Those of us who are easily amused can get an afternoon’s entertainment from watching blooper reels of our favorite shows. I always take my hobbies to extremes — extreme snowboarding, extreme hang gliding, extreme channel surfing – and I can vouch for the fact that I have memorized the blooper reel for most animated shows and video games. Therefore I’ve compiled a list of the top five best anime/video game outtake reels.

5) The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya

Bang Zoom Entertainment has been kind enough to screen the outtakes for this series at conventions, though they are not included in the DVD package. The majority of the funny comes from Kyon’s voice actor, Crispin Freeman, who even takes a stab at his own fanbase in one scene. However, the funniest one-liners come from Itsuki’s voice actor, Johnny Yong Bosch.

Itsuki: Either way, I’m sure we’re going to have the chance to talk about this—all about this crap later and he sure flaps a lot: flap, flap, flap.

Kyon: What you talkin’ about, Willis?

4) Weiss Kreuz

Any fan of Weiss Kreuz does not love this show for its plot or animation budget. In fact, the series does not stand alone well without the support of its insane fanbase and incredible fanfictions. But the two things that make the series a worthwhile part of any anime collection are the radio show starring the four famous Japanese voice actors who brought this show to life and the English bloopers.

In one scene, the voices have been redubbed to sound like the cast of South Park, then in another scene Persia is telling the four lead assassins to kill celebrities like Marilyn Manson.

Ken: Hirofumi Takatori is Omi’s big brother? Does that make me his sister?

Yohji: No wonder you look at me funny.

3) Gurren Lagann

Though these aren’t included on the DVDs, Bang Zoom Entertainment has shown these bloopers at conventions along with Haruhi Suzumiya and Lucky Star. WARNING: some of these clips are not safe for work, and may make you laugh so hard you spill soda on yourself (true story).

I think part of the fact that Leeron’s outtakes are so hysterical is because his voice actor, Steve Blum, is having a friendly competition with Crispin Freeman over who can get the most X-rated bloopers.

Leeron: If what I’m hypothesizing is true, then that gunman is my baby-daddy.

2) Ouran High School Host Club

It’s obvious the cast of Ouran had way too much fun with this series. Though it took me a while to warm up to the dub, the outtakes helped smooth the process. Every little mistake they made sounds like a party that’s gone completely out of hand, and even the outtakes caused by exhaustion sound like the drunken celebrants haven’t yet gone home.

Tamaki: *to Haruhi who is hiding in a wardrobe because of a thunder storm* It seems like it’d be scarier locked up like that.

Haruhi: That’s alright. I’m used to getting stuff like this—“getting stuff”? Like this? Like, wardrobes. I just pick ‘em up. I’m pretty strong. Okay, let’s do that take again.

Tamaki: *hammering* Believe it or not, this is the first time I’ve ever held a—you know, what’s this thing called anyway? This is the first time I’ve ever used a screwdriver.

1) Lunar 2 Eternal Blue COMPLETE

Though this video game is hard to get hold of (as it is ten years old and extremely expensive) I recommend it for its excellent game play, great storyline and of course… outtakes. This extra-long blooper reel has never ceased to entertain me, and though it doesn’t have the best one-liners, it remains as charmingly funny the fifth listen-through.

You don’t even need to play the game to understand the outtakes (although the outtakes do contain some spoilers). The game came out on Sega CD and was re-released (and mostly re-dubbed) for the original Playstation as a “complete” edition. The complete version contains bloopers from the original release as well as the new cast, meaning there is a full 25 minutes of bloopers that get funnier as they progress.

If they aren’t talking about one voice actress’ obsession with butt-jokes, then they’re recasting Lunn as the lead in the Rocky Horror Show. Also any bad words have been replaced by laughable sound effects to make this surreal experience even more absurd.

My favorite moment is when Zophar’s voice actor quite obviously drops the f-bomb. It comes out as: “F-*whoooosh**CRASHBOOMBAM*” which never ceases to leave me in stitches.

Honorable Mention:

Princess Tutu

The outtakes in this series only span the first ten episodes, and certainly aren’t the funniest outtakes I’ve ever heard. However the voice actors do a prime job bringing to life every little thought that went on in my head while I watched the show. If it’s not “Fakir and Mytho are gay” jokes, it’s some quip about running out of breath during a long monologue or Mr. Cat doing something ridiculous in that crack-tastic dub voice of his.

Couple this with all the extra bonus goodies in the DVDs (including but not limited to ballet cultural lessons, history of the music used in the show, and a detailed video of the voice actors in the booths) and you have the best DVD package I’ve ever seen for an anime.

For those of you sobbing over the small amount of outtakes in anime-land, fear not. Below, I have listed a few examples from shows you should look into for your daily dose of funny.

Mahou Sensei Negima:

Evangeline: FREEENCH TOAST.

Lunar Silver Star Story

Alex: *panting noises* *cracks up* This is taking on a very bad light. I refuse to do this scene – I’m under 18.

Midori Days (surprisingly NOT safe for work):

Shiori: And she’s in heaven now with the angels—

Seiji: There is no heaven, she’s decaying.

Yu Yu Hakusho:

Kuwabara: And I’m taking your hide with me, so you’d better be ready for DAAAANCIIIIIN~

FLCL:

Naota: Ninamori said she didn’t care either way, but the- buh – da—bawwwk *chicken noises*