Ask John: Why is There So Much Comedy Manga and Anime?

Question:
Why are there so much comedy anime in such anime titles in different genres – VHS & DVDs, manga books & on Television in Japan and in North America? The anime fans find comedey in anime very interesting, unique, and sometimes rare. Is comedy anime really that popular in Japan or not?

Answer:
The answer to this question, I think, touches upon two fundamental characteristics about anime that Americans don’t consciously apprehend. First, comedy appears so frequently in manga and anime because it is indeed popular among Japanese readers and viewers. The argument may be made that some amount of the common prolific in manga and anime exists because the relatively small circle of Japanese authors enjoy writing comedy, regardless of what consumers want. But while writers are free to compose whatever they wish, stories don’t get professionally published or adapted into multi-million dollar anime projects if there’s no audience for them. By logical and practical deduction, one can only conclude that there’s so much comedy present in manga and anime because Japanese consumers do, in fact, like and want comedy manga and anime.

The popularity of comedy and humor among Japanese audiences reveals a second facet of anime that American fans may not commonly realize. Typically the most popular anime genre among American viewers is action. American audiences love intense, exciting, absorbing anime that feels like it’s targeted at intelligent, intuitive viewers. Titles like Cowboy Bebop, Evangelion, Naruto, Dragon Ball Z, Inuyasha, Afro Samurai, and Gundam Wing have been very successful in America. However, attempts to market anime comedy to average American viewers – titles like Crayon Shin-chan, BoBoBo-Bo Bo-BoBo, and Oh! Super Milk-chan – have not been especially successful. I don’t believe that anime comedy is less popular in America because it’s too culturally specific. I think that comedy anime is less popular than action and adventure anime in America because Japanese style action and adventure animation are a relatively unique commodity in America while America has produced its own comedy animation for decades – from The Flintstones and The Jetsons to Fat Albert to The Simpsons and South Park. So anime typically fulfills a slightly different purpose for Japanese viewers than it does for Americans.

For Japanese otaku, anime is the equivalent of American prime-time sitcoms. Japanese anime fans – frequently children and students that spend much of their time in school, studying, or doing homework, anime is a pleasant diversion – a cheerful relief from the burdens of responsibility. Comic and romantic anime allow Japanese viewers to unwind and transport themselves to other places and other lives for a short while. Obviously, since violent, action filled, dramatic, and even robot filled anime exist, Japanese fans take as much pleasure in dark, tense, and serious anime as American fans do, but those shows are appealing to Japanese viewers as occasional diversions while lighthearted and romantic anime serve a vital, cathartic purpose.

American viewers have plenty of options for childish and humorous animation and entertainment including evening sitcoms, Disney animated films, Saturday morning cartoons, and animated series including The Simpsons, Family Guy, American Dad, King of the Hill, South Park, Drawn Together, Aqua Teen Hunger Force, and Metalocalypse. But American viewers have few avenues for a steady stream of exciting action and adventure targeted at teen and young adult viewers. Average American viewers have different daily routines than similar Japanese audiences, and access to a different variety of entertainment. So while Americans look to anime primarily for thrilling, tense entertainment, Japanese viewers want anime to be a fun, relaxing diversion. Americans look to anime to provide stimulating visual excitement. Japanese viewers use anime to create an enveloping, reassuring, nurturing vicarious life experience.