25 Best Amazing World Of Gumball Episodes

Summary

• Some of the best
  Amazing World of Gumball
  episodes combine kid-friendly jokes with more mature humor, appealing to both children and parents.
• The series is considered one of the best Cartoon Network shows of the 2010s, with its dry wit and genuine nature capturing the hearts of viewers.
• The show’s best episodes range from witty and humorous to poignant and heartwarming, proving its versatility and wide appeal.

The best Amazing World of Gumball episodes contain a mixture of kid and adult humor that makes the series a modern classic. The Amazing World of Gumball is part of a group of classic Cartoon Network shows with humor that appeal to kids and parents. It’s not shocking the adventures of Gumball and his adopted brother Darwin lasted six captivating seasons, all the way up until its polarizing cliffhanger. Even though the series is consistently solid, some episodes were better than others.

The Amazing World of Gumball maintains a legacy as one of the best Cartoon Network shows of the 2010s. Viewers who grew up on excellent animated series from the ’90s and early 2000s like Dexter’s Laboratory and Courage the Cowardly Dog are fond of the dry wit and surprisingly genuine nature of Gumball. Gumball’s showrunners knew when to call it quits, ending it in 2019, but there are plenty of hilarious and wholesome moments among the best Amazing World of Gumball episodes.

25 The Joy

Season 3, Episode 4

The season 3 episode of The Amazing World of Gumball brought Mrs. Simian to the forefront. When Gumball and Darwin show up at school unusually happy, Mrs. Simian decides this means something is wrong with them. This leads to her running tests on the boys against the nurse’s recommendation, and the results are as disastrous as expected. There was something wrong, and the Joy virus spread through the school.

This Gumball episode remains very entertaining and inventive, as it is a play on the zombie apocalypse, but with joy among otherwise miserable school students instead of the brainless walking dead. It has some disturbing moments, but it’s all deranged happiness rather than horrific violence. While it isn’t key to the overall story of the series, it works well as a standalone episode that shows how creative the people behind the show can get.

24 The Night

Season 4, Episode 31

“The Night” is a season 4 Amazing World of Gumball episode that brings the show a nightmarish atmosphere. In the episode, the Moon decides to look at the town’s residents and see what they are dreaming about. This includes some dreams – but it is mostly nightmares in some of the most disturbing imagery Gumball produced in its six seasons on Cartoon Network.

This remains one of the best
Gumball
episodes, as it focuses on several characters, including side characters.

What starts with Gumball dreaming he is falling (from space), things get weirder when Banana Joe dreams he is split in half, Richard dreams he is dough being rolled into a bun, and Anais dreams Daisy the Donkey is alive and is torturing her. This remains one of the best Gumball episodes, as it focuses on several characters, including side characters not normally seen, and the dreams offer a fun look inside the heads of the town.

23 The Void

Season 3, Episode 12

This season 3 episode takes Gumball to The Void, a secret dimension in The Amazing World of Gumball that erases things from the real world – even other characters. This happens in this episode when The Void erases Molly from Elmore Junio High, which sends Darwin, Gumball, and Mr. Small to find out what happened to her. The episode then has some very surreal images when they all end up inside The Void itself.

This might be one of the most meta episodes of
The Amazing World of Gumball
.

This might be one of the most meta episodes of The Amazing World of Gumball. The idea that characters and events can be erased from episodes refers to the creators and editors, and it plays out in a few more episodes in the future. However, this was one of the first times the idea that these characters could be removed at a whim, and it makes this a smart, inventive, and slightly frightening episode in the series.

22 The Rerun

Season 5, Episode 1

“The Rerun” is the second part of a two-part episode that started with the season 4 finale, “The Disaster.” That episode ended with a cliffhanger when Rob used a Universal Remote to make major changes to Elmore and Gumball. This episode picks up with that moment when Gumball uses the Universal Remote to save himself from The Void and suddenly realizes he has traveled back in time to the start of the day. He now has to stop Rob from destroying his life again.

The episode used the Universal Remote to do some very creative things.

The episode used the Universal Remote to do some very creative things, including a funny moment where it was used on Richard and Nicole, and they reverted to teenagers and eventually babies. It also had a bittersweet ending where Gumball played the hero, but that meant that he and Rob would remain mortal enemies. While not as action-packed as the first part, it was a great start to the fifth season and showed the heart this show has.

21 The Copycats

Season 5, Episode 12

The Copycats see Gumball and Darwin meet some new characters – Kiki and Quack. These characters are also siblings, and they copy everything that Gumball and Darwin say and do. While this could get old quickly, the frustration of Gumball allows it to remain fun – especially when Gumball finally loses control. When Gumball learns the entire Copycat family is making money by copying the Watterson family, he sets out to stop them once and for all.

This is an Amazing World of Gumball episode that is more meta than some others. The idea of copycat characters plays into shows that mimic other shows and often find even bigger success. When Gumball is accused of not being original himself, it just keeps playing on these ideas. The ending was also brilliant because Gumball changed voice actors for Gumball and Darwin, and this entire copycat idea explained why they sounded different in the end.

20 The Slap

Season 4, Episode 35

In season 4’s “The Slap,” Gumball wants a butt slap from Tobias so badly that he will do anything to make it happen. “The Slap” starts when Tobias comes and gives everyone his typical high five and butt slap — except for Gumball, who only gets the high five. The entire episode did nothing but have Gumball attempt to find the best way to get that slap, no matter how ridiculous or humiliating.

The song “My Lonely Backside And I” is a homage to “Part of Your World” from
The Little Mermaid
.

It is Gumball’s never-say-die attitude and the lengths he’s prepared to go that makes “The Slap” so engrossing. When Gumball starts singing “My Lonely Backside and I,” it becomes a masterpiece, and it’s easy to see why it’s considered by many to be among the best The Amazing World of Gumball episodes. It becomes even better when Tobias is then seen whistling the song in the school halls, showing that Gumball was finally getting to him.

19 The Detective

Season 4, Episode 36

“The Detective” pitted father and daughter against each other. This Adventures of Gumball episode does something impressive. It creates an actual mystery tale as Anais starts figuring out what happened to her missing stuffed animal. Much like any great mystery, as Anais searches for clues, there are twists and turns as, in the background, her dad looks on in fear of her discovering the truth.

The episode does a great job of showing Anais’ intelligence as she pieces the puzzle together but never forgets she is still just a kid. It isn’t like other fast-paced, rapid-fire joke episodes, but it is smart and creates a great story that parodies the best detective stories. Between the interesting format of spoofing police procedural television shows and mystery movies and the focus going onto Anais and her dad, it remains different enough to remain a memorable Gumball episode.

18 The Kids

Season 3, Episode 1

“The Kids” was an interesting episode because it served one big purpose. This was the installment when Logan Grove and Kwesi Boakye stopped voicing Gumball and Darwin, and the show found a perfect way to transition the characters by using a real-life experience. The episode is surreal, as it opens with Gumball and Darwin making fun of Richard and Nicole for being old and then deciding they would remain young forever (since they don’t age on the show, it makes sense to them).

“The Kids” used puberty and voice changes to explain a change in voice actors for Gumball and Darwin.

However, when they notice their voices change, they realize they are hitting puberty. This also allowed Gumball and Darwin’s voices to completely change, and then, at just the right time, they finally switched, and Jacob Hopkins and Terrell Ransom, Jr. started voicing the characters, explaining why they now sounded different than they did for the first two seasons. The meta punchline with Gumball saying they would never age was just icing on the cake.

17 The Finale

Season 2, Episode 40

Despite its title, season 2’s “The Finale” was not the finale for The Amazing World of Gumball. This episode’s synopsis was simple, as it just read that “The Wattersons must finally face the consequences for their actions.” The family did a lot of bad things through the show’s episodes, and this was where they got what they deserved.

The episode ended up playing out masterfully as almost every Gumball character teamed up to go after the Wattersons because it was payback time. The best part of this Gumball episode was the punchline that saved them at the end, which was better than any deus ex machina could have been.

This ending was smartly done, as everyone the Watterson family hurt had closed in on them in their house and seemed ready to kill them for all their sins. Gumball said only a reset of all events could save them and the entire episode then went to black, ending the season. The brilliance also plays out when the family mentions how their actions are often undone in later episodes.

16 The Money

Season 3, Episode 40

In the Amazing World of Gumball episode “The Money,” The Watterson family is in financial trouble, but Gumball won’t give up his integrity to help his family get the money they need to survive. The episode starts with Richard throwing all their money into the ocean, and things go downhill from there.

The story then goes a little behind the curtain, as the Watterson family has to decide whether they will remain broke or if they will sell out, which ties into the animated series itself. What really helped make this episode great was that nothing was ever bad enough, something worse would come along no matter how dire the situation.

Eventually, the episode went meta, and they lost their color, showing they were now so poor that they didn’t have the budget to finish their animation, eventually becoming nothing more than storyboard sketches. This also carried on a theme, as it was the second season finale in a row that saw the family face trouble from outside their actual world.

15 The Shippening

Season 6, Episode 14

Chaos ensues, but Gumball and Darwin eventually figure out what’s going on.

After Sarah happens upon a magical notebook in one of the best Amazing World of Gumball episodes, she uses it to write romantic fanfiction about everyone in Elmore, inadvertently making her stories “canon” to the series. Chaos ensues, but Gumball and Darwin eventually figure out what’s going on. This allows her to create her “ships” and then realizes that she might not be able to go back and undo things once she sets them into motion.

A hilarious jab at amateur fan fiction writers and the couples they create, “The Shippening” pokes fun at fans who obsess a bit too much over relationships between characters. The episode is also one of The Amazing World of Gumball‘s most meta, directly referencing the network on which the show airs, as well as fan-favorite non-canon character relationships. Gumball has made a habit of breaking the fourth wall and creating meta stories, and this was one of the best in the later years.

14 The Future

Season 6, Episode 34

Banana Joe’s mother is abducted by Rob in one of the best Amazing World of Gumball episodes, who hopes to get a glimpse into the future via her supernatural paintings. However, Banana Joe, Gumball, and Darwin team up to save her, eventually erasing Rob from existence through one of Barbara’s paintings. One of the most action-packed episodes of The Amazing World of Gumball, “The Future” has the makings of a climactic finale episode.

Events from 20 different
Gumball
episodes are on paintings in the garage.

It premiered a few weeks before the show finally wrapped up, and Barbara’s eerie warning that “there is no future” certainly made for a haunting conclusion. This was yet another episode of the animated series that showed the creators telling a story about making an animated series and having the characters seem to know that they are not only in it but that they can make changes on their own. It also is notable for referencing several past episodes, adding to the meta context of the episode.

13 The Disaster

Season 4, Episode 40

In The Amazing World of Gumball‘s season 4 finale, “The Disaster,” Gumball’s life is slowly ruined by his nemesis, Rob, who’s discovered a universal remote that can control their world. However, it left viewers with an exciting cliffhanger and isn’t complete without that second half. With that said, the show ties into the themes of the last two season finales, with the world of Gumball shown to be false, and the characters having to deal with the fact they are not real and only functional creations.

The conclusion picks up in the season 5 premiere, but “The Disaster” is the more action-packed of the two. What makes this among the best Gumball episodes is the sheer amount of conflict that is packed in. The dissolution of Gumball’s parents’ relationship is both hysterical and complicated, mixing in some adult themes with the bombastic humor. The second part in the season 4 premiere mostly undoes what happens here, but that is also normal for the hit animated series.

12 The Plan

Season 2, Episode 38

One of the best Amazing World of Gumball episodes features time travel, terribly written emails, and an imaginary assailant. Amazing World of Gumball takes a surrealist turn in this installment when the Watterson kids come across a letter from their mom Nicole, and they believe that a man named Daniel Lennard is trying to steal her. What ensues is Gumball and the kids stumbling through different plans to stop this from happening.

Daniel Lennard is the name of the vice president of Cartoon Network Development Studios Europe.

Clues to the identity of the mysterious Daniel Lennard are given early on in the episode, but it isn’t fully revealed until the very end that the entire thing was a misunderstanding on the Watterson kids’ part. The fact that there never was a man trying to take their mother makes the entire plot of time travel and devious attacks mean nothing, but that is also what makes many of Gumball’s bombastic adventures so fun. He is often clueless, and never as much as he was here.

11 The Countdown

Season 3, Episode 35

Another one of the best Amazing World of Gumball episodes implements a foreboding countdown ticker, and that’s “The Countdown.” In the installment, Miss Simian threatens to expel Darwin and Gumball if they’re late for school one more time. Of course, Darwin and Gumball wake up late, and a mysterious countdown ticker appears above them (which they see and are puzzled by). The idea that they can see the ticker makes it yet another great meta episode where the boys realize their world isn’t quite right.

The boys try anything and everything to get to school on time and, of course, end up everywhere but the classroom. Amazing World of Gumball does what it does best with its absurdist humor and meta references in “The Countdown,” with especially hilarious results. The idea of increasing the tension with the countdown ticker on the screen, showing the ticking clock theme, is just another way that Gumball subverts classic tropes.

10 The Remote

Season 2, Episode 37

In season 2’s “The Remote,” the Wattersons, each wanting to watch different things at the same time, go to drastic measures to get their way after Richard hides the TV remote. In an insulated episode surrounding the Watterson family, hilarity ensues as the family cons and manipulates each other into getting what they want. That makes this an interesting episode, as it is not meta and doesn’t pay attention to its status as a cartoon, and instead just tells a self-contained story.

However, it works perfectly in that format. Part of the reason is that “The Remote” features one of the best of the many twist endings in The Amazing World of Gumball. It was so popular with fans that it even got turned into a game, “Remote Fu,” for the Cartoon Network website. It was also critically acclaimed, as “The Remote” won the 2013 BAFTA Children’s Awards honor for Best Writing Team.

9 The Matchmaker

Season 5, Episode 16

In one of the best Amazing World of Gumball episodes, Gumball finds Darwin pining over a picture of one of his classmates and believes that he’s fallen in love with Teri. After concocting a supernatural love potion with the help of Carrie and setting Darwin and Teri up, Gumball discovers that his brother was originally in love with Carrie all along. “The Matchmaker” is full of the subtle, high-brow wit for which the series is known, and the ending is as satisfying as it is hilarious.

This is actually the first-ever Valentine’s Day special for
Amazing World of Gumball

Between Gumball’s attempts to set up Teri and Darwin and Carrie’s attempts to thwart them all, “The Matchmaker” is a great example of why the series appeals to adults and kids alike. Despite being in the sixth season, this is actually the first-ever Valentine’s Day special for Amazing World of Gumball, though it previously had Christmas and Halloween episodes.

8 The Fury

Season 4, Episode 37

In “The Fury,” Nicole meets an old figure from her past, a childhood friend named Yuki who wants revenge for her loss in a martial arts tournament. Initially, Nicole refuses but eventually agrees to a rematch. One of the best Amazing World of Gumball episodes is primarily remembered as having one of the best scenes in the Cartoon Network series, an anime-style fight sequence between Nicole and Yuki produced by Studio 4°C.

Aside from Gumball, the studio is best known for its contributions to the Berserk anime series, and the sequence contributes greatly to the episode’s celebrated status. The episode is a clear homage to Dragon Ball, with both Nicole’s and Yuki’s looking like those of Kamehameha and Ki from the anime series. This also gave the Amazing World of Gumball animators a chance to do something completely different, which almost always results in something special for the series.

7 The Job

Season 2, Episode 8

Season 2’s “The Job” sees Richard decide to stop lying on the couch all day and get a job in pizza delivery. Unfortunately, his dedication to the role causes him to unknowingly wreak havoc upon the City of Elmore as the rest of the family tries to catch and stop him. This makes for a fun episode because Richard is never someone who takes initiative, and when he does, it means bad things are going to happen.

When the entire situation causes the fabric of time to tear (which is not grounds for termination), it results in an animation style that is both horrifying and hilarious in equal parts. One of the best Amazing World of Gumball episodes and a funny episode that makes the best of its incredibly varied cast of characters, “The Job” remains bizarre enough to be considered one of Gumball’s best episodes, and it’s certainly up there, thanks to the outstanding ensemble cast of surreal characters.

6 The Console

Season 5, Episode 18

“The Console” is a JRPG parody and one of the more creative Amazing World of Gumball episodes. Gumball, Darwin, and Anais are trapped inside a cursed video game console, forced to beat the fantasy RPG game “Inverted Paradox: The Enemy Within” to escape. What could be a formulaic plot is given quite the original spin, and the result speaks for itself. The episode is also memorable thanks to the 16-bit aesthetic evoked in many of the scenes.

The plot subverting all expectations is why this is one of the best episodes and a testament to just how good the writing for the show really is. There are also a ton of Easter eggs in this episode, including some for the Nintendo Game Boy (which the fictional Game Child is based on), Final Fantasy VII (the logo is based on it), and several other Final Fantasy games within the video game world itself, which includes weapons, costumes, and fighting moves.