10 best dark comedy anime that you should give a try

Dark comedy anime blends humor with heavier themes like death, despair, depression, social anxiety, and the general absurdity of life. They find comedy in otherwise very unfunny situations.

This allows these shows to offer thoughtful commentary on deeper aspects of the human condition while making the audience laugh. Some of the best dark comedy anime use extreme situations and exaggerated characters to highlight the absurdity of real-life societal issues and human behavior.

Others focus more on the struggles of a deeply troubled main character. But they all manage to make us laugh at things we generally wouldn't find funny at all. If you also like laughing at the general meaninglessness of life, here are 10 of the best dark comedy anime series you should check out.

10 unforgettable dark comedy anime you need to see

1. Gintama

In an alternate version of the Edo period in Japan, aliens invaded and took over. Gintama follows the eccentric samurai Gintoki Sakata, who takes on odd jobs along with his friends Shinpachi and Kagura to pay the rent while indulging in his sweet tooth for various candies and snacks.

On the surface, Gintama is a goofy comedy driven by strange characters getting into silly hijinks. But it regularly dives into more serious storylines that deal with discrimination, loss, and rebellion. The tonal shifts from crude jokes to fight-for-your-life battles give this dark comedy anime a truly unique essence.

Combine this with meta-commentary on anime tropes, and you will find one of the most distinctive series in the genre. The mashup of styles embodies the core spirit of dark comedy anime – finding laughter and light even in darker times.

2. Life Lessons with Uramichi Oniisan

Life Lessons with Uramichi Oniisan (Image via Studio Blanc)

31-year-old Uramichi Omota hosts a popular children's fitness show, but his life behind the scenes is falling apart in depressing ways. He's chain-smoking, drinking heavily, and burdened by crippling self-loathing that erupts when the cameras stop rolling.

Life Lessons with Uramichi Oniisan nails workplace black comedy, leveraging the gap between Uramichi's cheery TV persona and his actual jaded, worn-down existence. Seeing this two-faced dynamic exposes the silly falsehood of similar overly-positive personalities, a hallmark of great dark comedy anime.

As a failed comedian stuck hosting a kids' fitness show, Uramichi never imagined his career prospects sinking lower. But witnessing his comedic rants makes his downward spiral feel funny and refreshingly honest.

3. Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei

Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei (Image via Shaft)

Nozomu Itoshiki is a teacher who is constantly trying and failing to commit suicide due to the despairing way he views the world. His class consists of uniquely eccentric students like the overly optimistic Kafuka, the obsessive perfectionist Chiri, and a girl who is socially invisible to others.

Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei satirizes various aspects of Japanese culture and society through the suicidal lens of Nozomu and his students' bizarre personalities and questionable behavior. Exaggerated delusions reveal real struggles like social anxiety, confirmation bias, and depression, setting it apart in dark comedy anime.

Comedy emerges from the hyperbolic reactions of Nozomu to relatively minor inconveniences. While played for laughs, his over-the-top suicidal responses slyly represent how disproportionately people often respond to their struggles in life.

4. Hozuki's Coolheadedness

Hozuki's Coolheadedness (Image via Wit Studio)

Hozuki's Coolheadedness follows the sadistic ogre Hozuki as he serves King Enma, ruler of Japanese Hell. He oversees the bureaucratic operations of Japanese Hell, managing various departments and ensuring the smooth administration of punishments for those who enter Hell.

Despite the horrific setting, this dark comedy anime manages to be strangely lighthearted and hilarious. Most of the comedy comes from Hozuki's calm and collected reactions to the eccentric and idiotic characters surrounding him.

It's an unexpected take on a realm of eternal damnation, but sometimes, making light of suffering is the only way to endure the depths of human cruelty and maliciousness in the world. Hozuki embodies this spirit as a cool, level-headed beam of composure shining through the darkness.

5. WataMote: No Matter How I Look At It, It's You Guys' Fault I'm Not Popular!

WataMote: No Matter How I Look At It, It's You Guys' Fault I'm Not Popular! (Image via Silver Link)

Painfully shy high school student Tomoko Kuroki is excited to finally become popular now that she's starting her first year of high school. However, due to her poor social skills and awkwardness, she ends up more isolated and alone than ever before.

This dark comedy anime highlights the excruciating world of social anxiety in exaggerated ways, depicting Tomoko's daily life as one cringe-inducing horror after another. Her vain attempts to fit in or interact with others always backfire, thanks to her chronic awkwardness.

While Tomoko's extreme social paralysis elicits sympathy, it's also morbidly hilarious just how bad she is at interacting with other humans. We can laugh at Tomoko's failure to find connection, even while recognizing our less extreme versions of the same insecurities.

6. Dorohedoro

In a dystopian city clouded by magic and its vile effects, humans coexist with magic users who test experiments on them. Kaiman, with a reptile head and lost memories, hunts the magician responsible while venting by killing magic users, thanks to his magic immunity.

A clever mix of horror, violence, supernatural intrigue, and absurd comedy, Dorohedoro sucks you into its grim setting populated by sociopaths who treat murder like any old pastime. Magic adds unpredictable, dark humor that enhances the chaos.

Whether it's black-hearted comedy or a genuinely touching story of friendship, this dark comedy anime excels because it commits fully to its chaos without losing sight of great characters and worldbuilding.

7. Hinamatsuri

Nitta's life revolves around his position in the Yakuza…until the day a mysterious middle-school girl with strange supernatural powers quite literally crashes into his life and apartment. Forced to take her in, Nitta discovers raising a teenager may be his toughest challenge yet.

What makes this dark comedy anime so great is seeing hardened gangster Nitta placed into sitcom-esque scenarios like helping Hina make friends or navigate love. His tough-guy attitude contrasts perfectly with Hina's deadpan humor and telekinetic abilities, creating a delightful fish-out-of-water dynamic.

As the oddball father-daughter duo develops an unlikely bond, the humor stems from their opposing personalities trying to understand one another's vast differences in life experience and emotional maturity.

8. Prison School

Only five first-year high school boys enrolled when an all-girls high school recently turned co-ed. Thrilled by the attractive possibilities, they are instead forced into a month of harsh prison-like punishment for minor infractions by the Underground Student Council.

Prison School pushes ecchi lewdness to such extremes that it loops back around into hilarity. Vulgar and perverted on the surface, underneath it all, this dark comedy anime actually offers some interesting commentary on sexual awakening and gender dynamics in high school.

No topic is too uncomfortable or grotesque for Prison School as it explores teen awkwardness through gut-busting scenarios of deception and domination between the five lusty guys and their attractive disciplinarians.

9. The Tatami Galaxy

A nameless third-year university student continuously replays his rose-tinted idea of a perfect college experience, only to restart before the narrative finishes as he fails to obtain the romanticized glory he imagined.

Using creative visuals and rapid-fire narration dense with wordplay, this dark comedy anime scrutinizes its protagonist's entitlement and false notions about university life by revealing the real-life opportunities he misses to pursue a twisted ideal that doesn't exist.

Funny, psychedelic, and relentlessly clever, The Tatami Galaxy applies a playful tone to the heavy ideas it explores regarding time, personal growth, and the temptation to dwell on fruitless alternate realities instead of making the most of the present.

10. Welcome to the NHK

A NEET shut-in named Tatsuhiro Satō suspects a sinister NHK conspiracy is brainwashing young people into becoming hopeless recluses. He encounters a girl named Misaki who offers to help cure his societal withdrawal as part of her personal project, thus beginning his journey back to the real world.

Welcome to the NHK is a dark comedy anime that takes a psychological trip into the hearts and delusions of hikikomoris (shut-ins) everywhere. It confronts the hard social issues driving young people inward through Satō's mental instability and farcical paranoia regarding the evil he believes the NHK represents.

This series uses comedy for laughs and to explore alienation with humanity and empathy. Beneath the humor lies a genuine attempt to broker understanding regarding depression, anxiety, and modern disconnection.

Conclusion

The best dark comedy anime skillfully blends humor with heavier themes of death, despair, depression, and modern disillusionment. They allow audiences to step back and appreciate absurdist perspectives, illuminating the meaninglessness we all face.

From the rapid-fire wordplay of The Tatami Galaxy to the workplace dry wit of Life Lessons with Uramichi Oniisan to the paranoid hilarity of Welcome to the NHK, these dark comedy anime series enjoy subverting expectations through unpredictable tonal shifts.

So, if you appreciate laughing at the bleak cruelty of existence as a way to process and relate to it, these 10 dark comedy anime should not be missed.