Overall, 2022 was a good year foranime. Every season added a couple of memorable shows to popular genres like battle shonen, romance, slice of life, and isekai. If someone wanted action, they could turn toChainsaw Man,Cyberpunk: Edgerunners, andLycoris Recoil. If a viewer yearned to be whisked away to a fantasy realm,Made in Abyss,The Eminence in Shadow,Rust-Eater Bisco, andAscendance of a Bookwormcould take them there.
Life can be tough at times, and after a long day, sometimes nothing hits the spot like a good laugh. Plenty of the year’s shows incorporate humor to an extent, but that does not mean they qualify as full-blown comedies. When it comes to thefunniest anime of 2022, a few series float to the top.
The focus is solely on the quality and consistency of an anime’s humor, which does not reflect every show’s overall quality.
Honorable Mentions
The following series just barely missed out on an official spot, but they are certainly worth watching for comedy fans.
Where to Stream
Netflix
Kotaro Lives Alonedelivers exactly what its title advertises. Kotaro is a 4-year-old boy who moves into his own apartment, and while he might be mature for his age, his predicament naturally worries his neighbors. The anime’s humor primarily arises from Kotaro’s antiquated dialogue that often leaves the other characters charmed, bewildered, or slightly annoyed.
RELATED:Kotaro Lives Alone & The Problem of Japan’s Lost Children
Kotaro Lives Alonehas plenty of smile-worthy moments and even a few hearty laughs, but an underlining sadness runs through most of the show. While the anime generally strikes a wholesome tone,Kotaro’s trauma that led him to this circumstance lingers over the story. That’s not a bad thing, but it does mean the show occasionally prioritizes drama over comedy.
Crunchyroll,VRV
Skit shows are often inconsistent since they tend to swing for the fences as they search for that next homerun punchline.Pop Team Epicseason 2unapologetically embraces absurdity, crafting one surreal sketch after another while frequently changing its art style, pacing, and subjects. Consequently,Pop Team Epicflip-flops between brilliance and awkward failures, with very few skits falling somewhere in between.
At its best,Pop Team Epicwas thefunniest anime of 2022; at its worst, the show’s segments were painful to get through. Viewed as a whole, season 2 has more misses than hits, but that does not matter too much when sketches like episode 3’s children’s program spoof achieve comedic perfection. Even when a skit does not land,Pop Team Epicis never boring.
HIDIVE
Although not much has overtly changed since its original season,Teasing Master Takagi-sanhas evolved quite a bit over the years. Technically, season 3 still primarily revolves around Nishikata trying to get one over Takagi, an endeavor predestined to backfire; however, the pair’s friendship shines more brightly during their encounters in the Winter 2022 cour.
Even if Takagi nearly always gets the final laughs, it is not at the expense of Nishikata’s self-esteem. The anime does not hide that these two are made for each other, and their banter largely exists to reinforce this point. While not regularly hilarious,Teasing Master Takagi-san 3excels at creating a warm environment capable of painting a permanent smile on a viewer’s face.
Hulu
The Tatami Galaxy’s sequel came out of nowhere, and the same could be said for its story. The 6-part ONA anime finds Watashi, Akashi, Ozu, and a host of other characters trying to fix a broken remote of an air conditioner by using a time machine. Although featuring many of the same characters from the2010 masterpiece,The Tatami Time Machine Blueslargely follows a self-contained plot that emphasizes silliness over philosophical musings.
RELATED:Best Seinen Anime Of 2022, Ranked
The Tatami Time Machine Blueshas beautiful animation and an overabundance of wit, especially in relation to Watashi’s voice-over. The throwaway story mainly takes a backseat to the characters, who are so well-defined they could have spent six episodes bantering away in a room and the show would have been just as funny.
Due to circumstances out of the studio’s control,Uncle from Another Worldsuffered several delays that broke up its release schedule, causing the Summer 2022 show to lose a lot of its early momentum. At the start of its run, the isekai parody seemed destined to be2022’s best comedy anime; by the end, Ojisan’s adventure felt like an afterthought.
Despite the anime’s production issues and somewhat lackluster second half,Uncle from Another Worldstill produced a few of the year’s biggest laughs. After spending 17 years in a fantasy world, the eponymous uncle returns to Earth and moves in with his nephew. While trying to adapt to modern society, Ojisan enthralls his relative with video footage of his time as an isekai hero, which contains some highs and many, many lows.
Komi-san wa, Comyushou desu. 2nd Season
In the Spring of 2022, Shouko Komi resumed chasing her dream of acquiring 100 friends.Komi Can’t Communicatehas to pull off a tough balancing act since most of the anime’s humor revolves around the socially awkward Komi’s muted but loud reactions to the rest of the characters' antics, an element that should gradually fade away as the protagonist becomes more comfortable around others.
Season 2’s solution is to carefully divide its humor-driven and character-focused moments; while the latter showcase Komi’s development, the former emphasize her established shtick. For the most part,Komi Can’t Communicatenails its comedy whenever the titular character takes center stage, which is most of the time. Meanwhile, the anime’s supporting figures range from brilliant (Najimi Osana and Makoto Katai) tooverbearing (Yamai Ren).
domerica
Anzu Hoshino loves video games, chocolate, and her cat. She does not have any interest in romance, something that causes the magical Riri to show up and turn the teenager’s life on its head.Romantic Killerchronicles Anzu’s frantic attempts to fight off a horde of (likable) male partners. Before long, she finds herself living with multiple suitors who could all be the leads of an otome game.
RELATED:Ways Romantic Killer Parodies Isekai Anime
Romantic Killerparodies harem tropes while simultaneously telling one of the better romance stories of 2022. Brash, fierce, and proactive, Anzu is an absolutely delightful protagonist, and her transformations into battle shonen archetypes rarely fail to inspire a chuckle.
Crunchyroll,Funimation,VRV
Kaguya-sama: Love is Warstarted off as a pure comedy with romantic overtones, but the latter is no longer subtext.Ultra Romanticis not only the show’s strongest cour yet but also the best anime of 2022; that said, most of the season’s high points focus on romance rather than humor. While Kaguya and Miyuki still engage in the occasional comedic battle, their impending graduation means these conflicts feel more pointless and counterproductive than ever before.Ultra Romanticacknowledges this en route toward a fantastic season finale.
That said,Ultra Romanticis still packed to the brim with memorable skits and gags that highlight supporting characters likeChika, Ai Hayasaka, and Maki Shijou. Comedy might no longer be the anime’s sole reason for existing, butKaguya-sama: Love is Warhas not lost any of its wit.
Crunchyroll, Hulu,VRV
The Forgers are an unusual family. Loid, the father, is secretly a spy who adopted Anya as part of his mission to infiltrate a school and get closer to a politician. Unbeknownst to her dad, Anya can read minds, although she does not always fully understand what she is hearing. Lastly, Loid’s pretend wife, Yor, is an assassin.Spy x Familyfollows the trio’s misadventuresas they steadily grow closer while continuously lying to each other.
While not devoid of action,Spy x Familyis first and foremost a comedy, particularly during its first cour. Innocent but mischievous, Anya steals nearly every scene she is in. As she acts her age, the young girl’s plans to help her father are often adorably simple, and they tend to fall apart in a hilarious fashion. Loid and Yor are also quite funny, as are secondary characters like Fiona and Franky.
The biggest surprise of the year,Bocchi the Rock!is thebest 2022 comedy anime. CloverWorks' show centers around Hitori “Bocchi” Gotou, an anxious high schooler who achieves her dream and joins a band. The only problem is that Hitori can barely talk to people she knows, let alone perform in front of potentially hundreds of strangers. However, she wants to make this work.
Bocchi the Rock!is depicted from Hitori’s point of view, and this goes beyond just following the girl similar to a slice of life series. Whenever Bocchi feels overwhelmed by self-doubt, which happens frequently, the character’s mental state is creatively brought to life by the anime’s presentation. Hitori is the anime’s star, but the rest of the band members more than hold their own. In fact, Ryou Yamada might have the highest percentage of successful jokes per quote in 2022.
