A samurai with an onion for a head sounds like a joke that should collapse by episode three. Somehow it sustains for 48. The show understands that absurdity is not the punchline, what Asatarou does with his absurdity is. Each episode builds on the same simple fact without ever feeling like it's running in place. The humor lives in reaction and escalation, not in explaining the premise again. This is picture book logic given enough room to breathe, which means it trusts you to accept the ridiculous and moves on. By the end, you're not laughing at the onion head anymore, you're laughing at what kind of person carries one.

Asatarou is a samurai who roams from place to place, and his head is shaped like an onion, which is what the word negibouzu in the title refers to. The 2008 TV series runs 48 episodes and adapts Iino Kazuyoshi's picture book series. It pairs adventure with comedy as it travels alongside its onion-headed hero.