Summary
Comedy manga is often absurd and humorous, in contrast to the ironic tone of Western media. This makes many panels suddenly feel humorous in their delivery. Some humorous comic panels can be lost in translation due to puns and puns – this is the case with classics like Inuyasha and Azumanga Daioh! The funniest manga can still resonate despite cultural and language barriers, and can introduce fans to new styles of comedy writing.
The manga has a lot of humor, that is to say The funniest manga panels of all time exists in many different genres. The visual medium is perfect for overreacting characters, but manga also sometimes includes more subtle and sly humor. Even darker, grittier series utilize humor as a way to lighten the mood between scenes.
Newcomers, especially Western audiences, may be surprised by the most common style of humor in manga. It tends to be more silly and humorous, in sharp contrast to the ironic tone of Western media. Additionally, some panels contain puns or puns that may be lost in translation. The funniest comics always arrive despite cultural and language barriers.
Kagome’s 10 friends grill Americans with humorous mistranslations
Inuyasha (Chapter 139 – The couple’s feelings)
Publishing company
Shogakukan
Creator
Rumiko Takahashi
Where to read online
viz
Sometimes, even official manga translations fall short of the mark. This is made humorously clear in Inuyasha, when Kagome is describing the titular dog demon to her friends. “American” seems to be a mistranslation of “yankee”, which is another word for a criminal in Japanese culture. According to the translation, Takahashi seems to be portraying a stereotypical American personality. In addition to this unintentionally funny scene, Inuyasha is also filled with physical comedy and biting remarks between the main characters that make this historical fantasy series a must-read.
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9 Patalliro likes to get under Bancoran’s skin
Patalliro! (Chap 1 – “The Day of the Bishounen”)
Publishing company
Hakusensha
Creator
Mineo Maya
Where to read online
Unavailable
As an agent of British MI6, Jack Barbarosa Bancoran is always calm, true to his James Bond-like nature. Everything changed when he was assigned to protect the 10-year-old king of Malynera, Patalliro. Bancoran considered Patalliro to be the most annoying and irritating child he had ever met. In addition to the manga’s LGBTQ+ themes, the endless bickering between Bancoran and Patalliro is also at the heart of the Maya series. It takes a special kind of person to make Bancoran lose his temper and Patalliro can do it within seconds.
8 Guts and Casca Share a joyful, palate-cleansing moment
Berserk (Chapter 50 – “Infiltrating Wyndham, Chapter 2”)
Publishing company
Dark horse
Creator
Kentaro Miura
Where to read online
Unavailable
For such a dark and emotionally devastating series, Berserk manages to seamlessly weave in genuine humor. For example, during their mission to rescue Griffith from torture, Guts and Casca share this humorous interaction. Some saw this as a bold throwback to previous episodes, when these two didn’t always get along. In addition, it a testament to Miura’s ability to balance tense and endearing scenes between characters. Fans aware of the pain that Guts and Casca didn’t experience in Berserk can look back at the panels as moments of respite.
7 Chiyo-chichi is funny in both appearance and dialogue
Azumanga Daioh (Chap 24.5 – “Consulting”)
Publishing company
Yen Bao
Creator
Kiyohiko Azuma
Where to read online
Unavailable
Azumanga Daioh is one of the strangest slice-of-life films and has long been praised for its comedic timing. In short, this manga does not lack humorous details. Some of the best are reserved for Chiyo-chichi, a cat-like creature who claims to be protagonist Chiyo’s father. He is not a real cat, but he claims cat status when it suits him, such as when he is asked for help in choosing the right college. Chiyo-chichi’s memorable quips, along with his annoyed glare, make him one of the funniest sidekicks in the manga.
6 Playful Fai makes fun of an action hero
Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicle (Chapter 206 – “The Future Now”)
Publishing company
Kodansha
Creator
CLIP
Where to read online
Unavailable
Fai always knows how to push Kurogane’s buttons. His ability to do so lies in their contrasting personalities – Fai is playful and mysterious, while Kurogane is very straightforward. In an extremely funny panel, Fai teases the group of shounen action heroes to reveal their techniques before executing them. Judging by Kurogane’s deep frown, he was not amused by Fai’s comment. Tsubasa is one of the best classic isekai, partly due to its humor.
5 Kaoru is extremely possessive of her AI skateboard
Sk8 relax! (Line 1)
Publishing company
Kadokawa Shoten
Creator
Toriyasu
Where to read online
Unavailable
In the gag manga based on the anime Sk8 the Infinity, Kaoru takes her obsession with her AI skateboard, Carla, to the next level. When Kaoru first meets Langa Hasegawa in the anime, he politely turns Langa down for a position at his calligraphy workshop. In Chill Out’s version, Kaoru suspects the blank-minded Langa is doing something more nefarious. In other words, joke in the anime about Carla being Kaoru’s “robot girlfriend”. exaggerated here for humorous effect.
4 Uramichi couldn’t maintain his child-friendly personality for long
Life Lessons with Uramichi-Oniisan (Chapter 7 – “When worry becomes anxiety”)
Publishing company
Ichijinsha
Creator
Gaku Kuze
Where to read online
Unavailable
Adulthood is soul-crushing – or so says Omota Uramichi, the children’s television host whose midlife crisis is the overarching theme of Kuze’s manga. Uramichi secretly cares a lot about the children he teaches, which is probably why he can’t pretend to them about the realities of adulthood. Uramichi-Oniisan’s goofy nihilism is not at all common in the manga series, but also makes it more accessible to Western audiences who are used to that type of humor. Millennials and young professionals have praised the series for being extremely funny and relatable.
3 Tamaki thinks his trauma makes him more mysterious
Ouran High School Host Club (Chapter 62)
Publishing company
Viz Media
Creator
Bisco Hatori
Where to read online
viz
When forced to face his tragic past, selfish Tamaki has his most characteristic reaction ever – he claims it only makes him more attractive and mysterious. Tamaki’s golden retriever’s energy barely matches the dark and moody host he believes he is in this scene, making it a cheeky wink-wink moment for the reader. There’s no denying that Tamaki’s flamboyant nature, combined with his lack of self-awareness, makes him one of the funniest bishounen anime heroes ever created.
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2 Tatsu always forgets that he is no longer a Yakuza
The path of a househusband (Chapter 9)
Publishing company
Viz Media
Creator
Kousuke Ono
Where to read online
viz
Much of the comedy in The Way of the Househusband revolves around how Tatsu, a former yakuza, brings a gangster-like intensity to his new role as housewife. The vocabulary and manners of Tatsu’s past life tend to seep into his family life, leading to many social missteps.. The best example of this is when he asked the grocery store clerk where he could find “white flour,” when he really meant wheat flour. Thankfully, Tatsu’s neighbors find him lovable enough that he is usually able to escape these situations unscathed.
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1 Yugi plays the mysterious vigilante
Yu-Gi-Oh! (Chapter 45 – “The terror of being 13!!”)
Publishing company
Viz Media
Creator
Kazuki Takahashi
Where to read online
viz
Even Yu-Gi-Oh! fans will admit that there is something inherently absurd about a bomber challenging a group of men to a game of cards. The way the mysterious shadow hovers in the corner of the panel, with an iconic hairstyle that could only belong to one person, makes this scene even more isolated. It’s unclear whether Takahashi meant this part to be funny or not, but Framing Yugi as a mysterious Batman-like hero is sure to bring laughter.
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