<p>It depends on the series.</p>

<p>For series who have a guided plot and who have a specific direction they're going in, like <em>Bleach</em> or <em>Naruto</em>, having a comedic episode appear once in a while serves as filler, and something light-hearted for the audience to enjoy.  For instance, non-plot-related episodes of Bleach involving Don Kanon'ji were often joke episodes at intent, and Bleach even did an Arabian Nights' episode in the middle of the major Hueco Mundo plotline.</p>

<p>(I would argue, though, that Kakashi's true face became an ascended meme within the Naruto franchise due to the pervasive curiosity that Naruto and Sakura have when they go to visit him in the hospital, and come <em>this</em> close to actually seeing it.)</p>

<p>Less guided shows like <em>Hayate the Combat Butler</em> have joke episodes embedded and running alongside actual episodes to the extent that it becomes tough to filter out the noise from the signal.  However, with it being a gag anime, and it not getting ever serious (in animation), this is not only par for the course, but to be expected.</p>

<p>I would say that it's not <em>common</em>, but it largely depends on what demographic the show is trying to hit, and how they're portraying themselves - either as a story, plot and resolution-style show, or as a gag show.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-07-19T17:21:43.340Z
I'm not sure if this is something there's information on/you know about, but what about episodes specifically based on omake, like Naruto ep 101?
kuwaly
CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-07-19T17:41:55.680Z
@kuwaly:  I doubt that matters.  If the producers want to inject a humorous episode into the series, they'll do so, omake or no omake.
Makoto
CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-07-19T17:43:37.533Z
I realize that, but part of my original question is whether it is common to have episodes based off of omake.
kuwaly
CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-07-19T20:14:10.560Z
I would make a note, that the younger the target audience the more likely filler episodes will be in the series.
Reed
CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-07-19T14:45:23.110Z
2017-07-19T14:45:23.110Z
Makoto
<p>Joke episodes or Fillers are quite common in anime which have many episodes like Naruto, Bleach, One Piece etc. Usually the fillers are put after a long battle or something substantially epic that has been happening over a number of episodes. There are few to no fillers in anime having less number of episodes (20-24 ep per season). I recommend finding out all the fillers ep and skipping them to get to the man plot. I believe you are are watching Naruto so here is the fillers list</p>

<p><a href="http://www.animefillerlist.com/shows/naruto" rel="nofollow noreferrer">http://www.animefillerlist.com/shows/naruto</a></p>

<p><a href="http://www.animefillerlist.com/shows/naruto-shippuden" rel="nofollow noreferrer">http://www.animefillerlist.com/shows/naruto-shippuden</a></p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-07-19T15:40:25.563Z
I know that fillers are common, but a lot of filler episodes are just regular episodes or part of a filler arc, not entire jokes built around jokes. The latter is what I was asking about, not filler episodes in general.
kuwaly
CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-07-19T16:05:21.417Z
This only half answers the question, really.  What's being posed is if this is *common*, not if there's a way to skip past them.
Makoto
CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-07-19T17:19:33.657Z
I haven't seen all the anime that's out there but in all the anime with many episodes including Naruto, One Piece, Bleach, Fairy Tail etc it was common.
Parul S
CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-07-19T15:39:06.970Z
2017-07-19T15:44:29.217Z
2017-07-19T15:44:29.217Z
Parul S
<p><a href="http://naruto.wikia.com/wiki/Gotta_See!_Gotta_Know!_Kakashi-Sensei%27s_True_Face!" rel="noreferrer">Episode 101</a> of Naruto is a joke episode; it is set in between major plot events and revolves around trying to figure out what is under Kakashi's mask. It's also <a href="http://naruto.wikia.com/wiki/At_the_Ichiraku%E2%80%A6" rel="noreferrer">based</a> off of an <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Omake" rel="noreferrer">omake</a>, which are often meant to be funny.</p>

<p>Is it common to have entire episodes dedicated to just a joke, or to have them based off of omake? While omake are relatively inexpensive to make, episodes are expensive, so it seems like this wouldn't be particularly common. Alternatively, it could be a useful way to fill up space in fillers in long anime, many of which I haven't seen. So, is this a common practice?</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-07-31T18:21:47.833Z
Episode 469 of Naruto: Shippuden was mostly bases on the omake Fu no Sho.
Akira Mahisaseru
<tropes>
Are joke episodes common in anime?
# Are joke episodes common in anime?
Posted by: username_0 on 2017-07-19
[Episode 101](http://naruto.wikia.com/wiki/Gotta_See!_Gotta_Know!_Kakashi-Sensei%27s_True_Face!) of Naruto is a joke episode; it is set in between major plot events and revolves around trying to figure out what is under Kakashi's mask. It's also [based](http://naruto.wikia.com/wiki/At_the_Ichiraku%E2%80%A6) off of an [omake](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Omake), which are often meant to be funny.

Is it common to have entire episodes dedicated to just a joke, or to have them based off of omake? While omake are relatively inexpensive to make, episodes are expensive, so it seems like this wouldn't be particularly common. Alternatively, it could be a useful way to fill up space in fillers in long anime, many of which I haven't seen. So, is this a common practice?
**Tags:** tropes
> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: Episode 469 of Naruto: Shippuden was mostly bases on the omake Fu no Sho.  
---
## 2 answers
### Answer by username_2 on 2017-07-19. Score: 11
It depends on the series.

For series who have a guided plot and who have a specific direction they're going in, like *Bleach* or *Naruto*, having a comedic episode appear once in a while serves as filler, and something light-hearted for the audience to enjoy. For instance, non-plot-related episodes of Bleach involving Don Kanon'ji were often joke episodes at intent, and Bleach even did an Arabian Nights' episode in the middle of the major Hueco Mundo plotline.

(I would argue, though, that Kakashi's true face became an ascended meme within the Naruto franchise due to the pervasive curiosity that Naruto and Sakura have when they go to visit him in the hospital, and come *this* close to actually seeing it.)

Less guided shows like *Hayate the Combat Butler* have joke episodes embedded and running alongside actual episodes to the extent that it becomes tough to filter out the noise from the signal. However, with it being a gag anime, and it not getting ever serious (in animation), this is not only par for the course, but to be expected.

I would say that it's not *common*, but it largely depends on what demographic the show is trying to hit, and how they're portraying themselves - either as a story, plot and resolution-style show, or as a gag show.
> **Comments:**
> **username_0** (2017-07-19): I'm not sure if this is something there's information on/you know about, but what about episodes specifically based on omake, like Naruto ep 101?  
> **username_2** (2017-07-19): @kuwaly:  I doubt that matters.  If the producers want to inject a humorous episode into the series, they'll do so, omake or no omake.  
> **username_0** (2017-07-19): I realize that, but part of my original question is whether it is common to have episodes based off of omake.  
> **username_3** (2017-07-19): I would make a note, that the younger the target audience the more likely filler episodes will be in the series.  
---
### Answer by username_4 on 2017-07-19. Score: 0
Joke episodes or Fillers are quite common in anime which have many episodes like Naruto, Bleach, One Piece etc. Usually the fillers are put after a long battle or something substantially epic that has been happening over a number of episodes. There are few to no fillers in anime having less number of episodes (20-24 ep per season). I recommend finding out all the fillers ep and skipping them to get to the man plot. I believe you are are watching Naruto so here is the fillers list

<http://www.animefillerlist.com/shows/naruto>

<http://www.animefillerlist.com/shows/naruto-shippuden>
> **Comments:**
> **username_0** (2017-07-19): I know that fillers are common, but a lot of filler episodes are just regular episodes or part of a filler arc, not entire jokes built around jokes. The latter is what I was asking about, not filler episodes in general.  
> **username_2** (2017-07-19): This only half answers the question, really.  What's being posed is if this is *common*, not if there's a way to skip past them.  
> **username_4** (2017-07-19): I haven't seen all the anime that's out there but in all the anime with many episodes including Naruto, One Piece, Bleach, Fairy Tail etc it was common.  
---
