nekomanga.exe

I recently discovered a great Japanese site called ロストワールド. The admin and comic artist, しなごーく, has a great sense of humor, and it really comes through in nekomanga.exe, a hip and witty web comic.

What I like the most about nekomanga.exe is that many of the comics are based on language and wordplay. Reading comics like these is a great way to work on your own Japanese sense of humor. Reading and repeating what you hear from native speakers is usually good advice, and if you're going to mimic anybody, mimic somebody who's funny, right!?

Take a look at the comic on the right.

The yellow guy says that even though he shut down his computer, the power wouldn't turn off. (PCを終了させても電源が切れないよ)

In response, the white guy whips out Zantetsuken, a legendary sword from Japanese history (and a name used quite frequently in anime and video games), and declares that it will cut anything--except konnyaku.
(コンニャク以外ならなんでも切れるよ)

Do you get it?

The joke is based on word play using 切れる.
Normally, 切れる is used when something shuts down or turns off. The joke lies in the intransitive 切れる being treated as the potential form of 切る, to cut.
So you have to read the yellow guy's first statement as "Even though I shut down my computer, I can't cut the electricity!"

So the white guy gives him the ultimate sword that can cut anything--even electricity! ;)

Okay, after that explanation, it probably isn't funny anymore... But a good comic, right?

しなごーぐ has a large collection of comics, so check them out! They're intelligently written, funny, and a great way to study Japanese!