Breaking the fourth wall is when a character speaks directly to the audience. That often involves the characters turning to the camera to talk to the audience, by the character acknowledging the performance is fictional in some way, or by even mentioning the audience’s existence.
Related
Pokemon: 15 Quotes From The Anime That We Still Live By
There’s a surprising amount of philosophical life advice in the Pokemon anime.
There are many anime that break the fourth wall, sometimes as a minor moment in a romance, as a brief comedic moment, or as an entire theme within the show. Here are some of the best examples of fourth wall breaking in some great anime shows.
8
Gintama
Samurai Goodness
Gintama is a nine-season historical anime about a samurai and his friends in an alternate universe where Japan has been taken over by aliens. Gintoki Sakata is the main character in the show, and the one who breaks the fourth wall the most.
When they mess up, Gintoki asks to cut to commercial, and when the show forgets the opening, he reminds them to play it. Often, characters will acknowledge which episode it is, tell people to die to make the show legendary, and talk to the audience in almost every episode, which makes it a really unique show.
7
The Disastrous Life Of Saiki K
Powerful Psychic
The Disastrous Life of Saiki K is about a powerful high school student with psychic abilities who discreetly uses his powers to deal with small challenges in his daily life without drawing attention.
Saiki breaks the fourth wall many times throughout the show, as he comments on his friends and family straight to the audience and even takes time to explain his powers directly to us as viewers. This anime is one of only a few with an almost constant fourth wall break, and is probably the most famous for it.
6
Bakemonogatari
Vampire Problems
The Monogatari series is about a student working to restore his humanity after becoming a vampire. He goes through the series trying to help people afflicted with strange problems, including friends, classmates and his sisters.
Related
The Most Anticipated Anime Sequels Coming In 2025
These anime continue this year, and we can’t wait.
This show breaks the fourth wall in several ways: it brings up the voice actresses throughout the series, foreshadows what will happen, and points out that they’re in an anime. Often, they’ll look straight into the camera to talk directly to the audience. This show can be a bit quirky, but that only adds to its character.
5
Ouran High School Host Club
Tamaki And Haruhi
This show is one of the most iconic romance anime out there, and follows Haruhi as she joins a new school and is mistaken as a boy and recruited to the Host Club to pay off a debt for breaking a vase.
Tamaki is the main perpetrator of breaking the fourth wall here, but there are other moments too, like when Kyogya looks straight at the camera and talks directly to the audience about how we’re witnessing a blossoming love. It’s one of the older shows that has used this as a form of communication, and many see it as a catalyst for other anime’s fourth wall breaks.
4
Animegataris
Dreamy Dreams
Minoa Asagaya has a dream about an anime she used to love as a child, and can’t stop trying to remember its name, which leads to her connecting with classmates and creating an Anime Research Club.
Throughout the show, the characters slowly begin to realize that they are stuck inside an anime. They watch as people change in front of them, shifting in personality as they are “rewritten,” and struggle to figure out what they’re going to do. It can be almost horror-esque at times as they fight against the anime creator to live their lives the way they want to.
3
Sailor Moon
Magical Moons
Sailor Moon breaks the fourth wall a bit differently than the others on this list. Usagi will look at the audience and introduce herself or other characters. A lot of episodes would end with a ‘Sailor says’, which is basically a moral from the show explained to the audience.
Related
Best Anime To Watch If You Like Stardew Valley
Here are the best anime shows to watch if you like Stardew Valley!
There are a couple of other moments of fourth wall breaking where Sailor Moon asks the audience to spot Luna for her, and occasionally gives a brief recap of the show. While this is a more unique way of communicating with the audience since it’s not even remotely subtle, it’s still a fourth wall break.
2
Pokemon
Team Rocket
We all know and love Pokemon, the anime that surrounds adorable furry creatures and capturing them all to be the very best. Team Rocket is almost constantly breaking the fourth wall in the anime. They talk to the audience directly about their excitement over plans, how they’ve succeeded, and how the audience should be paying close attention to them.
There are also several moments where characters argue with the narrator, and even interact with fantasy sequences as if they can see them as well, which strongly alludes to them being aware of their anime status. Plus, there are great moments where the characters refer to their world as a children’s show or look directly into the camera.
1
Fruits Basket
Hatsuharu
Fruits Basket is a comedy romance that follows Tohru Honda as she finds herself homeless and taken in by members of the Sohma family. As she gets to know the Sohmas, she discovers their secret: each member of the Sohma family is cursed by one of the 13 zodiac animals (as they’ve added a cat here for narrative purposes). Whenever one of the family members is embraced by someone of the opposite gender, or sometimes due to stress, they will turn into their zodiac animal.
During a fight, Hatsuharu turns to the audience and remarks that they shouldn’t try that at home because they could get seriously injured. Tohru even has a small afterthought, wondering if they’ve become part of a fighting anime. It’s the only time they do this, but it’s an awesome fourth wall break.
Next
9 Most Powerful Weapons In All Of Anime
Grand weapons for even grander stories.
