 2011 9:59 am Reply with quote
Melanchthon wrote:
Hating on Seitokai no Ichizon:
What. Seitokai is pretty funny. Okay, its not at a high level, but its not bad at all. There are some great comedic interactions there. I'm serious.

I agree, SeiZon is a book you can't judge by the cover, which is exactly what Zac and Brad have done.

But I fear a lot of it has to do with detail understanding of some otaku concepts, as well. That's not a common thing. For otaku comedy it's far above average...
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Charred Knight



Joined: 29 Sep 2008
Posts: 3085
PostPosted: Fri Feb 04, 2011 10:00 am Reply with quote
In terms of anime the two best anime comedies are Excel Saga, and Pretty Sammy the TV series, both written by the team of Hideyuki Kurata and Yousuke Kuroda.

The only anime series of Shinbo I have seen a lot of is Poni Pani Dash which was fairly good, and Negima!? which continued to show that the producers still don't get that Akamatsu tricked them and Negima isn't a harem version of Harry Potter.

I already mentioned I love of Nabeshin, just a fantastic comedic talent, and I loved the various series such as Excel Saga, and Tenchi Muyo! GXP.

Their where certainly simply comedic moments in Evangelion such as the toothpick joke, or Asuka slapping Shinji after they saw her dress go up. I wouldn't call either scene satire.

From everything I have seen from the net while you can get something like Hetalia, Penny Arcade, or Nostalgia Critic, you're going to get a lot of Ctrl + Alt + Del, and Abridged series, which really involves a lot of copying other jokes, and making references. Then you get something like Shredded Moose which is some of the worst writing ever seen. Theirs a reason why these people really haven't branched into mainstream production.
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Yorozuya



Joined: 11 Mar 2009
Posts: 332
PostPosted: Fri Feb 04, 2011 10:11 am Reply with quote
My favourite comedy (though I guess its more of a mish-mash of genres) is probably Gintama but generally romcom anime (Rumiko's stuff, Fruits basket) is what I laugh the most. I also really liked Level E- it really surprised me with how funny it was.

I think the worst stuff is usually the shonen stuff which tries to fill time with tons of really lame jokes; sometimes I laugh just because of how stupid it is.
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Fellistowe





PostPosted: Fri Feb 04, 2011 10:12 am Reply with quote
Only 25 min into this podcast, so just at the bit where they are discussing the otaku sex comedy angle, and what's immediately come to mind for me as a live action comedy comparison to the otaku "oh my shirts fallen off, aha ha ha" style comedy is something like 'Benny Hill'. I could be mistaken but I think that did quite well when it was shown in Japan.
Anyone else ever get that impression?
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Penguin_Factory



Joined: 28 Oct 2007
Posts: 732
Location: Ireland
PostPosted: Fri Feb 04, 2011 10:53 am Reply with quote
Honestly, comedy in general isn't really my thing. Apart from the occasional stand-up (Irish comedian Dara O'Brien being my favourite) I only really enjoy comedic elements in other types of stories.

I tend to enjoy witty dialogue over slap-stick humour, although a good visual gag can get to me too. I'm watching Eden of The East at the moment and the chibi-style overreactions the characters do always amuse me, probably because they're relatively under-stated.

Anime sex comedy is the bane of my existence. I don't think I've ever enjoyed an entry into that genre.
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Cheesecracker



Joined: 01 Sep 2007
Posts: 240
PostPosted: Fri Feb 04, 2011 12:44 pm Reply with quote
Re: the girls can't cook question. The first response explained that it was funny because the guy was an amazing cook. I never thought that was the funny part...not by itself anyway.

If anything I would see that as a co-factor to the ego deflation or sympathy eliciting effect. Ironically, both effects are possible with an arrogant/tough girl as well as a girl who just kinda fails in general. Either way, it's MOEMOEMOE Smile

Given Japan's very traditionally, very structured nature and disdain for deviation(or failure) from the structure. Maybe there is a hint of shaming/or humiliation and even misogyny.

Perhaps they are just frying to lighten the mood.

The "part 2" is often watching the guy suffer thru an awful meal. Is that funny because he's suffering or because he's being an overly noble hero to the point of ridiculousness? Am I a bad person for wanting to punch these guys?

The structure and tradition aspect might explain the repetition of jokes. Like Golden Oldies and greatest hits. It's not like American TV doesn't do the same thing.

I would list FLCL as a dark comedy. It's one of my favorite for the comedy.

Thanks for fleshing out the MP3 tag:
I thought it was funny that the 'artist' field was 'Zac'

Given that it changes from week to week, maybe the Cast of the ANNcast be 'the ANN Cast' Very Happy
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DerekTheRed



Joined: 19 Dec 2007
Posts: 3544
Location: ::Points to hand::
PostPosted: Fri Feb 04, 2011 1:08 pm Reply with quote
The panel couldn't think of any dark comedies? What about something like Welcome to the NHK? Not dark enough? Not a comedy?

Anyway, my favorite anime comedy is Golden Boy. No matter how many times I watch that show, I still laugh. I can't explain it.
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yuricon



Joined: 06 Oct 2004
Posts: 147
PostPosted: Fri Feb 04, 2011 1:41 pm Reply with quote
So I find I pretty much disagree with all the specific series mentioned. Which just goes to prove how personal comedy is.

I do agree that the best comedy is found in series that aren't specifically "comedic" - one poster mentioned Maria-sama ga Miteru, and I'll agree with that. It's very funny at times.

One manga not mentioned that I consider to be the consistently most funny thing I read regularly is "Hayate x Blade." Hayashiya-sensei writes a uniquely smart-dumb kind of action comedy that lays me flat out every volume. And her references are as likely to be 80s American television as well as manzai. It takes relatively little for an American fan to understand why the reference to Hayate and Ayana as "Ponch and Jon" is funny....unless they are too young to remember CHiPS.

Great show, as always. Lots to chat about on Twitter. Smile
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rti9



Joined: 08 Jul 2007
Posts: 1241
PostPosted: Fri Feb 04, 2011 1:49 pm Reply with quote
Great show. The two guests added a lot to the show. Instead of just pointing out what you guys thought was funny or not, the three participants made a valuable analysis of anime comedy.

Another director known for doing lots of comedies is Akitaro Daichi who worked in Kodomo no Omocha, Sexy Commando, and Animation Runner Kuromi. He also directed two very popular shows that aren't well-known outside of Japan which are Ojarumaru and Atashin'chi.


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The King of Harts



Joined: 05 May 2009
Posts: 6712
Location: Mount Crawford, Virginia
PostPosted: Fri Feb 04, 2011 2:14 pm Reply with quote
I'm only 25 minutes in, but I want to comment on the sex comedy. I don't think what Zac is talking about is a sex comedy, but a fanservice comedy, and I believe there's a difference. Panty and Stocking, for example, has penis jokes, vagina jokes, sperm jokes, masturbation jokes and intercourse jokes. That's a sex comedy.

Girls Bravo on the other hand, has a lot of big boob references, boobs falling out, panties being flashed, groping, and a horn dog male character with a libido the size of Texas. That's a fanservice comedy, and that's the difference.

Sex comedies use actual, verbal sex jokes. Whereas fanservice comedies -what Zac is talking about- use sexual images in awkward situations to get a laugh.

We don't get a lot of sex comedies. The only ones I can name off the top of my head are Panty and Stocking, Futari Ecchi, Koe de Oshigoto and Desert Punk. We do get a lot of fanservice comedies, though, and I can name you several just from the last couple years easily.


Now I shall continue.
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ZakuAce



Joined: 06 Jan 2010
Posts: 525
Location: SE Wisconsin
PostPosted: Fri Feb 04, 2011 2:25 pm Reply with quote
I really don't like straight-up comedy anime. Offhand, I don't think I can name any that really appeal to me. I find the Manzai style comedy is not worth more than a chuckle and can sometimes actually make me mad (I can't stand Arakawa!) "Woah it's so wacky and random!" is not enough to be funny. And shows that rely on references are sometimes funny, but constantly doing parodies gets old really fast. Shows that are funny without needing the comedy to move the show along are the best - they are serious for a while, and then something funny is thrown in to lighten the mood, and it's great.

My favorite form of comedy is telling a funny story. I don't know what it is, but a funny story always has me laughing. That's probably why my favorite comedians are Gabriel Iglacias and Fred Klett. That's almost 100% of their comedy and I love every second of it.
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