Bubbleblabber’s Top 10 Adult Animated TV Series For 2023 (International Comedy)
For the first time ever we are separating comedies made internationally from our domestic list while also recognizing the dubs that are worked on constantly to try and do the hardest thing imaginable…international comedic timing. This year we’ve seen efforts from Italy, Saudi Arabia, French-Canada, and all over do their best to try and get in on an animation demographic that is typically dominated by American-produced fare. Also, we feature animated comedy produced in English that you can’t even find here in the United States.
10) Tomo-chan Is A Girl! (English Dub)
Network: Crunchyroll
Overall, Tomo-chan Is a Girl! is a very enjoyable romcom. It has plenty of humor, some sweet moments, and memorable characters to boost the scenes’ impact even higher. The pacing is my biggest issue with the show, but there’s also some jokes that are a bit repetitive. Even with these issues, I think this show is great and I’m sure it will be one that I’ll want to come back to.
9) Buddy Daddies (English Dub)
8) Chainsaw Man (English Dub)
Network: Crunchyroll
A man and his chainsaw pup have violently slashed their way into my heart like the butter that Denji so covets for himself. Butter, jam and dreaming of the finer things in life that are not confined to a shed serve as a hopeful innate desire to hunt down devils for the mafia, but more than that, to dream. He is a man of beautiful simplicity in longing for a woman, something that is easy to relate to
7) The 100 Girlfriends Who Really, Really, Really, Really, REALLY Love You (English Dub)
Network: Crunchyroll
Aijou himself is a funny protagonist. He’s a nice guy, and he even brutally beats himself up whenever he thinks he’s hurt someone. It’s baffling why he’s been rejected so many times, but at least he won’t have that problem anymore.
6) Aggretsuko (English Dub)
Network: Netflix
Although it’s packaged in a bright and colorful world with adorable anamorphic characters, Aggretsuko still manages to weave relatable adulthood themes throughout each episode. This show has always been comparable to Bojack Horseman in the sense that real human themes are introduced in lighthearted and comical ways but develop over time into thought-provoking narratives you wouldn’t expect from a show starring a cute red panda. Adulthood is tough. Sometimes it feels like one gut punch after another. From relationship troubles to nosey parents, getting your life started can feel like a series of never-ending hurdles that make you want to find the nearest karaoke bar and scream at the top of your lungs to vent your frustrations. But you know what? It’s oddly comforting knowing that your frustrations are shared by countless others. That’s where this show strikes gold. It’s just so relatable.
5) Red Ketchup (English Dub)
Network: Adult Swim Canada
Red Ketchup is the second excellent offering we’ve received from Adult Swim Canada (ASC) this year. The northern offshoot of America’s favourited purveyor of adult animation may have lurked in the shadows for a spell before producing any original programming, but 2023’s impressive dual debut of fiery fringe-freak procedural Psi Cops paired with the zesty throwback brutality of Cold War kill-fest Red Ketchup shows us that sometimes ultra-violence really is a dish best served cold.
4) Psi Cops
Network: Adult Swim Canada
It may have been a long time coming, but Adult Swim Canada’s first entry into the CanCon cannon is a worthy one.
3) The Yakuza’s Guide To Babysitting (English Dub)
Network: Crunchyroll
Overall, The Yakuza’s Guide to Babysitting is a highly engaging and surprisingly wholesome delight from start to finish. It makes excellent use of its original concept by combining the yakuza elements with family drama and comedy. The result is a hilarious and heartfelt series that’s also a refreshing perspective on the yakuza genre. The characters were lovable, the English voice cast was superb in their roles, and the tone was consistently well-balanced despite a few minor issues in the first two episodes. It’s another show I expected to be a mildly amusing distraction but wound up being better than I imagined regarding its direction. Because of this, I’m more than eager to reunite with the Sakuragi family if a second season is announced. Considering how great the show’s first season is, I hope that’s the case.
2) Pop Team Epic (English Dub)
Network: Crunchyroll
All in all, Pop Team Epic really aged like a decent wine. It wasn’t something like a good bottle of Maison Trimbach, but more like a decent house brand bottle of Trader Joe’s wine. It wasn’t moonshine wine made out your redneck cousin’s dirty ass bathtub. PTE didn’t start off well at all, but it ended up entertaining the shit out of me. Hopefully, if and when a season three comes out, Pop Team Epic keeps to the strengths of season two.
1) Keep Your Hands Off Eizouken! (English Dub)
Network: Buy it here.
Keep Your Hands Off Eizouken! is mandatory viewing for anyone who’s ever been moderately interested in the art of animation, but also just for anyone who’s ever bonded with strangers through pure passion. Some may find the technically-small-scale storytelling in Eizouken! uninteresting, but the power of this anime is that a night of revised storyboards can be akin to a trip to outer space or a robot apocalypse. Keep Your Hands Off Eizouken! transforms the mundane into the magical and it’s low-key one of the strongest and most important anime of the decade and thankfully this exceptional, loving English dub will help it reach the widest audience possible. Who knows who Keep Your Hands Off Eizouken! will go on to inspire, just like Future Boy Conan before them.
