Why is there no silly, funny anime?

[Nemoide]

There are actually tons of "continuity free" silly anime. However, it rarely gets licensed in the US because Japanese humor usually translates very poorly. Watch subtitled Crayon Shin-Chan -- while you can recognize that technically they are saying jokes, it's not funny to a non-Japanese audience.
Doraemon and Sazae-san are two examples of long-running Japanese comedy anime that's widely popular in Japan but have no market in the US.

On the "sillier/funnier" side of continuity-free anime, I'd say that short-episode series like The Adventures of Mini-Goddess, Ebichu, or Hetalia fit that bill. (Although Hetalia fits in a surprising amount of obscure facts about world history.)

It's not the same as Spongebob or Dexter's Lab, but I think there's enough comparison.

[MrPopo]

I hear School Rumble is pretty good too.

School Rumble is fun but has a fair amount of continuity (especially with Harima's character development) and it slowly will drive you insane when you realize that no one is going to get together with who they're supposed to.

[KDub]

Never heard of School Rumble but it is on Hulu and I am gonna watch it!

[hashiriya1]

As mentioned, there are a lot, but Japanese humor doesn't translate well so it's not released overseas. What Japanese think is funny isn't really funny to non-Japanese.

Check out Gu-Gu Ganmo for some funny slapstick perverted comedy...aimed at children.

Here is Ganmo trying to sneak an upskirt peek but it turns on him quickly.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lSxMS7h4AP0

[AppleQueso]

Japan also loves its puns. For obvious reasons most of those don't work so well when translated.

There's TONS of silly, funny stuff out there though.

[BoneSnapDeez]

I will second (third?) School Rumble. Such a hilarious show.

[Erik_Twice]

Panty and Stocking may fit the bill, tough the art style is westernized.

[BurningDoom]

I feel just the opposite. I can't take a lot of anime seriously because there's often ridiculous and silly moments I just roll my eyes at. I prefer Western action cartoons for just this reason. There's exceptions, like the epic Record of Lodoss War, but a lot of the anime I've seen isn't nearly as seriously toned.

[KDub]

I will second (third?) School Rumble. Such a hilarious show.

Agreed, I watched three episodes on Hulu last night. Considered ordering some DVDs from Amazon. It is way over the top, cute, random, hilarity; but I enjoyed it.

[neilencio]

To be fair to cowboy bebop, you can ignore the overarching story arc for the series, and you'll still have standalone episodes that were silly/funny (even though they still had themes/plot details that tie them to the rest of the arc.)

The episodes that come to my mind include the one where they are stuck in space and a spoiled piece of food developed sentience and terrorized the entire crew. Or that one about watermelons and the guy that's dragging a coffin everywhere he goes.

Lupin III also has silly/funny episodes that can be enjoyed even if you don't care about the continuity.

Akazukin Cha Cha has a continuity, but it's definitely reliant on humor/comedy. It's about a red riding hood-like character who can transform into a sailor moon-like superhero.

As for other shows that are silly/funny and don't depend too much on continuity:

Time Travel Tondekeman - it's about a sentient kettle that can travel through time, a guy who uses football as his weapon, a token nagging chick, and portly little man on a flying carpet who's always trying to steal the kettle.

Takoyaki Mantoman - about a group of caped anthropomorphic takoyaki who fight crime.