Anime is a medium of entertainment that’s amazed audiences on television for more than 50 years. It continues to push boundaries and surpass expectations for what’s possible in the animation industry. There are so many eclectic anime genres that allow series to embrace both mainstream crowds and niche groups of people.
Lots of anime excel in one area, but some of the most respected programs are the ones that carefully balance different sensibilities, like comedy and action. Audiences who can’t decide if they want something exciting or funny can have their cake and eat it too with these anime series.
Updated by Lauren Turner on March 15, 2023: Anime is a mixed medium with many different genres, and some fan-favorite titles even blend genres. Action anime with notes of comedy are especially popular, and viewers will enjoy these anime for years to come. As such, we’ve revamped this list with even more information.
10 Gintama
There are plenty of anime series that are able to effectively juggle their comedic and dramatic sensibilities. Still, this can still often result in both of these extremes feeling compromised to some extent.
Gintama is the rare example of an anime that’s responsible for some of the silliest and most absurd standalone stories in the medium while also crafting elegant serialized story arcs that culminate in stunning drama and action. Gintama has more than 350 episodes that are filled with rewarding sword fights and unbelievable gags.
9 Dragon Ball
Akira Toriyama’s Dragon Ball progressively embraces action spectacles the longer that it goes on. The shonen series’ priorities are firmly skewed in favor of combat by the start of Dragon Ball Z.
However, the original Dragon Ball is a deeply comedic series, and its humorous instincts never abandon its storytelling. A lot of this has to do with Goku’s young age and his innocent view of the world when the series begins, but even his teen years are filled with odd opponents and comedic milestones.
8 Assassination Classroom
Assassination Classroom is a pure burst of adrenaline that frequently subverts shonen expectations with a feared and dangerous monster that simultaneously fulfills the role of a helpful mentor. An alien lands on Earth, takes out part of the moon, and threatens to do the same to the Earth if a class of remedial delinquents can’t assassinate him in a year’s time.
To Assassination Classroom’scredit, it doesn’t overstay its welcome or cheat its way out of what it promises. In doing so, it perfectly encapsulates the bittersweet dichotomy of emotions that fills the series.
7 Ranma 1/2
Rumiko Takahashi is responsible for several beloved properties, but most of her shonen content is more interested in battle strategies than punchlines. The exception to this is Ranma 1/2, a delirious action-comedy that feels highly representative of anime series from the early 1990s.
Ranma 1/2 trades in grounded martial arts and there is no shortage of thrilling battles. Still, the central premise to the series, where prolific warriors transform into animals — or in Ranma’s case, the opposite gender — whenever they’re exposed to cold water, is used to humorous effect. These constant metamorphoses deliver non-stop laughs.
6 JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure
JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure establishes a distinct voice for itself that it often feels lighter and comedic, even if it’s not explicitly engaging in jokes. For instance, the heightened character designs and their atypical flair for poses and fashion are a jarring contrast to their overly serious demeanor.
There’s a natural absurdity to the world of JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure that means that humor is never that far away. However, it’s also surprising to see how the unexpected ways in which fights play out can be their own source of levity.
5 Hayate The Combat Butler
An entertaining premise is essential for an anime series, especially for shorter stories that only have around a dozen episodes to experiment with. Hayate the Combat Butler looks at a teenager with the worst luck on the planet. Hayate gets abandoned by his parents and saddled with an impossible debt of more than ¥150,000,000.
This grim turn of fate pushes Hayate into indentured servitude, but his job description grows even more ridiculous when he’s tasked with bodyguard-esque protection duties. Hayate consistently feels in over his head, which results in delightful chaos.
4 One-Punch Man
One-Punch Man is a hilarious deconstruction of the superhero and shonen genres that would not be able to exist without audiences having grown increasingly savvy toward the popular genre of action. One-Punch Man features unbelievable battles that are brought to life with eye-popping animation.
However, One-Punch Man’s main character is someone who’s perpetually frustrated because he’s too strong for this world. Saitama’s apathy over the annihilation of his monstrous enemies is hilarious. Still, the rest of the unconventional heroes that fill the world, like Metal Bat and Watchdog Man, are just as entertaining.
3 My Hero Academia
My Hero Academia is one of the breakout shonen series of the decade. The anime recently passed the 100-episode milestone during its fifth season, and its third feature film made waves at the box office.
The riff on superhero and comic book culture is more action-forward than it is with its comedy. Still, the younger age of Izuku Midoriya and the rest of the series’ budding heroes results in a lot of natural, humble comedy. The earnest reactions of adolescents are usually humorous, but there are also plenty of strange quirks that feel like elaborate visual gags.
2 Samurai Champloo
Shinichiro Watanabe has a track record with anime that’s practically immaculate, and he’s a master of genre and tone. All of his anime effortlessly blend disparate influences into something cohesive and special.
Samurai Champloo is Watanabe’s riff on the wandering samurai trope from the Edo period of Japan. He incorporates a hip-hop music sensibility and layered characters who can wield a sword with menace one minute and fall on their face or gorge on food the next. It’s a lively approach to samurai action.
1 Pokémon
Pokémon is one of the most popular properties of all time, and in a few decades, it’s managed to dominate anime, video games, collectible card series, and so much more. A large factor in Pokémon’s ongoing success is that there’s much to appreciate in its world.
The Pokémon anime celebrates the versatility of the world’s many creatures and how there are endless approaches to Pokémon training. Admittedly, the action in Pokémon is typically restricted to governed battles, but this results in a formula where episodes are typically broken up into battle-heavy installments or comedic standalone experiments that balance the overall tone of the series.
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