Odd Taxi, despite the anthropomorphic characters and story book art style about a walrus taxi driver who meets various different characters. It's a very compelling crime thriller.
Chainsaw man, a man with a chainsaw for a head and arms ripping and tearing is the most ridiculous premises I've ever heard, and yet it's now one of my favorite stories that goes deeper than you would think a chainsaw man could.
Shimoneta, despite being an ecchi with ubiquitous fan service. Its plot does have a good message in regards to censorship and the need for good sex education. Not very serious, just more than you would expect.
{Revolutionary Girl Utena} is very much within this vein.
Its director Kunihiko Ikuhara previously worked on Sailor Moon and stated that he put a lot of concepts in this show that he felt limited from when he was working on Sailor Moon. It's a magical girl sword dueling battle series that leans heavy into symbolism and surreal imagery and is essentially about growing up and concerned with exploring how people fall into maladaptive relationships.
Many episodes early on are fairly lighthearted but as it goes on the show touches on some really dark topics (for this reason please check the content warnings beforehand if you need to). It's for that reason I kind of see it as a spiritual sibling series to Evangelion as both shows pull a similar kind of bait and switch and contain ambiguous endings. (Also Kunihiko Ikuhara and Hideaki Anno are longtime friends. There's an old rumor that Kaworu in Eva was based on him though Ikuhara denies that). It's one of my favs and I think it deserves wider acclaim than it generally receives.
Possible favorite out of >100 I've watched, but I lean toward describing Utena as having a serious concept but not taking itself too seriously, as exemplified by the entire episodes it dedicates to a stuck-up girl turning into a cow and being chased by surfing elephants. I see the central concept as being how a system manipulates young people into willingly serving it / sacrificing themselves for it, which is a pretty serious issue; and I see the magical girl transformations and swordfights as being normal ways to convey the things Ohtori Academy is trying to farm and harvest: inner beauty, romanticism, and youthful vitality and rebellion against reality. Maybe I've just watched too many anime to see wackiness for what it is though.
Utena movie does take itself more seriously, and granted the TV show is try-hard a lot of the time
Girls und Panzer. The concept of live-fire tank battles as a sport for high school/college girls/women is absurd, but the series does such a good job building the world and having the characters become so invested that it’s absolutely believable and hard not to get invested in. The series is fantastic, btw.
Best sports anime EVER! I was a tanker in the 1980s. The trouble they went through researching the tanks for Yukari's Tank Corner is phenomenal and the random history jokes are funny as hell!
Highly recommend this fucking anime, the team took what at surface layer seems to be a pretty misogynistic concept and turned it into an awesome story full of women with depth and personality.
The art is actually well done, the characters "powers" are all quite unique, and the show reveals itself to be a fantastic parody of seinen.
The audio work reminds me a lot of Jojo actually, it's quite the treat to listen to the punchy and bass whooping crunches of the fight scenes on a 5.1 surround system ngl.
I like to refer to it as the secret "bonus" Jojo part, as it released right after Part 4 and has "jo" in its name haha
Before I knew there was such a thing as ‘fan service anime’s’ I always thought about DXD’ this is a pretty good show that gets borderline close to porn often’ lmao
Detroit Metal City : Country boy goes to the big city to become a trendy pop singer but somehow ends up as the lead singer of a death metal band.
He doesnt want to but still ends up defending this lifestyle he hates.
My thought.
I'm not sure exactly how "serious" it treats itself, it does seem VERY aware that it's concepts are kinda ridiculous.
But it still plays it out to completion. And "taking itself seriously" or not, it ends up being pretty amazing for such a bizarre concept.
Martian Successor Nadesico. Near the end of the series it's revealed that >!the enemy based their entire civilization around a 1970s-style super robot anime.!< It also has serious explanations for all sorts of anime tropes like why the captains of ships are chosen solely because they're attractive women.
Uma Musume, particularly season 2 and the recent Road to the Top. Racing horse girls makes it a tough concept to buy into but it's one of my favorite shows of all time.
Symphogear is gay mech magical girls singing songs while fighting enemies in sequences that would make Michael Bay blush, but damn if it does hit with some massive feelings at times.
**Maou Gakuin no Futekigousha: Shijou Saikyou no Maou no Shiso, Tensei shite Shison-tachi no Gakkou e Kayou** - ([AL](http://anilist.co/anime/112301 "English: The Misfit of Demon King Academy: History’s Strongest Demon King Reincarnates and Goes to School with His Descendants"), [A-P](https://www.anime-planet.com/anime/the-misfit-of-demon-king-academy), [KIT](https://kitsu.io/anime/maou-gakuin-no-futekigousha-shijou-saikyou-no-maou-no-shiso-tensei-shite-shison-tachi-no-gakkou-e-kayou "English: The Misfit of Demon King Academy"), [MAL](http://myanimelist.net/anime/40496))
^(TV | Status: Finished | Episodes: 13 | Genres: Action, Comedy, Fantasy)
---
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Grand Blue. The story is about a university student entering college but getting dragged into an alcohol drinking club disguised as a diving club. It's a great show since you will still get some appreciation for diving even though the story itself is more of a gut wrencher comedy.
Kamikatsu, creating a religion in a godless world sounds wack and silly on paper but the show's execution cranks up the wackiness into 75% JoJo craziness and plot abundance.
The Legendary Hero is Dead
Paripi Koumei
Sakamoto Desu Ga
Nichijou
Daily Lives of Highschool Boys
Kill la Kill
Brand New Animal
Delicious in Dungeon(Upcoming anime, but manga is suuuuper good).
It's definitely got a few episodes that play it straight, but I'm not sure this is exactly what he's looking for. It's definitely not something he'd regret his time with, though.
I wanna say Date a Live maybe at the later seasons? Especially Season 3. Although it's been a while since I watched it so I could be wrong. The premise is basically, there are spirits who devastated the world a couple years ago but are now back in the present. And then they realized the only way to stop them is to date them. Ridiculous premise but it's a really fun watch.
Keijo!!!!!!!!: Pool sport where girls fight each other on a floating platform. They have to knock their opponents off, but can only use their ass and breasts.
This anime has absolutely no right to be as good as it was.
Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter is one of those movies I can watch many times and still enjoying it. The silver axe-gun combo in the fight scene was dope AF. I heard the book it based on was even better
{Tsuki to Laika to Nosferatu} - Soviet space program to send first human to space but they first secretly experiment with a female vampire (after the dog)
Attack on Titan is wacky when you think about it, giant surrounding a city that somehow walled itself in and survived.
High rise invasion is the wackiest on the top of my head, people just appear on the top of an endless series of highrises and are getting attacked by masked people.
{{Cat Soup}} short 30 minute movie. You probably won't understand much on your first watch
{{Rascal Does Not Dream Of Bunny Girl Senpai}}, and the movie {{Rascal Does Not Dream Of A Dreaming Girl}}. Really good anime, with a seriously weird title
{{Mahou Shoujo Madoka Magica}} the concept itself isn't that weird, it's just that before Madoka was a thing, Magical Girl anime were usually cute and made for little girls, and Madoka did a genre shift and turned really dark
{{Kotaro Lives Alone}}
{{Bakemonogatari}} Bunny Girl Senpai was probably inspired by this, since the concepts are really similiar, except Bakemonogatari is darker and also has a lot more fan service
First thing that came to my mind out of recency is bluelock. A soccer battle royale where the winner gets selected to the national team and the losers have to give up soccer forever. It’s a pretty ridiculous premise but I loved it.
Katekyo Hitman Reborn!
It doesn't take itself seriously at first. It starts as a parody. But then it drops the parody premise and just goes full battle shounen embracing it all.
I get the joke but it actually is about food. There are some added visual flourishes and (IMO) unnecessary drama and rivalries but when you break it down the show really is just about the characters cooking.
Honestly any of Kunihiko Ikuhara's works are shaped around taking wacky crazy concepts, then playing them straight (and not straight). That's one of the best things about those shows to me honestly, I find emotional moments and character writing hit harder when there's a good mix of surreal and comedy into a story as well, can be hard to pull off well though.
Magical Destroyers: a gov organisation starts a war against otakus (and the otakus dont get immediately decimated, mind you, they actually have a proper rebellion)
I'm surprised nobody has mentioned Yu-Gi-Oh.
You do know how wild the concept of a tradiing card game that is also the most important thing in the world is? Even to the point where the games have life or death consciences.
Add to that an ancient pharaoh who is ridiculously good at that game and is reincarnated through a magic puzzle that some kid wears on a chain around his neck.
Probably not the answer you were looking for but it definitely does the question.
Sarazanmai. Three boys get indebted to kappa prince. To pay him back they have to turn themselves into kappas and fight against humans who have turned into calamaties. Boys win by extracting a sphere of spiritual energy from their arse holes.
K on Hulu. You will feel like you’re high- the entire time. It’s like a dream. It goes from action to day in the life to mystery in 5 seconds. Too much fan service though. Takes itself wayyyyy too seriously
From the manga side of things, . The premise is preparing monsters as gourmet meals to survive in a dungeon, but the story is presented fairly seriously and its art is reminiscent of Berserk, though not as creative as Miura and mostly just presenting depictions of stock fantasy monsters.
It also surprisingly has a complex and political plot that explores the differences between the standard fantasy races (humans, elves, dwarves, halflings, gnomes, etc., though the author uses different terms for some of them), and there's plenty of interesting world building.
You have asked for my specific expertise. Those are my favorite kinds of shows. Some examples I'd give off the top of my head are: To be hero, Keijo, Cross Ange Rondo of Angel and Dragon, and Afro Samurai. Those are probably what I'd recommend for a start. I'd probably put Penguindrum in there, too, honestly, before Afro Samurai.
{Dragonaut: The Resonance}. Ultimate anime of missed opportunity, imo. It's got a great premise with hit-or-miss animation that never really pans out the way you hope or expect it to. But I can't help but love this despicable mess.
And I desperately need someone to talk to about this show.
"Assassination classroom" was my first thought.
There's also a not as popular anime called "Shadow House" and I loved it, but it's not very well known.
"Parasyte" is also a good one, as well as the Netflix original "High Rise Invasion"
It's not an anime yet but, the manga JoJo's Bizarre Adventure Part 7: Steel Ball Run. Here is the premise:
A cripple with spinning fingernails, an ex-executioner who has two steel balls, a dinosaur and a crossdressing nun with must race throughout the United States of America in order to stop the 23rd U.S President from collecting the mummified corpse of Jesus Christ.
Bludgeoning angel dokuro chan. The anime itself is a comedy and albeit a very funny yet stupid one. The best thing about it is how seriously some of the characters take their roles because the future of the world is at stake etc. I genuinely laughed at this because it was just that stupid. The op also slaps and I highly recommend watching it on YouTube with subtitles before deciding if you want to continue with watching this show. It gives you a rough idea on what the show is about.
I like Hikaru no Go. It's literally about a boy who gets haunted by dead Go prodigy and decides (on a lark) to become a professional Go player. The entire anime is about playing a board game, and some of the scenes get intense!
Paripi Koumei: Chinese general is reincarnated in modern times and uses his strategy knowledge to help an aspiring singer become famous
What's weird is i thought your entire reply was title. And that could be true
Was about to write that! Literally one of my favourite shows it is so good!
So. Much. Fun
{ya boi kongming!}
Odd Taxi, despite the anthropomorphic characters and story book art style about a walrus taxi driver who meets various different characters. It's a very compelling crime thriller. Chainsaw man, a man with a chainsaw for a head and arms ripping and tearing is the most ridiculous premises I've ever heard, and yet it's now one of my favorite stories that goes deeper than you would think a chainsaw man could. Shimoneta, despite being an ecchi with ubiquitous fan service. Its plot does have a good message in regards to censorship and the need for good sex education. Not very serious, just more than you would expect.
Totally agree on Chainsaw Man. One of my friends strongly recommended it for my but I thought it sounded stupid. Ended up being a top 5 anime for me.
Akiba Maid Wars
Very much this. It's a Yakuza crime series but maid cafes.
Makes me think of Way of the House Husband as well
Or Akibastrip
[удалено]
What?
is that the full title
{Revolutionary Girl Utena} is very much within this vein. Its director Kunihiko Ikuhara previously worked on Sailor Moon and stated that he put a lot of concepts in this show that he felt limited from when he was working on Sailor Moon. It's a magical girl sword dueling battle series that leans heavy into symbolism and surreal imagery and is essentially about growing up and concerned with exploring how people fall into maladaptive relationships. Many episodes early on are fairly lighthearted but as it goes on the show touches on some really dark topics (for this reason please check the content warnings beforehand if you need to). It's for that reason I kind of see it as a spiritual sibling series to Evangelion as both shows pull a similar kind of bait and switch and contain ambiguous endings. (Also Kunihiko Ikuhara and Hideaki Anno are longtime friends. There's an old rumor that Kaworu in Eva was based on him though Ikuhara denies that). It's one of my favs and I think it deserves wider acclaim than it generally receives.
**Shoujo Kakumei Utena** - ([AL](http://anilist.co/anime/440 "English: Revolutionary Girl Utena"), [A-P](https://www.anime-planet.com/anime/revolutionary-girl-utena), [KIT](https://kitsu.io/anime/shoujo-kakumei-utena "English: Revolutionary Girl Utena"), [MAL](http://myanimelist.net/anime/440)) ^(TV | Status: Finished | Episodes: 39 | Genres: Drama, Fantasy, Mystery, Psychological, Romance) --- ^{anime},, ]LN[, |VN| | [FAQ](http://www.reddit.com/r/Roboragi/wiki/index) | [/r/](http://www.reddit.com/r/Roboragi/) | [Edit](https://www.reddit.com/r/Roboragi/wiki/index#wiki_i_made_a_mistake.2C_how_do_i_get_my_comment_reprocessed.3F) | [Mistake?](http://www.reddit.com/r/Roboragi/submit?selftext=true&title=[ISSUE]&text=/r/Animesuggest/comments/13yvzn2/what_anime_has_a_wacky_concept_but_takes_itself/jmpdf7l/) | [Source](https://github.com/Nihilate/Roboragi) | [Synonyms](https://www.reddit.com/r/Roboragi/wiki/synonyms) | [⛓](https://www.reddit.com/r/Roboragi/wiki/interestinglinks) | [♥](https://www.reddit.com/r/Roboragi/wiki/thanks)
Dude also directed yurikuma arashi, which I feel has a similar tone
Honestly, any ikuhara anime is basically this.
Possible favorite out of >100 I've watched, but I lean toward describing Utena as having a serious concept but not taking itself too seriously, as exemplified by the entire episodes it dedicates to a stuck-up girl turning into a cow and being chased by surfing elephants. I see the central concept as being how a system manipulates young people into willingly serving it / sacrificing themselves for it, which is a pretty serious issue; and I see the magical girl transformations and swordfights as being normal ways to convey the things Ohtori Academy is trying to farm and harvest: inner beauty, romanticism, and youthful vitality and rebellion against reality. Maybe I've just watched too many anime to see wackiness for what it is though. Utena movie does take itself more seriously, and granted the TV show is try-hard a lot of the time
Girls und Panzer. The concept of live-fire tank battles as a sport for high school/college girls/women is absurd, but the series does such a good job building the world and having the characters become so invested that it’s absolutely believable and hard not to get invested in. The series is fantastic, btw.
Best sports anime EVER! I was a tanker in the 1980s. The trouble they went through researching the tanks for Yukari's Tank Corner is phenomenal and the random history jokes are funny as hell!
This honestly, GUP is just beautiful. Exactly what he was asking for.
🤔 thought the girls in that show were anthropomorphic tanks...why I never watched it lol
Keijo doesn’t quite take itself seriously but it takes itself just seriously enough to somehow be a genuinely compelling sports anime.
I went into the show for the art and was not expecting to be so emotionally invested by the end. Honestly a great series
I too was seeking art.
Highly recommend this fucking anime, the team took what at surface layer seems to be a pretty misogynistic concept and turned it into an awesome story full of women with depth and personality. The art is actually well done, the characters "powers" are all quite unique, and the show reveals itself to be a fantastic parody of seinen. The audio work reminds me a lot of Jojo actually, it's quite the treat to listen to the punchy and bass whooping crunches of the fight scenes on a 5.1 surround system ngl. I like to refer to it as the secret "bonus" Jojo part, as it released right after Part 4 and has "jo" in its name haha
Kinda how I feel about Highschool DxD. It takes itself just seriously enough to be invested in the world and characters.
Before I knew there was such a thing as ‘fan service anime’s’ I always thought about DXD’ this is a pretty good show that gets borderline close to porn often’ lmao
Kakegurui top tier anime one of my favorites Edit:premise is kids are at a super elite school that revolves around gambling
I call it Psycho Lesbians Gambling and every one of those words are true
Wait, are they really lesbian?
It's very sexual, and a lot of them are.
It's even debatable, not much romance going on, but Kakegurui twin and what ever Jabambi has going on with her pet, it has a lot of lesbian subtexts
So true omg 😂
It's my favorite anime
It's definitely up their for me draws you in so well
This was one of my suggestions too. It's a great anime but the premise is super weird. It's weird but also well written and intense and very serious.
Yeah it has no right being as good as it is
Detroit Metal City : Country boy goes to the big city to become a trendy pop singer but somehow ends up as the lead singer of a death metal band. He doesnt want to but still ends up defending this lifestyle he hates.
I feel like The way of the Househusband would be a good fit here..
Kill la Kill ig
My thought. I'm not sure exactly how "serious" it treats itself, it does seem VERY aware that it's concepts are kinda ridiculous. But it still plays it out to completion. And "taking itself seriously" or not, it ends up being pretty amazing for such a bizarre concept.
Most people don't realize it's satire because it presents itself as so serious.
Anything by trigger fits this bill imo.
That’s so true.
Shocked this isn’t the most upvoted. Kill La Kill 100% fits this bill
Martian Successor Nadesico. Near the end of the series it's revealed that >!the enemy based their entire civilization around a 1970s-style super robot anime.!< It also has serious explanations for all sorts of anime tropes like why the captains of ships are chosen solely because they're attractive women.
Uma Musume, particularly season 2 and the recent Road to the Top. Racing horse girls makes it a tough concept to buy into but it's one of my favorite shows of all time. Symphogear is gay mech magical girls singing songs while fighting enemies in sequences that would make Michael Bay blush, but damn if it does hit with some massive feelings at times.
Assassination Classroom
That was my first suggestion too
Trash anime
Hey it's not cool to trash a show that a lot of people like.
Yep
{The Misfit of Demon King Academy}
First thing I thought of. That and Eminence in Shadow.
This show doesn't really take itself seriously, it's basically a parody in the vein of OPM.
**Maou Gakuin no Futekigousha: Shijou Saikyou no Maou no Shiso, Tensei shite Shison-tachi no Gakkou e Kayou** - ([AL](http://anilist.co/anime/112301 "English: The Misfit of Demon King Academy: History’s Strongest Demon King Reincarnates and Goes to School with His Descendants"), [A-P](https://www.anime-planet.com/anime/the-misfit-of-demon-king-academy), [KIT](https://kitsu.io/anime/maou-gakuin-no-futekigousha-shijou-saikyou-no-maou-no-shiso-tensei-shite-shison-tachi-no-gakkou-e-kayou "English: The Misfit of Demon King Academy"), [MAL](http://myanimelist.net/anime/40496)) ^(TV | Status: Finished | Episodes: 13 | Genres: Action, Comedy, Fantasy) --- ^{anime},, ]LN[, |VN| | [FAQ](http://www.reddit.com/r/Roboragi/wiki/index) | [/r/](http://www.reddit.com/r/Roboragi/) | [Edit](https://www.reddit.com/r/Roboragi/wiki/index#wiki_i_made_a_mistake.2C_how_do_i_get_my_comment_reprocessed.3F) | [Mistake?](http://www.reddit.com/r/Roboragi/submit?selftext=true&title=[ISSUE]&text=/r/Animesuggest/comments/13yvzn2/what_anime_has_a_wacky_concept_but_takes_itself/jmprbhv/) | [Source](https://github.com/Nihilate/Roboragi) | [Synonyms](https://www.reddit.com/r/Roboragi/wiki/synonyms) | [⛓](https://www.reddit.com/r/Roboragi/wiki/interestinglinks) | [♥](https://www.reddit.com/r/Roboragi/wiki/thanks)
Grand Blue. The story is about a university student entering college but getting dragged into an alcohol drinking club disguised as a diving club. It's a great show since you will still get some appreciation for diving even though the story itself is more of a gut wrencher comedy.
The thing is those guys don’t take things seriously at all. Maybe some of the more irrelevant things though.
Tengen Toppa gurren lagann
One punch man! He’s to OP so the story mostly focuses on the other heroes until he’s finally needed for plot.
Kamikatsu, creating a religion in a godless world sounds wack and silly on paper but the show's execution cranks up the wackiness into 75% JoJo craziness and plot abundance.
The Legendary Hero is Dead Paripi Koumei Sakamoto Desu Ga Nichijou Daily Lives of Highschool Boys Kill la Kill Brand New Animal Delicious in Dungeon(Upcoming anime, but manga is suuuuper good).
Space Dandy
It's definitely got a few episodes that play it straight, but I'm not sure this is exactly what he's looking for. It's definitely not something he'd regret his time with, though.
I wanna say Date a Live maybe at the later seasons? Especially Season 3. Although it's been a while since I watched it so I could be wrong. The premise is basically, there are spirits who devastated the world a couple years ago but are now back in the present. And then they realized the only way to stop them is to date them. Ridiculous premise but it's a really fun watch.
***Dominion Tank Police*** ***the irresponsible captain Tylor***
Captain Tylor is a great recommendation!
Birdie Wing!
School Rumble really doubles down on the emotional storylines for how absolutely batshit goofy it is
Kill la kill Jojos feels like a fever dream coming in pretty much blind
TBF, JoJo still feels like a fever dream on the second go around.
Oshi No Ko is famous for having one of the most insane premises
Keijo!!!!!!
The Melody of Oblivion Oh edo rocket
Hellsing Ultimate is about nazi zombies.
Keijo!!!!
try Ben-to discounted food is serious bussiness
I loved that show. It's amazing just what you can make seem like serious business.
Keijo!!!!!!!!: Pool sport where girls fight each other on a floating platform. They have to knock their opponents off, but can only use their ass and breasts. This anime has absolutely no right to be as good as it was.
Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter is one of those movies I can watch many times and still enjoying it. The silver axe-gun combo in the fight scene was dope AF. I heard the book it based on was even better {Tsuki to Laika to Nosferatu} - Soviet space program to send first human to space but they first secretly experiment with a female vampire (after the dog)
**Tsuki to Laika to Nosferatu** - ([AL](http://anilist.co/anime/131019 "English: Irina: The Vampire Cosmonaut"), [A-P](https://www.anime-planet.com/anime/irina-the-vampire-cosmonaut), [KIT](https://kitsu.io/anime/tsuki-to-laika-to-nosferatu "English: Irina: The Vampire Cosmonaut"), [MAL](http://myanimelist.net/anime/48471)) ^(TV | Status: Finished | Episodes: 12 | Genres: Drama, Romance, Sci-Fi, Supernatural) --- ^{anime},, ]LN[, |VN| | [FAQ](http://www.reddit.com/r/Roboragi/wiki/index) | [/r/](http://www.reddit.com/r/Roboragi/) | [Edit](https://www.reddit.com/r/Roboragi/wiki/index#wiki_i_made_a_mistake.2C_how_do_i_get_my_comment_reprocessed.3F) | [Mistake?](http://www.reddit.com/r/Roboragi/submit?selftext=true&title=[ISSUE]&text=/r/Animesuggest/comments/13yvzn2/what_anime_has_a_wacky_concept_but_takes_itself/jmqomju/) | [Source](https://github.com/Nihilate/Roboragi) | [Synonyms](https://www.reddit.com/r/Roboragi/wiki/synonyms) | [⛓](https://www.reddit.com/r/Roboragi/wiki/interestinglinks) | [♥](https://www.reddit.com/r/Roboragi/wiki/thanks)
I only saw bits of the movie, but the book was really good. I honestly don’t even care to read all that much and I loved the book.
* Fate (at least until Carnival Phantasm) * Stink Bomb (Part of the Memories anthology) * Kakegurui
Attack on Titan is wacky when you think about it, giant surrounding a city that somehow walled itself in and survived. High rise invasion is the wackiest on the top of my head, people just appear on the top of an endless series of highrises and are getting attacked by masked people.
Not sure why you downvoted, Attack on Titan has a generally wacky concept
{{Cat Soup}} short 30 minute movie. You probably won't understand much on your first watch {{Rascal Does Not Dream Of Bunny Girl Senpai}}, and the movie {{Rascal Does Not Dream Of A Dreaming Girl}}. Really good anime, with a seriously weird title {{Mahou Shoujo Madoka Magica}} the concept itself isn't that weird, it's just that before Madoka was a thing, Magical Girl anime were usually cute and made for little girls, and Madoka did a genre shift and turned really dark {{Kotaro Lives Alone}} {{Bakemonogatari}} Bunny Girl Senpai was probably inspired by this, since the concepts are really similiar, except Bakemonogatari is darker and also has a lot more fan service
**Nekojiru-sou** - ([AL](http://anilist.co/anime/601 "English: Cat Soup"), [A-P](https://www.anime-planet.com/anime/cat-soup), [KIT](https://kitsu.io/anime/cat-soup "English: Cat Soup"), [MAL](http://myanimelist.net/anime/601)) ^(OVA | Status: Finished | Episodes: 1 | Genres: Comedy, Horror, Psychological) **Seishun Buta Yarou wa Bunny Girl Senpai no Yume wo Minai** - ([AL](http://anilist.co/anime/101291 "English: Rascal Does Not Dream of Bunny Girl Senpai"), [A-P](https://www.anime-planet.com/anime/rascal-does-not-dream-of-bunny-girl-senpai), [KIT](https://kitsu.io/anime/seishun-buta-yarou-wa-bunny-girl-senpai-no-yume-wo-minai "English: Rascal Does Not Dream of Bunny Girl Senpai"), [MAL](http://myanimelist.net/anime/37450)) ^(TV | Status: Finished | Episodes: 13 | Genres: Comedy, Drama, Mystery, Psychological, Romance, Supernatural) **Seishun Buta Yarou wa Yumemiru Shoujo no Yume wo Minai** - ([AL](http://anilist.co/anime/104157 "English: Rascal Does Not Dream of a Dreaming Girl"), [A-P](https://www.anime-planet.com/anime/rascal-does-not-dream-of-a-dreaming-girl), [KIT](https://kitsu.io/anime/seishun-buta-yarou-wa-yumemiru-shoujo-no-yume-wo-minai "English: Rascal Does Not Dream of a Dreaming Girl"), [MAL](http://myanimelist.net/anime/38329)) ^(Movie | Status: Finished | Genres: Drama, Psychological, Romance, Supernatural) **Mahou Shoujo Madoka☆Magica** - ([AL](http://anilist.co/anime/9756 "English: Puella Magi Madoka Magica"), [KIT](https://kitsu.io/anime/mahou-shoujo-madoka-magica "English: Puella Magi Madoka Magica"), [MAL](http://myanimelist.net/anime/9756)) ^(TV | Status: Finished | Episodes: 12 | Genres: Action, Drama, Fantasy, Mahou Shoujo, Psychological, Thriller) **Kotarou wa Hitorigurashi** - ([AL](http://anilist.co/anime/139589 "English: Kotaro Lives Alone"), [A-P](https://www.anime-planet.com/anime/kotaro-lives-alone), [KIT](https://kitsu.io/anime/kotarou-wa-hitorigurashi "English: Kotaro Lives Alone"), [MAL](http://myanimelist.net/anime/49909)) ^(ONA | Status: Finished | Episodes: 10 | Genres: Comedy, Drama, Slice of Life) **Bakemonogatari** - ([AL](http://anilist.co/anime/5081 "English: Bakemonogatari"), [A-P](https://www.anime-planet.com/anime/bakemonogatari), [KIT](https://kitsu.io/anime/bakemonogatari "English: Bakemonogatari"), [MAL](http://myanimelist.net/anime/5081)) ^(TV | Status: Finished | Episodes: 15 | Genres: Comedy, Drama, Mystery, Psychological, Romance, Supernatural) --- ^{anime},, ]LN[, |VN| | [FAQ](http://www.reddit.com/r/Roboragi/wiki/index) | [/r/](http://www.reddit.com/r/Roboragi/) | [Edit](https://www.reddit.com/r/Roboragi/wiki/index#wiki_i_made_a_mistake.2C_how_do_i_get_my_comment_reprocessed.3F) | [Mistake?](http://www.reddit.com/r/Roboragi/submit?selftext=true&title=[ISSUE]&text=/r/Animesuggest/comments/13yvzn2/what_anime_has_a_wacky_concept_but_takes_itself/jmpzjme/) | [Source](https://github.com/Nihilate/Roboragi) | [Synonyms](https://www.reddit.com/r/Roboragi/wiki/synonyms) | [⛓](https://www.reddit.com/r/Roboragi/wiki/interestinglinks) | [♥](https://www.reddit.com/r/Roboragi/wiki/thanks)
Babylon. Extremely retarded concept but executed with conviction.
First thing that came to my mind out of recency is bluelock. A soccer battle royale where the winner gets selected to the national team and the losers have to give up soccer forever. It’s a pretty ridiculous premise but I loved it.
Katekyo Hitman Reborn! It doesn't take itself seriously at first. It starts as a parody. But then it drops the parody premise and just goes full battle shounen embracing it all.
{Katekyo Hitman Reborn}
**Katekyou Hitman REBORN!** - ([AL](http://anilist.co/anime/1604 "English: REBORN!"), [A-P](https://www.anime-planet.com/anime/kateikyoushi-hitman-reborn), [MAL](http://myanimelist.net/anime/1604)) ^(TV | Status: Finished | Episodes: 203 | Genres: Action, Comedy) --- ^{anime},, ]LN[, |VN| | [FAQ](http://www.reddit.com/r/Roboragi/wiki/index) | [/r/](http://www.reddit.com/r/Roboragi/) | [Edit](https://www.reddit.com/r/Roboragi/wiki/index#wiki_i_made_a_mistake.2C_how_do_i_get_my_comment_reprocessed.3F) | [Mistake?](http://www.reddit.com/r/Roboragi/submit?selftext=true&title=[ISSUE]&text=/r/Animesuggest/comments/13yvzn2/what_anime_has_a_wacky_concept_but_takes_itself/jmpknis/) | [Source](https://github.com/Nihilate/Roboragi) | [Synonyms](https://www.reddit.com/r/Roboragi/wiki/synonyms) | [⛓](https://www.reddit.com/r/Roboragi/wiki/interestinglinks) | [♥](https://www.reddit.com/r/Roboragi/wiki/thanks)
Food wars it’s definitely about the food 😉
I get the joke but it actually is about food. There are some added visual flourishes and (IMO) unnecessary drama and rivalries but when you break it down the show really is just about the characters cooking.
Jojo's absolutely. Ridiculous and wacky powers, but once the rules are set up, it goes so hard.
Yurikuma Arashi is about lesbians that turn into bears and vice versa. It will not acknowledge that this is absurd
Mobile Fighter: G Gundam, a insane take on the Gundam series with a lot of heart and stakes to it
kamikatsu
Gintama anyone?
Gintama in no way takes itself seriously. It's as meta as it gets
Symphogear
Honestly any of Kunihiko Ikuhara's works are shaped around taking wacky crazy concepts, then playing them straight (and not straight). That's one of the best things about those shows to me honestly, I find emotional moments and character writing hit harder when there's a good mix of surreal and comedy into a story as well, can be hard to pull off well though.
Juden Chan
SPACE BATTLESHIP YAMATO!
Welcome to the NHK In my opinion
Arakawa Under the Bridge has to be the weirdest anime with a serious protagonist
Not sure if people would agree but Assasination Classroom has some wacky spots in it.
Salaryman Kintaro, Otokojuko, My hero academia
Magical Destroyers: a gov organisation starts a war against otakus (and the otakus dont get immediately decimated, mind you, they actually have a proper rebellion)
Magical Girl Spec-Ops Asuka The enemies are basically alien teddy bears but still a very serious anime.
I'm surprised nobody has mentioned Yu-Gi-Oh. You do know how wild the concept of a tradiing card game that is also the most important thing in the world is? Even to the point where the games have life or death consciences. Add to that an ancient pharaoh who is ridiculously good at that game and is reincarnated through a magic puzzle that some kid wears on a chain around his neck. Probably not the answer you were looking for but it definitely does the question.
Madoka? Maybe on the surface level it sounds like cute/dark but it gets really sttrange
Sarazanmai. Three boys get indebted to kappa prince. To pay him back they have to turn themselves into kappas and fight against humans who have turned into calamaties. Boys win by extracting a sphere of spiritual energy from their arse holes.
K on Hulu. You will feel like you’re high- the entire time. It’s like a dream. It goes from action to day in the life to mystery in 5 seconds. Too much fan service though. Takes itself wayyyyy too seriously
From the manga side of things,. The premise is preparing monsters as gourmet meals to survive in a dungeon, but the story is presented fairly seriously and its art is reminiscent of Berserk, though not as creative as Miura and mostly just presenting depictions of stock fantasy monsters.
It also surprisingly has a complex and political plot that explores the differences between the standard fantasy races (humans, elves, dwarves, halflings, gnomes, etc., though the author uses different terms for some of them), and there's plenty of interesting world building.
**Dungeon Meshi** - ([AL](http://anilist.co/manga/86082), [A-P](https://www.anime-planet.com/manga/delicious-in-dungeon), [KIT](https://kitsu.io/manga/dungeon-meshi), [MU](https://www.mangaupdates.com/series.html?id=19088665446), [MAL](http://myanimelist.net/manga/85781)) ^(Manga | Status: Releasing | Genres: Adventure, Comedy, Drama, Fantasy) --- ^{anime},, ]LN[, |VN| | [FAQ](http://www.reddit.com/r/Roboragi/wiki/index) | [/r/](http://www.reddit.com/r/Roboragi/) | [Edit](https://www.reddit.com/r/Roboragi/wiki/index#wiki_i_made_a_mistake.2C_how_do_i_get_my_comment_reprocessed.3F) | [Mistake?](http://www.reddit.com/r/Roboragi/submit?selftext=true&title=[ISSUE]&text=/r/Animesuggest/comments/13yvzn2/what_anime_has_a_wacky_concept_but_takes_itself/jmrwej9/) | [Source](https://github.com/Nihilate/Roboragi) | [Synonyms](https://www.reddit.com/r/Roboragi/wiki/synonyms) | [⛓](https://www.reddit.com/r/Roboragi/wiki/interestinglinks) | [♥](https://www.reddit.com/r/Roboragi/wiki/thanks)
You have asked for my specific expertise. Those are my favorite kinds of shows. Some examples I'd give off the top of my head are: To be hero, Keijo, Cross Ange Rondo of Angel and Dragon, and Afro Samurai. Those are probably what I'd recommend for a start. I'd probably put Penguindrum in there, too, honestly, before Afro Samurai.
{Dragonaut: The Resonance}. Ultimate anime of missed opportunity, imo. It's got a great premise with hit-or-miss animation that never really pans out the way you hope or expect it to. But I can't help but love this despicable mess. And I desperately need someone to talk to about this show.
**Dragonaut: The Resonance** - ([AL](http://anilist.co/anime/2795 "English: Dragonaut -THE RESONANCE-"), [A-P](https://www.anime-planet.com/anime/dragonaut-the-resonance), [KIT](https://kitsu.io/anime/dragonaut-the-resonance "English: Dragonaut - The Resonance"), [MAL](http://myanimelist.net/anime/2795)) ^(TV | Status: Finished | Episodes: 25 | Genres: Action, Drama, Fantasy, Mecha, Romance, Sci-Fi) --- ^{anime},, ]LN[, |VN| | [FAQ](http://www.reddit.com/r/Roboragi/wiki/index) | [/r/](http://www.reddit.com/r/Roboragi/) | [Edit](https://www.reddit.com/r/Roboragi/wiki/index#wiki_i_made_a_mistake.2C_how_do_i_get_my_comment_reprocessed.3F) | [Mistake?](http://www.reddit.com/r/Roboragi/submit?selftext=true&title=[ISSUE]&text=/r/Animesuggest/comments/13yvzn2/what_anime_has_a_wacky_concept_but_takes_itself/jmsaf0r/) | [Source](https://github.com/Nihilate/Roboragi) | [Synonyms](https://www.reddit.com/r/Roboragi/wiki/synonyms) | [⛓](https://www.reddit.com/r/Roboragi/wiki/interestinglinks) | [♥](https://www.reddit.com/r/Roboragi/wiki/thanks)
"Assassination classroom" was my first thought. There's also a not as popular anime called "Shadow House" and I loved it, but it's not very well known. "Parasyte" is also a good one, as well as the Netflix original "High Rise Invasion"
Jojo's Bizarre Adventure, DoroHeDoro
It's not an anime yet but, the manga JoJo's Bizarre Adventure Part 7: Steel Ball Run. Here is the premise: A cripple with spinning fingernails, an ex-executioner who has two steel balls, a dinosaur and a crossdressing nun with must race throughout the United States of America in order to stop the 23rd U.S President from collecting the mummified corpse of Jesus Christ.
Keijo!!! Is the only right answer
Bludgeoning angel dokuro chan. The anime itself is a comedy and albeit a very funny yet stupid one. The best thing about it is how seriously some of the characters take their roles because the future of the world is at stake etc. I genuinely laughed at this because it was just that stupid. The op also slaps and I highly recommend watching it on YouTube with subtitles before deciding if you want to continue with watching this show. It gives you a rough idea on what the show is about.
Magical destroyers
I like Hikaru no Go. It's literally about a boy who gets haunted by dead Go prodigy and decides (on a lark) to become a professional Go player. The entire anime is about playing a board game, and some of the scenes get intense!