<p>In episode 22 of season 2, <em>Shuukan Shounen Janpu</em> editors Hattori Akira and Miura Goro have a meeting with Mashiro Moritaka and Takagi Akito (the mangaka team known as Ashirogi Muto) to discuss what their next manga series will be like.</p>

<p>In this scene, Hattori gives the following explanation of <strong>「シリアスの笑い」</strong>(<em>shiriasu no warai</em> [「笑い」 can be translated as "humor", "comedy", or "comic"; the literal meaning of the <em>kanji</em> is "laugh" but it is used to refer to comedy acts]):</p>

<ul>
<li><p>Foremost, the mangaka Hiromaru Kazuya's series 『ラッコ11号』 (<em>Rakko
11-gou</em> = <em>Otter #11</em>) is given as the primary example.  It has a <strong>serious, realistic setting</strong>.  In one chapter,
an otter was made fun of on TV, and then the
main character (who is an otter himself) rammed a truck into the
station building and pulled out the victim otter to rescue him from
his oppressors. The storyline is dealing with serious themes
(bullying, vengeance) and the tone is serious as well, but when the
truck slams into the side of the building, Miura agreed with
Hattori's assessment, and reported that it made him laugh. In other
words, the reader of the chapter probably strongly wants the otters
to get back at the humans, and the main character's very earnest,
dramatic way of doing so <strong>induces a feeling of "Yessss!"</strong> so the reader
ends up laughing (perhaps partly in relief, partly at the
ludicrousness of an otter barreling into a building).</p></li>
<li><p>Hattori points out that Hiramaru was <strong>not</strong> doing 「笑いを取る」 (<em>warai wo toru</em>
= <strong>trying to get a laugh</strong>). Mashiro concurs that 「いいえ、真剣に書いてると思います」(<em>Iie, shinken ni kaiteru to omoimasu</em> = No, I
think he was really writing it <strong>in all seriousness/earnestness</strong>).</p></li>
<li><p>Hattori contrasts Hiramaru's「シリアスの笑い」 with Ashirogi Muto's prior gag
manga series 『走れ!大発タント』(<em>Hashire! Daihatsu Tanto</em> = <em>Run! Daihatsu
Tanto</em>), which was written with 「呆けて笑わそうと考えている」 (<em>bokete warawasou to
kangaetieru</em> = the mind-set of <strong>dumbing-down</strong> to make people laugh) and
Hattori deems it 「もったいない」 (mottainai = too bad/a waste). Rather than
being enjoyable to write, that method made Takagi feel 「苦しかった」 (<em>kurushikatta</em> = it
was painful) and made Mushiro feel 「あまり…」 (<em>amari...[tanoshikunakatta]</em>
= it wasn't really [fun]).</p></li>
<li><p>Hattori also contrasts 「シリアスの笑い」 with Ashirogi Muto's prior series
『この世は金と知恵と見た目』 (<em>Kono Yo ha Kane to Chie to Mitame</em> = <em>This World is
All About Money and Intelligence and Appearance</em>) and with Iwase Aiko
and Niizuma  Eiji's series 『+ NATURAL』, which are both categorized as
「シリアス」 (serious) but 「笑いが一切もない」 (<em>warai ga issai mo nai</em> = there's
not a speck of humor [in them]). A 「シリアスの笑い」 would be received by
readers as just as serious in tone as those series, yet manages to
bring some irony or <strong>makes the reader lighten up for a moment</strong>.</p></li>
<li><p>Hattori explains that Ashirogi Muto's 「シリアスの笑い」 would combine
「高木くんが作る笑い」 (<em>Takagi-kun ga tsukuru warai</em> = the kind of humor
Takagi-kun can create) with 「真城くんのシリアスの絵！」 (<em>Mushiro-kun no shiriasu no
e!</em> = Mushiro-kun's serious artwork!), resulting in a 「シリアスの笑い」 that
only Ashirogi Muto could pull off.</p></li>
</ul>

<p>The manga that <strong>fulfills Hattori's description</strong> of 「シリアスの笑い」 is Ashirogi Muto's <a href="http://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E3%83%90%E3%82%AF%E3%83%9E%E3%83%B3%E3%80%82#.E4.BA.9C.E5.9F.8E.E6.9C.A8.E5.A4.A2.E5.8F.B6.E3.81.AE.E4.BD.9C.E5.93.81" rel="nofollow">subsequently published series</a>, 『PCP -完全犯罪党-』 (<em>PCP -Kanzen Hanzai Tou-</em> = <em>Perfect Crime Party</em>).</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-05-29T09:19:50.797Z
@abhishah901, humor differs by culture (for example, Japanese culture generally does not contain or comprehend sarcasm). If you do not find the _Otter #11_ scene described by Hattori as being humorous, then you would not care for the humor style of 「シリアスの笑い」(serious humor).
seijitsu
CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-05-29T09:20:41.637Z
Ok! So its not necessarily a punch of humor!
abhishah901
CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-05-29T09:22:01.400Z
Correct, it is very understated and may not even cause the reader to laugh aloud but might, instead, cause the reader to feel mildly humored internally.
seijitsu
CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-05-29T09:05:38.403Z
2015-05-29T09:17:06.187Z
2015-05-29T09:17:06.187Z
seijitsu
<p>Hattori mentioned that what Ashirogi Muto's Manga lacked was Serious Comedy and tries to explain what it was and how to implement it in 22nd Episode in second Season. Ashirohgi Muto implemented it but it was hardly described how and also the concept of serious comedy is still unclear with me. Please help with some examples!</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-05-29T06:20:18.350Z
Maybe serious comedy is something lost in translation?
BCLC
CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-05-29T06:23:19.667Z
The dangerous word in your comment is 'MAYBE'! @BCLC
abhishah901
CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-05-29T06:24:31.193Z
@AbhishekShah Rather a dangerous word than a false statement :P How about posting the dialogue?
BCLC
<bakuman>
What is the serious comedy?
# What is the serious comedy?
Posted by: username_0 on 2015-05-29
Hattori mentioned that what Ashirogi Muto's Manga lacked was Serious Comedy and tries to explain what it was and how to implement it in 22nd Episode in second Season. Ashirohgi Muto implemented it but it was hardly described how and also the concept of serious comedy is still unclear with me. Please help with some examples!
**Tags:** bakuman
> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: Maybe serious comedy is something lost in translation?  
> **username_0**: The dangerous word in your comment is 'MAYBE'! @BCLC  
> **username_1**: @AbhishekShah Rather a dangerous word than a false statement :P How about posting the dialogue?  
---
## 1 answers
### Answer by username_2 on 2015-05-29. Score: 4 | Accepted answer
In episode 22 of season 2, *Shuukan Shounen Janpu* editors Hattori Akira and Miura Goro have a meeting with Mashiro Moritaka and Takagi Akito (the mangaka team known as Ashirogi Muto) to discuss what their next manga series will be like.

In this scene, Hattori gives the following explanation of **「シリアスの笑い」**(*shiriasu no warai* [「笑い」 can be translated as "humor", "comedy", or "comic"; the literal meaning of the *kanji* is "laugh" but it is used to refer to comedy acts]):

* Foremost, the mangaka Hiromaru Kazuya's series 『ラッコ11号』 (*Rakko
  11-gou* = *Otter #11*) is given as the primary example. It has a **serious, realistic setting**. In one chapter,
  an otter was made fun of on TV, and then the
  main character (who is an otter himself) rammed a truck into the
  station building and pulled out the victim otter to rescue him from
  his oppressors. The storyline is dealing with serious themes
  (bullying, vengeance) and the tone is serious as well, but when the
  truck slams into the side of the building, Miura agreed with
  Hattori's assessment, and reported that it made him laugh. In other
  words, the reader of the chapter probably strongly wants the otters
  to get back at the humans, and the main character's very earnest,
  dramatic way of doing so **induces a feeling of "Yessss!"** so the reader
  ends up laughing (perhaps partly in relief, partly at the
  ludicrousness of an otter barreling into a building).
* Hattori points out that Hiramaru was **not** doing 「笑いを取る」 (*warai wo toru*
  = **trying to get a laugh**). Mashiro concurs that 「いいえ、真剣に書いてると思います」(*Iie, shinken ni kaiteru to omoimasu* = No, I
  think he was really writing it **in all seriousness/earnestness**).
* Hattori contrasts Hiramaru's「シリアスの笑い」 with Ashirogi Muto's prior gag
  manga series 『走れ!大発タント』(*Hashire! Daihatsu Tanto* = *Run! Daihatsu
  Tanto*), which was written with 「呆けて笑わそうと考えている」 (*bokete warawasou to
  kangaetieru* = the mind-set of **dumbing-down** to make people laugh) and
  Hattori deems it 「もったいない」 (mottainai = too bad/a waste). Rather than
  being enjoyable to write, that method made Takagi feel 「苦しかった」 (*kurushikatta* = it
  was painful) and made Mushiro feel 「あまり…」 (*amari...[tanoshikunakatta]*
  = it wasn't really [fun]).
* Hattori also contrasts 「シリアスの笑い」 with Ashirogi Muto's prior series
  『この世は金と知恵と見た目』 (*Kono Yo ha Kane to Chie to Mitame* = *This World is
  All About Money and Intelligence and Appearance*) and with Iwase Aiko
  and Niizuma Eiji's series 『+ NATURAL』, which are both categorized as
  「シリアス」 (serious) but 「笑いが一切もない」 (*warai ga issai mo nai* = there's
  not a speck of humor [in them]). A 「シリアスの笑い」 would be received by
  readers as just as serious in tone as those series, yet manages to
  bring some irony or **makes the reader lighten up for a moment**.
* Hattori explains that Ashirogi Muto's 「シリアスの笑い」 would combine
  「高木くんが作る笑い」 (*Takagi-kun ga tsukuru warai* = the kind of humor
  Takagi-kun can create) with 「真城くんのシリアスの絵！」 (*Mushiro-kun no shiriasu no
  e!* = Mushiro-kun's serious artwork!), resulting in a 「シリアスの笑い」 that
  only Ashirogi Muto could pull off.

The manga that **fulfills Hattori's description** of 「シリアスの笑い」 is Ashirogi Muto's [subsequently published series](http://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E3%83%90%E3%82%AF%E3%83%9E%E3%83%B3%E3%80%82#.E4.BA.9C.E5.9F.8E.E6.9C.A8.E5.A4.A2.E5.8F.B6.E3.81.AE.E4.BD.9C.E5.93.81), 『PCP -完全犯罪党-』 (*PCP -Kanzen Hanzai Tou-* = *Perfect Crime Party*).
> **Comments:**
> **username_2** (2015-05-29): @abhishah901, humor differs by culture (for example, Japanese culture generally does not contain or comprehend sarcasm). If you do not find the _Otter #11_ scene described by Hattori as being humorous, then you would not care for the humor style of 「シリアスの笑い」(serious humor).  
> **username_0** (2015-05-29): Ok! So its not necessarily a punch of humor!  
> **username_2** (2015-05-29): Correct, it is very understated and may not even cause the reader to laugh aloud but might, instead, cause the reader to feel mildly humored internally.  
---
