[ANIME] The Most Advanced/Brilliant Comedic Timing I've Ever Seen

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BearCares wrote:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o3XVjy5Esrw

I've never seen a joke timed this way before. Whoever wrote this is a genius. It makes me wonder about, "What is humor?" To begin with. And why haven't more people discovered this timing?

I don't understand the "funny," here. I do understand some of the comedic bits, but as far as any purpose beyond that... it escapes me. (I also just don't "get" Anime's appeal, as a genre either. But, that's a different subject.

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LennyLen wrote:

...Here's what I consider good humour:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ab6wMeqpr3s

I do "get" that, though. (At least the first joke.) But, why do I get the joke here and not above? I'll explain...

A good joke stands on its own. It doesn't rely on anything that can't already be assumed to be known by a general audience. It's not reliant on the audience being initiated into something greater than the tools it uses - Everyone can be a neophyte human and "get it."

That does not mean that all jokes are constructed that way. But, the best ones, the ones that will have the most wide appeal, certainly are.

In the Anime vid, there's likely information that I am missing. I don't know the genre and I can not see any deeper humor than what is implied by my own experience - A child making an innocent assertion that someone stole their "height." A light chuckle, but not quite a masterpiece. Why?

There's a writing concept called the "Aha" moment. It's very applicable to this situation, IMO. In an "Aha" moment, a writer gives a reward to the reader for doing nothing more than paying attention... In movies, these are sometimes a "twist" moment. Or, they're a big "plot reveal" type of thing where as long as the audience has paid attention, they'll have a moment where they feel they, and only because they have paid attention, have discovered something. It's their "Aha!" That's a reward. It's not accidental in the least. It's an inducement for the reader or the viewer to keep reading or watching. It's also a hook - It makes the reader/viewer feel good about reading/viewing. They accomplished some hidden feat and now have a feel-good experience about all their previous effort.

In the Anime clip, I don't have access to the "Aha!" moment. I can't. I don't have the necessary information and have not been indoctrinated into the "Anime" thing. I can't possibly have the same reaction as someone who has these qualities.

But, for the second vid, I'm human. I can successfully interpret the comedian's portrayal of a character. I know it's intentional and they're purposefully doing it to form a specific empathetic moment. Their mannerisms contribute to my interpretation as well, simply because I'm not only a human, but am also familiar with a Weseternized audience. (This joke may not play the same in other cultures.) So, since I also know people are normally buried in some kind of formal dress, I get full reward for the whole "suit" concept associated with burial. Thus, in the end, the first joke plays well with me. I am part of the intended audience and am already armed with all the information I need to draw on for this comedic "Aha!" moment.

In long-running sitcoms, a lot of these jokes draw on the viewer's previous knowledge of characters, places, jobs, things, stuff... So, these are "inside jokes." They use the very same premise as an "Aha!" moment written in any story, comedic or not. In fact, every single good series, book or otherwise, rewards its fans with these sorts of Aha! moments scattered about. (Some do that more than others, but there's always the need to attract a "new audience," right?) If one is paying attention, one gets the reward and all the feel-good stuff that comes with it. A laugh, a feeling of being special because one is part of the "inside crowd" and even a feeling of achievement at knowing exactly what bits of the joke were funny and why.

Dramatic shows sometimes do this, too, with many elements. The frequency or importance of these events depends on if it's a self-contained episodic sort of show or a long-run drama. It's the difference between "Law & Order" and "The X-Files." But, if one is familiar with those shows, one also knows they borrow techniques and mix-and-match certain audience-reward mechanics.

But, if one isn't familiar with those television shows, one can't truly comprehend what I'm talking about, right? :)

Edit - Added: In American pop-culture, there's the "Who Shot J.R." thing. It was a dramatic "cliffhanger" in a long-running, dramatic, television series called "Dallas." This was the season closer and fans went nuts because it appears a favorite, key, character had been murdered! "Whodunit?" Fans gabbled endlessly, demonstrating their privileged knowledge with all sorts of very esoteric ideas thrown in. It was literally a giant bit of sandboxed drama, but only for "fans." People not intimately familiar with the show were attracted by all the enthusiasm, but didn't quite "get" why any of it was significant.

And then,



The outrage was palpable. Why? Viewers were betrayed and their carefully horded esoteric knowledge was revealed to be entirely worthless...

But, since it was a relatively new mechanic being introduced in television and the show was so very popular, fans salvaged what love and devotion that they could and continued watching. But, it was a one-off. Audiences would only rarely accept such shenanigans in the future and certainly no readers would accept being subjected to such torture and disregard for their efforts.

Again, the overall effect of any mechanic, comedic or dramatic, usually relies heavily on the "intended audience" and the knowledge they already have. In some cases, esoteric bits will fall flat on an "unintended audience." (I never gave two poots about "Who Shot J.R." I wasn't a fan of the show... :)

PS: On the nature, specifically, and the mechanisms behind "why humor" uh... Well, that's entirely more complicated and I'm not sure there's a concise explanation possible. I can think of thousands of words worth of applicable stuffs nobody wants to read. :)