The eternal power of a decent parody cannot be underestimated. Like the best of fan art and fanfic, great parodies demonstrate a deep fondness for the source material that inspired them. Confident creators realize that if their work is being parodied, it must have left a real impact.
While many anime references to iconic movies are more glancing than in-depth, some anime have shown an unusual degree of commitment to lambasting beloved cinema. The best parodies remind audiences that anime need not take itself too seriously to be entertaining.
10 Freddy Krueger Appears in Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei
There are few shows as imbued with ennui and comedy as Sayonara, Zetsubou Sensei, a Shaft classic about a clinically-depressed, often suicidal teacher and his students. Dark though the premise is, the series is more satire than drama, a curious balance of themes that shouldn't work.
While Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei succeeds in part due to its deep awareness of Japanese culture, the show isn't afraid to go broader when it comes to pop culture references. It's not so surprising, really, that Freddy Krueger appears in the protagonist's dreams. And not just Freddy Kreuger, but Darth Vader, Ghostface, and Rocky Balboa, too. Why not?
9 Pulp Fiction Characters Make Cameos In Kill La Kill
They say it helps to know one's audience, and certainly, Kill La Kill knew precisely what sort of violent chaos it was diving into. Though less a parody and more a cameo, fans soon spotted several beloved Tarantino characters loitering in the background in Episode 4, during a sequence in which Mako's family races to deliver Ryuko's uniform to the academy.
Like Tarantino TRIGGER clearly delights in fast-paced action invigorated with a dose of whimsy. While Vincent Vega and Jules Winnfield are too old to attend school alongside Mako and Ryuko, they might fit right in among the bizarre school staff.
8 A Certain Scientific Railgun Parodies 2001: A Space Odyssey
Some parodies are a head-scratcher. But while A Certain Scientific Railgun's homage to Stanley Kubrick is as random as it is fleeting, it's also hard to ignore. In episode 13, ostensibly yet another swimsuit fanservice episode, the cast of girls is roped into a photoshoot at a mysterious studio.
They find themselves on a virtual film set that keeps shifting like the holodeck and eventually they're all standing on a lunar landscape gazing at a monolith undeniably taken from 2001: A Space Odyssey.
7 Steins; Gate Salutes Back To The Future
Steins; Gate knows that it is just one of many time-travel series, and it's hard to say anything about time-travel that hasn't been said ten times before. Sometimes the best path to originality within the confines of a rather tired genre is to acknowledge well-worn tropes before extrapolating on them.
Along these lines, Steins; Gate salutes the legacy of stories both real and fictional that came before it. And so the SERN organization is clearly based on CERN, and past altering messages from the future are called Delorean Mails, or D-mails. Though tonally about as different from Back to the Future as anything could be, these two stories have a beloved sci-fi subgenre in common.
6 Yakitate!! Japan Parodies All Sorts, Including The Lord Of The Rings
It's a shame that newer generations haven't really embraced Yakitate! Japan. This oddball series aired in 2004 and might be seen as a spiritual predecessor to food-based comedies like Food Wars. On the surface a story about an aspiring baker trying to create a single iconic type of Japanese bread, the show was full of parodies and lighthearted slapstick send-ups.
Among these was a spoof of The Fellowship of The Ring, which somehow dominated the penultimate episode of the series. Rather than embarking on a quest to destroy the One Ring, the cast embarks on a quest to bake a tart using elusive loquats. Yes, that's the plot, and yes, it's silly.
5 Zombie Land Saga Successfully Blends Classic Romero Zombies With... Idols?
A series named after a zombie film and featuring a cast of zombie pop-stars can't pretend to be anything but satire. What's surprising is how successful the show is as a story on its own merits. Both an excellent entry in the idol genre and a great comedy, Zombie Land Saga is among the best anime of 2018.
While its references to zombie lore are constant and varied, perhaps the most profound nod in the show acknowledges legendary director George Romero, creator of Night of the Living Dead, Day of the Dead, Land of the Dead, and Dawn of the Dead. Because naturally, this band of idols of course has a mascot: a zombie poodle. And his name? Romero.
4 Sawako Of Kimi No Todoke Is Tired Of Being A Parody Of Ringu
While most anime spoof movies for only a moment or an episode at most, some series use parody to plant the central seeds of a story. And who says parodies have to be exclusively comedic? Kimi Ni Todoke is endlessly charming, known for being an excellent slice-of-life romance.
And while the show is very far from horrific, the lead character was inspired by one of the most iconic horror films of the past few decades: Ringu (The Ring). Our protagonist, Sawako, bears a striking resemblance to Sadako, the well-dwelling dead girl from the film. Because of this, many of her classmates are frightened of her. But looks can be misleading, and Sawako is a likable, misunderstood girl hoping to be seen for who she really is.
3 Assassination Classroom Is A Reinvention of Battle Royale
A shonen series about students trying to kill their monstrous teacher was bound to be compared to Battle Royale, the cult-classic film that has inspired novels, anime, and games ever since it hit theaters in 2000. Battle Royale's violent themes and high student death count earned the film the sort of worldwide notoriety that few live-action Japanese films ever have.
While this subversion in Assassination Classroom doesn't seem particularly huge at first — aren't kids still killing? Assassination Classroom has a much more optimistic outlook on youth culture and education than Battle Royale. In a way, Assassination Classroom feels like an antidote.
2 Gintama Has Parodied Virtually Everything, Star Wars Included
There is very little under the sun that Gintama hasn't parodied. The show has more than earned its reputation as the best comedy anime of all time. Among the most memorable parodies featured in the show are spoofs of Dragonball, One Piece, Bleach (Oh, who could forget Dragonbleach Piece?), Fist of the North Star, and Jojo.
While most of the series' parodies reference other anime, there are several that lambast Hollywood icons. There are two arcs that parody Star Wars: The Beam Sword Style Arc and the Renho Arc, both as ridiculous as they are entertaining, the sort of mocking send-ups the oft-loathed prequels deserve.
1 Princess Jellyfish's OP Is A Glorious Kaleidoscope Of Hollywood Homages
Princess Jellyfish is considered a modern cult-classic for endless reasons: its cast is full of atypical, introverted housemates trying to cope with a world that doesn't accommodate them, and it features a secondary protagonist who frequently dresses in drag and doesn't hold to gender conscripts. It's an evocative story about personal growth, friendship, and the myriad ways people cope with grief.
The show also happens to feature a stellar OP made entirely of a barrage of Hollywood references. These include scenes from Singin' in the Rain, James Bond, Star Wars, The Graduate, Kill Bill, and more. Somehow, the opening only adds to the show's status, making it feel as timeless as those classics it pays tribute to.