While some anime like Pokémon, Sailor Moon, Azumanga Daioh, and Dragon Ball are beloved and considered iconic within certain genres of anime, others like Sword Art Online or Rent-a-Girlfriend constantly get dogged on for being considered too cliché. And others playfully poke fun at either end of the spectrum. Whether it’s referencing other prominent anime titles, being self-aware of certain common tropes to the point of satirization, or completely deconstructing or subverting expectations of popular genres, parody anime definitely deserve recognition for taking stereotypes and pop culture and transforming them into an absolute comedic art.
Videos by ComicBook.com
They say imitation is the highest form of flattery, and with the parody genre, that couldn’t be more true. Not only does the genre provide hilarious mischief, but can also be a medium for thought-provoking reflection, critique, and commentary, even in a meta way. But whatever your flavor of fun be it an underlying deep metaphor or simply lighthearted shenanigans, you’re sure to find a favorite pick with this list of parodies!
1) Bobobo-bo Bo-bobo
In the year 300X, the world has been taken over and is ruled by the Chrome Dome Empire. The tyrannical rulers’ henchmen, the Hair Hunt Troop, mercilessly hunt the hair of all, leaving heads bald and cities in ruin. But there is one hero willing to stand up to the bald bad guys: Bobobo-bo Bo-bobo. Using his special follicle fighting style, Fist of the Nose Hair, Bo-bobo rebels against their depilated despotism. Along the way, he’s joined by friends Beauty, Gasser (Heppokomaru), and Don Patch to fight for hair justice.
With humor based in “wigging out” — “the art and philosophy of doing bizarre or unexpected things” — Bobobo-bo Bo-bobo thrives off absolutely wacky, random absurdity. As basically a parody of Fist of the North Star, the jokes and slapstick can even arguably become funnier out of context.
2) Gintama
Edo, a city once home to the feudal shogunate of Japan, is now a puppet-government after being invaded by an alien race, the Amanto. With the ban on swords in public, samurai have become a legend of the past. That is, except for one. Gintoki Sakata, brandishing a wooden sword, claims to be a samurai for hire despite the ban. But he isn’t alone; In his endeavor to help others, Gintoki stumbles upon Shinpachi Shimura who becomes his apprentice wanting to learn the way of the samurai and Kagura, an alien girl who assists with her superhuman strength.
As the trio take on freelance odd jobs at Yorozuya, there’s definitely emphasis on the capital ‘O’ Odd. From fighting aliens to toilet humor, Gintama doesn’t just have a longstanding high ranking as one of the best anime ever in general, but for good reason as the parodies are by no means fleeting, but ongoing.
Gintama can be streamed on Crunchyroll or Hulu where available.
3) KonoSuba
After dying a hilariously pathetic death out of sheer stress rather than being hit by what he thought was an oncoming truck, high schooler Kazuma Satou finds himself in an afterlife audience with the beautiful, obnoxious goddess, Aqua. Given two options — to either go to Heaven or be sent to a fantasy world — the shut-in NEET, of course, chooses the latter. He is also allowed to choose one thing to take with him, so he chooses Aqua, the goddess herself. Although being sent to another world as the future hero to defeat the Demon King seems like it would be full of adventure and wonder, Kazuma and the useless goddess actually end up spending much of their time working manual labor jobs and sleeping in a stable to just get by. Even so, their misadventure is only beginning!
KonoSuba: God’s Blessing on This Wonderful World!, or simply KonoSuba, is peak when it comes to parodying isekai. Constantly subverting expectations, Kazuma is a character who truly could not care to follow any typical tropes within the genre, leading to plenty of hysterical mishaps.
KonoSuba can be streamed on Crunchyroll.
4) FLCL
Naota Nandaba is an average, ordinary junior high schooler who feels as though nothing exciting ever happens in his city. After his brother Tasuku has left to play baseball in America, Naota takes it upon himself to look after things while he’s gone, like his bunk bed and ex-girlfriend Mamimi Samejima who constantly clings to him as a sort of placeholder for his brother. But when Vespa-riding, bass guitar-wielding, pink-haired psychopath Haruko Haruhara comes into his life, it’s anything but mundane. After whacking him in the head with her bass and kissing him, Naota ends up growing a horn on his head that he struggles to hide. Deciding to take up residence at his house, Haruko drags Naota into a battle he’d rather not fight.
With chaotic, confusing storyline and stylization, FLCL gives a wild experimental air, underlying metaphorical commentary, and pop culture references like that of the vaporwave aesthetic. While the series has its own brand of absurdity and tends to have a lot of Easter egg-like parodies, it also has its own gripping narrative on the struggles of puberty.
FLCL is available for streaming on either Max or Crunchyroll where available.
5) Magical Girl Ore
15-year-old Saki Uno, a member of the unpopular idol duo Magical Twins with her friend Sakuyo Mikage, wants to get close to her crush, Mohiro, Sakuyo’s brother. She may just get her wish when her mother introduces her to a yakuza-looking brutish man who tried forcing his way into their home and claims to be a Magical Girl mascot, Kokoro-chan. As Saki learns that her mother used to fight demons as a Magical Girl herself, Kokoro-chan says he’s seeking to recruit a replacement. Hesitant at first, Saki accepts when Kokoro-chan urges that Mohiro is a target for demons. Though her confession to Mohiro transforms her into a Magical Girl with Love Power, her transformative form isn’t what she expected. Regardless, Saki must team up with Sakuyo to protect Mohiro from the fluffy, buff demon squirrels.
A parody on the magical girl genre, Saki actually transforms into a buff man in a frilly dress. With her magical “Ore” form being a constant cause of embarrassment for her, her situation becomes further complicated when both her crush and best friend become attracted to it.
Magical Girl Ore is available for streaming on Crunchyroll.
6) Pop Team Epic
A parody full of drama, action, crudeness, and pop culture references, this absurdist comedy has no shortage of wacky antics. With the show dubbed an anti-anime, high school girls Popuko, who is short in stature and temper, and Pipimi, conversely elevated in height and calmness, face various chaotic and surreal misadventures as they strive for the show to become a real anime. In a series of disconnected shorts that include slapstick comedy, nonsensical situations, and self-referential humor, the two girls respond in kind in their own equally bizarre and exaggerated ways.
The entire point of this series is to basically attempt to be the end-all-be-all parody of all anime parodies. While difficult to top the acclaim Gintama has for its parodies, by golly, Pop Team Epic definitely tries.
Pop Team Epic is available for streaming on Tubi, Crunchyroll, Pluto, and HiDive where available.
7) Sgt. Frog
When the frog-like alien race, the Keronians, invade Earth, siblings Fuyuki and Natsumi Hinata have one invader in their very home: Sergeant Keroro, leader of a preliminary squad. But just when Keroro thinks he has the upper hand after subduing the two human children, his invasion device, the Kero Ball, busts, and headquarters abandons his unit’s retrieval when something forces the rest of the Keronians to flee Pekopon, their word for Earth. Although Keroro and his platoon, including Giroro, Tamama, Kururu, and Dororo, are forced to remain on Earth plotting planetary domination, they come to enjoy getting into wacky antics at the Hinata residence with its tenants. With Earth and the Hinata kids once their target, they’ve since become their home and friends.
Comprising over 300 episodes, Sgt. Frog, also called Keroro Gunsou, is a great pick for those wanting an endless stream of a cute comedy absolutely overflowing with parody moments and just following the wacky daily lives of aliens’ futile shenanigans to conquer Earth.
Sgt. Frog can be streamed on Crunchyroll.
8) Uncle from Another World
After a near fatal accident with being hit by a truck, Takafumi Takaoka’s uncle, Yousuke Shibazaki, suddenly awakens after being in a coma after seventeen years. Spouting gibberish in an unknown language, Takafumi at first dismisses his uncle asserting that he’d been transported to a magical world called Gran Bahamal. But upon witnessing his uncle effortlessly recite an incantation that makes a cup of water hover in the air, Takafumi immediately inverses his opinion and invites his uncle to live with him. The two then team up and create a YouTube channel to showcase Yousuke’s magical abilities. As Takafumi acquaints his uncle with updated society and technology, Yousuke recounts his adventures in the other world to his nephew, who realizes just how many opportunities his uncle had ignorantly squandered in the magical world.
While many isekais are notorious for having either a relatively attractive or a purposefully bland protagonist who becomes so well-loved for their overpowered abilities that they will most likely obtain a harem, Yousuke is definitely not one of those protagonists.
Uncle from Another World can be streamed on Netflix.
9) One-Punch Man
Many kids dream of becoming a super hero when they grow up. After training so rigorously for three years straight to the point of losing his hair, Saitama managed to achieve that dream. Now that he’s so strong he can defeat anything with a single punch, challenges have become not so challenging. In fact, they’ve become so easy to conquer, his once beloved hobby has become a source of boredom. When nineteen year old cyborg Genos happens upon such a strong hero, he insists on becoming Saitama’s disciple and encourages him into joining the Hero Association together. With a renewed excitement for battle, Saitama faces new challenges one punch at a time.
One-Punch Man became an instant hit in 2015 with its quirky, unique take on a superhero with Saitama. Not only was the more minimalistic choices adding to the hilarity with Saitama’s expressions, but also with his surprising routine that gave him his superhuman abilities.
One-Punch Man can be streamed on Hulu.
10) Hetalia Axis Powers
Amidst raging World Wars, Germany must reconcile that his only allies lie with North Italy and Japan. Although Japan tends to be the more pragmatic and reliable, North Italy on the other hand, though a descendant of the once renowned powerful Ancient Rome, has been reduced to being weak and rather useless, only really caring for his love of pasta. As the Allied Forces arrive with their own disorganized antics to try to stop the Axis Powers, Germany must figure out how to make his own allies work together.
Based on exaggerated stereotypical national characterization traits, Hetalia Axis Powers gives a lighthearted, comedic take on how historical nations would act out conflicts through personification, giving the historical genre a refreshing parody twist.
Hetalia Axis Powers can be streamed on Crunchyroll.
What’s your favorite parody anime? Let us know in the comments!
Most Viewed
-
Image Courtesy of Pixar -
Image Courtesy of Lucasfilm
